The towering building in front of me was another jewel in the Vaelora empire's crown. A place where power was exchanged over champagne, where alliances were forged and broken with a single glance. A place I had no business stepping into again. And yet, just standing here, I could feel my stomach twist in knots.
Cale stood beside me, his usual confident stance unwavering, but when he looked at me, his expression softened just a bit. Then came that look—the one he gave me when he knew I was about to do something reckless.
"You really should've thought twice before agreeing to this," he whispered, low enough that only I could hear.
I clenched my jaw, ignoring the way his words dug into my already raw nerves. He was right, of course. I shouldn't have said yes. I shouldn't be here. But I was. And all because of him.
Fucking Logan King.
But I wasn't about to admit that. Not to Cale. Not to anyone.
"I stand by my decision," I lied through my teeth, fixing my expression into something unreadable.
Cale gave me an unimpressed look, like he could hear every single thought I was refusing to say out loud.
"Sure," he said, drawling the word in a way that made it clear he did not believe me.
Before I could snap back, the heavy doors of the building opened, revealing the extravagant venue inside. The time for second-guessing was over.
I rolled my shoulders, pushing down the tension creeping up my spine. It was just a party. A show of power, a flex. The Vaeloras themselves probably wouldn't even be here, just some representatives playing their usual games.
Good.
I had no intention of seeing them.
"Let's get this over with," I muttered, stepping inside.
The second my foot crossed the threshold, I felt it.
Like a noose tightening around my neck. Like chains snapping shut around my wrists.
The walls, the chandeliers, the polished marble floors—none of it should have mattered. It was just another luxury venue, one of many under Vaelora's control. But I knew. I fucking knew.
My body tensed, muscles coiling like they were bracing for a blow that wasn't coming. But my mind? It wasn't here.
I was back in that house.
A child standing in the middle of an endless hallway, too grand, too empty, too cold.
Ignored at the dinner table. Dismissed in the study halls. Mocked in whispers when I walked by. Unwanted. Unnecessary. A failure.
"He shouldn't even be here."
"His mother ruined everything."
"Weak."
The past gripped my throat, and for a second, I felt it—felt the weight of their judgment pressing down, felt my mother's soft hand trembling as she held mine, felt the way they looked at me the day she was gone. Like I was nothing. Like I had never been anything.
My breath hitched.
A hand brushed against my arm.
Cale.
I turned, blinking, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. He gave me a small, knowing smile. "You shouldn't have made a decision without thinking twice." His voice was light, teasing, but his eyes—he knew. He knew.
I should have never said yes. Not because of Logan. Not because of the party. Because of this.
This fucking feeling.
I clenched my fists, forcing myself to breathe. I wasn't the helpless kid in that house anymore. I wasn't beneath them. They didn't own me.
But my mind was spiraling, and then—Logan.
He had been watching me the whole time.
From the second I stepped in, his sharp golden eyes had been trained on me, and when I finally met them, there was something there. Something that wasn't just curiosity or amusement.
It was too intense. Too focused.
His smirk was gone. His usual playful arrogance? Nowhere to be seen.
No.
He was studying me.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. Did he fucking know?
No. He couldn't.
For Logan, this was about him.
He thought he was the reason I hadn't wanted to come. That he was the one getting under my skin.
And maybe... maybe I would let him believe that. Because if Logan ever saw the real reason, if he ever understood the storm crashing inside me right now—
I wasn't sure I could handle it.
Cale greeted Logan as he approached, his usual easygoing charm masking any tension in the air.
I forced myself to stand still. To breathe evenly. My hands were trembling, but I clenched them into fists at my sides, willing the shaking to stop.
I wouldn't let Logan see.
I wouldn't let anyone see.
When his golden eyes landed on me, sharp and assessing, my spine locked into place. I managed a nod, keeping my voice steady as I greeted him, trying my best to sound normal. Trying to pretend that just standing here, on Vaelora ground, wasn't setting every fucking nerve in my body on fire.
Logan didn't miss things. I knew that. He was always watching, always digging, like he enjoyed pulling reactions out of me just to see what would break first—my patience or my mask.
But this wasn't just his usual game.
Logan didn't smirk this time. His gaze swept over me—calculating, slow. Not just watching. Reading.
Fuck.
I swallowed, shifting my stance, breaking eye contact first. He didn't say anything. Just gave me that unreadable look before tilting his head slightly, like he was filing something away in that sharp mind of his.
Cale kept talking, filling the space with pleasantries. I barely heard a word of it. My own pulse was too fucking loud in my ears.
I had to pull myself together.
This was just another business event. Another party.
Logan King didn't matter. Vaelora didn't matter.
I just had to survive this night.
I kept my distance from Logan and Cale, slipping into the background like I wasn't even there. Like I was just another assistant trailing after their boss, nothing more.
I didn't want Vaeloras to see me with them.
Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was something else—something I refused to name. But I didn't care.
They didn't need to know about them. They didn't need to see me standing beside them, laughing, talking, existing outside of what they had carved me out to be all those years ago.
I would act like the assistant I was supposed to be. Invisible. Unimportant. Beneath their notice.
It was safer that way.
I was doing okay. Keeping my head down, playing my part, staying invisible. It was just another night, just another party.
Then I saw them.
Alaric Vaelora. My father.
Dorian Vaelora. My cousin.
My breath hitched, a sharp intake of air I couldn't control.
They weren't supposed to be here.
This was just a small gathering, a display of influence, not something that required them.
But there he was—Alaric—standing with the same cold, detached presence he always carried. Those indifferent eyes, the ones that had looked past me my entire life.
To him, I was nothing. Not worth noticing. Not worth acknowledging.
And Dorian... Dorian, who had always been everything I wasn't. The golden child. The rightful heir.
They didn't notice me.
They didn't need to.
Because I had spent my whole life learning that in their world, I didn't fucking matter.
Cale noticed them. Of course, he did.
His steps were casual, but I knew better. He was walking toward me with that forced ease, trying to act like nothing was wrong. Trying to act normal.
Logan followed, completely oblivious to the weight crashing down on me.
That fucker.
He wasn't worried. He wasn't cautious. No, he was just here to tease me, like always. Like an alpha who thinks omegas exist solely for their amusement.
He had no fucking idea.
No clue that I was standing in front of my own personal hell. That every fiber of my being was screaming at me to turn around and run.
Logan was running his mouth again, probably flirting, but his words barely registered.
My eyes were locked on them.
Dorian. My father.
They stood like they owned the fucking place—because they did. Because they owned everything they ever set their sights on, including the people around them.
My chest felt tight, my fingers curling against my palm.
I forced myself to look away, to focus on anything else.
Breathe, Kael. Stay calm. Don't let them see.
Logan kept talking, completely unaware, his voice carrying that usual smugness.
I barely heard him.
That's when Cale's voice pulled me back, snapping me out of the spiral I was falling into.
"Kael." Cale's voice was soft, deliberate. An anchor against the storm unraveling inside me
I blinked, forcing my expression back to neutrality, swallowing down the lump in my throat.
Logan raised a brow at me, smirking like he had caught onto something. "What, finally paying attention to me now?" he teased.
Not now. Not fucking now.
I clenched my jaw, ignoring him as Cale stepped closer, his presence grounding me just enough.
"They haven't seen you," he murmured, like he was offering reassurance.
Like that was supposed to make me feel better.
I gave Cale a short nod, not trusting my voice right now. He didn't push—just stayed close, watching me like he was ready to step in if needed.
And then, of course, Logan had to open his mouth again.
"You're wound tighter than usual," Logan murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear. His smirk didn't quite reach his eyes this time."Or is it that you're trying too hard to avoid someone?
I shot him a glare, but he only smirked, clearly enjoying himself. Asshole.
"Not everything is about you, Logan," I muttered, my voice steadier than I felt.
"Really? Because it sure feels like you're more tense now that I'm here," he mused, leaning in slightly. "You know, if you wanted to run away together, you could've just said so."
I scoffed, shoving past him, but his words stuck to me like tar. Logan might be playing his usual games, but he had no fucking idea how right he actually was.
That smirk. That fucking smirk. The one that always made my blood boil as a kid. The one that screamed arrogance, entitlement—like he owned the damn world and I was just an insignificant stain beneath his feet.
Dorian.
Dorian moved through the crowd like he owned it. Because he did. He walked toward me with that same effortless ease, that same insufferable certainty. Like nothing had changed. Like I was still the weak little omega he left behind.
My fingers curled into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms. I forced my expression blank, schooling my face into the cold indifference I'd mastered over the years.
Cale tensed beside me, shifting slightly closer, his presence grounding me. Logan, oblivious as ever, was still caught up in his amusement, but even he seemed to notice the sudden change in the air. His smirk faltered for just a second as his gaze flickered between me and Dorian.
"Kael," Dorian greeted, voice smooth, calculated. "It's been a while."