Page 23 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

Nikolai appeared satisfied.

"Very well. You'll each have an opportunity to speak privately with Miss Vale before midnight, should she wish it."

Before anyone could approach, Serenity raised her hand.

"I'd like a moment to process this information. Alone."

"Of course," Nikolai acquiesced with a thin smile. "Elena will show you to the garden. It's walled and secured."

Serenity followed the Beta woman through French doors into a manicured courtyard, exhaling once she was away from the suffocating Alpha pheromones.

"I'll be just inside," Elena said, retreating.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Serenity paced between sculpted hedges, her mind racing. She'd barely had a minute to herself when the subtle shift in air pressure told her she wasn't alone.

"You shouldn't be here," she said without turning.

"Neither should you," Darius replied, his footsteps silent on the stone path. "You should be halfway to the Canadian border by now."

He’s not being serious.

She spun to face him, keeping her distance.

"Is that what you want? For me to run?"

"What I want is irrelevant." His voice dropped lower as he moved closer, scanning the garden for surveillance. "What matters is that you understand exactly what you're dealing with."

"Then enlighten me," she challenged, tilting her chin up. "Because right now I'm dealing with five Alphas who see me as either a brood mare or a signature on acquisition papers. Including you."

Something flashed in his eyes—frustration, perhaps regret.

"The man who killed your father wasn't working alone."

His voice was sharp like a gunshot, reverberating through the courtyard until it lodged itself in the pit of her stomach. This was the same traitor who'd stood right beside her father's assassins on the video footage, the same Alpha who was now pretending all that history didn't exist between them.

The man she saw on the video footage standing right before her.

She froze, his words rattling through her head, knocking the sense out of everything she thought she knew.

The blunt statement hit her like a physical blow.

"What are you talking about?" she pressed. Playing dumb was the only way to get the truth out of Darius, the one who acted like he hadn’t betrayed her when they’d been bonded at the hip only hours earlier. If he wanted to turn this into a game, she’d damn well make sure she won. Feigning confusion is the only way to get me the information I need from the one who’s acting as if he didn’t betray me.

Darius glanced toward the house before continuing.

"The official story is a simple one," Darius continued, his voice steady, as though he were revealing the plot of a particularly well-crafted thriller instead of turning her worldupside down. "Marcus Vale was taken out by a rival. Cold, cutthroat. Someone who wanted his empire." He watched her, gauging her reaction, but Serenity kept her face an infuriating mask. "But that story doesn't fit," he pressed, stepping closer. "Your father was too careful, too well-protected for a simple hit. You know it, and I know it."

He paused, his gray eyes locked on hers, daring her to refute his words. "There's a larger game at play here, and you're a pawn in it unless you understand the truth."

Every sentence was a blow, but Serenity refused to buckle. She'd learned from the best, after all. Resilience was in her blood. She let the silence stretch, waiting for him to fill it.

"More than one family is involved. Your father's death was no random act."

Serenity felt heat rise in her cheeks, anger quick and sharp. He was telling her what she already knew while pretending it was a revelation.

Does he think she’s that naive? She was too blinded to see the enemy right before her.

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