Chapter 240 - 0240

Lorelei POV

A soft, startled gasp escaped my lips as Kaelen’s mouth crashed against mine.

"I love you," he whispered against my lips.

Those were words I had grown used to hearing from him, but tonight, they hit differently. Maybe it was because I could taste the sharp burn of alcohol on his lips, or because my newly heightened senses could pick up the heavy, suffocating scent of liquor clinging to him.

He had been drinking.

And not just a little.

I stiffened slightly when he deepened the kiss, but before I could say anything, he pulled back and buried his face into the crook of my neck.

"Promise me," he whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, desperate edge I hadn’t heard from him in a long time. "Promise me you’ll never leave me."

That made my brows immediately pull together in concern.

Where was this coming from?

He had seemed completely fine when he left the estate that morning. So why was he suddenly acting like this?

A small knot of disappointment formed in my stomach as I thought about the dinner waiting behind us. I had gone out of my way to prepare everything for him, asking the kitchen staff about all his favorite dishes while adding a few personal touches of my own.

I had spent hours in the kitchen from afternoon until evening, determined to make everything perfect for when he came home.

And now he was standing in front of me drunk.

It hurt more than I wanted to admit, even though I tried my best not to let it show.

"Lorelei..."

His soft, almost shaky voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He drew back slightly, his eyes searching my face with an intensity that made my chest tighten.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" he asked, gently cupping my cheek. "You won’t leave me, will you?"

I quickly shook my head, pushing my own disappointment aside as I reached up and placed my hand over his. I gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze.

"Of course not. I’ll never leave you," I promised softly, watching as the tension in his expression slowly eased with relief before adding, "But... why did you drink so much?"

Only then did he seem to fully catch himself. His eyes widened for a brief second as realization crossed his face, but he quickly pulled himself together, smoothing his expression back into that familiar, composed mask.

"Things got a bit out of hand with the Council at work," he said quietly. "I just needed to clear my head."

To the point of drinking this heavily?

I wanted to push further. I really did. Seeing him resort to alcohol like this didn’t sit right with me, especially after everything that had already happened. But I couldn’t bring myself to ruin the night the moment he walked through the door. So instead, I forced a gentle smile.

"Okay," I murmured.

As I turned my head slightly, I caught sight of Darius standing near the far corner of the grand dining hall, silently watching the two of us with a distant, unreadable expression.

"Were you drinking too?" I asked, looking over at him.

That immediately broke the rigid mask on Darius’s face. He gave me a small, sheepish smile before lowering his head with a guilty nod, and a soft, defeated sigh escaped me.

Even the man who was supposed to be the most responsible one between the two of them had apparently joined in on the afternoon drinking.

"You two go wash up first," I said, keeping my tone light so I wouldn’t completely kill the mood. "Then we can all have dinner together."

Kaelen opened his mouth, probably ready to argue that he didn’t need to wash up, but one look from me was enough to make him close it again. He knew better than to push me when I gave him that particular look.

Darius simply nodded in agreement, while Kaelen hesitated for another second before finally following him down the hall.

Once they were gone, I busied myself with the final touches on the table. I adjusted the silverware, straightened the cloth napkins, and made sure the candles were properly aligned. The warm glow of the flames spread across the room, casting a soft golden light over the dinner I had spent hours preparing in the kitchen.

I stepped back for a moment, taking it all in, and tried to ignore the small disappointment still sitting heavily in my chest.

When the two men returned, they had both changed out of their stiff, formal clothes and into something much more comfortable. Kaelen wore a loose grey shirt with dark pants, while Darius had opted for a plain black shirt and simple trousers. Without their tailored suits and usual intimidating presence, they looked nothing like the fearsome Alpha King and his equally intimidating Beta.

We all took our seats around the table, close enough that I could feel the shift in the atmosphere. Kaelen sat at the head, I took the seat beside him, and Darius sat directly across from me.

The suffocating smell of alcohol that had clung to them earlier, which had made me very nauseous, had faded considerably after they washed up, but the atmosphere was still stiff and, honestly, a little awkward.

It was nothing like the warm, intimate dinner I had pictured when I spent the entire afternoon cooking.

My heart sank a little as I looked down at my plate. I found myself moving my fork around aimlessly, pushing a piece of chicken back and forth without actually bringing it to my mouth.

Maybe this had been a mistake.

Maybe I shouldn’t have insisted we all eat together.

Maybe...

"Did you really make all of this?"

Darius’s voice cut straight through my spiraling thoughts.

My eyes immediately lifted, and I found him staring at the spread with genuine curiosity. There was something almost childlike about the way he looked at the food, and it made some of the tension in my chest ease.

I gave him a shy nod as I asked, "Is it good?"