A standing ovation for Jennifer Mckern. Thank you so much for all your Golden Tickets this month. I really appreciate you. 💛

......

Torak frowned lightly when he heard the knock against his chamber door.

The knock was heavy enough to irritate him, so he didn’t bother with the scent of whoever was there.

He let out a tired exhale through his nose and dragged a hand through his sandy coloured hair.

"Come in," he permitted with a low grunt. He didn’t even bother turning around. "You can make the bed and leave."

His chamber was dimly lit by the fire near the far wall. Most of the room remained shadowed.

Torak stood near the edge of the table loosening the final button of his shirt.

His body ached from everything that had been going on. A war was quietly breathing against the kingdom’s neck.

He removed his shirt completely and tossed it carelessly over the chair nearby. The last thing he wanted tonight was company.

The chamber door opened softly behind him.

He expected one of the servants.

Instead, slow feminine footsteps entered the room. Torak’s jaw tightened faintly before he even turned. Now, he knew who it was.

The woman shut the door behind her carefully.

She was beautiful.

Curvy in a way that immediately drew attention with full hips, and soft thighs beneath her sheer dark fabric. Gold jewelry rested loosely against warm skin.

Her gaze settled on Torak instantly like a vixen spotting a prey she already knew belonged beneath her hands.

"You’re alive," she said lazily.

Torak turned away immediately.

"You haven’t sent for me in months." She walked toward him slowly. "I was beginning to think you were dead."

Torak ignored the teasing in her voice.

He crossed toward the large chest near the wall instead and bent slightly to retrieve another shirt.

The woman followed him anyway. That was usually how this went.

Her fingers brushed lightly against the muscles of his bare back from behind. Her touch was slowly and testing.

Torak moved away from her immediately before her nails could drag lower.

"I said make the bed and leave." He reminded firmly.

The woman stopped. Actual surprise crossed her face briefly.

"Are you alright?"

Torak grabbed another shirt from the chest carelessly. "Fine."

He wasn’t.

Not remotely. Every report from the eastern territories sat like poison inside his skull.

The images refused to leave him, and so does the image of a proud arrogant lady.

Torak shoved one arm into his shirt roughly.

The woman stared at him openly now. "You’ve never sent me away before." She pressed on.

Torak buttoned his sleeve without looking at her. "There’s a first time for everything."

The woman frowned slightly, then recovered quickly. She walked toward him again anyway. "You’re tense."

He gave her no response.

Her hand slid toward his chest this time.

Torak caught her wrist immediately before she could touch him fully.

His green eyes finally lifted toward hers. "Tonight is not the night." He told her, his voice cold and firm.

The woman blinked.

For the first time since entering the room, uncertainty flickered through her expression.

Torak released her wrist carefully and stepped away again.

The woman stared at him.

Normally, by now, he would already have her against the wall, or on the bed, or bent over the table.

Torak had never been a man who denied himself pleasures he wanted. That was precisely why this felt strange to her.

The woman crossed her arms slowly beneath her chest. "Duties has made you dull?"

Torak almost scoffed.

If only she knew.

He picked up his discarded shirt from the chair and tossed it aside again in irritation. Nothing in the room felt right tonight, and nothing inside him felt settled either.

The woman watched him carefully now. She tilted her head slightly. "There’s someone else." she acknowledged.

It wasn’t a question.

Torak’s expression hardened immediately. "No."

His answer came too quickly for the woman to take his words for it. Women like her always noticed.

She moved closer again, slower this time. "Then why are you looking at me like touching me irritates you?"

Torak exhaled heavily through his nose. Lately every physical thing felt empty. Adele’s face had started appearing in moments where he least expected it.

Also, he no longer wanted meaningless distractions touching him while the kingdom quietly rotted around them.

Torak grabbed a handful of coins from the chest instead.

The woman frowned slightly when he held them toward her.

"You’re a beautiful lady," Torak said flatly. "Here."

Her eyes lowered toward the coins.

"Find yourself someone better."

That time, she looked genuinely offended.

Her gaze lifted slowly back toward his. "Beta Torak..."

"Just take it and leave." His voice stayed calm, but final now. "I need to be alone."

The woman studied him for another long moment, trying to understand what had changed.

Trying to understand why a man who once touched her like hunger now looked at her like an inconvenience.

She believed they’ll be together until he finds his mate.

Finally, she took the coins slowly.

Torak let out a quiet breath of relief internally.

The woman turned slightly toward the door, and just then, another knock interrupted the room.

It was three sharp urgent knocks this time.

Torak frowned immediately.

The woman rolled her eyes softly. "Your servants have terrible timing."

Torak crossed toward the door himself.

The moment he opened it, Tabitha stood there.

Adele’s maid.

Her eyes immediately flicked past Torak, and toward the woman inside his chamber. Then back toward him again.

Accusation flashed openly across her face, followed immediately by colder disappointment.

Torak’s jaw tightened faintly. He could see what she was thinking through her eyes.

The woman behind him noticed the tension instantly. To her, it looked interesting.

Tabitha said nothing at first.

Her gaze lingered on Torak another second too long.

Torak turned fully toward her. "What happened?"

Tabitha blinked slightly as if remembering why she came.

"Alpha Blackfen sent for you."

Torak froze. Shock barely described what crossed his face.

His entire posture straightened instantly. "What?"

Tabitha swallowed. "He requested your presence immediately."

Torak stared at her.

Alpha Blackfen?

Sent for him?

Personally?

At this hour?

Behind him, the woman suddenly spoke.

"Oh." Realization flashed across her face slowly. "Right."

Torak frowned.

The woman tilted her head thoughtfully. "I’ve been wondering why Lady Blackfen visited your chambers that night months ago. It was such an ungodly hour for a lady of her class."

Tabitha’s face lost color instantly.

Torak’s expression darkened. He remembered that night. Adele was standing at the doorway, watching him with two other women tangled beneath the sheets.

Torak shut his eyes briefly.

That memory remained one of the few things capable of making genuine irritation crawl beneath his skin.

Not because he owed explanations, but because he still remembered the way Adele had looked at him afterward.

She had expected nothing better.

The woman behind him laughed softly under her breath.

"Well." She shrugged lightly. "That explains enough."

Tabitha looked horrified now.

Torak ignored both women completely.

He looked directly at Tabitha again. "Where is Alpha Blackfen?"

Tabitha straightened quickly. "Western wing in thecprivate chambers."

Torak moved instantly.

He grabbed the dark coat near the chair and shoved his arms into it while striding past them both.

The woman stared after him, and amusement slowly replaced the earlier offense in her face.

Interesting indeed.

Tabitha stepped aside quickly as Torak exited the chamber.

Then suddenly, he stopped, turned slightly, and looked toward the woman one final time.

"Lock the door when you leave." He walked away without another word, already gone.

Behind him, the woman looked toward Tabitha slowly.

Tabitha glared back immediately.

The woman smirked faintly. "Relax. Your lady has nothing to worry about." she shrugged her shoulders lightly. "Well, she should cause no harm to my master."

Tabitha’s expression somehow worsened, then she quickly hurried after Torak down the corridor.