Damon
I shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was
Standing in the upper gallery with the judges, I’d expected Elena Ashford to falter. Not because I wanted her to, I didn’t, but because she kept walking into things no one else dared to touch and somehow emerged unscathed. Sooner or later, the illusion would crack.
And yet here she was. Again. Surprising me.
charm–Elena offered something
While the other candidates played into their roles–leaning on brute force or what they thought counted as unorthodox. A third option that required vision and risk. She proposed a solution that looked like surrender on the surface but demanded cooperation on a level Packs hadn’t exercised in generations.
No tutor could’ve taught her that.
I leaned forward as she walked out of the chamber, chin high, shoulders tight. Nora peeled off to the right without a word. But Elena kept walking like she couldn’t afford to look behind her. Like she knew she’d done something dangerous by not playing the game the way everyone expected. Just like! suggested.
Zane stirred uneasily beneath my skin. She sees the pieces. Moves them differently.
I know. It had become my automatic response.
She’s a worthy mate.
That’s what scared me. Whatever armor she wore before, she hadn’t used it today. She’d stepped into that trial and offered her mind. Her instincts.
And now I was the one off–balance.
Later, I dismissed the moderator’s discussion with a wave and left the chamber before the next trial started. I didn’t care about the others. Not when her voice was still echoing in my ears. First it was from a song, but now it was from strategy.
Logic that was laced with memory, instinct, experience. It wasn’t just book knowledge. It was lived. How did a noble daughter think of it?
Because she’s a worthy mate. Was Zane’s immediate reply.
Back in my office, I skimmed the compiled scores from the trial. Five elite candidates had scored high enough to remain front–runners.
She was at the top.
Highest score. Unanimous marks for innovation and cohesion. Strategic thinking, leadership, conflict resolution. It wasn’t just me who saw it, she had them all convinced, even Jackson.
Part of me still tried to believe she was just acting. Playing some long game for her father. But she had nothing to gain from that solution she offered today. It wasn’t power–hungry. It was conciliatory, insightful, balanced.
I rubbed my jaw and stood, pacing to the windows and back.
Maybe it wasn’t her score that bothered me. Maybe it was the way she kept making me feel…like the world I knew was slightly off–center whenever she was near. Like I wanted to believe in her, but didn’t know how.
She reminded me of Natalie so much. In the tilt of her chin. The fire in her defiance. But there was a sharpness to Elena that Natalie had never had. A quiet sorrow beneath her bite. A need she never spoke aloud, like she was always negotiating with the world to let her stay one more day. Literally.
I didn’t want to see it. But I did. And I hated that I did.
14:03 Mon, 2 Jun MG •
Chapter 42
And worst of all, I was starting to realize I knew nothing about her. Not really. I knew the way she moved, I knew the steel she kept in reserve. But her The woman behind all of it? I had no name for her, no story.
Just the ache of something that felt like recognition. Zane had no doubt. But I did. And if I let her in truly in- and she really was just using me
A guard knocked once on the study door. “The candidates are returning to their residence, Sire.”
I nodded, dismissing him, but I couldn’t get back to work.
Instead, I found myself walking the long corridor that curved along the east wing, just ahead of where the elite candidates would pass on their way to the main hall. I didn’t even have a plan. I just wanted to see her. To look into her eyes and see if she felt… something.
I scented her before I saw her. Elena turned the corner with her head down, fingers curled slightly, gaze distant.
She nearly collided with me. Again.
“Oh, sorry!” she gasped, stopping short, clearly startled.
“Elena,” I said quietly. And when she froze, I added, “Congratulations.”
Her mouth parted, but no words came. Just that wide–eyed, breathless stillness.
I stepped closer. “You led the trial.”
“I’m sure I didn’t… it was a wild thought that just came out,” she said. Her voice was small but not afraid.
I reached for her elbow automatically when she faltered, steadying her as her balance slipped. She tensed under my touch, and then exhaled slowly, chin lifting like she was bracing for impact.
But she didn’t pull away.
Her pulse fluttered beneath my fingers, fast but steady. I didn’t mean to hold on so long but I couldn’t seem to let go either.
Something about the way she looked at me right then, like she was half a breath away from saying something she’d regret… or maybe something she needed to say.
“I wasn’t trying to impress anyone,” she said, voice low. “I just… didn’t want to lose.”
Not win. Not dominate. Just not lose.
Zane stirred, tail flicking at the truth in that.
I released her slowly. “You were far from losing.”
“But did I win anything?” Her eyes flicked up to mine.
It was a fair question. The Crown didn’t exactly hand out clarity. Or kindness. And I hadn’t made anything easy for her either, in hindsight.
I let silence stretch between us for a moment before answered. “You made people think. That’s sometimes worth more than approval.”
Her throat worked around a swallow. “And you?” she asked. “Do you think I made a mistake?”
I hesitated. Not because I didn’t know the answer–but because saying it out loud felt vulnerable.
“No,” I said at last. “You surprised me.”
She looked away then, but not before I caught the flicker of pleasure behind her eyes.
The corridor felt smaller suddenly. Dimner. Like the space between us was being compressed.
14:03 Mon, 2 Jun M G
Chapter 42
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“I don’t know what you want from me,” she said, softer now. “Some days it feels like you’re waiting for me to fail. Others, like you’re daring me not to.”
I exhaled through my nose. “Maybe I am.”
She took a small step back. It wasn’t a retreat though.
“You asked me to be dangerous,” she said. “I’m trying.”
“I know.” My voice was rougher than I meant it to be. “I see you.“,
I meant it more than I should have. Her presence cracked something open inside me, something I’d kept sealed since Natalie. I hadn’t realized how starved I was for that kind of connection. Or maybe I had, and that’s why it scared the hell out of me.
Her lips parted slightly, eyes searching my face as if trying to decide if she believed me. Or maybe if she wanted to.
And I wasn’t sure which terrified me more.
She nodded, once. “Then stop watching from the shadows. If you see me, say something before it’s too late.”
I didn’t miss the way her eyes shimmered, just slightly, like she didn’t know how much longer she could keep doing this. She wasn’t asking for power of favor, it seemed like she wanted something real.
Before I could form a reply, she was already turning away, graceful and quick, escaping without looking like she was running. The scent of her lingered behind stirring Zane into action.
I stood there for another full minute, leashing my wolf before he could chase after her. Zane paced in the back of my mind, a caged beast being kept from his prey.
I’d spent years convincing myself that control was everything and Elena Ashford was dismantling me piece by piece with nothing more than her presence.
And Goddess help me, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to stop.
