Hope Is Not Optional — Manuel Flores 104
Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Yara
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I knew a dangerous opponent the moment I saw one. Call it instinct, awareness, or simply the sense you develop after surviving too many battles, but when I face someone truly formidable, I can see through them no matter how carefully they try to hide it.
Even though she had soft blue eyes, even though she looked harmless and almost fragile, even though she carried herself like someone who had never held a sword or tasted blood in her life, I could see right through the woman standing in front of me. There was something beneath that calm exterior, and it made my skin prickle in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.
The first time I saw her, that familiar feeling settled deep in my gut, the one that warned me I was not dealing with an ordinary person.
The way she spoke was too measured, and the way she acted carried a confidence that didn’t match her
appearance. While Beta Jason and Kaius were busy trying to understand why the alpha was treating this woman differently from everyone else, my attention was fixed on her, on the way someone so young could feel so threatening. She moved conversations and situations as if she were sliding pieces across a board, always turning things subtly in her favor without anyone realizing it until it was too late.
Even at the market, when everyone thought she was about to be scammed, I knew better. I could see it in her eyes, the faint glint of amusement she failed to hide. She wasn’t the prey in that situation, she was the one setting the trap. And I was proven right when she scammed the scammer without raising her voice or drawing attention, as if it had all been a harmless little game to her from the start.
When I really looked into her eyes, it felt strange, like I was staring at a warrior who had survived countless hardships and carried the weight of them quietly on her shoulders.
I didn’t understand it. How could someone so young, someone who appeared so inexperienced, make me feel as though I was facing another predator, one that was equal to me, if not stronger? It didn’t make sense, and yet my instincts refused to back down.
And my instincts were never wrong.
Right then, they were screaming at me that this woman was far more dangerous than she appeared, that she was anything but simple. I was never the type to ignore that feeling. I liked to test things, to push until the truth revealed itself, no matter the consequences.
I wanted to know exactly who Lady Selene was beneath that calm surface.
So I slipped a small knife from my sleeve into my hand and, without hesitation, threw it across the room, straight toward her head. Lady Selene watched the blade fly toward her, and just as it was about to strike, she lazily turned her head to the side. The knife missed her by a breath and buried itself into the wall behind her. My eyes widened instantly, excitement flashing through me as my lips slowly curled upward.
To anyone else, it would have looked like luck, like she had narrowly dodged it at the last second by chance alone. But 1 knew better. Someone as experienced as me could see the truth clearly, she had tracked the knife the moment it left my hand and moved precisely when it was about to hit. To us, it was fast, and deadly, impossible to avoid so casually. To her, it
must have felt slow.
I smiled then, my certainty solidifying. I had been right from the start. This woman was not as simple as everyone believed. She was dangerous, far more dangerous than anyone here could imagine. And if Alpha Damien thought he had caught a cub, then he was gravely mistaken.
He hadn’t caught a cub at all.
He had caught something much larger, and far more lethal.
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Chapter 104
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Her gaze drifted first to the knife buried deep in the wall behind her, studying it, before she slowly turned her eyes back to
Her expression remained composed, but there was a dangerous flash in her eyes that made the air in the room thicken, as if an invisible pressure had settled over everything.
Alba, who had been lounging lazily on the counter with his tail flicking in idle contentment, suddenly lifted his head and opened his eyes, his body tensing as he fixed his stare on Selene. He could feel it too, the deadly aura rolling off her in waves.
She looked at me and spoke as if she were commenting on something trivial, her tone devoid of emotion. “I will advise you to explain yourself because your next answer will decide my next action. Even though I don’t want to cause a scene, I’m very sensitive to people who try to kill me.” Her eyes locked onto mine. “So tell me, was your blade aiming for my life?”
Her words were simple, but the threat beneath them was unmistakable. She wasn’t bluffing. She was weighing my life with cold precision, and if I chose my words wrong, I was certain she would end me without hesitation.
My blood spiked instantly at her question. A reckless part of me wanted to say yes, just to see what would happen, just to find out how strong she truly was in a real fight, to see who would walk away alive. But I stopped myself.
I might be unhinged, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew my limits, and I knew when to back down. If Alpha Damien found out that I had thrown a knife at her, I would be lucky if I survived the night. And beyond that, there was Selene herself, my instincts were screaming at me, louder than they ever had before, warning me not to offend her. Every instinct I trusted told me that crossing her would be a fatal mistake.
So I smiled, carefully schooling my expression into something respectful, and bowed my head slightly. “Of course not, Lady Selene,” I said. “I apologize for my rude behavior. I would never try to kill the alpha woman.”
She paused at those words.
Her eyes blinked once, and just like that, the murderous pressure vanished from the room as if it had never been there. Selene shook her head slowly, her voice calm but firm. “You’re mistaken. I’m not your alpha woman. Last night was just a one-time thing, and I’ll be leaving right now.”
I looked at her for a long moment, studying her face, and then I couldn’t help myself, I chuckled softly. She raised an eyebrow at me, clearly unimpressed by my reaction.
“I apologize, Lady Selene,” I said, amused, “but it seems you don’t quite understand your situation.”
“Situation?” she repeated.
“Yes, your situation,” I replied, nodding. “Before last night, did Alpha Damien say something to you? Did he ask for your permission, perhaps? Maybe mention that there would be consequences?”
She frowned slightly, confusion flickering across her face, and then something shifted in her expression as if a memory surfaced. She licked her lips unconsciously, and that alone told me everything I needed to know.
I nodded to myself. “You should have thought more carefully before agreeing. Our alpha may be cold-blooded, but he never does anything without consent. And once you agree, there are always consequences. My lady, right now, you are one of those consequences.”
“What?”
I bent down, lifted Alba into my arms, and turned toward the ddor. Before leaving, I glanced back at her one last time.
“You belong to our alpha now, Lady Selene. Alpha Damien doesn’t allow outsiders into the pack. The moment he brought you here, he had already decided that you were his.”
I smiled as I took in her stunned expression. “It seems that things are about to get far more interesting around here.”
15:45 Thu, Jan 15 MG G.
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