98

After a movement in the leaves, something quickly moved away.

"I-It was you!" I shook my head. "But… were you already spying on us?"

"Ever since you, your brothers, and your cousins were little. My father knows everything that happens in the Carpathians. He would never overlook the emergence of Supreme Alphas and their heirs."

"I never imagined that… Everything was premeditated, even your appearance at the Alliance Festival."

"I was eager to meet you in person. Deep down, I knew I would fall in love." He raised his hand, caressing my face, looking at me deeply. "You marked me in every video, every photograph, every time I saw you from afar. I just fooled myself into thinking it was meant for my brother. From the beginning, I wanted you for myself."

I lost my voice, at first irritated by what they had done without us suspecting, but then even more in love. Because he confessed it. And because I knew he was telling the truth.

"I went crazy for you too, from the very first time."

He smiled slowly, so beautifully it almost hurt.

"We were destined, Lio."

"Yes." I grabbed him, and he grabbed me back, my heartbeat soaring. "Do you have more things to confess? Things I don't know?"

"Better not."

"Now talk!" I sat up, alert. "Confess!"

"On one condition."

"What?"

"That you tell me why you had the Infantry's card in your possession."

"I'll tell you. But you go first."

Balthazar sat up, leaning against the pillows on the headboard. He pulled me close, and I put my legs over his, unable to stop admiring his naked body. The muscles, the tanned skin, his still semi-hard cock, thick and heavy, resting to the side.

I tried not to focus on desire and fixed my eyes on his, waiting. With the most innocent expression, he calmly said:

"I invaded your dreams twice."

I remembered the erotic dreams about him, shocked.

"It was you! You entered my mind while I slept!"

"I'm not proud of it now, but I wouldn't do it differently. You wanted it. And you came so beautifully."

"You… manipulative vampire!" He laughed and hugged me. I pretended to struggle but couldn’t really be mad at him. "There were times I wanted to kill you!"

"I know. Even the first time we fucked, you nearly killed me before you sat on my cock."

"Not funny!" I ended up laughing too, hugging him. "And you even switched my heat suppressant!"

"I already confessed to that."

"Speaking of heat… it's really different with a vampire." I slid my hand over the muscles of his chest. "Predestined wolves only stay in heat for three days. I went seven, like the non-predestined ones."

"Because I'm not a wolf."

"Exactly. Same thing with our bite. It can be fatal to another wolf, but for you, it's just toxic."

"And it hurts like hell!"

"Are you not going to let me bite you anymore?"

"Only if you lick it afterward. I'm already hard again."

I found it amusing—and arousing. But he didn’t let me reach down to feel him, gripping my wrist and looking at me deeply.

"You still haven't told me about the Infantry."

"Alright."

And I told him. From the encounter in the woods near the waterfall to my conversation with the Mentor. And the card he gave me.

"Of course, I wasn't allied with him. Whatever I discovered was just for me, to protect my family and the wolves. But I was afraid he might be right, that you were planning something that would harm us."

"That's why you returned, to investigate."

"I came back for you—I couldn't bear the longing. But it was a good excuse."

Balthazar’s serious expression softened at my response. But I needed to know more:

"He told me he was a man, a soldier of the Infantry. But his scent didn’t fool me. He’s a hybrid."

"Of what?"

"I couldn’t identify it. Something new, something I’ve never sensed before."

Balthazar frowned, concerned.

"That surprises me. Hunters hate every species different from humans."

"Maybe they don’t know the Mentor is different. They don’t have a wolf’s sense of smell to detect it. Another strange thing was the metallic mask he wore, hiding his head and neck."

"We’ve seen one of those before. We once captured a Mentor when they were lurking around our territory. We couldn’t manipulate his mind until the helmet was removed. Even then, he resisted—he had the strongest mind of any human I’ve ever encountered."

I looked at him, listening intently. His expression was hard as he continued:

"Anyway, I managed to get into his thoughts, and he answered why he wore that thing."

"What for?"

"It’s new technology. The material is resistant—both to vampire bites on the neck and to our telepathy. And they’re called Mentors because they train their minds not to accept domination. Because they know about our power. But they’re still not strong enough to resist under persistent pressure."

"I never imagined that! So, they’re preparing against you."

"They have been for a long time."

"And what did you do to him? After you found out?"

"I drained his blood until he died."

His eyes met mine, cold, without any remorse. And for a moment, I realized he wasn’t just a beautiful, elegant vampire. Balthazar had powers, he could fly, he could fight, and he could kill—when he wanted to.

"So this Mentor who approached you in the forest, Lio… He said we had a hidden agenda. He wanted you to help him uncover it."

"Yes. And I think he was right. I saw the clan representatives, how organized they are, how spread out across the world. They hold positions of power, don’t they?"

"Yes." He didn’t lie. "Finance, media, weapons and drug production, foreign trade, politics, and more. Often behind the scenes, putting people in place to represent us."

"And what does Kalygor have to do with this?"

Balthazar wasn’t hiding anything from me anymore. I could see it in the way he looked at me—firm and sincere.

"We were nearly wiped out in wars with wolves and witches, hunted by humans, losing our purity as we mixed with different species. So, we decided to unite and formed the clans. Kalygor was our master, our philosopher. According to him, we could dominate the planet if we organized."

"So the plan really was that grand."

"It is grand. They won’t give up. Humans aren’t doing a good job as the dominant species—they’re destroying themselves. And eventually, vampires will step in. Have you seen how the servants adore us? They are a test. A sample of how the rest of humanity can do the same."

"With you as their saviors." It sounded like fiction, but it became tangible as he spoke.

"A new era. Ruling not just by physical strength, but through intellectual superiority, mind control, and telepathy. We’ve spread, we’ve strengthened, we’re everywhere. Once we have enough purebloods, it will be possible."

It was a bit frightening, and I pulled away from him slightly, observing him more closely.

"You agreed with this, Balthazar?"

"Of course." He didn’t waver.

"And now?"

"I'm not one of them anymore, Lio. That’s why I'm telling you. I don’t care what they do, how long it takes. I’m out. My life now is you and our child."

For a moment, I was afraid. That this was still a trap. Even our child. After all, wasn’t that the goal from the beginning? What if Balthazar had faked everything—even choosing me—just to gain access to our offspring later?

"Are you insane?" His eyes burned red, furious, as he read my thoughts. He grabbed my arms and pulled me close. "Do you think I could fake this? You can get into my head, you can search through everything, damn it!"

I did. I felt, deep in my soul, his emotion, his feelings for me. His scent, which was mine. Our blood so mixed that one was already part of the other, already lived in the other.

In that moment of fury, when he was worked up and so was I, something even more extraordinary happened. His crimson eyes started turning golden at the center. The same shade as my wolf’s.

"Your eyes are red," he said to me, caught by surprise.

Right then, I knew there was no room for doubt. That any lie would be impossible in the face of such a deep, intertwined love.

"I didn’t…"

"Lio, in the beginning, I planned everything with my father. He knew that, at some point, the clans would start fighting each other for power. If we had an advantage, an evolved species on our side, it would be easier for us to stand out. It really was an experiment with you. But it’s not anymore.

Do you believe me?"

He was tense, holding me tightly, his emotions laid bare.

"I believe you. Of course, I do!"

"Fuck… I love you… I love you more than anything."

"I love you too."

"I won’t let anything separate us. I promise."

I kissed him, wild, lost, knowing that we were one. We would never part again.