Chapter 16

Isla POV

“You don’t get to lecture me about proper behavior when you can’t even bother to acknowledge that I exist.”

His jaw tightened as if he was annoyed that he even had to say it, she was more than pleased to have annoyed him

“I’ve been busy.”

“Right,” I said, arching a brow.

“Busy avoiding me, your mate. In your own home, of course” she drawled

For a moment, the silence stretched out between us, the tension crackling like a live wire. His eyes searched mine, and I couldn’t tell if he was looking for guilt or submission.

He wouldn’t find either.

I took a slow breath, then added,

“So here’s a suggestion—if we’re going to get through tonight without turning it into a spectacle, maybe try pretending you like me. “ he scowled and I laughed patting at his arm

“Just for the duration of the meal. I promise, I won’t mistake it for the real thing.”

The bedroom door opened and Lilly walked out of it with a small clutch bag and skidded to a stop in front of them both

“ Alpha” she hissed falling into a sharp curtsey, Tristan’s gaze darkened, but instead of snapping back, he pushed away from the wall and waved her off. Lilly rose from her bow and handed over the bag

“ For you my lady “ she mumbled and I grabbed the bag from her hand smiling at her

“ Thank you, you can go rest” I mumbled watching as she walked away from us, mostly running away.

I looked to him and he offered his arm.

“Shall we?” he asked and looked at him and then the arm stretched out for me to grab.

It wasn’t an apology and it definitely wasn't agreement, either. But there was nothing I could do about it since it wasn't like I could run away anyway.

I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm, and looked him directly in the eyes as

I huffed out a breath and stepped around him.

“If we’re doing this, you can at least pretend to like me for the next two hours.”

His hand caught my wrist, firm but not painful.

“Pretend?”

I met his stare without flinching.

“Yes, Tristan. Pretend. It’s what you’re good at, isn’t it?” I asked my newest beating waiting for him to say anything that would make me believe in him and that his words were true but he said nothing and for a heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then he released me, his mouth a hard line.

“Let’s go.”

The car was downstairs for them already, all the maids bowing slightly when she and Tristan passed to pay their respects.

It was a bit amusing to see them trying to decide how low to bow, that would show their utter disrespect for me and still show their loyalty to the alpha king.

The door was dragged open and the driver was waiting out front for them in a, sleek and black, the engine purring softly.

Tristan didn’t speak as the driver pulled away from the Ridge, the passing city lights sliding across his face in sharp angles. I glanced out the window, letting the hum of the tires on asphalt fill the silence.

But every few seconds, my eyes drifted back to him and my omega let out a howl wanting me to kiss him, mark him and scent him.

His profile that could have been carved from stone, or marble with the faint crease between his brows and the tension in his shoulders.

Pretend to like me, I couldn't believe that I had said that in the first place or that he would have done it if he was even capable of pretending anymore.

“ Where are we going” I asked and he sighed guiding her out the door

“ The ancestral lands , that's where we always perform the risks and ceremonies of the packs including my crowning” he said and I nodded. I knew what that the ancestral land was well enough.

Every werewolf knew what it was but I had never been able to visit it though mostly because I was a forbidden omega with a bad fate that could corrupt the energy of the room, I couldn't help wondering just how they were going to admit me into their precious golden space to conduct this rituals.

I got into the car using his arm to support myself.

The council’s seasonal gathering was going to be at the held at a luxury hotel downtown, it was the closest to the ancestral site and one of those places where the air itself seemed infused with money and old power.

The moment we stepped out of the car, every head turned toward us.

Tristan’s hand tightened around mine—not in affection, but as a warning.

I matched his neutral expression with a stiff smile as we entered the banquet hall,the low murmur of conversation washing over me.

It was a beautiful room to be honest, now that she had the chance to see it for herself she had to admit that much.

Crystal chandeliers threw light over polished floors and tables draped in white linen, each set with gleaming silverware.

Tristan guided me through the hall towards a table, where two empty chairs waited and I could feel eyes on us from every direction.

Not just watching—judging. Measuring.

He pulled mine out with mechanical politeness, and I sat, folding my hands in my lap as he took his place beside me.

We were led to the head table,

Tristan pulled out my chair before taking his seat beside me. A small courtesy, yes, but his expression made it clear it was just part of the show.

It was only then that I realized we weren’t as alone as I thought at this end of the table.

To Tristan’s right sat a young male that I remembered from a few days earlier when he had barged into my room to get Tristan. Darius I think was his name —his Beta.

Now that I had the chance to look at him more, he seemed good looking with the kind of easy, controlled charisma that made him dangerous in a different way than Tristan.

His eyes flicked toward me, a faint smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

“Evening, Luna,” he said smoothly.

“You’re looking… lethal tonight.” he grinned playfully and it was hard to stop herself from grinning in response.

Before I could respond, Tristan cut in. “She’s here to look respectable, not lethal.”

Darius’s smirk deepened.

“Some of us think those are the same thing.” he drawled the undercurrent in his tone was impossible to miss, he clearly flirting even though he could tell it irritated Tristan. I felt the faintest brush of Tristan’s knee against mine under the table—a warning, though whether it was aimed at me or Darius, I couldn’t tell.

“ Aren't we doing the ritual first “ I asked and he shook his head.