CHAPTER 191: CHAPTER 191: LIES

Serena’s POV~

The call ended, and I just sat there, staring at the phone like it might still speak. My chest felt tight, too tight, like something was pressing against my ribs from the inside. For a moment, I didn’t even breathe.

Then I laughed... softly. It sounded more like a sigh. "I’m waiting for you here... Mother," I whispered, dragging the last word out until it almost hurt.

It tasted strange in my mouth. The word mother.

The phone slipped from my hand and hit the bed with a dull thud. I stood there, staring at it like it had just insulted me. My reflection in the mirror caught my eye next... wet hair, flushed cheeks, eyes that couldn’t decide whether to cry or scream. I hated what I saw.

I grabbed the towel, wiping my hair hard, as if I could scrub off the feelings clinging to me. My pulse was racing again, but this time it wasn’t because of my mother. No. It was because of him.

The moment his face flashed in my mind, my stomach turned. My hands went still.

"What the hell was he even doing here?" I muttered to myself, shaking my head. My voice sounded too small in the empty room.

He shouldn’t have been here. He had no reason to come. Pack alphas never step into Lycan territory unless something’s seriously wrong. And even then, he wasn’t supposed to be here.

I had planned everything so carefully. Staying quiet, keeping my distance, staying hidden in this place where no one would look for me. I told myself I’d finally have peace. That no one would ever find me here.

But of course, fate had to laugh in my face.

The moment I saw him... standing beside Prince Vaelen, tall, composed, radiating that same infuriating confidence, I felt my entire world collapse inside me. My heart stopped. My body forgot how to move.

I remember hiding behind the curtain, just peeking through the edge of the window. My hands were trembling so hard I thought they’d give me away. I told myself not to look. Don’t look at him, Selena. Don’t.

But then our eyes met.

And it was over.

That look. That unbearable, familiar, knowing look.

I stumbled back, hitting the wall. My breath came out shaky. My whole body screamed run, but where could I go? You can’t hide from an alpha, especially not him. I knew that. I knew it deep in my bones.

And I was right.

Because that night... he came.

I had been lying there, pretending to sleep, pretending to be calm, pretending that I didn’t care. The room was quiet, dark, safe or so I thought. But then I felt it... the presence, the heaviness, that strange electricity that always followed him.

My heart nearly stopped.

Every muscle in my body went rigid, and I begged silently, Please don’t come. Please don’t. But even as I said it in my head, I knew I didn’t mean it. Because a part of me... wanted him there.

The bed dipped slightly when he leaned closer. My breath caught. His warmth was too close.

And then, in that rough, quiet voice that always made me lose myself, he whispered, "Are you real?"

Before I could even think, before I could even open my eyes fully, his lips were on mine.

That moment... it destroyed me.

His heat burned through every part of me. I froze, but my body didn’t listen to my mind. My heart was wild, and my skin remembered him like it had been waiting all this time. I hated that. I hated how much I wanted to melt into him.

Now, standing in front of the mirror, my fingers touched my lips without thinking. The ghost of that kiss still lingered. My throat tightened. "You shouldn’t have come," I whispered, but my voice trembled.

Because deep down, I knew I didn’t really want him to stay away.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him again. His eyes. His hands. The way his voice cracked when he said my name. It shouldn’t matter anymore, but it did. It mattered too much.

And then the memories came of a week ago... the fight, the way he and his brothers had bled for me, protected me when no one else would. The desperation in their eyes when they thought they might lose me. I had told myself I’d forgotten that. I had told myself they didn’t mean anything anymore. But maybe I’d been lying all along.

"Damn it..." I muttered, pressing my hand against the cold table to steady myself.

In the past, I thought I had changed enough to fool them. My scent, my hair, my voice... everything. But alphas don’t forget what’s theirs, do they? They don’t need faces or names. They just know.

And this time it was same, he did recognize me again. The moment our eyes met again, I saw it... the recognition. The disbelief. The pain.

He knew.

I let out a shaky breath and leaned closer to the mirror, staring at the girl who stared back. She looked calm, almost cold. But her eyes... they betrayed everything.

"He knows it’s me," I said softly. Saying it out loud made my chest hurt even more.

I had no idea how to face him. What could I even say? That I hadn’t meant to disappear? That I hadn’t meant to hurt him? That I was only trying to survive?

It all sounded so small now.

I closed my eyes and tried to push down the storm inside me. But it wouldn’t stop. The ache, the guilt, the stupid, unwanted longing... it was all still there, clawing its way up from where I’d buried it.

I forced myself to stand straight, to breathe, to be calm again. My face in the mirror was composed now... just like always.

But inside, I was breaking.

Because I knew the truth. He had already found me. And this time... I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run again.

I stood there for a long time, staring at nothing. My mind was a mess, full of his face, his voice, his touch. But then another thought struck me... if he was here, then his brothers must be here too.

The realization sent a shiver down my spine.

Of course they would be. The alphas never traveled separately. Wherever one went, the others followed. It was their way... always together, always guarding each other like wolves circling their prey.

I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed. "Perfect," I whispered bitterly. "Just what I needed."

My plan had already been hanging by a thread, and now... this.

I bit my lip hard, trying to calm the storm in my chest, when a sudden sound broke my thoughts... a soft, polite knock on the door.

I didn’t even flinch. I already knew who it was.

"Coming," I called, taking a deep breath. My voice came out steady, though my pulse was still racing.

When I opened the door, Vaelen stood there, his usual calm expression softened by worry. His eyes scanned me from head to toe like he was searching for cracks, as if I’d shatter any second.

"Serena," he said gently. "You weren’t at breakfast."

I forced a small smile, pretending not to notice how tense he looked. "I wasn’t hungry," I said quietly. "Just needed a little time to myself."

He nodded slowly, but his eyes didn’t leave my face. I hated that look, the one that said he cared, the one that made me feel like I didn’t deserve it.

"I was worried," he admitted after a pause. "After what happened at the club... I thought maybe..."

"I’m fine," I cut in quickly, too quickly. The words came out sharp, almost defensive. I saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes and immediately regretted it.

I looked away, biting my lip. "Sorry," I muttered. "I didn’t mean to sound harsh. I’m just... tired."

He nodded again, but his gaze softened. "You don’t have to apologize. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. You were... shaken that night."

Shaken.

If only he knew.

I forced a little laugh and waved it off. "It was nothing. Really, I’m okay now."

But inside, guilt twisted deep in my stomach. Because the truth was, it hadn’t been some random accident. It hadn’t been something that "happened" to me.

It had been part of my plan.

Every bit of it.

And he didn’t know. He couldn’t know.

Vaelen’s concern was pure, kind, and undeserved. I didn’t want to see it, but I couldn’t look away either. His worry made my chest ache. It reminded me how much I was lying. How much I was using him.

"I just needed some air," I said softly, lowering my gaze. "That’s all."

He hesitated before speaking again. "If you ever need to talk about anything... you can come to me. You know that, right?"

I looked up at him and smiled faintly, the kind of smile that hides too much. "I know," I whispered.

He seemed relieved at that, even though I knew my eyes probably told another story entirely. He gave a small nod, his lips curving into that quiet, reassuring smile of his, before saying, "Alright then. I’ll leave you to rest. Don’t skip lunch, alright?"

"I won’t," I lied again.

When he turned to leave, I watched his back for a moment. The way he walked... calm, composed, always thinking ahead. He didn’t know that every step I took beside him was a lie. That every word I spoke was wrapped in half-truths.

And yet, he still cared.

When the door closed softly behind him, I leaned against it, letting out a shaky breath I’d been holding since he arrived.

"Sorry," I whispered, pressing a hand over my chest. "I’m so sorry, Vaelen."

I couldn’t tell him. Not about the plan, not about why I was here, not about who I really was. Because if I did, everything would crumble and everything I was trying to build.

But the look in his eyes... it made me hate myself.

He was worried about me, truly worried, while I was hiding knives behind my back.

I turned toward the mirror again, staring at the girl who stared back. Her eyes looked softer now, sadder. I barely recognized her.

"Don’t look at me like that," I told my reflection quietly. "You made your choice."

Still, I couldn’t shake the guilt that was growing in my chest, heavy and cold.

I ran a hand through my damp hair, sighing. "I didn’t mean to use him," I whispered to the empty room. "I just... didn’t have a choice."

But even as I said it, I knew it was a lie.

Because deep down, maybe I did have a choice. And I chose this path anyway.