Chapter 13
The mansion felt strange at night.
Too quiet.
Too large.
Too expensive.
Danny lay sprawled dramatically across the enormous bed while staring at the ceiling.
Somewhere downstairs, faint voices echoed through the halls.
Lucas was still busy.
Danny sighed softly.
He should’ve been happy.
Actually-
He was happy.
The room was warm.
The blankets were soft.
And for the first time in years, nobody expected anything from him.
No meetings.
No lectures.
No pressure.
Lucas had handled everything effortlessly.
It felt unreal.
Dangerously unreal.
Danny rolled over and buried his face into the pillow.
The pillow smelled like Lucas.
Warm cedarwood. Rain. Something darker underneath.
Comforting.
Weirdly comforting.
Danny frowned slightly.
That scent again.
Familiar.
His chest tightened softly.
Rain against windows.
Warm hands on his waist.
A deep voice whispering:
> “I want more than one night.”
Danny abruptly sat up.
“…Weird.”
Before he could think further, the bedroom door suddenly opened.
Lucas entered quietly.
And immediately paused.
Danny blinked.
Lucas looked… different.
Still perfectly composed.
Still beautiful.
But his expression was colder than before, sharp around the edges like something underneath his skin wanted out.
Danny tilted his head slightly.
“You okay?”
Lucas looked at him silently for a second.
Then the coldness softened instantly.
“Yes.”
Lie.
Danny could tell somehow.
Lucas loosened his tie while walking toward him slowly.
“Did Serene bother you?”
Danny thought carefully.
“She kinda talked like a fantasy villain.”
Lucas sighed softly.
“That means yes.”
Danny shrugged.
“She’s pretty though.”
Lucas stopped walking.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You think she’s pretty?”
Danny blinked at the sudden tone.
“…Yeah?”
Lucas’s wolf growled possessively inside him.
Mate noticing another wolf.
Unacceptable.
Lucas sat beside Danny on the bed carefully.
“She dislikes you.”
Danny looked unsurprised.
“That happens a lot.”
Lucas frowned immediately.
“What does?”
“People disliking me.”
The casualness in Danny’s voice made something painful twist inside Lucas’s chest.
Danny looked down at the blanket absently.
“I’m not really useful.”
Lucas’s expression darkened instantly.
Who taught him that?
Danny continued quietly.
“My dad used to say I wasted my potential all the time.”
Lucas listened silently.
“At school everyone thought I was lazy.”
“You are lazy,” Lucas murmured softly.
Danny looked offended immediately.
“Wow.”
“But that doesn’t make you worthless.”
Silence.
Danny stared at him.
Lucas’s voice remained calm.
“You’re gentle.”
The words hit unexpectedly hard.
“You don’t hurt people simply because you’re unhappy. You don’t pretend to be someone else for approval.”
Lucas brushed his fingers lightly across Danny’s messy hair.
“And somehow you still smile despite constantly being criticized.”
Danny’s chest tightened strangely.
No one had ever described him that way before.
Lucas looked directly into his eyes.
“That’s not weakness.”
The room felt warmer suddenly.
Or maybe that was just Lucas.
Danny looked away first.
“…You say really embarrassing things sometimes.”
Lucas almost smiled.
Cute.
Then suddenly-
A loud howl echoed through the distant night.
Danny jumped violently.
“What the hell was that?!”
Lucas froze slightly.
Outside the massive windows, another howl answered.
Low.
Animalistic.
Inhuman.
Danny slowly turned toward Lucas.
“…Please tell me your mansion isn’t haunted.”
Lucas remained very still.
This part would become difficult eventually.
His wolf stirred restlessly beneath his skin.
Mine should know.
But Lucas wasn’t ready yet.
Not when Danny still looked at him with soft trust instead of fear.
Before Lucas could answer, another sound echoed from outside.
Growling.
Deep and monstrous.
Danny immediately grabbed Lucas’s arm.
“Okay nope. Absolutely not. What was THAT?”
Lucas looked down at Danny clutching him tightly.
His wolf instantly became pleased.
Mate seeking protection.
Good.
Lucas gently covered Danny’s hand with his own.
“It’s just the guards outside.”
“Your guards sound rabid.”
Lucas almost laughed.
“They’re trained dogs.”
Technically not a complete lie.
Danny narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Those were not normal dogs.”
Lucas calmly changed the subject.
“Are you hungry?”
Danny paused.
“…A little.”
Successful distraction.
Lucas stood slowly.
“I’ll have dinner brought upstairs.”
Danny relaxed slightly.
Then frowned again.
“Wait.”
Lucas looked back.
“Your employees keep calling you weird things.”
Lucas went still.
“Like what?”
“‘My king.'”
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
Danny squinted suspiciously.
“And Serene kept talking about packs.”
Lucas’s wolf became alert instantly.
Lucas remained perfectly calm outwardly.
“They’re old traditions.”
Danny stared.
“…What kind of business company has old traditions involving packs?”
Lucas answered smoothly.
“My family is unusual.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Lucas walked back toward him slowly.
Then leaned down slightly until they were eye level.
Danny’s breath caught unexpectedly.
Too close.
Lucas’s eyes looked almost unnatural beneath the dim lighting.
Storm-colored.
Intense.
Beautiful.
Lucas’s voice lowered softly.
“Are you afraid of me, Danny?”
The question felt strangely serious.
Danny looked at him carefully.
Maybe he should be.
Everything about Lucas felt too powerful.
Too mysterious.
Too perfect.
Yet somehow-
Danny only felt safe around him.
Safe enough to sleep beside him.
Safe enough to ask him to carry him upstairs.
Safe enough to stay.
So Danny answered honestly.
“No.”
Something fierce and possessive flashed briefly through Lucas’s eyes at that answer.
Then suddenly-
The lights flickered.
For one impossible second, Danny saw it.
Golden eyes.
Bright.
Wild.
Inhuman.
Danny froze.
Lucas immediately stepped back.
The lights stabilized instantly.
Silence filled the room.
Danny’s heartbeat became uneven.
“…Lucas.”
Lucas said nothing.
Danny stared at him carefully now.
“…Your eyes.”
Lucas’s wolf went completely still.
And for the first time since finding his mate-
The Alpha King realized he might not be able to hide the monster beneath his skin much longer.
