Claimed By The Packless Alpha

05 Dinner Date

Sienna’s POV

I got ready for dinner like a woman preparing for execution but still trying to look pretty for the witnesses. That was the honest truth. My hands shook while I dressed. My stomach turned every few minutes. Twice, I ran to the bathroom and vomited even though there was barely anything in me. Fear had decided to sit in my stomach and kick its legs around like an unwanted guest.

I wore a short knitted dress with a turtleneck because apparently, my entire future now depended on fabric covering my neck. The dress hugged my body in all the right places, and under different circumstances, I would have felt beautiful in it. Confident even. But tonight, all I could think about was the mark hidden beneath the collar. Kael’s mark. That stupid, life-ruining mark.

I packed my hair in a neat bun so no loose strand would disturb the collar and expose anything. Then I sprayed perfume on myself. Too much perfume. Again.

‘At this point, even flowers are offended,’ Nyla muttered.

I ignored her and sprayed a little more.

‘Sienna.’

“What?” I snapped under my breath.

‘If perfume could solve this problem, we would already be Luna, Queen, and possibly ruler of all scented things.’

“I need to cover his scent.”

‘You smell like a woman hiding a corpse in a rose garden.’

“That is not helpful.”

‘It is honest.’

I glared at my reflection. “Honesty is overrated.”

‘That is why we are in this mess.’

I stopped spraying. Mostly because she was right and I hated when she was right. The restaurant where we were meeting Alpha Darius and my brother was not far from home, so I decided to walk there. I did that a lot. My feet were used to heels. And tonight, I needed to look normal. Better than normal. I needed to look like the polished daughter of Gideon Vale. I needed to look like a future Luna. I needed to look like someone who had not spent the morning crying over another Alpha’s bite.

Maya was still with me. She had not left after helping me calm down, and I was grateful for that because if she had left me alone, I might have lost my mind completely. She was not supposed to be at the dinner, but I had a plan, and for that plan to work, she had to be there. I lent her one of my dresses. Unlike me, Maya hated walking in heels. She had complained twice before we even left my room.

“If I break my ankle because of your disaster, I will haunt you,” Maya said while adjusting the dress.

“You are not going to die from heels,” I told her.

“Says the woman walking into dinner with a secret Alpha claim under her collar.”

I paused and looked at her.

She raised both hands. “Too soon?”

“Very.”

“Sorry,” she said, but her mouth twitched.

Nyla snorted. ‘I like her.’

“You like anyone who insults me.”

‘I like honesty. It is not my fault you give people material.’

I grabbed my purse and led the way out before Nyla could continue with her useless commentary. The walk to The Glass Garden Restaurant felt longer than usual. Every sound made me tense. Every passing car felt like it carried someone who could smell the truth on me. I kept tugging at my collar, making sure it was high enough. Maya noticed.

“Stop touching it,” she whispered. “You will draw attention.”

“I can’t help it,” I whispered back.

“Try.”

‘I agree with Maya,’ Nyla said. ‘You are acting like the mark is ringing a bell.’

I dropped my hand. By the time we arrived, my nerves were a mess. The Glass Garden Restaurant was empty when we stepped inside. Of course it was. It was typical of Darius to clear a place out for privacy. That was how Alphas like him moved. They did not simply book a table like normal people. They bought silence, space, and the right to sit somewhere without ordinary people breathing too loudly around them.

My brother, Gamma Nolan Vale, was already there. So was Alpha Darius Hale. And Goddess help me, Darius looked painfully handsome tonight. He wore a black suit that fitted his body like it had been sewn while worshipping him. His beard was neatly carved, his dark hair perfect, and his eyes carried that intense Alpha weight that made people sit straighter without knowing why. He looked powerful. Controlled. Expensive. The kind of man my father wanted beside me. The kind of man any sensible woman would be thrilled to marry. And I stood there with another Alpha’s mark under my collar.

‘Tragic,’ Nyla said.

“Do not start,” I warned silently.

‘No, I mean it. He is handsome. A little stiff, but handsome. Shame we collected a mystery carpenter’s teeth last night.’

My jaw tightened. Nolan looked surprised to see Maya, and I quickly spoke before he could ask too many questions.

“I wasn’t feeling too well, and Maya spent the entire day with me, so I asked her to come,” I said. “She is more like family anyway.”

Nolan’s eyes moved from me to Maya, then back to me. He was silent for a moment, and my heart jumped into my throat. Please do not question it. Please do not sniff too closely. Please do not be Nolan tonight. He finally gave a small nod. I almost collapsed from relief.

“Alpha Dar...” I began, trying to greet Darius properly, but he cut me off with a soft smile.

“Please call me Darius,” he said. “I would not have my Luna addressing me by my title.”

My stomach churned so hard I almost reached for the nearest chair. My Luna. The words should have pleased me. They should have made me feel wanted, important, chosen. Instead, they pressed against the mark on my neck like a knife. He would not call me that if he knew. He would not smile like that if he knew another Alpha had already claimed me.

“Good evening, Darius,” I managed.

His smile widened, and he pulled out a chair for me. He was a gentleman. I would give him that. Nolan pulled one out for Maya too, and I could tell she felt like she had accidentally walked into a ceremony where she might be sacrificed if she sneezed wrong. We sat. Then Nolan’s nose twitched. My heart stopped.

“Woah, Sienna,” Nolan said, frowning. “What is with the perfume? It is assaulting our noses.”

Of course. Of course he noticed. I forced a light laugh.

“I wanted to spray a little, then I ended up spraying a lot because I liked the scent. I am sorry.”

‘Beautiful lie,’ Nyla said. ‘Weak ending, but decent delivery.’

Darius reached across the table and touched my hand gently.

“You do not need perfume, love,” he said. “Your scent is perfect.”

I smiled. Inside, I was dying.

Nyla made a small choking sound. ‘Perfect? Oh, this is painful.’

“When is Daddy coming?” I asked Nolan quickly, mostly because I needed the topic to change before my guilt stood up and introduced itself.

Nolan leaned back in his chair. “He is on his way. The joining is important to him.”

I smiled like that did not make my stomach twist. The joining was important to my father. Not me. My father.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Darius asked.

Every part of me went on red alert. Wine? After last night? After waking up marked by a stranger because alcohol had turned my common sense into dust? Absolutely not.

“No, please,” I said quickly. “A glass of orange juice will do.”

Nolan laughed. “Overdid it last night, didn’t you? Maya said you had a bad headache and passed out.”

Darius laughed a little too, and I looked at him in surprise. I had not expected him to laugh. Maybe some part of me had expected him to be disappointed in anything less than perfect behaviour. But he seemed amused. Maybe he did not expect me to be as perfect as my father wanted everyone to believe. That should have made me feel better. It did not.