Verveville's Curse

Chapter32

Axel’s pov

I knew the second she walked into the council chamber that something was going to go wrong.

The room had been steady and predictable. Kael at the head, his voice even and commanding, the elders listening, the younger wolves silent in obedience. And then she appeared.

Willow of Verneville

Dressed in a red dress that clung to her body like it had been stitched for the sole purpose of tempting destruction. Her hair loose, her lips painted, her eyes carrying that dangerous spark. She wasn’t just entering a meeting. She was declaring war.

I felt my jaw lock as every single pair of eyes followed her. Some of the older wolves looked unsettled, whispering under their breath, while the younger ones couldn’t hide the way their gazes lingered on her legs, her mouth, the sway of her hips.

Kael’s eyes found her immediately. And he didn’t look away.

That was what burned the most.

He didn’t flinch, didn’t hide it, his gaze traced her from head to toe, slow, deliberate, as if memorizing every inch of skin the dress exposed. And she wanted it. She basked in it. I saw the slight tilt of her chin, the knowing curve at her lips. She wanted him to look. She wanted all of us to know who she was dressing for.

I curled my fists beneath the table, my nails digging into my palms.

She walked past me without so much as a glance, her perfume trailing like smoke, filling my lungs. My wolf snarled under my skin, restless, itching to strike at something, at her, at him, I couldn’t tell. The only thing I knew was that the balance in this room, the one Kael and I had fought to keep for years, was shattering. And she was the reason.

Willow lowered herself into the empty chair beside Kael as if it had been made for her. She didn’t ask permission. Didn’t wait for anyone to acknowledge her. She simply sat, back straight, eyes bright, that red fabric spilling around her thighs in a way that made half the men at the table shift uncomfortably.

Kael’s voice, deep and measured, cut through the silence.

“What are you doing here?”

A sane woman would have flinched. A careful woman would have excused herself.

But not Willow.

She ignored him entirely and spoke instead to the council.

“Don’t mind me. I only want to learn more about Aetheria. Please, go on.”

Her tone was pleasant, almost sweet, but the edge in it was impossible to miss. She wasn’t asking. She was announcing.

I leaned forward, ready to shut her down, but Kael’s eyes flicked to me. That silent command he’d perfected over the years. One that told me to hold my tongue.

“Axel,” he said quietly, “it’s fine.”

Fine.

My jaw tightened. Nothing about this was fine. But I sat back, swallowing the growl clawing at my throat, because it wasn’t my place to challenge him in front of the others. Not yet.

The meeting resumed, but no one was paying attention. Not really. Half the room kept sneaking glances at her. At the way she crossed her legs, the red dress riding higher, the faint smile she wore like a blade.

And then it began.

At first it was small…her hand brushing Kael’s as she reached for a document. The tilt of her body, leaning toward him while he spoke, her lips parting like she was hanging on every word. Kael’s voice faltered once, just once, before he cleared his throat and continued.

But I saw it.

I saw the tension in his jaw, the way his hand curled into a fist under the table.

She was playing him. And the bastard was letting her.

It wasn’t long before she dropped something. It rolled under the table, her excuse prepared perfectly. She bent down, and when she came back up, her hand brushed his thigh. Not accidental. Not innocent. A deliberate touch, soft, slow, her fingers sliding higher than they had any right to.

Kael didn’t move. His voice barely hitched as he continued to address the council, but I saw the flicker in his eyes, the quick inhale he tried to mask.

My chest burned.

I wanted to slam the table, drag her out of the room, shake her until that smug smile left her lips. I wanted to remind Kael who the hell he was, what was at stake, why he couldn’t afford this weakness.

Instead, I sat there, teeth clenched, nails digging into the wood of the chair.

No one else noticed. Of course they didn’t. They were too busy pretending not to stare at her, too blind to see the game unfolding inches from Kael’s body. But I noticed. I always noticed.

Her hand lingered too long. His eyes flicked to her, dark, dangerous, but he didn’t stop her. He never stopped her.

And I hated her for it.

Hated the way she walked in like she belonged. Hated the way she turned every head. Hated the way Kael..my Alpha, my brother in all but blood was unraveling beneath her touch.

But what I hated most was the part of me that understood.

Because I felt it too.

The pull, The heat. The way every glance she threw could ignite a man from the inside out. She was poison. And I was watching her sink her teeth into him, smiling while she did it.

When the meeting ended, the council dispersed quickly, murmuring to one another, though I caught more than one hungry glance thrown over their shoulders at her. Tsk! Disgraceful!.

Willow stayed seated, crossing her legs leisurely as though she owned the chamber. Kael dismissed the last elder, his voice rougher than usual.

And I couldn’t take it anymore.

“You think this is a game?” I snapped, the words spilling before I could leash them.

Her head turned, her eyes sharp, mocking.

“Excuse me?”

“You walk in here,” I said, my voice low but trembling with rage, “dressed like that, sitting beside him like you belong, touching him while the council meets? Do you think we don’t see what you’re doing?”

Her smile widened, annoyingly calm.

“Funny”, she smirked, I thought no one noticed.”

Kael’s head snapped toward her, his expression thunderous, but she didn’t flinch. She looked at me like I was beneath her, like my anger amused her.

I wanted to shake her. To remind her she was nothing here. Nothing but a guest. Nothing but a danger Kael should have kept locked away.

“You don’t belong at this table,” I hissed.

“And yet,” she said softly, leaning back in her chair, “here I am.”

The worst part? She was right. She was here. And Kael was letting her stay.

He said nothing. Not a word in her defense, not a word against her. Just silence. That silence told me more than anything.

She had him.

And if she had him, we were all in danger.