Bound to my enemy alpha

The Eyes I Cannot Hide

The fire in my chest wouldn’t calm, no matter how much I pressed it down. I sat curled at the edge of the couch, knuckles white around the hem of my dress, fighting to keep the trembling inside me from breaking loose.

Not because of fear. Not because of Kael’s suffocating presence across the room, though the way his gaze lingered on me could melt skin. No, this was worse.

My vision pulsed with a faint glow — gold.

The same cursed gold I thought I had buried deep.

I blinked hard, forcing myself to breathe through my nose, praying that when I looked up again it would be gone. But every time I squeezed my eyes shut, the heat behind my eyelids only grew sharper, brighter, clawing to break free.

Not now. Not here. Not in his house.

“Something wrong?” Kael’s voice cut through, low and smooth, but laced with suspicion.

I stiffened. My lashes fluttered open just enough to see him move closer, each step predatory, deliberate. The Alpha carried his authority like a cloak — no one in this mansion questioned it, not even the air itself.

I dipped my head, letting my hair fall forward like a shield. “I’m fine.”

The lie tasted bitter, and I knew he could smell it. Wolves were built to sense weakness, and Kael was no ordinary wolf. His silence told me he’d already caught the edge of my unraveling.

My heart thudded too loud. One wrong move, one slip, and the secret that could change everything would blaze into the open.

“Fine?” His boots stopped inches from where I sat. I felt his shadow tower over me, pressing into my skin. “You don’t look fine.”

I forced a small laugh, too light, too shaky. “Maybe your mansion’s air is too heavy for me.”

Andreina snorted from the corner, lounging on the armchair like she had nothing better to do. “Everything’s too heavy for her. She almost fainted earlier just by walking up the stairs.”

I shot her a glare from beneath my curtain of hair. She only winked, biting back a grin. To her, everything was a joke. To me, this was life or death.

Kael didn’t laugh. He crouched, bringing his eyes level with mine. I froze, barely breathing, terrified he would catch even the faintest flicker of gold.

Those storm-gray eyes searched me, patient, merciless. His face was close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath fan against my cheek.

I tilted my chin away, the strands of my hair my last defense. “I said I’m fine.”

“Liar.” The word rumbled from him like thunder, too soft to be casual, too sharp to be ignored.

The room stilled. Andreina stopped chewing whatever snack she had stolen from the tray. My pulse roared in my ears.

I couldn’t let him see. If he did… I didn’t even know what would happen. Would he kill me? Lock me away? Or worse, recognize what the golden eyes meant — something even I barely understood?

I swallowed hard, digging my nails into my palms. Focus, Nina. Pull it back. Hide it.

Kael leaned in, his nose brushing against my temple as if scenting me. My stomach lurched. The heat behind my eyes flared so violently I thought the glow would spill out right then.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

My body locked. No, no, no.

“I said—” his voice dipped, cold and commanding, “look at me.”

I couldn’t disobey. My wolf stirred under his Alpha command, trembling with the instinct to obey, even though every part of me screamed to resist.

Slowly, I turned, eyes still lowered.

Kael reached out, fingers curling under my chin. His touch was rough, yet precise — like he was testing how far he could bend me before I broke. He tilted my head up until I had no choice but to face him.

My lashes flicked upward — just a second, just a fraction of a second — and I saw the flicker of shock in his gaze.

Damn it.

I forced my lids down again, choking out a cough. “Something in my eye.”

For a long, dangerous beat, he didn’t speak. He just stared, his hand still gripping my chin, thumb brushing along my jaw as though deciding whether to peel back the mask I was fighting to keep.

Finally, he released me. “Get some rest.”

His tone was unreadable.

I nodded quickly, stumbling to my feet, desperate to leave before the gold betrayed me fully.

Andreina raised a brow at me as I passed, her smirk faltering when she caught the desperation in my eyes. For once, she didn’t make a joke.

I rushed down the hall, into the safety of the guest room, and slammed the door shut behind me. My back hit the wood, and only then did I let go.

The glow burst free.

My reflection in the mirror across the room stared back at me, eyes blazing like molten sunlight. Golden, radiant, terrifying.

Tears burned my vision. I couldn’t hide it forever. And if Kael truly saw even a glimpse tonight…

He’d never let it go.

And maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t ready for what that meant.