Chapter 8: A Different Kind of Interest
The council meeting had gone long, dragging deep into the evening. Aria's head pounded with numbers, border patrols, and trade disputes. But as she stepped outside the hall, cool air brushing her skin, she found Kael leaning casually against one of the stone pillars.
"You have a gift," he said, his eyes following her. "They all argued for hours, and still, you got them to agree."
She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't do it for admiration."
He smiled. "I know. That's what makes it impressive."
Aria should have walked past him. She should have said goodnight and gone back to her quarters. But something made her pause. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was the silence she came home to every night.
Or maybe… she just didn't want to be alone tonight.
She leaned against the pillar beside him.
"I thought alphas from the East preferred to lead by force," she said, voice dry.
Kael chuckled. "Only when necessary. We're not all brutes, you know."
"No?" She glanced sideways at him. "You act like you're trying to win me over."
He didn't look away. "Maybe I am."
The air between them shifted. Her heart skipped—just a beat—but enough to annoy her.
"I'm not here for that," she said flatly.
"I was," he admitted. "At first. I heard of the young she-wolf who took down her tyrant mate and held a collapsing pack together with nothing but grit and teeth. I came to see if the stories were true."
"And now?"
Kael looked at her, something softer—genuine—in his expression.
"Now I think the stories didn't do you justice."
Aria exhaled slowly. She wasn't used to this. Being pursued with quiet admiration instead of dominance or demands. Kael didn't try to control her. He just watched. Listened. Waited.
It was unsettling.
And yet… oddly comforting.
"I don't belong to anyone," she warned.
"I never said you did," he replied. "But if I'm being honest, Aria… I haven't stopped thinking about you since the day I arrived."
She turned away, biting the inside of her cheek. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her blush.
But she didn't walk away either