Alpha's Dark Desires-Chapter 117: Deluded Ashley

Elena’s POV:

After Kane got the tattoo, we decided to go out for dinner, determined to set aside all our issues, if only for a night. It was nice to just be—to laugh, eat, and pretend our lives weren’t this chaotic mess of drama. For those few hours, it was just us, a couple enjoying an evening without the weight of the world pressing down on our shoulders.

But the thought of the mate mark lingered in the back of my mind. I know it was selfish of me to not let Kane mark me, but I wasn’t ready to take that monumental step when our relationship was still so delicate, so precarious. It’s not that I’m half-hearted about us—it’s just...

I’ve always dreamed of love being this gradual, romantic journey, something that grows over time into an unshakeable bond. But my relationship with Kane? It started on the rockiest of roads. From hating him for most of my childhood to realizing he had these dark fantasies—BDSM contracts with Ashley, no less—it was a whirlwind of revelations that I didn’t know how to process.

And just as I started coming to terms with all of that, I discovered the existence of Dean—his vampire side, his other personality, who also claims to be my mate. The sheer madness of it all is overwhelming.

Adding a mate mark on top of all that chaos feels less like a declaration of love and more like rushing into something I’m not ready for. To me, it would be like jumping into bed with a guy on the first date—a move I’ve never been comfortable with.

Kane has been patient, though. He hasn’t pushed or pressured me about the mark, and I appreciate that more than I can say. But I know this can’t be a permanent pause. At some point, I’ll have to decide where I stand—with him, with Dean, with this entire twisted reality I’ve stumbled into. But tonight? Tonight was about us, and I wasn’t going to let anything else intrude on that.

It was a beautiful delusion, this fragile dream we wrapped around ourselves, as if the world outside didn’t exist. For a few precious hours, we let the weight of reality fade into the background, pretending the chaos wasn’t just waiting for us to step back into it.

Over dinner, Kane was just Kane—not the Alpha, not the man fighting the shadows of his past or the vampire tethered to him in the strangest of ways. He laughed freely, his eyes lighting up in a way I’d rarely seen. And I allowed myself to bask in the warmth of it, to believe, if only briefly, that this was how things could always be.

But deep down, I knew better.

This wasn’t real. Not the ease between us, not the lighthearted smiles or the way we felt like a normal couple on a simple date. It was a fleeting moment of calm, a mirage that couldn’t withstand the storms waiting for us back home.

Because the truth was, we were living in a house of cards, each piece carefully balanced but trembling with every breath we took. One wrong move, one gust of wind, and it would all come crashing down.

The mate mark, Dean’s claim, the endless battles—none of that had disappeared. It was still there, lurking in the corners of my mind, waiting to remind me just how far from normal this all was.

But tonight, under the soft glow of the restaurant lights and Kane’s rare smile, I let myself indulge in the fantasy. Because sometimes, even a beautiful delusion is better than facing the cold, hard truth.

I should have stayed at the table. Should have ignored the creeping discomfort that came with leaving Kane alone, even for a moment. If I’d known stepping into that restroom would unravel the fragile peace of the night, I never would have gone.

But there she was.

Ashley. Of all people, washing her hands like she didn’t have a care in the world. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw me, her smirk sharper than the dagger she was twisting in my night.

"I knew you wouldn’t be able to satisfy the Alpha. That’s why he keeps coming to me," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.

I froze for a second. Not because I was angry—no, that emotion didn’t even surface—but because of the absurdity of it. I knew exactly who she was talking about, and it wasn’t Kane.

Dean.

Ashley, in her deluded little bubble, had no idea she’d been bedding the monster instead of the man. And I wasn’t about to enlighten her. Why shatter her fantasy? Let her believe she was so irresistible that Kane, the Alpha, couldn’t resist sneaking off to be with her.

She kept going, her words more a performance for herself than anything else.

"Looks like you’ve been starving him," she said with a sly smile, "but don’t worry—I’ll continue to take care of him for you."

I didn’t respond. I didn’t flinch, didn’t let her see even a flicker of emotion cross my face. If she was expecting a reaction, she wasn’t going to get one. Instead, I calmly washed my hands and walked out, leaving her to bask in her delusion.

But as I returned to the table, the weight of what she’d said settled on me. It wasn’t her I was worried about—it was the whispers, the rumors. People wouldn’t know it was Dean, wouldn’t understand the truth.

They’d think Kane was cheating.

And that thought hit me harder than I cared to admit.

I wondered if the pack knew about Dean’s existence, the full truth of it—not just as Kane’s so-called "naughty twin," but as the dangerous, vampire half of him. I had to ask. And I had to tell Kane about how his lunatic other half was out there ruining his name.

When I returned to the table, Kane immediately noticed my change in mood. His sharp eyes scanned my face, concern etched into his features.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice low but tense.

I sighed, debating how to phrase it. "I ran into Ashley."

His expression darkened instantly. "What did she say?"

I told him everything—the taunts, the sly remarks, her deluded belief that he was sneaking off to be with her. His jaw clenched tighter with every word, his fists curling on the table.

"That lying—"

"Kane," I interrupted, placing my hand on his. "Let it go. Let her believe whatever she wants to believe. By the end of the next two weeks, her three-month contract will be over. She’ll think you’ve fulfilled your ’obligation,’ and she won’t have a reason to sue you or tarnish your name."

He took a deep breath, his shoulders dropping slightly. "You’re not wrong," he admitted grudgingly. "But it still infuriates me that she’s spreading lies."

"I know," I said softly. "But we have bigger problems right now. Like Dean."

His head snapped up, his expression shifting. "What about him?"

"I was wondering," I began carefully, "how much does the pack know about him? Do they even know he exists?"

Kane leaned back, running a hand through his hair. "It depends on who you ask," he said after a moment. "The older members, the ones who’ve been with the pack for decades, they know. My age mates know, too, and maybe some of the younger wolves. But the newer members? The current younger generation? They have no idea."

I frowned. "And the ones who do know—do they know the full truth? That he’s not just your ’twin,’ but a vampire? Your vampire side?"

He hesitated, his gaze turning distant. "Not all of them," he admitted. "The older wolves know he’s a vampire. They lived through the chaos he caused before I learned to block him out. But for most of the pack, he’s just...my twin with a bad attitude."

I stared at him, processing that. "So you’re saying a good half, maybe three-quarters of the pack, doesn’t know the truth about him?"

"More or less," Kane said. "To them, he’s my mischievous, wild twin brother. They don’t know he’s my darker half. Or that killing him would kill me, too."

That last part hit me harder than I expected. I leaned back in my seat, my mind racing. How could we possibly protect the pack from Dean—or Dean from the pack—when so many of them didn’t even understand what they were dealing with?

"And Dean?" I asked softly. "What does he think about all of this? Does he even care about the pack?"

Kane’s lips curled into a humorless smile. "Dean only cares about one thing—chaos. The pack means nothing to him."

I exhaled heavily, feeling the weight of the situation settle over me again.

Something had to be done. But what?

Kane took hold of my hand, his warm touch grounding me as I felt the storm of thoughts swirling in my mind. "Let’s forget about him for tonight," he said, his voice soft yet commanding. His thumb brushed over my knuckles, sending a shiver up my spine. "Tonight, it’s just me and you. Let’s enjoy the night."

He leaned in slightly, his lips tugging into a mischievous grin, the kind that always made my heart skip a beat. "Tomorrow, we’ll deal with Dean," he added, his eyes sparkling with a promise that felt both comforting and dangerous.

Then, with that signature wink of his, " We still got the naughty book to finish" he dropped a playful innuendo so effortlessly that it caught me off guard. Heat rushed to my cheeks as his grin grew wider, clearly reveling in the effect he had on me.

"Kane," I started, feigning exasperation as I tried to suppress a smile.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"You know exactly what," I muttered, but I couldn’t hold back a small laugh as he stood, pulling me to my feet with him.

His hand slipped to my waist, and the intensity in his gaze softened as he looked down at me. "Tonight is ours, Elena," he murmured, his voice dropping to a tone that was both tender and resolute. "No worries, no rogues, no vampires—just us."

I nodded, letting him guide me out of the restaurant and into the crisp night air. For the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself believe that, even if it was just for a few hours, we could have peace.

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