Lorelei POV

I stared at him, completely stunned, and he just stared right back at me.

"You know what he said to me?" I asked carefully, already assuming Kaelen had recounted every cruel word.

"I can guess," Darius replied, his jaw tightening as he closed the remaining distance between us until he was standing directly in front of me. "He lashes out when he’s angry. And he’s been angry all day. Mostly at himself."

"At himself?" I repeated, looking up at him in bewilderment.

Darius nodded.

"Don’t let his cold personality fool you. He is terrible at handling his own emotions, so he takes them out on whoever happens to be closest. Don’t take it personally."

My fists clenched tightly at my sides, my short nails biting into my palms as a sharp wave of anger washed over the lingering hurt.

"How can I not take it personally?" I demanded, my voice trembling under the weight of everything I had been holding in. "He told me I was only good for..."

I bit my lip, stopping myself before the humiliating words could fully leave my mouth.

Then I took a shaky breath, forcing my defensive walls right back into place as I looked at the pile of expensive clothes and then up at the man who had bought them.

"Why do you even care anyway?" I asked, my tone turning guarded. "Why are you being so nice to me? Do you also want something from me?"

That made him raise a brow, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his gray eyes.

"What makes you think that?"

I let out a heavy, bitter sigh and looked away from him.

"That’s how it has always been. No one gives without asking for something in return."

That was quite literally the truest lesson life had ever taught me.

"You are right," he said smoothly. "I do want something from you." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The moment those words left his mouth, my throat went dry and my fists clenched even tighter.

Even though a cynical part of me had fully expected this, it still made me feel like complete shit.

I couldn’t even get the decency of receiving a few nice clothes without immediately having to wonder how I was supposed to pay the debt back. Whether it would cost me my body, my safety, or something else entirely.

"What is it?" I asked, bracing myself for his request as I forced my chin up, refusing to let him see how small I suddenly felt.

"I want us to be friends," he said.

My breath hitched instantly.

"What?"

I blinked at him in complete confusion, my mind spinning as I continued waiting for the real catch to drop.

But Darius only let out a heavy sigh and ran a frustrated hand through his dark hair. For the first time since entering the room, some of the rigid military tension left his posture.

"Spending all my days with the Alpha King has become very exhausting," he admitted, twisting his mouth to the side. "You know, we actually grew up together long before he ever became the Alpha King."

I didn’t know that.

"Because of who we are, we already have a pretty terrifying reputation across the territories, so everyone we meet is always trying to get something from us," he continued, then walked over to the chair in the corner of the room, pulled it out, and took a seat.

"But you..." He leaned forward slightly, his sharp gray eyes locking onto mine with genuine curiosity. "You seem interesting."

I studied him for a long, quiet moment, trying my absolute best to find even a single crack in his words or a tremor in his voice.

The Beta of an entire werewolf empire wanted to be casual friends with a broken, uneducated maid?

It didn’t seem very believable at all.

"So you just want to be friends," I repeated slowly, letting the word friends sit heavy and unfamiliar on my tongue.

"Yes."

"And that’s all?"

"That’s all," he replied, his expression completely open.

I stared at him, still waiting for the hidden trap to snap shut around me.

"But there is a catch," he added suddenly, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

My eyes widened.

Aha.

There it was.

I knew I wasn’t crazy.

"You have to drop the formalities," he said, his smirk widening as he took in my expression. "No more ’Beta Darius’ or bowing like I’m about to chop your head off. Just Darius."

"Really?" I asked, cautiously raising a brow as I tried to figure out whether he was actually serious or not.

"Yeah," he replied, leaning back in the chair. "And if you ever get bored, we can spend time together. I could even show you around and take you out of this estate once in a while."

Wow.

I stared at him, completely speechless.

The idea of escaping the suffocating walls of this estate, even if it was only for a little while, sounded entirely too good to be true.

"So, what do you say?" he asked after I had gone quiet for too long, just staring at him as though he had grown a second head.

"Ah..." I blinked, gently biting my lower lip as my mind raced through the possibilities.

Honestly, I did get incredibly bored with only my darkest thoughts for company, and this was only day two.

Plus, if the rest of the servants and guards saw me spending time with the Beta, it would probably mean a lot less trouble for me.

Slowly, the tension drained from my shoulders, and my lips curled into a small smile.

"I would like that... Darius."

****

The next morning, after breakfast, I changed into one of the dresses Darius had gotten me.

A soft sage-green one that fell just above my knees, with delicate lace sleeves.

It was simple but elegant, nothing like the gray uniforms I had worn for so long.

In the process of searching through the bags, I realized he had gotten me even more than I had noticed last night.

Footwear.

Earrings.

Even hair care products.

How had he known to get all of this?

I applied one of the products to my hair and carefully brushed through the tangles.

For once, Jaxen had been right. My hair had grown past my shoulders now, and for the first time in weeks, it no longer looked messy.

The strands fell in soft waves around my face.

I stared at my reflection in the small mirror.

With the dress, the healed bruises, and the soft glow that had slowly returned to my skin, I almost looked like...

I swallowed hard, and my lips twitched at the thought.

But it was the truth.

I almost looked like Callista.

A sudden knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts, and I let out a long, shaky breath.

I crossed the small room and opened it to find the same guard, whose name I now knew was Paul, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Good morning, Miss Ella," he greeted.

Miss.

That felt strange.

"Good morning," I replied, sounding just as awkward.

He cleared his throat and shifted his weight slightly beneath my gaze. "I have been instructed by the Alpha to fetch you."

The moment those words left his mouth, a violent shiver ran down my spine, freezing the breath in my lungs.