Chapter 3 The threat

"Five years," Bayle muttered bitterly, his voice laced with contempt. "It's been five long years, and she's still being treated like royalty. When will Leo grow tired of her and toss her aside like everything else?"

Ruidiger didn't respond immediately. He could understand where Bayle was coming from-truly, he did. But even he couldn't deny the bond his son had developed with Dara. It wasn't some fleeting obsession. It was as if she had become a part of Leo, like an extension of his own body-his second skin. No matter how hard Ruidiger had tried to distance them in the past, Leo always found his way back to her.

"You need to calm yourself, Bayle," Ruidiger said eventually, his tone level. "I suspect it won't last forever. In three years, they'll both be sixteen. When Leo finds his mate, it's likely he'll forget all about Dara."

Bayle scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "Three years is still a damn long time. You've spoiled your son too much, Alpha. Have you truly forgotten what her pack did to us? How much blood they spilled?"

Ruidiger's eyes darkened as his hand slammed against the table. The sound echoed through the room. "I do not forget, Bayle," he snapped. "Her entire pack has been annihilated. She's the only one left, and one survivor doesn't tip the scale."

Bayle instinctively lowered his head, sensing his alpha's rising temper. But inside, he seethed. He thought Ruidiger was growing soft, too indulgent where his son was concerned. And Dara? She should've been dead long ago.

Everyone else might've chosen to tolerate her, to look the other way, but not Bayle. Never Bayle. He vowed to keep hating her until she suffered the same fate as the rest of her people.

---

"Mary said to the butler, 'I do not love you, you bald-headed man,'" Dara read aloud, her voice animated and filled with mischief. The moment she closed the book, laughter erupted from all sides.

Leo and his sister Lily burst into a fit of giggles, the scene light-hearted and warm.

"The butler is bald!" Lily chimed in, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Oh, I have to go meet Mum," Lily added a moment later, hopping up to her feet. "We're looking through some new jewelry designs today."

As she hurried off, Dara's eyes followed her. But before she could get too lost in thought, Leo reached forward and gently turned her face toward him.

"Look here, Dara," he said with a soft smile.

She returned his smile instinctively.

They lay beneath the shade of the great tree, its golden leaves rustling in the breeze. Leo rested comfortably on his back, and Dara's head was nestled against his chest. The steady rise and fall of his breathing calmed her. For a moment, everything felt right.

But when she closed her eyes, a series of fragmented images flashed behind her lids-haunting, vivid, and completely unfamiliar. Her eyes snapped open, breath catching.

"Is something wrong?" Leo asked, his fingers threading gently through her hair.

She forced a smile and shook her head. "No. Just tired, I guess."

Leo tilted his head slightly, studying her face. "Aren't you supposed to be at training right now?" she asked, brows furrowing in playful disapproval.

He pouted. "I didn't feel like going. I wanted to be with you."

Her expression shifted instantly. She sat up, voice serious. "And how exactly do you plan to protect me if you skip your training, Leo?"

That did the trick. He jumped to his feet, suddenly full of energy. "You're right! I'll go now."

Before running off, he leaned down and kissed her cheek-a gesture that never failed to leave her flustered. Her cheeks reddened as he sprinted away toward the training grounds.

He'd been doing this more and more in the past two months-little displays of affection that left her both comforted and confused.

Once he was gone, she picked up her book again and sat back down beneath the tree. But something had changed in her expression. The bright, cheerful Dara seemed to have faded. What remained was quieter. Sadder.

"You seem awfully comfortable, Dara."

She didn't even look up. She already knew that voice.

Bayle.

She ignored him, eyes fixed on her book.

"Are you deaf now? I asked you a question," he snapped. His hand clamped around her arm, jerking her up.

She looked him straight in the eyes. Calm but defiant.

"If you leave a single mark on me," she said in a low, warning tone, "I'll tell Leo exactly what you did."

Bayle released her arm abruptly, his expression tightening with barely masked frustration. Dara straightened her clothes with quiet composure, refusing to let him see how deeply his hostility unsettled her.

"You might be able to fool everyone else in this pack," Bayle spat, voice low and cold, "but not me. Don't forget that."

Without waiting for a response, he spun on his heel and walked away, his footsteps sharp against the stone path.

Dara didn't say a word. She simply stared at his retreating figure, a quiet storm swirling in her chest. Her fingers still trembled faintly where he'd gripped her, but no mark remained. She silently thanked the heavens for Leo's protection. If not for him, Bayle might have done more than just threaten her.

There was a time Leo treated her like she was nothing more than a thing-a possession, something caged and claimed. But slowly, almost imperceptibly, something had changed. He had begun treating her like a person. Like someone he cared about.

But Dara knew better than to get too comfortable.

Leo's affection wasn't a shield she could rely on forever. If the day came when he grew tired of her-when he discarded her like everything else in his life-what would happen to her then? The thought terrified her.

That was why she had made a decision, long ago. Before that day came, she would disappear.

Even if her heart had grown fond of him, escape was her only chance at surviving.

---

The stars had begun to scatter across the sky by the time night fell over the estate. Dara's room was just down the hall from Leo's. After their usual playful banter and shared moments under the moonlight, he walked her back, smiling warmly as they parted ways.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Dara," he said, his voice gentle. "Dream of me tonight."

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "You too, Leo."

Once inside her room, she shut the door behind her and exhaled. A strange unease began to creep over her. She moved toward her bed but paused mid-step. Something felt... off.

A presence.

She whipped around-and her breath caught in her throat.

Standing silently in the dim light of the room was none other than Luna Rosetta.

Dara's instincts kicked in. She hurried to her feet and bowed respectfully, her hands trembling. "Luna... I wasn't expecting you. To what do I owe the honor of your visit?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Rosetta didn't return the pleasantry. Her sharp gaze cut straight through Dara. "I thought Leo would lose interest in you after five months," she said flatly. "But here we are-five years later-and he's still hopelessly attached."

Dara lowered her eyes, unable to find the right words. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"I don't like it," Luna Rosetta continued, stepping closer. "I don't like how much he clings to you. And I'm not willing to let it continue."

Her tone dropped, icy and calm.

"So I'm giving you a choice. Leave this pack of your own accord and never return... or die, quietly and without a trace. No one will ever know what happened to you."

Dara's knees gave out, and she sank to the floor, her voice breaking. "Please, Luna... don't kill me. I'll leave. Just please..."

The Luna arched a brow. "So you've made your choice then?"

Dara looked up, her lips trembling. "I don't want to die."

A cruel smile tugged at Rosetta's lips. "Good. Then leave before I change my mind."

She turned to go but paused at the door, casting one last look over her shoulder.

"I do not like you for my son, the things I do for him."

And then she was gone.

Dara remained on the floor, shaking from head to toe. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind-but one rang louder than the rest.

She had to leave.

She would miss Leo. The realness of their bond. The warmth of his gentle smile.

But survival came first.

And there was one truth no one in this pack knew-not even Leo.

She had never lost her memory and the promise she made to her father, to live.