hapter 40

Nyssa pov

My father was livid- I could see it in the way his eyes locked onto mine, his grip tightening around the fork in his hand.

But he said nothing, not aloud at least. Not with the Lycan King seated only a few feet away.

I figured he didn’t want to cause a scene in front of him- didn’t want to give the King yet another reason to reject me.

But that didn’t stop his voice from ringing sharply through the mindlink.

“Are you serious, Nyssa?! What are you wearing? Why is your waist exposed? Where are your dresses? Didn’t you go shopping yesterday? Why didn’t you buy proper clothes instead of that… that thing you’re wearing?b” /b

I didn’t bother responding. Instead, I calmly sliced a piece of waffle and took a bite, savoring the warm, buttery vor. Then I gave a thumbs up to the chef standing stiffly behind my father. He cleared his throat and bowed his head awkwardly.

Turning to Serene, seated beside me, I reached over and ced another piece of waffle onto her te with a bright grin.

“Eat this too. It’s really good,” I said.

Serene lowered her gaze in submission, but her voice still found its way to me in a whisper.

“Miss, why would you wear-”

Before she could finish, I leaned away and took another slow, deliberate bite.

“L- Look at this girl. How dare you ignore me—”

I cut off the mindlink, reached for my ss of milk, and took a long, unbothered sip, the corner of my lips curling into a smirk as my father continued to re daggers at me.

But as I ced the ss back down, a small frown tugged at my brow when I shot a quick nce at Darius- only to find him still staring at me without touching his food.

Why was he staring so much? Hadn’t he eaten? Since the day he arrived at the pack, I hadn’t seen him take a single bite. Even though werewolves could go a day or two without food, he had been here for a week now especially if I included the time I

was in aa. That wasn’t normal.

“Ahem… here, happy birthday, kid.”

Cassian’s voice cleared the silence, drawing everyone’s attention to him. I turned just in time to see him pull a small box from his pocket, holding it out to Serene, who blinked at him in confusion.

But I smiled.

I guess the king’s pack members weren’t so bad after all.

Serene had only mentioned in passing yesterday that today was her birthday, and Cassian had remembered. He even got her something. That wasb… /bsurprisingly sweet.

Serene seemed to realize then that Darius had gotten her a birthday gift, her cheeks flushing a soft pink as she looked at me, unsure whether to ept it.

I smiled and gave her a small nod, urging her to take it. Still hesitant, she turned to my father instead, silently asking for his

permission. bDespite /bhis obvious irritation, he managed ba /bsmile and bgave /bher a nod as well.

Blushing, Serene lowered her head slightly and epted the gift from Darius’s outstretched hands.

T–thank you, Sir Darius, for the gift,” she bsaid /bshyly.

Darius waved a hand nonchntly but bwore /bba /bsmug grin.

“Don’t thank me. It’s nothing,” he replied, though he bclearly /bpuffed up with pride.

b“/bbAhem/b.”

This time it bwas /bmy father clearing his throat. We ball /bturned bas /bhe stretched out a hand. A maid stepped forwardb, /bcarrying a neatly wrapped box. She handed it to bSerene/bb, /bwhose eyes widened in surprise. She turned to my father, who gave her a soft smile.

“Happy birthday, kid. You’ve grown up well. Your mother would be proud.”

bHer /beyes instantly welled up with btears/b, and she bowed her head deeply.

“Thank youb, /bAlpha,b” /bshe whispered, her voice cracking.

bI /bcouldn’t help but grin at my father, though he just rolled his eyes and looked away. Still, I was too happy to care, happy to

bsee /bSerene smile.

Serene was the daughter of my nanny, who had died during childbirth. She had grown up by my side ever since. Everyone in the pack loved her for her kindness, and my father had always been especially fond of her, having entrusted me to her

care.

I remembered in myst life, she never even got to celebrate her birthday- not because she couldn’t, but because I had forgotten. I was too focused on trying to please Kieran.

“Happy birthday, kid,” both Calen and Benjamin said at the same time, and Benjamin reached out to ce a gift in Serene’s hands. She gave them both a bright, grateful smile.

Calen and Benjamin exchanged a knowing look with matching grins.

Ohb, /band did I forget to mention? They were mates.

Yesb, /bfather’s beta and gamma were mates and they were really adorable together.

“T–Thank you,” she whispered, clutching the gifts with a soft smile. I gave a small nod and tapped her shoulder gently, murmuring for her not to cry, then turned toward Drake, who sat beside Benjamin.

Without a word, I subtly gestured toward Serene with a tilt of my head, signaling for him to give her his gift.

Drake blinked in confusion, then scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He leaned toward Cassian and whispered under his breath, “Why didn’t you tell me, Beta Cassian, to bring a gift?”

Cassian only shrugged, sipping his juice with a smug grin. “I forgot,” he replied nonchntly.

Drake let out a quiet sigh before facing Serene with a polite, if sheepish, smile.

b“/bHappy birthday,” he said. “I apologize- I didn’t bring a gift, but I promise I’ll make it up to youter.”

Serene shook her head, about to object, but I swiftly nudged her leg under the table, silencing her.

bChapter /bb10 /b

bOf /bbcourse/b,” bI /bbsaid /bwith ba /bpolite smile. “Thank you, bwe’ll /bbbe /bbexpecting /bit.”

bJust /bas bI /bturned bto /bbspeak /bto Zaynb, /bbhe /bbeat me to it and held a potion like substance toward Serene.

b“/bbHappy /bbirthday. I didn’t know today was your birthday, bso /bplease bept /bbthis/bb,” /bhe said, his tone bcalm /bbas /bever. b“/bIt’s ba /bpotion I crafted myself. bUse /bit bonce /ba day, and your skin will bbe /bsmoother- byou’ll /bbe even more beautiful than you balready /bbare/bb./bb” /b

Serene blinked in confusionb, /bstaring at the item in bhis /bhandb, /bbut I quickly nudged her bagain/b, urging her bto /btake it.

Oh my goddessb. /bA potion made by Zayn himself? The best doctor in the entire world?

This bwas /bmore precious than gold. I’d heard of it before- how countless people, both men and womenb, /bhad tried to get their hands on it. They offered goldb, /bsilver, and bevery /bluxury imaginableb, /bbut Zayn had always refused. Rumor had it he simply couldn’t bbe /bbothered; he didn’t bcare /bwhat they offered.

And nowb… /bhe bwas /bgiving it to Serene?

This wasn’t just a birthday gift- this was the ultimate birthday miracle.

“bMiss/bb?/bb” /bSerene looked at me, puzzled, but my grin only grew greedy as my gaze locked onto the potion in Zayn’s hand. If Serene used that, she’d be even more beautiful. Maybe when I was gone and she came of age, she’d have plenty of admirers, maybe even a home of her own.

“Take it,” bI /bsaid, pointing at the bottle. “It’s worth more than gold, so take it. This is the best gift, you should thank him properly.”

The moment I spoke, I felt the weight of everyone’s gaze shift to me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Cassian’s lips twitch, amused. Serene, noticing my enthusiasm, did as I said, lowering her head politely.

“Thank you, Sir Zayn, for your generosity,” she said, cing the potion beside her other gifts.

Heh. These people were really rich. It wasn’t a bad idea to squeeze a few gifts out of them for Serene especially after they’d been eating and drinking here for free all week. They owed us something.

I chuckled under my breath, almost wickedly, and turned to thest guest about to speak- only to freeze when I saw who it

bwas/bb. /b

Darius. He stared at me without a hint of emotion.

Well then… That was everyone then

I quickly averted my gaze from Darius and turned toward the clock, silently praying for my order to arrive and break the tension. But before I could even take a breath, my heart stopped at Serene’s sudden outburst.

“I- thank you, Your Majesty!” she eximed, her voice loud and filled with disbelief.

bGasps /bechoed around the room, and I whipped my head in her direction- only to find her holding a ne. A white jade pendant, glowing faintly with an ethereal luster.

My bheart /bdropped.

My bgaze /bsnapped bback /bto Darius, who hadn’t moved an inch but was watching me intently. And then came my father’s voice, bhoarse /bwith bdisbelief/b.

“T–That bis-/b”

Before he could finish, the door opened and a maid stepped in, bowing respectfully. 3/4

“Greetings to the King and Alpha. I apologize for interrupting your breakfast, but Sir Kieran and Miss Aria bare /bhere. They request an audience with you.”