A tightness gripped Kaelen's chest as he stormed away from Ronan's room. That look in her eyes—pure hurt and betrayal—shouldn't bother him. She was just an Omega, a thief's daughter. A thief herself.
Yet something gnawed at him.
"Search her room again," he barked at a passing guard. "Every inch of it. Find my necklace."
The guard nodded and hurried off while Kaelen retreated to his quarters. He slammed the door behind him, pacing like a caged animal. Why did Seraphina's tear-streaked face keep flashing in his mind? The way she'd looked at him, like he was a monster...
"Damn it!" He grabbed the whiskey bottle from his desk and poured a generous amount. The liquor burned down his throat, but did nothing to ease the uncomfortable feeling in his gut.
A knock sounded at his door.
"What?" he growled.
Lilith slipped inside, her red dress hugging every curve perfectly. She locked the door behind her and sauntered toward him with a predatory smile.
"Alpha," she purred, running her fingers up his chest. "You seem tense."
Kaelen took another drink. "What do you want, Lilith?"
"Just checking on you." She plucked the glass from his hand and took a sip. "Did you find your necklace?"
"Not yet." He turned away, staring out the window. The thought of Seraphina kneeling on that hot roof made his wolf restless.
"Was it expensive?" Lilith asked, pressing herself against his back.
"Very." He faced her again. "It was meant for you, actually. An anniversary gift."
Her eyes lit up. "For me? Oh, Kaelen." She reached up to stroke his face. "I'm sorry that little thief ruined your surprise. But I'm sure I can make you feel better."
Her lips found his neck, her hands sliding down to his belt. Any other day, this would be exactly what he wanted. Lilith knew how to please him, had been doing so for years. But today...
"I don't think—" he started.
"Don't think," she interrupted, unbuckling his belt. "Just feel. Let me help you work out all that... frustration."
His body responded even as his mind wandered. Perhaps this was what he needed—a distraction from those accusing blue eyes that had somehow burrowed under his skin.
He grabbed Lilith roughly, spinning her around and pressing her against the wall. She moaned appreciatively as his hands found their way under her dress.
"Yes, Alpha," she breathed. "Take what's yours."
The words hit wrong. Yours. Was anything truly his anymore? Even his thoughts seemed to belong to a certain blonde Omega.
Anger surged through him—at himself, at Seraphina, at this whole mess. He channeled it into passion, tearing Lilith's dress at the shoulder, exposing more skin for his mouth to claim.
But as he bit down on her neck, his mind betrayed him again. Instead of Lilith's floral perfume, he caught a phantom scent of vanilla and honey—Seraphina's scent. When he closed his eyes, he saw blonde hair instead of dark, blue eyes instead of brown.
"Harder," Lilith demanded, misinterpreting his hesitation as teasing.
Kaelen obliged, rougher than necessary, desperate to drive Seraphina from his thoughts. He lifted Lilith onto his desk, papers scattering to the floor.
The door swung open without warning. Ronan and Orion stood there, taking in the scene before them.
"Started without us?" Orion smirked, closing the door behind them.
Sharing women had never bothered Kaelen before—it was practically tradition among them. But today, with Seraphina haunting his every thought, he felt a strange reluctance.
Lilith had no such reservations. "There's plenty to go around," she invited, extending her arms toward the other brothers.
Ronan approached first, capturing her mouth in a hungry kiss while Orion worked on removing what remained of her dress. Soon all three wolves surrounded her, their competitive nature emerging as each tried to draw the loudest reactions from her.
Kaelen watched his brothers take turns with Lilith, her cries of pleasure filling the room. He participated mechanically, his body responding even as his mind wandered elsewhere. To a rooftop. To a pair of sea-blue eyes filled with pain. His pain. His doing.
No matter how hard he thrust, how deeply he buried himself in Lilith's willing body, he couldn't escape the image of Seraphina collapsing on that hot concrete. The smell of pepper and tears. The disappointment in her eyes that had once looked at him with such innocence.
How had they ended up here? When had he become this man?
He remembered a young Seraphina, all skinny limbs and unruly black hair, following him around the pack grounds. The way she'd laughed when he'd taught her to skip stones across the lake. The birthday card she'd made him when they turned fourteen, covered in glitter that got everywhere.
Then the letter. The betrayal. The pain that had hardened his heart against her.
"Kaelen?" Lilith's voice broke through his thoughts. "Where did you go?"
He realized he'd stopped moving, his body still joined with hers but his mind a thousand miles away.
"Nowhere," he muttered, pulling away. "I need a shower."
Ronan raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay, brother?"
"Fine." Kaelen grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist. "You two can finish up."
He retreated to his bathroom, turning the shower to its coldest setting. The icy water shocked his system but did nothing to clear his head.
Seraphina's face continued to haunt him. The wounded look in her eyes. The proud tilt of her chin even as they accused her. She'd always been stubborn, even as a child. It was one of the things he'd—
No. He wouldn't go there. She was a liar. A thief. Just like her father.
But what if she wasn't?
He punched the shower wall, cracking the tile. His wolf howled in confusion, in frustration. In something that felt dangerously like guilt.
After his shower, he dressed quickly, ignoring the sounds of pleasure still coming from his bedroom. He needed to run, to clear his head in wolf form. Maybe then he could shake this unsettling feeling.
He was halfway to the forest when a servant came sprinting toward him, face pale with panic.
"Alpha Kaelen!" the man gasped. "Come quickly!"
Kaelen's heart rate spiked. "What is it?"
"It's the Omega girl, Alpha. Seraphina."
Ice flooded Kaelen's veins. "What about her?"
The servant wrung his hands. "She's on the rooftop. She's fainted in the heat. She's not breathing properly."
The world tilted beneath Kaelen's feet. Not breathing? His wolf surged forward, nearly breaking through his skin.
"We've tried waking her, but she's not responding," the servant continued, terror evident in his voice.
Kaelen was already running, his heart pounding a violent rhythm against his ribs. This wasn't supposed to happen. The punishment was severe, yes, but not lethal. Not for a werewolf.
Unless she'd been up there too long. Unless the heat had been too much. Unless they'd made a terrible, irreversible mistake.
"SERAPHINA!" he roared, racing toward the rooftop stairs, primal fear clawing at his chest.
What had he done?