Elizabeth smiled, a light and untroubled laugh escaping her lips.
— Distraction? Hmm, let me see.
She looked at him through half-lowered lashes.
— Well… perhaps. But…
She withdrew her hands, placing them behind her back, allowing her body to incline slightly forward.
— Hmm… it may be a distraction, but an Alpha must know how to handle the attentions his she-wolf bestows upon him.
She passed beside him, her perfume enveloping him.
— Astrid can tend to Dandara, and you may focus on your soldiers… and perhaps I shall take you for a walk by the waterfall…
She murmured near his ear, her cheeks flushing.
— The flowers there are enchanting.
She turned just enough to look at him over her shoulder.
Her whisper ran down Theodor's spine like a surge of lightning, dismantling whatever military composure he still attempted to preserve before his pack.
When he saw her blush — that rare, hypnotic Lycan flush — he felt he could surrender command of every territory he ruled just to see that smile again.
He followed her with his gaze, ignoring Dandara's faint murmur of resentment in the background.
— The waterfall? — he repeated, his voice dropping an octave, laden with anticipation that had little to do with flowers. — I know every inch of those waters… yet I suspect that with you there, the place will feel entirely new.
Meanwhile, Astrid approached Dandara with cool efficiency, extending her arm.
— Come, Miss Dandara. The future Luna was quite clear regarding your need for rest. I shall escort you to the healers for the herbs. We would not wish your "fragility" to worsen beneath so much sun, would we?
Dandara gripped her cane so tightly her knuckles whitened. She stared at Elizabeth's retreating back, hatred flickering behind false tears. She had been dismissed like a sick child before warriors who once admired her.
Elizabeth did not turn. A queen does not look back to see whether the insect she crushed is still twitching.
Theodor stepped closer to Elizabeth again, lowering his voice so only she could hear, while the soldiers resumed their training, still murmuring about their Alpha's fortune.
— You have me in the palm of your hand, Elizabeth. And the worst part… is that I have no desire to escape. Go prepare for our walk. I will end this training in record time. Sofia truly knows how to unchain a wolf.
He smiled — the smile of a predator who had finally found something worthy of pursuit.
Elizabeth regarded him with eyes genuinely surprised, not feigned, at his promise.
— Well… you have that aura again.
She said softly, hiding a small smile.
— You are dangerous when it comes to indulgence, you know?
She turned, her long dress swirling.
— I suppose I shall swim, then. I will wear bathing clothes.
She announced shyly, tracing her index finger along the loose threads of his shirt, brushing against his warm, sweat-dampened skin.
— First, I must give Father my attention. He is returning home soon, and I must ensure he departs pleased.
She smiled as she left him with bristling skin and a restless wolf, inhaling the jasmine and mint laced through Safira's pheromones. A wolf usually cold, yet any daring Elizabeth displayed was merely Safira reminding her mate: he might be the Alpha — but she commanded the game.
Theodor felt her touch upon his chest like a brand of fire. The contrast between Elizabeth's apparent shyness and Safira's bold trail of pheromones was intoxicating. He stood still, watching her depart, feeling like a wolf snared by invisible silk.
— Cursed she-wolf… you know exactly what you are doing, — he muttered to himself, a smile of pleasurable defeat curving his lips as her dress spun away.
A Subtle Confrontation in the Corridors
As Elizabeth made her way toward her father's chambers, she took the eastern corridor where sunlight filtered through ancient stained glass. She was not alone.
Dandara, having slipped away from Astrid under the pretense of "knowing the way better than anyone," leaned against a column. The cane rested at her side, her eyes burning with resentment no longer concealed.
When she saw Elizabeth, she did not feign a stumble this time. She straightened, "fragility" dissolving into cutting malice.
— You believe you have won, do you not? With your herbs, your charity, and that saintly air of the Valley, — Dandara hissed, keeping her voice low enough to avoid the guards. — I have known Theodor since we were pups. I have seen every scar he carries. I comforted him through every loss. You are nothing but an alliance contract — a cold-blooded Lycan he desires for power. When desire fades, Elizabeth… I am the one he will seek when he needs rest. He always returns to what is familiar.
She stepped closer, attempting to use her height as intimidation, though Elizabeth's aura rendered the effort pitiful.
— Do not imagine that a swim at the waterfall will erase ten years of shared history. You may be the Luna… but I am the woman he truly knows.