Lilia’s POV
My sobs died in my throat.
I closed my eyes, almost resigned, and waited for the punishment to fall,the gouging, the cutting, or something crueler.
But the pain never came.
A clean cloth pressed against my neck.
Kael’s movements were light, almost gentle, wiping the blood from my neck, my collarbone, my cheek.
Then he sat back on the bench.
The Beta behind him stepped forward to pour a fresh cup of wine.
I raised my eyes, dazed, unable to make sense of the scene.
Kael looked down at me, one arm draped over the bench, long fingers turning the wineglass, ice knocking together with a small, clear sound.
“Jace is still waiting for your song,” he said.
The rumors never run short of vicious men, but I’d never met one like this.
That striking face,every word, every glance carried a violence he made no effort to hide.
I watched him, losing myself for a moment.
Jace, watching me go from shaking with tears to staring blankly at Kael, clearly found it delightful.
He leaned forward and beckoned.
“Ha.
Interesting.
Really interesting.
Ugly, come here.”
”Yes.” I snapped back to myself.
One hand clamped over the exposed wound, I forced myself up.
The man who had lost his ear still retched dryly off to the side, pale face twisted with pain.
Kael’s gaze passed over him, tone flat, giving nothing away.
“Go back and tell your Alpha what to say.
Do you understand?”
”Under…understood.” The man nodded franticall.
“Get out.”
I skirted around him and sat obediently beside Jace, hands folded in my lap.
From the corner of my eye, I watched the blood-soaked man scramble out on all fours,yet I couldn’t stop my gaze drifting, again and again, to the man on the bench.
I didn’t know why Kael had spared me.
If he’d recognized me and still held his hand, the only explanation was Jace’s presence.
Which meant the man he’d executed that night had ties to Jace’s people, or to the group Jace came to discuss,something he didn’t want Jace to know.
The thought loosened the tension inside me.
If so, as long as Jace was around, I might still have a thread of life,Kael wouldn’t risk exposure by striking under his eyes.
I lowered my lashes and turned toward Jace.
Perhaps this man might yet save my life someday.
I couldn’t afford a single slip.
From now on, I would hide even deeper inside that harmless skin.
The stupider and more cowardly I looked, the less worth his trouble I’d be,perhaps the only way to survive Kael Veyron.
Kael’s POV”Go on.
Sing something with a little flavor.” Jace tipped his chin toward the stage.
“No turning around, no listening in.”
”Yes.” She answered quietly, rose, and climbed onto the tall stool, her back to us.
The moment her voice rose, the restless room fell strangely still.
That voice carried a fierce power,nothing like the hunched, dirt-smeared girl she’d played all night.
Every guard turned his head; even the glasses of Jace’s attendants stopped halfway to their mouths.
“Well?” Jace recovered quickly, leaning in to clink glasses, eyebrows up in smug pride.
“The one I picked,not bad, right?”
Inside me, the wolf kept snarling at me to take Lilia and leave, right now,and mark her.
And unbidden, that scene surged back: the blood-soaked body under the moonlight, the mark I’d set on her throat with my own hands.
No.
I would not make the same mistake a second time.
I forced the image down and dragged the talk back.
“Are we discussing business or not?”
”Fine, fine.
Business.” Jace drew back, finally getting serious.
“We just cut off Dax’s ear.
The moment he gets back, there’s no avoiding a feud with the Ashgrove Pack.
It’s my grandfather Alaric’s birthday in a few days, and their people will be there too.”
I gave a noncommittal “mm.”
The Ashgrove Pack was a newcomer; for years they’d ranked low, paying our Pack tribute in money and supplies.
But since a new Alpha took over, they’d grown bolder by the season.
“If things blow up at the party, Ashgrove won’t be an easy flame to put out.” Jace’s voice picked up an edge of irritation.
“They’ve stopped paying tribute, and now they think they’re our equals.”
”It won’t blow up.” I held a cigarette between my lips and let my Beta light it.
“No one dares challenge your grandfather’s standing openly.
They’ll keep up appearances.
Just focus on playing host.”
”And the rest of it?
That’s on you?”
I didn’t answer.
Smoke curled from my fingers as I looked down at the figure on the stage.
As the song ended, she bowed her head, as if confirming we’d stopped talking,then climbed down and came back on soft feet.
Feeling my gaze, she glanced up for an instant, then hurried it away, hands folded at Jace’s side.
“Alpha Jace, I’ve finished the song.” Her voice was soft.
“Do you need… anything more?”
Jace had no interest in dragging the night out.
He waved a hand and tossed two thick stacks of cash into her arms.
“Good work. Next time, we’ll call for you again.”
Delight flashed across her eyes, almost too bright to hide.
Clutching the money, she bowed deeply to Jace, thanked him, and hurried away, steps nearly skipping.
“Well, look at that. A little money-chaser.” Jace chuckled as he watched her flee.
“Kael,that Omega’s ugly as sin, but she’s fun, you have to admit.”
I didn’t answer.
I crushed the cigarette out in the ashtray and stood.
My Beta stepped in and settled the long black coat over my shoulders.
I pulled the collar straight and headed for the door.
Only then did Jace react.
“You’re…
leaving?”
”You like your games,stay and play.” I tossed the words over my shoulder.
“I have other business.”
Jace stood, frowning.
“Wait, I have a pile of things to go over with you, and you just walk out?”
”I’ll handle the Ashgrove Pack for you.” I paused.
“In exchange, you use Blackwater’s connections to look into something for me,a black-market perfume called Moonveil.”
Jace looked stunned by the trade, then recovered and agreed at once.
“For a bottle of perfume? Fine, no problem. Send me the details and I’ll put people on it.” He paused, unwilling to let it go.
“And Ashgrove Pack…”
”I don’t need you for that.”
I walked straight out, passing the women streaming in, my gaze pulled beyond my control to the corridor’s end,the door that had just swallowed Lilia’s figure.
Outside the tavern, the street was empty except for one thin silhouette.
I told the beta to stop.
The window slid down.
I watched her back go suddenly rigid where she stood.
“Get in.”