Page 7

Chapter

Seven

Hair, makeup, and getting dressed took over three hours, the longest I’d ever taken to get ready. Mom had insisted I wear my tiara, so I’d had to change my hair plans, which made the stylist have to change their original idea.

My nerves grew as I stared at my reflection. My hair was glowing faintly, but I was keeping the rage at bay without much issue.

“You look amazing!” Maya gasped and walked around me with her mouth open. “That dress is so sexy! Oh, man. The guys are going to be on you like ants on sugar.”

Chuckling, I hugged her. “Your dress is amazing, too.” It was white with red rhinestones in a swirling pattern from her cleavage around her waist and down her legs. “I think you might steal all the single men’s attention instead.”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and posed next to me in front of the mirror. “We can steal all the attention and then have our pick of men.”

I hadn’t told her about what had happened yesterday, still in shock and disbelief myself.

“Well, let’s hope there are some handsome, eligible men for us tonight,” I said.

“It’s time!” Mom called as she entered the room. Her hands went up to her mouth as tears built in her eyes. “Oh, honey, you look amazing!” She hugged me and kissed my cheek, then turned to Maya. “You look amazing as well!”

“Thanks, Mom Two,” Maya said. “Did you see any handsome men out there?”

“Besides my mates? There were a few younger ones,” she teased. “Come on, let’s get you announced so you can start enjoying your party!” She grabbed Maya and pulled her through the door leading to the huge ballroom, leaving it cracked so I could hear the DJ announce my entrance.

Taking a deep breath, I smoothed down my dress, reminded myself this was my party and would be fun, and stepped through the door while smiling wide.

Everyone clapped and cheered as I entered and I was immediately hugged and wished happy birthday by all the people inside. In addition to my family and friends, there were family friends, and friends of my parents and grandparents as well. Definitely over one hundred people, but if I counted how many were there, I might get too nervous, so it was better to just focus on the ones that were closest to me. There were several people I didn’t recognize, but I greeted everyone like I knew them, just in case they were important people I had met before and forgot.

“Happy birthday, gorgeous!” Luca said as I made it to him. He kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, “I’ll give you your gift later, after you’ve made your rounds.”

Pulling back, I continued to smile and said, “Thanks for coming, Luca.” He was a handsome alpha, with long, light brown wavy hair and light green eyes complimented by a sharp jawline. He was handsome enough to be a model if he wanted to.

“Anything for you, Lily,” he said and winked at me.

As attractive as he was, I just never viewed him as a potential mate. His attitude was too cocky at times and it irked me to see him treat those weaker than him as less just because they weren’t as strong. He wasn’t rude all the time or anything like that, but I’d seen him on occasion be rude to servers or people who tried to interact with him.

People had started dancing and before I realized what was happening, Trey pulled me into a dance, spinning us around the room. “Happy birthday, Lily.”

“Thanks, Trey,” I said and swallowed nervously.

We had learned the dance together when we were growing up, classical dances were something that our parents required us to learn and since we were all around the same age, Kayden was the youngest by four years, we had practiced together.

“So, now that you know we aren’t complete assholes,” he said, “why are you talking to guys like that loser?”

I glanced in the direction he was looking, knowing he meant Luca. “He’s not a loser. I know him from college. Why would I not talk to him or interact with him? It’s not like he has asked to court me or anything.”

He frowned. “Is that it? You want to be courted?”

Rolling my eyes, I said, “Every girl wants to be courted, Trey.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t come see you, but I had been informed that you were in a relationship and knew I couldn’t bring Kay or Mas to find you snuggled up with a man without them trying to murder him.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, stopping dancing to look at him.

He pulled me back into the dancers spinning around the room. “I had someone follow you for a bit at the college after you blocked our numbers. About a month after, they said you were spending a lot of time with that guy.” He jerked his chin towards Luca as we passed him again.

I threw my head back as I laughed and shook my head.

“Wait,” I said, realizing something. “I didn’t block your number. I only blocked Kayden’s. You were the one who stopped calling and texting me.”

“My calls, and Mason’s, were blocked as well. I bet if you check your phone, you will find that all are blocked.”

“Mind if I cut in?” Mason asked just as the song ended, before I could respond to Trey’s claims.

Trey’s hand gripped me tighter a second, clearly not wanting to end the conversation yet. But, after a moment, he bowed to me, holding my hand still, and kissed the back of it before transferring my hand to Mason’s outstretched palm.

The next song started and Mason expertly spun us around the room. He was the quiet, brooding alpha, the one who many considered a loose cannon because he often reacted swiftly with violence instead of trying to talk things out. There were some who thought he was wild and untamable, a threat more than a protector. His dark hair was shorter than the last time I had seen him, shaved on the sides and a few inches long on the top, so it hung in stylish waves that were all natural. His blackish-blue hair was the same color as his raven wings in animal form.

“Happy birthday,” he said after a silent minute of dancing.

“Thank you,” I replied and gave him a tense smile.

“You look gorgeous,” he added, his eyes dipping to my cleavage before he averted his gaze, making me smile truly.

“You look good in the suit,” I said.

He grunted. “I only wore it so you would be less embarrassed to dance with me.”

My brows furrowed. “Why would I be embarrassed to dance with you?”

“You know, plus if I just wore slacks and a shirt, we would stand out more than usual,” he explained.

“I’ve never been embarrassed to be seen with you,” I said honestly.

His eyes snapped to mine and widened a bit as he realized I was being sincere. “I …” he paused, looked around as if making sure no one could hear us, then leaned closer to whisper, “… I missed you.”

Emotional vulnerability was so hard for him. Had anyone else spoken in such a way, I would have laughed, but laughing would hurt his feelings and make him shut down.

“You could have come to see me,” I said softly, sadly.

He shook his head. “I might have killed someone.”

That wildness people worried about wasn’t too far off at times. “It would have helped mend our … issues.”

His brows furrowed. “You really thought we didn’t care for you?”

My throat constricted and instead of responding verbally, I nodded.

His grip on my hip tightened and his eyes softened. “I’m sorry, Lily. I tried to convince Trey to go see you, but he wouldn’t and wouldn’t tell me why he wouldn’t let us. You know he never gives orders, but he straight forbade us from going.”

If he’d told Mason that he had heard I was dating someone, I wasn’t sure what Mason would have done, knowing he was interested in me.

As we danced, I allowed myself to enjoy his presence, something I’d loved as a child, but had missed so much the past few years. He had been a constant in my life and being without him as well as Trey and Kayden while so far away from my family had made it even harder. I was proud of myself for enduring it and graduating, but it was so nice to be able to smell him and touch him. His wildness, his darkness, was similar to mine and I’d always felt like we were meant to find each other, though I’d never admitted that to anyone. The urge to rest my head on his shoulder was intense, but I resisted as the reminder of the pain of being separated was still fresh.

The song ended and Mason stopped, staring down at me. “Lily, I know we messed up. I know we hurt you. I’m sorry. Will you go with me somewhere tomorrow?”

Was he asking me on a date? Or was he going to show me something? “What time?” I asked.

“My turn to dance with the beautiful princess,” Luca said, grabbed my hand, and pulled me away from Mason.

Mason growled and took a step towards us, but Trey put a hand on Mason’s chest and shook his head.

Luca smiled at me as we danced, completely oblivious to the danger he was in with that stunt. “It’s rare now to find women who have been trained with classical dances. I don’t often get to show my skills.” He spun me in a circle so fast I got dizzy for a second, then slid his arm around my back to pull me close. “So, Princess, I spoke with your mother and requested a chance to court you.”

“Oh, uh, that’s quite a compliment,” I said and laughed awkwardly. “I didn’t think you were the type of guy to settle down.”

He spun me again, but I was prepared this time so I didn’t trip or get dizzy. Bending down, he whispered in my ear, “For the right woman, I’ll do almost anything. Even stop my playboy ways.”

Why did that sound like a lie?

“Mind if I cut in?” Kayden asked and pulled me by the waist away from Luca.

“Um, I do mind, actually,” Luca said and tried to follow us, but Trey stepped in front of Luca, introducing himself and stopping him.

“Happy birthday,” Kayden said. His thumb rubbed my side where it rested on my hip.

“Thank you for making an appearance,” I replied. “I know you hate dressing up.”

“Mason grumbled the entire way here.” He laughed and shook his head.

The song ended and he bent close to whisper in my ear, “A gift is on your bed.” His lips pressed gently against my cheek before he turned and walked away, leaving me hot and breathing uneven.

“Time for cake,” Maya said and looped her arm through mine as she pulled me towards a huge cake on a table at the end of the room. Leaning close, she whispered, “The trio were looking at you much differently than when we were kids. And that other alpha was definitely interested as well.”

“I’m definitely not interested in him,” I said, ignoring her comment about the trio.

The DJ made the announcement that we were cutting the cake and everyone turned to watch as I walked up and took the knife from Mom.

“Not a word,” I said out of the side of my mouth to her when I saw her smirk.

“I’ve got a list of ten names already,” she said, “and it’s only been two hours.”

“I don’t want to know right now, let’s discuss that tomorrow,” I said and shook my head.

“Look this way!” a photographer said and began snapping pictures of Mom and I as I cut the cake.

The rest of the night was spent dancing with family and a few guys I had never met before that I highly suspected were invited by my grandparents and great grandparents.

I stepped outside for some fresh air and gasped as a pair of gloved hands grabbed me around the face. Spinning in the hold, I pushed the attacker away as hard as I could, causing them to fly into the wall.

It was a man I’d never seen before with a huge scar down his face and a pair of black gloves on his hands.

“Who are you and what do you want?” I demanded, arms up in preparation to fight.

He didn’t respond, just snarled, shifted into a werewolf warrior form, and attacked me again. His claws cut through the tips of his gloves and scratched my face, causing little rivulets of blood to drip down my cheek.

“Lily!” Maya screamed and ran outside, calling her fire to coat her hands as she started attacking the man, keeping him away from me.

Her scream had alerted those inside and Mason and Kayden immediately ran outside.

The man jumped over the railing as soon as he saw them, fleeing.

“Go!” Trey snapped at Mason and Kayden. Both jumped over the railing and followed after the attacker. Trey set his hands on my shoulders, looking at my scratched face. “Are you alright?”

I nodded.

“What’s going on?” Grandpa Deryn, King of the Werewolves, asked as my family came out. Great Grandpa Dan right behind him.

“A werewolf attacked me,” I said. “He had a large scar down his face, on the left side, and could take a warrior form.”

Grandpa Deryn growled, turned to Ezio as he came out, and said, “I want him brought to me alive .” Grandpa Deryn and my other grandfathers had recently taken over their places as kings of their clans. My great grandparents were still involved, but in a much less significant capacity, trying to enjoy retirement.

Ezio nodded and leapt over the railing to go after them and keep Mason and Kayden from killing my attacker.

Smiling, I turned to everyone and said, “Let’s go back and enjoy the party! What’s a royal party without an attempted assassination, am I right?”

Several people laughed, but my family looked at each other questioningly. Why was I attacked now when I’d been safe the entire time at the college? I had never had something like this happen before. Who could have sent them? Or why did they decide to come after me?

People went back inside and the party resumed, but Caleb walked over and set his hand on top of my head. “We’ll find out what prompted this, don’t worry, cub.”

I knew as a hybrid that I was viewed as less than other races and there were still some who wished they could eradicate us, but it had been decades since we’d had issues like this.

Trey followed behind me as I went back inside and up to the bar.

While I ordered a drink, he grabbed a napkin, poured water over it, and started cleaning my cheek. Since I had shapeshifter healing, the scratches were healed, but the blood had remained.

“Thanks,” I whispered as I held still for him to finish cleaning the blood. He wiped a bit off my shoulder where it had dripped as well.

Reaching out for the glass of sparkling wine, I scowled at my shaking hand. Why was I shaking? I wasn’t scared.

Trey stepped closer to me, dropped his head down, and said, “We will find out who did this and why, and we won’t let anyone else harm you.”

Tilting my head back to look at him, I said, “I don’t need protection. I’m capable of protecting myself.”

“I know you aren’t a damsel in distress, Lily.”

For some reason him telling me he was going to protect me irritated me, even if he acknowledged I wasn’t a damsel in need of saving. “You don’t know anything about me from the past four years,” I countered and stepped back from him. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

Grabbing my drink, I spun around, headed away from him, and went back to mingle with strangers. At least with strangers, I could put on a smile and chat the night away.

At least with strangers, I didn’t have a painful pressure in my chest when I looked at them.