Luther’s POV

*****

"Uh..." he didn’t know whether to cry or flee for his life as Alpha King Kaelos stared coldly at him after his promise. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Because that was no threat.

Worst case scenario, if he says something that annoys the Alpha King... he indeed gets his bones broken. He’d probably heal eventually.

The best case would of course be him saying the right thing and getting out of here in one piece.

His Alpha status wasn’t saving him.

"You don’t want to keep me waiting, young Alpha." Kaelos expressed with a bored tone. "I have a wife and daughter to meet downstairs."

’Oh, you’re so screwed.’ Even his wolf’s mocking tone was tinged with fear. ’And before you think of it... We’d get obliterated in a fight. Even if we shift and he doesn’t.’

The damn mutt didn’t need to tell him that.

Everything about Kaelos’ aura screamed that he was no ordinary wolf. Or an ordinary Alpha King.

Dragging in a cautious breath, Luther began. "I..." his heart beat spiked, careful not to waste his chance of making one sentence. Here goes. "Because I failed her once, and I will spend the rest of my life proving that I never will again."

That was it. That was all he could muster with all the pressure he was faced with.

Silence fell in the room for several seconds.

Alpha King Kaelos didn’t speak or move during this time. Instead, his eyes flicked from Luther’s head to toe, leaving no clue as to what he felt or what he was thinking.

For a breath, Luther felt like what he said wasn’t enough. Maybe he should’ve added the part where Lysandra cast a spell on him. Maybe he should’ve pressed on the fact that he still felt guilty despite not being in control when it happened.

But it was too late now—

"That..." Kaelos began, his aura fading gradually. "... Was a compelling sentence, young man. Did you have that ready on the fly? Or...?"

"N–No, sir." Luther shook his head, heat crawling across his neck. "I only said what I have in my heart right now. And I mean every word."

It was at that moment that Kaelos took a couple of steps forward, nodding as he did. "Really? I also heard you did what you did because of some spell cast by the Australian Alpha king’s daughter. Correct?"

Luther’s lips shook with a smile. "Yes! Exactly, sir. She—"

"How do I know she won’t conveniently crumble all your efforts with another spell?" The Alpha king was circling him now, each step almost completely quiet. "How do I know you won’t let her get close enough to do that to you again?"

When Kaelos got behind him—he stiffened. Cold air made the hair behind his neck stand up. Then the man leaned closer, whispering. "You don’t need to answer these questions now. But it’s a wake-up call. As an Alpha, your mind needs to be fortified. Grounded in the things you believe in the most."

He moved away from his back after that, patting him once on the shoulder. "You Alphas might be weaker than Alpha Kings. But you’re still leaders."

Luther turned his head to the man just in time to hear him say: "Act like it."

To his surprise, Kaelos didn’t linger around after that. He advanced toward the room door, his cloak flowing behind him.

Wait a minute...

"Sir?" Luther called just when the man got to the door. "Does this mean you approve of me?"

Kaelos chuckled, glancing over his shoulder. "You still don’t get it. You never needed my approval. As long as my daughter is willing to give you a chance, I’m fine."

He paused, pointing a warning finger. "I still have my eyes on you though."

The teasing in the older man’s tone made Luther stifle a laugh. His shoulders finally loosened, as Kaelos made his way to leave again.

"One last thing," Kaelos stopped when he got into the hallway, the door half open behind him. "I was serious before. When I talked about the promise of anyone who defied my rule."

His eyes locked on Luther’s one last time. "Whenever you come out about your relationship with my daughter—because you will—be firm. Remind your elders who the Alpha is."

Those words hung heavy in the air long after Kaelos shut the door.

Luther’s jaw tightened.

Remind them who the Alpha is.

’See? Even our future father-in-law agrees.’ his wolf sounded too excited. ’So? What do you think? Which elder are we eliminating first?’

"That’s not what he meant, psycho." Luther shook his head, dragging himself lazily toward the door.

After surviving a nerve-wracking encounter with an Alpha King, he sure needed some rest.

Luther opened the door, looking left and right in the dimly lit hallway. To his surprise, Azrael was in front of his room door, about to open it.

That’s... odd.

Did Kaelos walk past him without saying anything?

"Hey, Azrael?" Luther called out, gaze narrowing when the witch stopped. "Did you see the Alpha King walk by?"

Azrael merely gave him a once-over. "I did." Then he wiggled his fingers, causing shadows on the wall to enlarge and thicken.

No explanations—just that simple display to show Luther why the two men didn’t cross paths.

"Anyway, if you don’t mind," Azrael cleared his throat. "I need to do some thinking and this conversation—"

"Some thinking about what happened back in the beach town tonight?" Luther found himself walking out of his room. "About what the beast called you?"

Seeing the way Azrael’s fingers twitched was enough for an answer.

He knew it.

That entire interaction with the bipedal beast was too ominous. He might joke over things, but he knew what he heard. And he knew Azrael was aware of something—

—He just wasn’t sure what.

"Do you really want to do this tonight?" Azrael questioned. "The beast was just rambling nonsense—"

"Poison of the night." Luther drew closer to him, suspicions reaching a new high. "Doesn’t sound like nonsense to me. It sounds like confirmation instead."

Azrael angled his face, chin lowering. Those sunglasses made it difficult to guess his emotions. That’s if his eyes ever showed emotions.

"Confirmation of what?"

Luther looked back, making sure no one else was in the hallway. He let the cat out of the bag breathlessly. "That you aren’t a normal witch. Are you?"