I excused myself for the rest of the evening, retreating to the solitude of my room. But even as I sat by the window, watching the Irving’s leave, my mind was relentless. By Gaia, what was I going to tell my parents?

Mother would demand a reasonable explanation for rejecting Darric’s proposal after I’d said okay to it earlier. Not just some vague dismissal, but a fully fleshed-out explanation that wouldn’t risk her ire. And if I couldn’t provide one, she’d push forward with the match, no questions asked.

With a resigned sigh, I crawled into bed, burying my face in the pillow and willing myself not to think about Alpha Devon. That, of course, worked for about two seconds.

Soon, I was lost in the kind of thoughts I had no business entertaining. His large, strong hands caressing my skin, the roughness of his stubble brushing my neck, the way his voice would sound if he whispered”

The knock on my door jolted me so violently that I nearly fell out of bed.

“Celeste, we must talk,” came Mother’s voice, followed by the click of the door opening.

I sat up quickly, tugging the blanket higher around me like it could somehow protect me from whatever interrogation was about to ensue.

She stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. For a moment, she just stood there, looking at me with scrutiny that could strip paint from walls.

“Well?” she finally said, moving to my bedside. “What is the matter? Is Darric not to your liking? I’ve always thought he was rather handsome.”

I blinked at her, unsure how to respond to such a blunt question.

“It is unlike you to abandon a gathering held in your honour over such a” superficial excuse,” she added, crossing her arms as her gaze bore into me.

“Superficial?” I repeated, stalling for time.

“Yes,” she said. “You left early and have yet to give me a satisfactory explanation. So, tell me, Celeste. What’s wrong with Darric? Too polished? Not enough mystery?”

Oh, Gaia, she couldn’t even wait till morning? I scrambled for a response, anything that wouldn’t lead to more questions, or a lecture.

“I just” don’t think he’s the right fit,” I said carefully, praying that would be enough.

Mother’s eyes narrowed, and I knew instantly that it wasn’t. “Not the right fit? Celeste, a marriage of alliances is not about fit. It’s about strategy, stability, and securing your position. What, pray tell, does Darric lack that would prevent such a union?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I couldn’t very well say, Oh, you know, the fact that I can’t stop fantasizing about his father.

Mother raised an eyebrow, indicating she was waiting for an answer.

I took a deep breath, deciding to gamble. “I’ve got my eye on someone else,” I said, as calmly as I could manage. “Now, I don’t know if you’ll approve, so I won’t tell you who it is just yet. But,” I added quickly, “it is a far more powerful match, strategically speaking.”

Her expression didn’t change immediately, which was always terrifying. She simply stared at me, her eyes narrowing like she could will the truth out of me by sheer force.

Finally, she spoke. “I will think on this.”

Relief swept through me, but it was short-lived.

“In the meantime,” she continued, “you’re to pack up for Irving Island. Alpha Devon has already set the wheels in motion, so we’ll play this by ear without committing to any agreements.”

I nodded quickly, eager to agree to anything that avoided a full interrogation. “Thank you, Mother.”

She looked at me sharply. “Don’t thank me yet. I am, let’s say, sceptical about you being out there in the Alpha’s den. All alone with him.”

All alone? My heart stumbled over itself. “Isn’t the island home to all the high lords of the Irving house?” I asked, a little too quickly.

Mother gave a sharp shake of her head, flicking her hair out of her face in that effortless way only she could manage. “No. It is the Alpha’s private residence. Only he resides there.”

Only he resides there? My brain short-circuited.

“But,” Mother added, as if this was some great consolation, “he’s agreed for you to visit here on the weekends. So that’s nice.”

Nice? Nice?! My mind was already racing ahead to what four seasons alone on an island with Alpha Devon could possibly be like. The conversations. The proximity. The fact that I’d already struggled to keep my composure during one evening in his presence.

Mother gave me one last sharp look before rising from her seat. “I expect you to be packed and ready by tomorrow morning. Do not make me regret trusting your choice on this, Celeste.”

As she swept out of the room, I flopped back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

Four seasons. Alone. With Alpha Devon.

But why did Alpha Devon want me at his private residence? My mind busied with possibilities, none of them remotely helpful. And then, like a bolt of lightning, a thought struck me, making me sit up with a sharp gasp.

Did Alpha Devon want” me?

My heart thudded so hard it might have cracked a rib, and I groaned, pressing a hand to my chest as if that might calm it down. This was ridiculous. Completely, utterly ridiculous. But sleep was out of the question now.

I threw off my blanket, grabbed a pair of pants and a sweater, and changed in record time. Quietly, I moved to the door, my hand hovering over the handle” before stopping cold.

Right. Between my overly attentive attendants, my new escorts, and Yeon, I’d never make it to the mountains unnoticed.

Perfect.

I turned back toward the window, letting out a long sigh. If subtlety wasn’t an option, I’d just have to get creative. With a flick of my wrist, I focused my energy, levitating myself out the window. The cool night air rushed past me, carrying the scent of earth and pine, and I exhaled in relief. My water affinity wasn’t perfect for air manipulation, but it was good enough to get me where I needed to go.

Azriel and Zaria had always said it was odd for a water user to dabble in air, but what did I care. Especially not when it meant I could glide over the estate and reach my training spot in less than two minutes.

The moment my boots hit the ground, I let out another sigh, this one full of relief. The familiar scent of moss and stone surrounded me as I looked up at the night sky.

“Why couldn’t I have been born with a fire affinity?” I muttered to myself. Fire was bold, fierce, dramatic. It was everything water wasn’t. “Fire would’ve been so much cooler.”

But wistful thinking wouldn’t help me now. “Enough of that,” I told myself, shaking off the thought. I had one mission tonight: exhaust myself enough to sleep.

Rolling my shoulders, I stepped into my stance and got to work, letting the rhythm of movement and the rush of magic drown out everything else. Out here, away from all the noise and expectations, I could lose myself in training.

For now, anyway.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be out anywhere on your own?”

The voice startled me so badly that I spun around on instinct, summoning a vortex of ice arrows and launching them straight at the intruder.

Oh, Gaia.

The ice flew through the air in a deadly arc, glinting under the moonlight, and my breath caught as I realized exactly who I’d just aimed them at.

Alpha Devon.

I squeezed my eyes shut immediately, bracing myself for the sound of impact, or worse, the sound of him getting hurt. But there was nothing. No thud, no cry of pain. Just silence, save for the soft crackle of magic dissipating into the night.

When I dared to open one eye, Alpha Devon stood completely unharmed. He hadn’t even flinched. Instead, his sharp grey eyes were fixed on me.

“Creative greeting,” he said dryly, brushing an ice shard off his shoulder like it was a stray piece of lint. “I’ll assume that wasn’t personal.”

“What—what are you doing out here?” I stammered, because really, what was he doing here? And how had he managed to sneak up on me in the dead of night?

He folded his arms. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I was’” I faltered, gesturing vaguely at the empty space around us. “Training.”

“At this hour? Alone?” He raised a brow, and his tone was sceptical with just a hint of scolding that made me feel like I was back at the academy being chastised by an elder.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I admitted, crossing my arms defensively. “And with my new entourage of escorts, I wouldn’t have been able to get out through the front door.”

“So you decided levitating out of your window was the solution?”

I blinked. “How do you know about that?”

The corner of his mouth quirked up in that infuriating almost-smile of his. “You’re not as discreet as you think, Lady Celeste.”

I groaned inwardly, heat creeping up my neck. “Well, I didn’t think you of all people would linger long after you were supposed to be gone. I would have invited you along.”

His brow lifted, and that almost-smile of his deepened, which only made my irritation grow. “I’m not criticizing your ingenuity,” he said. “Just your lack of caution.”

“I don’t need caution,” I shot back, gesturing at the now-dissipated ice vortex. “I can handle myself.”

He took a deliberate step closer and I swallowed as I watched him. “Perhaps. But handling yourself doesn’t mean recklessness.”

“Recklessness?” I repeated, crossing my arms. “I’m not the one sneaking up on people in the middle of the night like some shadow.”

“Shadow?” he repeated. “I prefer “watchful protector.’”

“Oh, is that what you’re doing?” I asked, arching a brow. “Protecting me? Because I don’t recall asking for your help.”

“You don’t need to ask,” he replied. “You’re the Supreme Successor. Whether you like it or not, your safety is no longer just your concern.”

Right, the house of Irving was responsible for protecting the supreme eminence and its successor. But instead of acknowledging the valid point he was making, I chose deflection.

“And here I thought Lycans didn’t believe in meddling,” I quipped.

“Only when it’s necessary,” he countered. “And you, Lady Celeste, seem to make it necessary.”

“Why are you really skulking around in the mountains?”

He stepped closer again, this time close enough that I had to tilt my head up to meet his gaze. “I’m not skulking,” he said quietly, and something about the way his voice softened sent an unexpected shiver down my spine. “I’m making sure you don’t do something foolish.”

“Foolish like what?” I snapped, but my voice came out more breathless than defiant.

He didn’t answer immediately, his grey eyes scanning my face like he was trying to read every unspoken thought. Finally, he said, “Like convincing yourself you’re untouchable when I know for a fact you’re not.”

I blinked, my heart stumbling over itself at his words.

“Odd,” I said before my better judgment could stage an intervention. “If I were not untouchable, why haven’t you touched me?”

The second the words left my mouth, I wanted to slap a hand over it. But it was too late. The challenge, the implication, the sheer recklessness of it almost killed me.

And Gaia help me, I didn’t regret it.

His gaze didn’t flicker. If anything, it sharpened, and those grey eyes roved my face with a focus that left me breathless. When his gaze dipped, just for a fraction of a second, to my lips, my heart skipped so violently I swear it tried to leave my chest entirely.

It wasn’t much. Just a fleeting glance. But it was enough. Enough to make my skin flush, my breath hitch, and every ridiculous, impossible fantasy I’d ever had about him jump to the forefront of my mind.

So I was right, I thought, a spark of exhilaration mingling with the tension. Did Alpha Devon want me?

He didn’t move, didn’t step closer, but the air felt thinner somehow. My skin burned with the awareness of him, of the space that separated us and the absurd hope that he might close it.

“Careful, Lady Celeste,” he said at last. “You may not like what happens if I take you at your word.”

Gaia, I liked the sound of that far too much.

“Maybe I would,” I countered, my voice softer now, as though speaking louder might shatter whatever fragile thing was building between us.

For the briefest moment, his mask slipped, and something flickered in his eyes, raw and untamed, gone as quickly as it appeared.

He straightened then, breaking the spell with a step back, and the cold night air rushed in where his presence had been. “Goodnight, Lady Celeste,” he said like he was holding himself back.

And then he turned, leaving me standing there, breathless and aching for something I couldn’t quite name. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to call him back, to demand he finish what he’d started, whatever this was. My mouth opened, a word teetering on the edge of my tongue, but I bit down hard to keep it in check.

No. I wasn’t about to humiliate myself. Not tonight.

Instead, I let out a frustrated groan, turning back toward the empty clearing and shaking my head as if that might dislodge the memory of those grey eyes and that maddeningly composed expression. But it was useless. There was no getting Alpha Devon out of my mind now, not after” that.

But then curiosity began to creep in. Where had he come from? How had he known I’d slipped out of my room? For him to see me levitating out the window, he would’ve had to be positioned somewhere with a clear view, and earshot, of my every move.

The thought made my skin flush in a way I didn’t entirely hate. Knowing he’d been lingering out here, protecting me in his silent, brooding way, was oddly reassuring.

But another question tugged at me, one that refused to let go. How had he withstood my attack earlier? My vortex of ice arrows wasn’t exactly a casual breeze. Even if I hadn’t meant to hurt him, it would’ve been enough to rattle anyone.

Anyone but him, apparently.

I frowned, flexing my fingers as I thought back to the way he’d casually brushed off the ice like it was nothing. I needed to figure out what he’d done. And, more importantly, how to counter it.

“I’ll have to spar with him,” I whispered to myself, the idea taking shape before I could overthink it.

Yes. Sparring. That was the answer. Not because I wanted to see him again, not at all. This was purely for training. Practical. Logical. Necessary.

I nodded to myself, ignoring the heat rising to my cheeks as I imagined what that would look like. Because surely, imagining myself sparring with a devastatingly handsome Alpha under the moonlight wasn’t entirely inappropriate.

Right?