2

I was irritated for not having considered that possibility. Wolves, like us, had heightened senses, especially smell. I prepared to leave if her suspicion grew stronger.

Lioara didn’t move, watching and breathing, scanning every inch around her. Minutes passed, both of us silent, the sounds of the forest drowned out by the force of the waterfall.

Finally, she relaxed slightly. She kicked off her sneakers, but still remained alert, her expression focused. Then she pulled the elastic holding her bun, and her hair cascaded down her shoulders and back, transforming her. Her femininity became evident—sensual, vibrant, fiery.

Her strands were a reddish blonde, as if set ablaze under the daylight. Strangely, my fingers tingled with an urge to touch them, to feel their texture, which surprised me. This shouldn’t have mattered. I was engaged to a vampire.

Fortunately, I could hold my breath for a long time, which also slowed my heartbeat and body heat. They thought we were undead, but the truth was that our systems were different—slower and more restrained. Except here.

I froze, holding my breath and scent in check.

She calmed down. She pushed her long hair away from her shoulders and approached the water, dipping her bare feet in. I was caught off guard by an unexpected heat, an immediate stirring that made my heart race before I realized it. When she started unbuttoning her jeans, the sensation intensified. It was unusual, considering how slow our heartbeats usually were.

At that moment, Lioara stopped just as she was about to pull down the zipper, turning her face directly toward me. She sniffed the air so sharply that her nostrils flared.

"Is someone there?" Her husky, determined voice echoed through the air, tinged with irritation. "Juan, if I catch you spying on me, I’ll rip your head off this time!"

Irritation flared within me. Who the hell was this Juan?

I held myself back. What was I doing? Practically undead, as they accused us of being, heir to one of the greatest families, spying on a wolf. With no real reason to be there. It was strange to want to see her up close, nothing more.

Reality struck me, exposing the ridiculousness of the situation. So, when Lioara bent down to pick up her sneakers, perhaps giving up on undressing under unknown eyes, I simply darted to the opposite side under the tree canopies, practically flying from branch to branch, disappearing before she had the chance to confirm anything.

I heard her shout and her footsteps, likely trying to check if it was an animal, but within seconds, I was far away, returning to my territory. More irritated than I had ever felt before.

---

"I thought the meeting was in an hour, Father. I was getting ready."

Caliban's sleepy voice pulled me from my thoughts. I tore my gaze away from those blue eyes in the photograph and turned to face him.

My brother was a great liar. He had been fully informed of the time, but as always, he’d spent the entire night partying and assumed Antares would let it slide.

"Sit down already." Fighting impatience, my father pointed to a chair. "Don’t make me waste any more time."

Caliban sighed and obeyed, rubbing his pale face, dark circles shadowing his eyes. He must have gone straight from one party to another or indulged in things he shouldn’t have. No wonder he looked terrible.

"This is your fiancée. The eldest daughter of Riuk Constantini."

His gaze fell on the photograph with little interest. He shrugged.

"Fine. It could be anyone."

"Is that all you have to say? After all this time spent on research, observation, and meetings..." Antares didn’t lose his temper—he never did. But his fury simmered beneath his cold gaze. "Do you understand the gravity of the situation?"

"Of course, Father! I’ve been given an important role, and I’ll fulfill my part."

"And what is it? Do you even remember, or are you too doped up to think?"

The icy tone made him shift in his seat and glance at me. He sighed.

"My mission is to seduce the she-wolf, daughter of a Supreme Alpha. And to impregnate her. See, I..."

"Why? Why am I sending one of my sons, who has pure blood, to soil himself with a wolf? When I’ve always despised them?"

Antares demanded, his face pale. I continued to observe, silent like a judge.

"We risk extinction. We’re becoming more of a minority every day. I know that, Father..."

"Answer!"

"She is probably a superior breed. Like us. A crossbreed could mean a unique, even more evolved race. We’ll only know by trying."

"And why did I choose you for this?"

Caliban grew even paler. His restrained tone shifted as he turned to me with a sarcastic smile and voice.

"You’d never test this on your eldest son. Balthazar will preserve our pure bloodline. I’m the experiment, the sacrifice."

"A sacrifice of the worthless? Think of it as your only chance to prove your value and do something useful." Without raising his voice, our father stood. "The Alliance Feast is approaching, and I’ve sent a letter to Riuk requesting three invitations. Balthazar, Calliope, and you will attend. Do your part, get close to her, and bring her here at the first opportunity. Can you manage that, or is it too hard a task for a vampire like you?"

"I’ll prove I’m not worthless," he muttered.

Antares didn’t stay any longer. He left, followed by Casimir.

My brother pressed his lips together, still irritated. He growled.

"Is it good to be the perfect son?"

"Envy doesn’t suit you," I said cynically, further irritating him.

"Envy what? That you’re so desperate to please our father that you’ve turned into this heartless machine? Obeying everything you’re told?"

He barely finished speaking before I shot toward him like an arrow, so fast he only managed a gasp as his chair toppled over. I lifted him off the ground, gripping his neck with one hand, my eyes burning so intensely I felt them fill with blood.

"Baltha..."

"Don’t mistake my intelligence for your stupidity, brother," I growled low and coldly as Caliban writhed, struggling to break free from my grip. I squeezed harder, cutting off his air. "You know nothing about family, honor, or tradition. If not for me, this clan would have been destroyed by you."

"Let... me... go..."

I smiled slowly, with contempt.

"Have you forgotten that we can go a long time without breathing? Stop acting like a fool." I shoved him against the table, pressing his face against the photograph. "You should worry about yourself, not me. And think about what to do. She doesn’t look easy to seduce."

I released him, and my brother stood, rubbing his neck, marked by my fingers. His eyes were bloodshot, his hatred for me boiling, and his pallor even starker. At 197 years old, Caliban still hadn’t learned what we had all known from a young age: to master himself and his emotions.

"I don’t need you to teach me anything! I can have any woman I want."

"Do you think Lioara will be like the servants who bow to your whims? Many out of obligation?"

"They enjoy it, and this little bitch won’t be an exception." He straightened his jacket and smoothed his hair, puffing out his chest. "I’ll dominate her mentally. She’ll live here like the others, crawling at my feet. And I’ll make the sacrifice of giving her some attention in bed until she gets pregnant. I just hope it’s not some mangy mutt. This whole idea of crossbreeding is ridiculous! My father just wants to punish me!"

As always, Caliban thought the world revolved around him and that everyone was there to serve him. My father would never place the hopes of our clan in the hands of someone like him.

I didn’t move as he left the room, keeping him in my sights to avoid being caught off guard. My gaze returned to the photo, which seemed to stare back at me over one shoulder. I remembered her presence by the waterfall, her hair cascading, about to undress.

I doubted very much it would be easy, as my brother imagined. But in one thing he was right: this plan to mix a pure vampire with a Supreme Alpha’s daughter was madness.

We had evidence that our species was declining due to crossbreeding, interspecies unions. Nothing proved it would be any different with her, which was why my father would test it on the son he deemed weaker and unnecessary—not on our sister or me, the future leader of our clan, already promised to a pureblood.

Despite my doubts about the success of this mission, I would ensure it was carried through to the end. And once I started something, no one could stop me until it was finished. I may not have been the machine my brother accused me of being, but I was a perfectionist and determined. I fulfilled my role as a leader.

If there was any chance of a powerful being being born between a pure and a supreme, I would find out.

I kept staring at Lio Constantini, hoping she would be the piece that needed to be manipulated and controlled for our goals.