Lorelei POV

Why was he smiling at her? Why was he talking to her?

My grip tightened around the burlap sack I was collecting after the sack race while my gaze remained fixed on Kaelen from a distance, watching him smile as he spoke to Emily.

When Emily had joked earlier that she was going to try her luck by pretending to slip right in front of the Alpha King just to get his attention, I had held back a smile, knowing Kaelen would most likely ignore her given his terrifying reputation.

But to my absolute surprise, not only had he caught her when she "tripped," holding her against him for far longer than necessary, but they had actually started a conversation and had been talking and laughing for the past five minutes.

The sight made my chest clench painfully for reasons I didn’t understand.

Even when I screamed at myself to look away, my body stubbornly refused to comply. So I could only stand there and stare, a bitter taste rising in my throat as I watched the man who had just pinned me against a wall act so completely charming with someone else.

"Stressful day, isn’t it?" Darius spoke suddenly, appearing right beside me.

At last, the spell was broken. I was finally able to tear my torturous gaze away from Kaelen and look at a much warmer, more familiar figure.

"Here," Darius said, handing me a cold bottle of water.

"Thanks," I said as I took it, deeply grateful for the distraction. "How did you know I was dying for this?"

Darius chuckled softly. "I’ve been watching you. You’ve been overworking yourself more than all the other volunteers."

That made me let out a quiet sigh, knowing he was probably just trying to flatter me.

"I’ve gotten really fond of the kids, so I guess I’m just trying to do my best for them," I said as I twisted the cap open and took a long, desperate gulp of the cold liquid.

As I did, a stray drop of water escaped and dripped down the corner of my mouth. Before I could even raise the back of my hand to wipe it away, Darius pulled a crisp white handkerchief from his pocket.

"It’s clean," he said softly as he stepped closer.

He gently wiped the corner of my mouth, his touch lingering against my skin for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. Then he placed the soft fabric into my hand.

"The sun is too hot today. You should keep this. You’ll need it."

I wanted to refuse, to insist that I was perfectly fine and didn’t need to borrow his things.

But then I heard the teasing whispers from a few of the orphanage staff members watching us nearby, and an intrusive thought immediately slipped into my mind.

I knew Kaelen could see us.

My smile widened at once, becoming brighter and more animated as I tightened my grip on the cloth.

"Thank you, Darius."

His gray eyes softened at my expression, a look of genuine affection passing through them.

"Anytime."

With that, I carefully tucked the handkerchief into my pocket, feeling both the physical weight of it and the sudden, suffocating weight of a very specific burning stare from somewhere across the field.

It wasn’t the first time Darius had done something thoughtful for me, but it was the first time I had accepted it so openly and publicly, without a single shred of hesitation.

"Come on," he said, nodding toward the center of the field and breaking the moment. "There are still a few more games left before the day ends. And if I heard correctly, I think the kids are currently plotting to drag you into the tug-of-war match."

I couldn’t help laughing.

"They’re going to regret that."

"Are you sure?" Darius teased, looking me up and down.

"I’m a lot stronger than I look, Beta Darius."

Darius raised a brow in return, and a playful, devastating grin spread across his face.

"We’ll see about that, Miss Ella."

****

Hell was I so, so wrong.

I had completely underestimated the strength of these teenage wolves.

Even the younger ones possessed a natural physical power, and they certainly didn’t go easy on me just because I was a guest.

To make matters worse, my suppressed wolf didn’t help either, leaving me to rely entirely on my own unassisted strength.

More than five times, the rope jerked violently, and I was sent face-first into the unforgiving ground.

By the time the whistle finally blew, signaling the end of the match, I felt utterly humiliated.

As I pushed myself up, I realized my entire body was covered in dark mud, grass stains, and the damp remnants of my thoroughly bruised pride.

"Don’t," I said the second I got close enough to Darius.

He had been standing a few yards away the entire time, quietly chuckling into his hand, and he was just opening his mouth to speak.

"I wasn’t going to say anything," he claimed, though he was barely suppressing the massive grin spreading across his face.

"You were definitely going to say something."

"I was going to say you put up a really good fight."

"I lost. Spectacularly," I corrected, shaking my head as I tried to brush wet dirt from my arms.

"But you got back up every single time." The teasing expression on his face softened. "You did good, Ella."

I winced as I pulled a heavy clump of mud off my shoulder. "There’s absolutely no reason to lie to me. Not when I’m literally covered in dirt and half the children are currently laughing at me."

"They’re not laughing at you," he countered gently, glancing out across the crowded field. "They’re laughing with you."

"I don’t think they’re laughing with me," I said with a heavy, defeated sigh. "I really need to go change."

Darius nodded in understanding. "Go ahead. The next game on the schedule is capture the flag. If you join my team, maybe I can help you make up for your earlier spectacular loss."

This time, a genuine chuckle slipped past my lips. "I should hurry, then."

With that, I turned on my heel and sprinted toward the main building, heading straight for my guest room to take a lightning-fast shower.

I washed the mud from my skin, threw on a fresh set of clean clothes, and hurried back downstairs. I stepped outside just in time to see the teams actively being formed on the grass for the next match.

"Hey, miss!"

A female voice called out, stopping me in my tracks before I could make my way back to Darius.

I turned to see a young girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes waving me over from the edge of the canopy.

My brows furrowed in confusion, but I changed direction and walked over to her anyway.

"You’re Ella, right?" she asked, looking me up and down.

"Yeah," I replied a little awkwardly, keeping my hands tucked into my pockets.

Judging by the way she was dressed, she was an orphan too. Definitely one of the older teenagers.

"How can I help you?"

The girl immediately lowered her head shyly. A deep crimson blush spread across her cheeks as she pulled a neatly sealed white envelope from the pocket of her denim jacket.

"Can you... can you please help me give this to the Alpha King?"

My eyes widened slightly.

"What is this?"

After all, this was the Alpha King she was talking about.

The terrifying Alpha King.

You didn’t just go around handing random objects to the ruler of the empire because you felt like it.

And honestly, it wasn’t helping my mood that he’d spent most of today actively avoiding me while somehow still finding time to be perfectly charming and carry on conversations with another woman.

Damn it.

A sudden knot formed in my stomach.

Why do I feel like I’ve been used and then disposed of again?

"Don’t open it!"

The girl suddenly raised her voice just as I tilted the envelope in my hand, trying to get a better look at it.

I flinched slightly at the outburst, my brows drawing together even tighter.

"What exactly is this?" I asked again, my voice firmer this time.

The teenage girl let out a dramatic sigh and nervously twirled a strand of blonde hair around her index finger.

"Well..." she murmured, glancing around to make sure nobody else was listening. "If you must know..."

She leaned in slightly.

"It’s a love letter."