Page 14 of Alien Charming (Alien Wolf Tales #3)

CHAPTER 14

S eren scanned the gathered crowd once again, searching for a glimpse of light brown hair or the slender form he’d come to recognize even at a distance. The bonding ceremony preparations were complete, villagers mingled with his pack members in an uneasy but promising truce, yet something vital was missing.

Elli wasn’t here.

He managed to maintain his stoic expression, nodding at the elders who approached to discuss trade details, but his attention remained divided. With each new arrival, his hopes lifted momentarily before crashing down again.

“Something troubling you, Seren?” Nyra asked.

“Nothing that concerns the ceremony,” he snapped.

Nyra raised an eyebrow but didn’t press the matter. “The humans seem… less fearful than I expected.”

“That was the point.”

He crossed his arms, irritation building beneath his controlled exterior. Mrs. Jacobson had arrived, wearing an ostentatious dress and immediately commenced to hold court amidst the villagers. But no Elli.

Had her aunt forbidden her attendance? The thought kindled his anger, and his beast growled. He forced himself to breathe deeply, to maintain control.

“I need a moment,” he muttered to Nyra before stepping away from the gathering.

In the shadows of the trees, he allowed his mask to slip. His fists clenched at his sides. He’d made it abundantly clear that all villagers were welcome—had even emphasized it during his conversations with Mayor Jacobson. The wretched female had nodded along, smiling that false smile of hers, all while planning to keep her niece imprisoned in that house.

His beast clawed at him, urging him to go to her, to take her away from that miserable existence. His fangs lengthened slightly with his agitation.

“Fuck,” he growled, slamming his fist against a tree trunk. The wood splintered under the impact.

He’d been a fool to hope. To imagine Elli here, among his people, smiling up at him with those gentle grey eyes. The memory of their kiss burned through him, both sweet and painful, but he forced himself to straighten his shoulders and put his neutral expression back in place.

He had responsibilities—a ceremony to oversee and diplomatic ties to strengthen. He couldn’t abandon his duties for personal desires, no matter how fiercely they burned within him.

But later… later he would find her. This he promised himself as he turned back towards the gathering, his expression once again impassive despite the storm raging inside.

He assumed his role as alpha, greeting the bonding couple with appropriate formality. But although his words were correct and his posture dignified, his mind remained elsewhere. Tessa was glowing with happiness before she slipped away to the tent they’d erected for her final preparations. Korrin looked… at peace, the complete opposite of the half-starved male he’d dragged out of the snow and nursed back to health. He was genuinely happy for the other male, yet all he could think of was Elli’s absence.

A sudden shift in the crowd’s energy caught his attention as someone new arrived. His gaze followed the collective attention to the edge of the clearing, and his heart stopped.

A slender figure in a shimmering blue-green dress stood at the gathering’s edge. Her face was partially obscured, her features somehow blurred in the uncertain light, but something in the way she moved, the hesitant grace of her steps, sent recognition surging through him.

Elli.

His beast leapt in recognition, clawing towards the surface with such force that he had to dig his claws into his palms to maintain control. He took an involuntary step forward, then froze.

Something was wrong. He inhaled deeply, seeking the sweet clean scent that had first drawn him to her garden. Nothing. The female carried no scent at all.

Impossible. Every living being had a scent, unique identifiers that the Vultor could detect from yards away. But this female— this apparition that moved like Elli, held herself like Elli—was a void to his senses.

His beast howled in confusion and rage as his eyes narrowed, studying the newcomer more carefully. The dress hugged curves he recognized, the hands were delicate and familiar, but without her scent, uncertainty gnawed at him. His beast cared nothing for logic. It demanded he go to her, confirm her identity, and claim what was his. The rational part of him fought back, reminding him of his duties.

But as the mysterious female moved deeper into the gathering, keeping to the edge of the crowd and avoiding direct contact with anyone, his resolve crumbled. Alpha or not, he couldn’t stay away. If that was Elli—if she had somehow found a way to attend despite her aunt’s restrictions—he needed to know.

Without a word to his pack members, he slipped away from the ceremonial platform, following the scentless female’s path through the crowd. The ceremonial drums pounded in rhythm with his heartbeat as he closed the distance between them. Several villagers stepped aside at his approach, their instinctive fear creating a path straight to her.

She stood with her back to him, head slightly bowed as though trying to remain unnoticed. Without her scent to guide him, doubt crept in. Had his longing for Elli conjured this phantom?

“Excuse me,” he said quietly.

She turned, and though her features remained strangely blurred—as if viewed through rippling water—those eyes were unmistakable. Clear grey, intelligent and kind, widening slightly at the sight of him. No magic could replicate the way those eyes looked at him, with a mix of hope and fear and something else entirely.

“Elli.” Her name escaped his lips before he could stop it.

She blinked rapidly, her expression shifting to surprise. “How did you…”

He stepped closer, studying her intently. “I’d know your eyes anywhere, little one.”

A blush spread across her cheekbones beneath the delicate veil.

“You’re not supposed to be able to see my face.” Her words were soft, nearly lost in the sounds of the ceremony.

He lifted one hand, gently tracing the outline of her cheek through the gossamer fabric. “Magic can hide many things, but not everything.”

Her blush deepened at his touch, her skin warm beneath his fingertips. He should remove his hand. He should step back, put a respectful distance between them, but he couldn’t make himself move away.

“I’m glad you came,” he said softly, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms before the entire gathering.

“I’m not supposed to be here.” She cast a nervous look across the clearing. “If my aunt discovers?—”

“She won’t.” The promise emerged as a growl. “How did you…?” He gestured vaguely at her obscured features, her lack of scent.

A small smile curved her lips. “I had help from Agatha.”

Of course. He should have realized that the old female would know how to mask a human from Vultor senses, but he didn’t care, not as long as Elli was here. His chest swelled with an unfamiliar sensation—happiness, pure and uncomplicated. She had defied her aunt, risked punishment, found a way past Vultor senses—all to be here. With him.

“The ceremony is about to begin,” he said, offering her his arm. “Would you like to watch from a better position?”

Her slender fingers rested lightly on his forearm, sending warmth spiraling through him. “I would like that very much.”

He guided her through the crowd, acutely aware of every brush of her body against his. His beast purred with satisfaction at her proximity, while his rational mind cataloged potential threats—particularly Mayor Jacobson, who thankfully remained occupied with the village elders across the clearing.

“This way,” he murmured, leading her towards a small rise partially concealed by flowering bushes. “You’ll see everything from here, but remain… unnoticed.”

The spot he’d chosen offered a perfect view of the ceremonial circle while keeping her hidden from casual observation. The flowering bushes—a variety his people cultivated specifically for bonding ceremonies—released a heady scent that would further mask her presence from any curious Vultor who might wander near.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, gazing at the ceremonial space where Korrin waited anxiously, surrounded by a circle of burning torches.

Seren watched her face instead, mesmerized by the play of emotions across her features, even through Agatha’s obscuring magic, but then the beat of the ceremonial drums intensified, their rhythm shifting to signal the next phase. Nyra caught his eye from across the clearing, her expression questioning. His time was running out.

“I must go,” he said reluctantly. “As alpha, I have a role in the ceremony.”

She nodded, but disappointment flickered across her face before she schooled it to calmness. “Of course. You have responsibilities.”

His beast howled in protest at the thought of leaving her. Every instinct demanded he stay, to protect what was his. But duty called—a concept Elli, with her strong sense of obligation, would understand better than most.

But first he couldn’t resist reaching out and taking her hand.

“I will return to you when it’s done.”

The promise emerged as a growl, more possessive than he’d intended, but rather than pulling away, her fingers tightened around his. “I’ll be waiting.”

The simple declaration nearly undid him. How desperately he wanted to pull her into his arms, to claim her lips again. The memory of their kisses burned through him, threatening his control, but he forced himself to step back. He held her gaze for one last moment before he turned and strode towards the ceremonial circle, every step away from her a battle against his instincts.