Chapter 20

Selene’s pov

The courtyard was vast, its stone pathways weaving between clusters of trees and wildflowers that seemed to bloom despite the chill in the air. The walls of the estate loomed high around, casting a shade over the space.

We approached the gathering of people talking intensely, not bothering to keep their voices low.

"They are just curious, okay? You don't need to showcase anything today. Just introduce yourself and act natural," Ira informed me.

All I could wish at that moment was that the seats were all empty. Then I heard what they were talking about, their voices drifting to me in the wind.

"This is ridiculous. How can she be a vampire?" one of the Elders was asking.

I frowned at his scorn. How dare he speak about me that way? Suddenly, it was like I had something to prove to them. Despite not wanting to meet with them, I wasn't going to let him talk me down.

I raised my head high, summoning my confidence, and strode through the center to where Lucian was standing in their midst.

Everybody fell silent. They obviously had not seen me coming. From the corner of my eye, I could see Ira settle into an empty seat and realized in shock that she was actually one of the Elders. But she seemed so young—what on earth was she doing among them?

"So that was the awful smell I perceived," a woman muttered under her breath, but of course, I heard her.

Another shocking realization stopped me from reacting to her snide comment. I could feel my powers simmering just below the surface. It turned out Darius was right—my room was restricting me.

"Why did you send for me?" I asked Lucian, crossing my arms across my chest. All eyes bore into me, but I didn't flinch, not one bit.

He nodded but did not reply to me. Instead, he lifted his eyes and addressed the rest of the people.

"This is Selene Nightshade, vampire princess of the Nightshade bloodline and the person with whom I share a mate  bond."

Wow, that was pretty direct, I thought to myself, turning to face them. They were all still arranged in a semicircle around him—four of them in total, two rather advanced and two on the younger side. Ira waved at me, and I found that really cringe-worthy, but it would be awfully rude to ignore, so I just gave her a small nod.

"This is ridiculous," the woman who spoke before said. She was dark-skinned and fierce-looking in her warrior outfit. I might have liked her—after all, I liked fierce women—but she was too scornful for my liking.

"You can't share a mate bond with a vampire!"

"I didn't exactly bring her here for your approval, Ariel," Lucian said to her.

"What? She's right," another said. This time it was a man, one of the younger ones with broad shoulders and a scar slashing across his jaw. His green eyes moved over me with disdain. I had never felt so ridiculed in my life.

"And I say she is not," Lucian said in a tone that allowed no argument. "She's here because of the prophecy."

It was my turn to look stunned. Lucian had never told me about any prophecy; he only highlighted the mate bond between us. The thought that my presence here was tied to some more uncontrollable circumstances only made me annoyed.

"Prophecy?" I asked under my breath, but Lucian shot me a dark look.

"Be quiet."

I had a good mind to tell him that I didn't want to be quiet, that he had to tell me exactly the full truth about my being here, but this was not the time or place for such an argument. I was not going to lose any more respect than I already had with these werewolves, so I kept quiet.

"The prophecy, right?" Ariel snorted. "Putting your faith again in some vague promise of power and balance, dragging her into our midst where she doesn't belong. This doesn't look like a coven, Alpha."

"Enough of all this ridicule!" I snapped, my fingers twitching at my side. "I didn't ask to be here. I detest you guys as much as you detest me, and if it were up to me, I would be as far away from you all as possible."

"I said be quiet," Lucian whispered fiercely, but I glared at him, about to say some sharp retort when Ira's voice broke through.

"I think we should give her a chance. Vampires aren't all bad, and since she's a part of the prophecy, then she's important, right?"

Once again, I was surprised by her. Why on earth was she defending me? She had only had like fifteen minutes with me, and she seemed to be the only one who didn't have the wrong first impression.

"Perfect," the man that spoke earlier said. "She's found a way to compel you to speak good of her. How many more of us is she going to do that to?"

Now that was the last straw. I stepped forward, baring my fangs at him and wondering how best I would kill him. Just a little speed and I would be by his side in a jiffy, sinking my fangs into his sorry neck and—

"Enough!" Lucian's voice interrupted my thoughts, slicing through the air like a blade. He stepped between me and the wolf, who had also risen.

"Selene is under my protection. Challenge her and you challenge me. And you're not allowed to speak of her in such a condescending tone unless you would do the same for me."

I looked at Lucian, stunned. Was it just me, or was he placing me at the same level as him? As his mate, that was technically proper, but I wasn't even accepting anything yet.

It left me feeling confused. When I was alone with him, he had no problem treating me like a piece of trash that he just had to deal with (unless I was hurt), and here he was defending me.

"May I suggest something?" the last werewolf, who hadn't said anything yet, asked.

Lucian gave a subtle nod, and he began.

"Nobody would question her place in this pack if she's able to prove herself. Maybe she can spar with one of us or our best fighters and show herself worthy of being counted among the werewolves."