Lethal Temptation

02 Some Tension

Mara

“I’m sure you’ve got other friends to keep you company,” I said, keeping my voice calm, eyes steady on Tiffany. “Better—and maybe more interesting—company than I could ever be.”

Tiffany caught the meaning instantly and smiled, smug and satisfied.

“That’s right, Darian,” she purred, looping her arm through his. “I’m all the company you’ll need.”

Then, like it was some kind of private joke, she leaned in and licked his earlobe again. I looked away, jaw tight. She wanted to be Luna so badly it was dripping off her.

Most of the girls who threw themselves at Darian did. It wasn’t about him. It was about the title, the power, the image. But not me.

Even if Darian wasn’t going to be Alpha, I’d still feel this way about him. That was the difference.

“I want to come with you, Rowan,” I said suddenly, turning to him. My voice was clearer than I expected. Firm. I needed distance. Space.

A whole damn continent between me and Darian if I was going to get over him. He would never see me. Never chooseme. And I had to stop holding out hope like it was some kind of twisted comfort blanket.

“This trip... it’ll be good for me,” I added, mostly to myself.

Darian smiled, watching me a little too closely. “Maybe I’ll come too.”

And just like that, the air left my lungs. No. No, he couldn’t.

That would ruin everything. I’d just end up exactly where I was—his loyal shadow, his best buddy, watching Tiffany swallow his attention whole.

“You’ll bring me along?” Tiffany asked, all wide eyes and sugar-laced eagerness. I could almost hear the flutter of her lashes.

I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. If she came too, I’d lose my mind watching her cling to Darian like a barnacle in heat.

Her tongue alone would be enough to make me puke somewhere around the border of the first town we hit.

“I’ll think about it,” Darian replied, and Tiffany's face fell. She frowned, and then her eyes flicked to me, sharp and accusing, like it was my fault.

She wasn’t entirely wrong. But also not right. I didn’t want Darian to come—not because I wanted to hoard him for myself, but because I needed to finally let go of him.

We stayed a little longer, had a couple drinks, careful not to go overboard. It was a quiet ending to a loud night. Eventually, we all called it and got ready to leave.

“Let’s go hunting tomorrow morning,” Darian said casually as we stepped out into the night. His voice was light, but his eyes were on me.

I hesitated. Waiting. Because, of course, I needed to hear what she would say.

“I want to come too,” Tiffany piped up, bouncing slightly in her heels like she was volunteering for a game of tag.

I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself. Darian caught it and laughed.

“I guess the three of you will have to go without me,” I said flatly, already turning away.

Darian frowned. “Come on, Mara. You and I—we’re a good team.”

Oh, how I wished that was true. But in reality? It was just another sweet lie I’d told myself over the years.

“You, Rowan, and Tiffany will be a formidable team,” I replied, eyes on the pavement, not bothering to look at her. I could already feel the weight of her glare.

I didn’t blame her. If I were her, I wouldn’t like me either. Not when the guy I wanted kept paying attention to someone else.

Darian told me to think about it.

I wouldn’t. I didn’t need to. I already knew I wasn’t going.

When I got home, the house was quiet—everyone asleep. I slipped inside like a ghost and made my way to my room, shutting the door behind me without making a sound.

I didn’t want to wake anyone. I didn’t want to talk.

All I wanted was to stop loving someone who would never love me back.

Morning came too fast.

I sat on the edge of my bed, still wrapped in the fog of everything I was trying to forget.

The hunt was supposed to be today. Part of me wanted to go—just to breathe outside this house, outside of him. But the thought of Tiffany tagging along made my stomach twist.

I already knew she’d spent the night at the Nighthorn mansion. There was no way Darian would leave her behind now. Not after that.

I dragged myself downstairs, hungry but not in the mood. I hated shifting when I hadn’t eaten—it made me edgy, short-tempered. I didn’t want to lose it in the woods and end up looking unhinged.

What I didn’t expect was to find my parents waiting in the kitchen.

They weren’t eating. They weren’t smiling. They were just… there, sitting stiffly at the table with this look in their eyes that made something inside me tighten.

My mother, usually bright-eyed and warm, gave me a small, nervous smile. “Morning, Mara. How was your night?”

I forced a shrug. “Great,” I lied, trying not to read too much into their mood.

She just nodded.

My father cleared his throat, and the sound already made my heart beat faster. “Sweetheart, we need to talk to you about something important.”

And just like that, my stomach dropped.

They didn’t speak in the kitchen. My dad gestured toward the living room, and we all moved, silent as ghosts. I sat on the couch across from them, trying not to let my mind spiral.

Then they looked at each other.

That kind of look—the silent, mind-link kind of conversation they always had when something was wrong. Something they didn’t want to say out loud. I wasn’t part of it. Not yet. Not until they decided I had to be.

“Mara,” my father said slowly, “you know how much we love you, right?”

Wrong way to start. My pulse spiked. I swallowed hard.

“Yes,” I said, and my voice cracked.

He looked down for a moment, then back up at me with tired eyes. “We’ve always wanted the best for you. But… we also have duties to the pack. Responsibilities. And—”

“We should’ve told you sooner,” my mother cut in, her voice trembling. “But we wanted you to have your graduation, your moment of celebration, before we… before we said anything.”

Her eyes welled up with tears.

That’s when I started crying too. Because whatever could make my mother cry like that—whatever they were about to say—it was going to rip something out of me.

“Mara,” my father said again, quieter this time, “Alpha Vander Nighthorn has chosen you to be joined with his eldest son, Lucian.”

My breath caught.

“He’s decided,” he continued, “that since you finished second overall in the academy, top among the female wolves, and since you’re known for your strength, your discipline… that you’re the best choice for Lucian. He believes your character will help shape him into a man fit to stand beside his brother when Darian becomes Alpha. He also believes that your friendship with Darian will help settle the conflict between the brothers and bring unity to the future leadership of this pack.”

I was frozen. The words didn’t even register at first. It didn’t feel real.

“It’s not a suggestion, Mara,” my father added. “It’s an order. One we had no power to refuse.”

That was it. The sound that left my throat wasn’t even human.

I screamed.

A raw, guttural cry that tore from my chest like something inside me had shattered.