Chapter 25: All Eyes On Her

​Lucian’s POV

​The full moon festival had been underway for nearly an hour, and my patience was wearing thin.

I stood in the main courtyard, holding a glass of heavy dark liquor, pretending to listen to my brother Lucas and the visiting pack Alphas drone on about border patrols and trade agreements. I didn’t give a damn about any of it tonight. My eyes kept drifting back to the grand staircase every few seconds.

Where the fuck was she?

I ran a heavy hand over my jaw, letting out a low groan of irritation. I had sent the scandalous red dress to her room simply to tease her. Now, I couldn’t stop looking toward the staircase, curious to see whether she had actually worn it or not.

As the minutes dragged on, my mind kept drifting back to what had happened in her bedchamber four hours ago. Every time I tried to focus on something else, I remembered her beneath me. I remembered the way she had looked at me when she asked me to kiss her.

Kiss me. Two simple words that had made me pull away like she had burned me. I could lie to her, and I could lie to everyone else, but lying to myself was proving considerably harder.

I hated myself for letting her get under my skin. I hated that she had made me lose control.

"Are you listening to anything I’m saying?" Lucas asked, standing beside me with one hand buried in the pocket of his black trousers while a visiting Alpha continued talking.

"I’m listening," I muttered, taking another sip.

"Really? What did he just say?"

I glared at him, and the visiting Alpha suddenly became very interested in his drink.

"Stop it," I warned.

Lucas held my stare for a moment before looking away and returning to the conversation.

Suddenly, the bustling courtyard began to change. The loud chatter among the warriors started to die down. The background music seemed to fade. Conversations slowed to a crawl, and one by one, every man in the courtyard turned his head toward the grand staircase. Lucas stopped talking mid-sentence, his gaze locking onto the landing above.

I followed their stares, looking up.

There she was.

Annabel was standing at the top of the stairs, dressed in the fiery red dress I had chosen. But she didn’t look humiliated. She didn’t look broken, embarrassed, or timid in the slightest. Her head was held high, her shoulders were thrown back, and her posture was radiating absolute, untouchable confidence. She was completely owning the very gown I had intended to use to degrade her.

My jaw tightened so hard my teeth ground together. I nearly crushed the thick glass in my hand.

Men were staring. Every. Fucking. Where.

Visiting Alphas, young Betas, and high-ranking warriors were looking at her exposed back, her curving waist, and the long, smooth line of her bare legs.

What the fuck had I been thinking when I bought that dress?

A sudden, unexpected wave of raw anger flared inside my chest. It was a terrible design. In fact, it was practically a rag. It was far too short. It was far too revealing. The back dipped way past acceptable limits, right down to the swell of her waist, and the front was far too low. Why the hell did it need to show that much skin to begin with?

Then my own brain caught up with my rage: I was the one who bought it.

That realization made me ten times angrier.

A visiting Alpha from the southern territory was practically drooling, his eyes fixed shamelessly on her thighs as she took her first step down the stairs. I snapped my head toward him, hitting him with a glare so murderous and laced with raw Alpha authority that the man turned pale and instantly looked away.

Then another man looked. And another.

I growled under my breath. I couldn’t threat-kill every damn male at this festival, even if every instinct in my wolf was screaming to rip their eyes out. Besides, Mother would probably have something to say about it.

Beside me, Lucas was still staring. But unlike the other men, there was no obvious hunger in his expression. He looked almost confused. His brows were drawn together slightly, his eyes following Annabel as she descended the staircase like he was desperately trying to remember something.

My jaw tightened. I had seen that look before, at dinner, the way he had stared at her before asking if they had met somewhere before. Then there was the way he had followed me upstairs when she injured her arm, staying beside her while the healer treated her. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Now, watching him stare at her, I suddenly remembered every fucking moment.

And I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

"Lucas."

He didn’t answer immediately.

"Stop staring," I snapped.

Lucas slowly turned his head toward me, raising a single eyebrow. "What?"

"You heard me. You’ve been looking long enough."

His expression changed slightly. "Then maybe you shouldn’t have put her in a dress that makes everyone look."

My eyes narrowed. "I’m not talking about everyone. I’m talking about you."

A brief silence passed between us.

His jaw tightened slightly. Unlike before, he didn’t laugh. He didn’t make some stupid comment about me being jealous. Instead, his eyes moved back toward Annabel for barely a second before returning to me. That single second pissed me off more than it should have.

"There’s something about her," he said quietly.

Every muscle in my body went still. "What does that mean?"

"I don’t know."

For a moment, the air between us changed. He was my brother. My blood. There were very few people in this world I trusted more than him. But right then, something territorial and ugly moved beneath my skin.

Before either of us could say another word, Annabel reached the bottom of the stairs and made a direct line through the crowd toward us. She could clearly see the anger radiating off me in waves, but she didn’t flinch. She knew exactly what she was doing.

She stopped right in front of me, offering a sweet, innocent smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

"Good evening, husband," she said teasingly.

I leaned down slightly, looking her up and down as my eyes burned into her skin. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Her delicate eyebrows rose in feigned confusion. "The dress you sent to my room."

I heard Lucas shift beside me, but I didn’t look at him. I ignored him, but the words hit like a quiet explosion. I couldn’t even complain out loud without admitting to everyone around us that I was the one who had provided the scandalous outfit in the first place.

"Go upstairs and change," I growled softly, my voice laced with command.

"Why?" she asked calmly, blinking innocently.

"Because I said so."

"Interesting," she whispered, tilting her head as her lips slowly curved upward. "A few hours ago, you specifically ordered me to wear this."

"I’ve changed my mind."

Her smile widened just a little. "Again?"

That single word cut deep. We both knew she wasn’t just talking about the fabric covering her body.

My eyes narrowed as I caught the subtle insult. She was mocking me, reminding me of how quickly I had lost my composure in her bed.

"Go upstairs, Annabel," I ordered again, stepping closer so only she could hear my low threat. "Don’t test me right now."

"No," she replied softly, keeping her voice completely polite for the surrounding crowd. "I followed your exact instructions, Alpha Lucian. Besides, everyone has already seen me. Wouldn’t running upstairs to change now make things even more embarrassing?"

Fuck. She had me there. Dragging my wife upstairs because I suddenly couldn’t handle the dress I had personally chosen for her would create gossip, but I fucking didn’t care.

Before I could grab her arm and drag her away from the festival myself, she gave me a polite nod, turned on her heel, and walked away toward the banquet tables.

I stood frozen, watching her leave. My eyes immediately dropped to her exposed back, then lower. I watched the sway of her hips. And then I watched every single male in the courtyard turn to watch her too. God damn it. My mood plunged straight into hell.

As the night wore on, the full moon festival reached its peak. The celebration continued throughout the courtyard and gardens behind the mansion. Lanterns hung from the trees, long tables were covered with food and drinks, and great bonfires roared in the stone pits while traditional music pulsed through the air.

To my endless frustration, Annabel wasn’t hiding in a corner like a displaced prisoner. She was enjoying herself, moving through the crowd, talking with visiting pack leaders and elders. Unlike me, those Alphas had no reason to hate her on sight. Most of them hadn’t lost anyone to the Blood Moon Pack, hadn’t watched their warriors come home broken, and hadn’t spent night after night beside a sister who refused to wake up. To them, she was simply a beautiful visiting royal, and she handled them with grace.

She laughed at something one of the older Alphas said. I frowned from across the garden. What the hell was so funny? Nothing he said could possibly be that funny.

"She’s different." Lucas’s voice came quietly from beside me.

I turned my head. He wasn’t looking at me; he was looking at her again. My mood darkened immediately. "Different from what?"

Lucas remained silent for a moment. "I can’t explain it," he sighed.

I glared at him for a moment before returning my interest back to Annabel.

It pained me to admit it, but she was good at this. Too good. She knew when to smile, when to speak, and when to listen. She remembered names after hearing them once. I stored the information away—another thing about Princess Annabel that didn’t quite fit with the frightened woman I had expected.

Then the music shifted into a slower, traditional rhythm.

A young, handsome Alpha from a neighboring pack, Alpha Nathan, twenty-eight, unmated, stepped up to Annabel, offering a low bow and extending his hand to request a dance. Why the fuck did I even know his age or mating status?

Annabel turned her head, her eyes locking onto mine across the busy courtyard. I stood still, expecting her to refuse the man immediately.

Instead, she looked back at the young Alpha, gave him a dazzling smile, and placed her hand in his.

Red heat flooded my vision. My glass stopped halfway to my mouth.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," I muttered.