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His jaw tightened, a vein pulsating on his neck. “It means I’m going to that ball with you.”

“What? How?”

Though Lace and I knew he had high ranks, Lorenzo preferred to keep it a secret. Instead, he stuck with a mid-tier title that granted him flexibility with the type of jobs he was assigned to. To be a high-ranking guardian typically meant higher risk positions, which he tried to avoid. It was a way to not expose himself since lycans were apparently extinct.

Funny how similar we were, yet so different.

“Don’t worry about that.” He inched to my left side and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, forcing me into his chest. “What you should worry about instead are the laps you owe for worrying me.”

ChapterTwenty-Four

ALEK SEPHTIS

December had quickly settled with rain and extensive fog. It stretched from the outer gates to my window, giving no sight to the trees nor the guardians that were stationed around and beyond the household.

Yet, I found Katerina in mere seconds as she concluded her scour across the grounds.

She became the calm I sought, the beauty I was utterly captivated by. The intoxication in my mind that dismantled our prompted rendezvous by the second.

The rain halted when I met the gravel. Shortly after I settled onto the cement pew, Katerina’s outline hinted through the mist and entered the mausoleum. The color in her umber skin had returned, the gray cast from her time in the infirmary gone. Her deep ink-black hair was darker than night, slicked back into a braid that reached below her waist. She twisted it and water trickled from her strands before taking the space next to me.

There was no distance between us as our hands tangled. It wasn’t a routine anymore but rather habitual. Standard.

Continuously, a serenity loomed over me when I considered her untraceable presence and scent. Though vampires saw it as a threat, it had no effect on me anymore— a trait I was fond of.

“Katerina, how—”

“Alek, I—”

The words echoed as quickly as they grew hollow, laughter suddenly filling the silence before it could settle. “You may go first.”

A smile adorned her appearance, bringing to life her vibrant eyes. “Well, I’ve been wanting to ask something that’s been bothering me for the past few days.”

“Go ahead,” I said, my chest tightening.

“You were lying, weren’t you? About not knowing how to swim?” I gave no response. “We never reached that point in our lesson where you actually dived into the water. That night when you helped me out of the water, you swam to me, didn’t you?”

I chuckled at her curiosity. “When we were young, we used to visit the lake with our mother. I used to swim alongside my brothers, but Kaleb had a tendency of toying with me, labeling them as minor schemes. A few were harmless while others were torturous. It resulted in my growing fear of the water and eventually led me to believe I’d lost the ability to swim.”

“He’s always been a dick, huh?” She huffed as she crossed her free arm across her chest. “I was hoping my lessons magically helped you.”

“To be frank, if it weren’t for them, we would have both been stranded in the middle of the lake.” My lips mirrored the smile that adorned her expression.

Due to her, smiling came naturally.

“Thank you,” she murmured, and our gazes met, the icy green hue deepening as they searched my eyes, “For helping me. For keeping everything a secret.” Her lips parted as if she craved to say more, but no sound escaped her.

“Of course. But Katerina, I’m not sure how much longer I can prolong Tristan from not questioning or possibly Sonia from discovering.” There was an extensive truth to my statement, but it stemmed from the lingering intrigue that shadowed me. Katerina’s mystery entangled me further into the feelings I harbored for her.

“I know, and seriously, I’m grateful for all you’ve done. But Alek. . . there's a lot no one knows about me— stuff I don’t even know.”

“I fully understand, Katerina. You don’t need to make any excuses to compel me. I’ve done that all by myself.”

“I want to tell you, though,” she said, her tone almost a whimper as her eyes fell on my lips.

“It’s okay, Katerina,” I responded as our breaths intertwined into one. “I sincerely mean it when I say to take your time.”

“I’m. . .” Her words trailed as she rested her chin against the edge of her shoulder, her heat radiating. A squeezing impulse caused my body to draw closer, the gap between our lips closing until—