Gina's POV.
“We should head over to the table over there, there’s all sorts of things to eat,” Tyler said with a smile and I responded with a weak smile. I had quite forgotten that I had not eaten throughout yesterday
“My Lord, you do not have to…”
“Your Highness, I must honor my service to the crown and ensure you are well catered for,” came his response.
“Highness?” it had not even occurred to me that being married to Dagen made me his queen. But that was only official and did not mean anything. Nobody cared for who I was and quite frankly I had no political power. I was a mere breeding tool.
“Would you rather I call you, my lady?” he asked, sensing my discomfort at the use of the title.
“Yes, please,” was my prompt response.
“This way,” he led the way to a long table that was arrayed with all manners of delicacy.
He gave me a smile as my eyes widened at the sight of the food.
He took a plate and began to fill it with all sorts, then he handed it to me. He took another plate and filled it up.
“We should look for a place to sit,” he said and I followed him.
I knew Dagen would be angry more like Incensed when he saw me with Tyler but at the moment I couldn’t care less.
We found a place to sit and ate our meal in silence.
*********************
Dagen's POV.
“You lucky bastard! To flaunt two women at once in the face of the council elders,” it was Alpha Raphael who spoke. He ruled a small but very wealthy pack near the East Ocean. He was very smart and his only weakness was his overindulgence but I summed that up to be a consequence of having too much money and little to do with it.
“We all do that, you brought seven mistresses here yourself,” Beta Philip countered him and Alpha Raphael gave a deep laugh.
“Oh! Please, they are all my wife’s ladies-in-waiting,” came Alpha Raphael’s response.
“You’re a real dog, you know?” retorted Beta Philip.
“Dog, you say? I have done nothing wrong. You don’t see me taking any of their hands and declaring a toast in their honor while my wife watches me,” said Alpha Raphael.
“Dagen has got real guts, I can see the Council Elders fuming. They are not going to let this slide,” said Captain Thoma. Captain Thoma was the last son of a powerful Alpha. He was also known as the Lord of the Seas because he ruled the seas. Knowing that as the last child of his father, he would not have a good share in his father’s inheritance, he had taken to the sea to make a fortune for himself. He and Alpha Raphael were very close friends.
“Your Luna is beautiful though, why do you not care for her?” asked Alpha Raphael. He had good taste in women and perhaps he was right about this but Regina was not the woman for me. I could not acknowledge her as someone that I loved. Quite frankly, it would feel like betraying Nydia who had stood by my side through it all. I loved Nydia not just for her beauty and extraordinary skills in bed but because of the friendship we shared.
“I love Nydia, I never wanted to marry that bitch,” came my response.
“In that case, you would not mind if I kept your Luna busy?” Alpha Raphael teased and on a normal day I would have laughed at his lewd joke but today I was strangely enraged by it.
“You’re angry,” Captain Thoma remarked, pointing at the fingers that had turned into a fist.
“I’m sorry,” I said and immediately regretted it. I had never been sorry for anything nor was I sorry for being angry. But my anger felt like an admission of something I was not ready to confront.
“You are?” Captain Thoma teased.
“I didn’t mean that,” I said and they all laughed.
They were bad friends; they were clearly enjoying my discomfort but it did not matter I would do the same if I were them.
“It seems your cousin has taken a liking to your Luna,” Alpha Raphael said and my eyes followed his line of sight.
At the very end of the ballroom was Tyler and Regina eating together.
“Aren’t you going to stop that?” my wolf, Kane said. He had been especially noisy today. I knew he hated the way I treated Regina but that could not be helped.
But I was consumed with fury. What the hell was she doing with Tyler of all people? What did she want with him or rather what did he want from her? Tyler was aware that I greatly disliked him. I was certain he was doing this to provoke me and I intended to give him the full extent of my provocation.
However, before I could excuse myself from my friends someone tugged at my hands. In my fury, I almost hit the person’s hand away but it happened to be Nydia so I softened.
“Nydia,” I said with a smile.
Everything was going to be fine so long as I had Nydia by my side.
“My love, our favorite song is about to start, will you not join me to dance?” she said and indeed I heard the orchestra picking up the tone of the song that had been playing the day I had met Nydia.
“Of course, my love,” came my response and I held her hand. I allowed her to take the lead and soon we were dancing softly to the music.
But being in Nydia’s arms did not take care of my worries. As the song progressed my eyes sought the disturbing image of Tyler and Regina.
I found them. They were still seated side by side.
I saw Tyler whisper something in her ear.
What was he telling her?
What were they talking about?