Against my will, I started wondering, 'If he cared for the weak like that, why would he slaughter Omegas like my parents?'

I pick up my small hidden journal, the one Cyrus had made me keep. It's where I force myself to reaffirm the truth he told me then write down,

'Gideon Stormfang is my enemy no matter what he looks like when he smiles.'

~

Gideon’s POV

I don’t need another servant. I have an army of them, but I kept finding reasons to cross paths with her.

Eva.

The first time I saw her in the grand hall, she moved differently from the others. Her head down but not in submission. Her steps were quiet but purposeful, like she belonged everywhere and nowhere at once.

Her voice when she introduced herself have been small and unsteady… yet, there is steel hiding underneath. And her eyes… storm-grey, the kind that catch light and hold it captive.

I told myself it just curiosity. I have seen thousands of women in my life. Yet when she passed, I caught myself turning to see her, listening to her voice and wondering what she was thinking behind that careful mask.

By the fourth week, I have run out of dignified reasons to summon her, so I invented one.

“Eva,” I called from my seat in the dining room that evening.

She froze mid-step, balancing a tray meant for the upper servants’ table. “Your Majesty?”

“Sit.” I gestured to the chair beside me.

Her eyes widened, as if I told her to strip bare in the throne room. “I...I can’t.”

“That wasn’t a request.” I said.

She hesitated before sliding into the seat, her hands folded tight in her lap. I pushed the plate toward her. “Eat.”

When she finally picked up a fork, I almost smiled. Like, I have won the first battle.

Halfway through the meal, her gaze drifted toward the west wing doors.

“You’re wondering about the woman,” I said.

She blinked, caught. “She’s been here… for a while, right?”

“Yes, she has.” I leaned back. “Her name isn’t mine to give and her past isn’t mine to share but she’s… someone I want to save.”

“Is she...” Eva hesitated. “Your mate?”

“No.” The answer came sharper than I intended. Her brow furrowed, so I added, “She’s not my mate, my wife or my mistress. Just someone who deserves life qnd I have the power to make that happen.”

Eva’s lips parted slightly, surprise flickering across her face. Did she expect me to lie? To claim ownership?

“You look like you don’t believe me,” I said.

“I…” She looked away. “I believe you.”

She didn’t, I could feel it but I let it go.

Somehow, the conversation turned lighter after that. She made a quiet joke about royal etiquette and I found myself laughing. Not the polished court chuckle but a real one, it startled us both.

When I rose to leave, the words slipped out before I could stop them. “Help me prepare for bed.”

Her breath was caught but she followed me to my chambers.

I shrugged out of my jacket, then my shirt, tossing them onto the chair. Her eyes darted away, though not quickly enough to miss the way she looked at me first, like she hated that she noticed.

The air between us thickened. I felt my wolf stir, restless with the ache of recognition.

If I didn’t know better… I would think she's mine but that would be impossible. Wouldn’t it?

The moment she slipped out of my chamber, the air felt… hollow.

I sat on the edge of my bed for a long time, shirtless, staring at the door as if she might walk back in. My wolf paced inside me, unsettled. He didn’t speak, he haven’t in years but his restless energy told me enough.

He liked her too much.

I lay back, folding my hands behind my head but my mind wouldn’t stay quiet. I could still see the guarded way she’d looked at me when I told her the sleeping woman wasn’t my mate, still hear her soft laugh over dinner like a drop of sunlight slipping through cloud cover.

Her scent lingered, not sweet like most Omegas. Hers was sharper, clean air after a storm. My chest tightened as I breathed it in.

Why did it feel familiar?

I turned over, forcing myself to think of anything else like the matters of the state, border patrol reports and the Shadowbite trade agreements.

But every thought circled back to her, to Eva.

The way she held herself respectful but never entirely submissive. The quick glances when she thought I wasn’t looking. The flash of defiance in her eyes when I gave her an order.

It was… intoxicating.

My wolf pressed closer, almost growling. "She’s ours."

I shut my eyes hard. “She’s not,” I muttered aloud.

Omegas can’t unsettle Alphas like this, not unless…

No. It's impossible. I have never felt the mate bond before and if she's my mate, she would have felt it too, she wouldn’t be able to look me in the eye without trembling from it.

I sat up, running a hand over my face. Sleep isn’t coming.

Somewhere beyond the wall, the healers’ wing was quiet. That meant the sleeping woman, the one I brought here five years ago is resting peacefully tonight.

Diana.

Her face flashed in my memory, so like the girl at the dinner today… no, I said to myself, that thought is absurd.

And yet, some part of me whispered that these two women, the one I saved and the one who walked into my palace were bound to the same tangled fate.

I rose and went to the window, staring at the moon hanging heavy over Stormfang territory.

If I am smart, I will keep my distance from Eva. She is just a servant, an orphan and an Omega without a wolf. She is nothing to me, a king well known by many packs.

And yet… I know I will find an excuse to see her again tomorrow.

I spotted her from my balcony at dawn, already working in the gardens before anyone else wakes, which makes me want her even more.