Lorelei POV

My back was pressed against the cool wood as my face burned and my heart pounded in embarrassment.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Why me? Why me?

"I’m sorry!" came Darius’s muffled voice from the other side of the bedroom door. "I didn’t mean to!"

But that only made me even more embarrassed as I pressed my forehead against the bathroom doorframe, silently cursing life once again for setting me up. Just when I had finally managed to clear my head, even if only a little, this had to happen.

Taking a deep breath, I yelled through the door, "Don’t come in yet!"

"I won’t!" he called back.

Feeling a little reassured that he was staying out of sight, I reluctantly pushed the bathroom door open and stepped out. Quickly, I reached for the towel hanging from the hook and wrapped it securely around myself. Then I grabbed my dress and pulled it over my head, ignoring how wet my skin and hair still were as the damp fabric clung uncomfortably to me.

"Okay," I said, my voice coming out shaky. "You can... you can come in now."

For the first few seconds, nothing happened, as though he was hesitant to take another step. But slowly, the bedroom door creaked open, and Darius stood in the doorway with his gray eyes fixed firmly and respectfully on the floor.

"I bought you some clothes," he said.

Only then did I notice the large shopping bag in his hand and the five more filled to the brim sitting on the floor just behind him.

"Ah..." I breathed, completely caught off guard.

But thinking back to our conversation in the courtyard, it all clicked into place. No wonder he had asked for my measurements.

"Thank you so much, Beta Darius," I said, offering him a deep bow, only to remain in that position for a beat too long as my mind scrambled, not knowing what else to do or say.

"Can I come in, or...?" Darius spoke up, gesturing slightly toward the room.

Even though a part of me really didn’t want him to come inside since it was already so late, I had no idea how to refuse him. He was the Beta, and after going out of his way to get me so many things, it would seem incredibly rude to turn him away at the door.

Reluctantly, I gave a small nod. "Yes, of course."

The moment he stepped inside, I hurried over to grab the remaining bags he had left in the hallway. I struggled a little under their weight, shuffling quickly across the room before setting them down on the floor behind my bed.

Once I had finally set the last bag down, I became painfully aware of the awkward, suffocating distance stretched between the two of us as we stood there in total silence.

Even with my head lowered, I could still feel the sheer effort Darius was putting into not staring at me, especially with my damp hair clinging together and the wet fabric of my dress pressed against my skin.

"I apologize once again for barging in like that," he finally said, rubbing the back of his neck as he found his voice. "As the Beta, I’ve gotten so used to entering rooms without knocking. It’s a bad habit I seriously need to break."

"It’s fine," I said quickly.

And it really was.

After all, this wasn’t the first time I’d been seen naked by other men. Back in my old pack, if I wasn’t being stripped down to be punished, I was being stripped and humiliated by the other maids who bullied me.

As embarrassing as what had just happened was, it still wasn’t the worst thing I’d endured, and I knew I would probably be over it by the time I woke up tomorrow.

"You didn’t know," I added softly.

"Still," he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I should have knocked."

You definitely should have, I thought.

But instead of saying it out loud, I simply nodded, not entirely trusting my voice.

Another long, heavy silence stretched between us before I finally spoke to break it.

"Thank you once again for the clothes. I really do appreciate them."

"You haven’t even taken a look yet," he said, a small, slightly awkward smile playing on his lips. "I’d really like it if you took a look."

Finally, I lifted my head and met his expectant gaze.

Unlike the Alpha King, Darius seemed far gentler and carried a much more welcoming presence. Even though his gray eyes were cold and his scent was still intimidating, none of our interactions so far had felt threatening.

I knew that in a place like this, anything could be a trap. But when you’ve been dragged through hell and back as many times as I had, you tend to cling desperately to even the smallest bit of warmth when you find it.

"Okay," I said, offering him a small but genuine smile.

Soon, I was seated on the edge of the bed while Darius remained standing at a respectful distance, his arms crossed over his chest as he quietly watched me begin unboxing everything he had bought for me.

One by one, I pulled the clothes out of the bags. There were simple dresses, casual jeans, comfortable sweatpants, cute tops, and even a few softer-looking sweaters neatly folded underneath.

He really did have incredibly good taste.

My fingers paused on a particularly beautiful lavender top, and before I even realized it, my lips curved into a real smile.

"Do you like it?" Darius asked almost immediately, catching that tiny reaction without missing a beat.

I nodded, gently running my fingers over the soft fabric.

It had been such a long time since I’d held something brand new that belonged entirely to me. Something chosen not because it was a dull uniform or something handed down out of convenience, but because someone had actually wanted me to have it.

"I love it," I admitted, my voice softening. "The color is beautiful. Thank you, Beta."

But the next second, my expression fell. Almost immediately, the air around us grew noticeably colder.

When I looked back up at Darius, I saw that his entire posture had gone rigid. His arms dropped to his sides as his gaze locked onto mine.

"Why do you look so down?" he asked.

His voice came out strained, sounding exactly like a man desperately holding himself back.

But holding himself back from what?

Before I could even think of a lie to brush it off, he spoke again, the question cutting straight through the quiet room.

"What did the Alpha say to you?"

My eyes widened in shock.

"How do you know it was the Alpha...?" I stammered, my heart leaping into my throat as I tried my best to choose my words carefully. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

After all, no matter how kind he was being right now, he was still the Beta. His loyalty would always lie with the Alpha King first.

"Well..." Darius said, taking a deliberate step forward until he was standing right at the edge of the bed, looming over the scattered clothes. "He does have a loud mouth."

Now that... that was something I absolutely did not expect him to say.