Chapter 119 Chapter 119
My legs were shaking. They didn’t tremble delicately. They shook as if I was suddenly freezing. I thought I was going to fall as Lorcan and Marie began walking. Were they walking towards me? My heart beat faster and I thought everyone could hear my heartbeat.
The chandeliers above shone like nothing had changed. The violins continued their polished melody. Laughter still floated from distant corners. But for me…The room had narrowed to a single point.
I should have known he would have shown up. I shouldn’t have entirely ruled that out. Lorcan still moved with the same confident stride I remembered.
Marie walked beside him. poised and beautiful, her hand resting comfortably on his arm.
My stomach twisted violently. Not from jealousy but from distaste, anger.
The Luna standing beside me leaned closer and whispered something near my ear, something sympathetic, perhaps curious but I didn’t hear a word before I saw her moving away. The blood roared too loudly in my ears.
My wolf snarled from old pain, betrayal and humiliation. And something else too…anger. Lorcan stopped a few feet away.Close enough for me to see the faint scar near his jaw and close enough to catch the familiar scent of cedar and smoke.
He looked older and his features harder. But his eyes, they were exactly the same. And they were fixed entirely on me. Marie tilted her head slightly, studying me as if I were an interesting exhibit.
“Ailsa….It’s been a long time” she said smoothly.
Her voice.
I used to trust that voice. Confide in it and defend it. Now it sounded annoying. My throat tightened. I tried to speak. Nothing came out.
“Ailsa” he called my name like he was trying to be sure I was the one.
Oh, I used to love that sound but now I just wanted it to go away. My name sounded wrong on his tongue.
“Fancy seeing you here. What are you doing dressed like that? Aren’t you supposed to be a maid” Marie asked.
It was on the tip of my tongue to say something before a familiar warmth wrapped around my waist. It felt possessive and protective. I didn’t need to think twice about who it was.
Lucian.
He stepped up beside me, his arm firm around my middle, pulling me slightly against him. The shift in the air was immediate. I saw Marie’s eyes widen.
“I see you made it” Lucian said evenly. Lorcan’s gaze flicked briefly to him, then to his hand at my middle.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world” Lorcan replied calmly but I could hear the sarcasm in his tone. And he was still staring at me. Marie’s smile widened faintly, as if she enjoyed the tension.
“Alpha Lucian is so nice to be in your pack” Marie said sweetly and it made me want to remove that smile on her face as she ogled my mate.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to the woman you’re holding so possessively. Is she your Luna?” Lorcan sounded like he was trying to control his anger.
Lucian’s arm tightened around my waist. I felt the tension coil in his muscles.His other hand clenched briefly at his side. I placed my hand gently over his wrist. A silent request. He glanced down at me for half a second. That was all it took.
“This is Ailsa. My Luna” he said firmly. Lorcan’s lips curved faintly.
“As if I needed an introduction”
Marie laughed softly.
“Oh, we’ve heard so much about her” she added.
My spine straightened.
“Have you?” I asked quietly. Marie’s eyes flickered with something sharp.
“Of course. News travels”
Lucian shifted slightly, positioning himself more firmly between Lorcan and me. Lorcan’s gaze dropped briefly Lucian’s arm around my waist again.
Then back to my face. I watched the corner of his mouth lift.
“Congratulations” he said lightly.
It didn’t sound genuine to me at all. I didn’t think Lucian cared and neither did I. I just wanted them to disappear. It was good that they hadn’t acted like they knew me when Lucian was around.
“Enjoy the evening” I managed politely.
“Let’s go and enjoy our evening” Lucian whispered in my ear.
“Yes” I said quickly. I turned back to Lorcan and Marie.
“Please excuse us. There are many guests to attend to” Marie’s smile sharpened.
“Of course” she said sweetly.
As Lucian guided me away, I could still feel Lorcan’s eyes on my back. It was burning.
“Are you alright?” Lucian asked quietly once we were a safe distance away.
“I’m fine” He stopped walking and turned me slightly toward him.
“You don’t look fine. Did they make you uncomfortable?”
The music swelled again around us. Guests continued mingling. Laughter returned cautiously to the room. But I still felt watched.
“No, I wasn’t uncomfortable” I admitted softly. His expression darkened.
“I hate the way Lorcan was ogling you. I want to punch him”
He noticed it too.
“Don’t do anything, Lucian” he nodded.
We began moving again, greeting other Alphas, exchanging pleasantries. I smiled when required and spoke when I was spoken too but no matter where I turned, I felt his gaze.
Lucian hand remained at my waist as we moved through the crowd.
“I see Tristan, I need to speak with him urgently” he murmured.
“It’s fine. I’ll be waiting”
“I haven’t seen you eat or drink anything. Go and enjoy yourself”
“I will”
He brushed his thumb lightly against my hand before stepping away. And the moment he did, I felt alone before the air around me changed. I didn’t have to turn around to know who approached.
“This is the last place I expected to see you”
Lorcan’s voice was low behind me. I closed my eyes briefly. Then turned.
“Same here”
He stood close. Too close for my liking.
“Does he know?” he asked.
“Know what?” He studied me.
“You look different”
“People change”
“Not that much”
My pulse quickened.
“What do you want, Lorcan?”
His eyes softened slightly. Something dangerous flickering beneath the surface.
“I looked for you” he said.
“What?”
“After you left. I searched high and low for you” My throat tightened.
“There is no after” I said firmly. “There is no before. There is no us”
He stepped closer and lowerred his voice.
“You disappeared”
“You chose her” his jaw tightened briefly.
“It wasn’t that simple”
“It was to me” his gaze searched mine.
“You ran away”
“You humiliated me” his voice sharpened.
“You never asked why”
I let out a breath that trembled despite my effort to stay steady.
“You want me to ask you the reason you humiliated me?”
“You were supposed to ask” I laughed
“You made your choice” he stared at me.
“And you think this is yours?” he asked, glancing briefly toward where Lucian stood speaking to another Alpha.
“It is and it’s the best choice for me”
“You don’t love him”
The certainty in his tone made my blood boil.
“I do”
“No” he said calmly.
“You don’t love anyone the way you loved me”
I wanted to scream it out that I didn’t love him so everyone could hear it but I held back.
“You don’t get to define my heart” he stepped closer again.
“You never stopped loving me. I can see it in your eyes
“That’s not true”
“You don’t even sound convinced”
My eyes darted instinctively through the crowd, searching for Lucian. I couldn’t see him. The hall suddenly felt suffocating.
“You don’t belong here. You don’t belong at the side of the oaf, Lucian. You hate appearances, smiling through a crowd and talking to people”
“People grow and change. I’m not sure you know much about that”
“You’re pretending”
“I’m not” I snapped.
“You always looked at me like I was your world”
“It’s obvious, I was wrong”
For a moment, something regretful flickered in his eyes but it vanished quickly.
“You’re mine” he said quietly. Ice flooded my veins.
“I am not and would never be”
“You were”
“Past tense”
“You can’t rewrite what we had” his voice dropped.
“I don’t need to” I stepped back.
“I love Lucian. He is my mate” He shook his head slowly.
“You don’t even believe that. I’m your only mate. You can’t have two mates” Anger surged through me.
“I do and we are not mates”
“Then why are your hands shaking?”
I hadn’t realized they were. My gaze flicked desperately across the hall again. There was still no sign of Lucian. I needed air.
“I’m done with this” I said firmly.
“You’ll never be done with me. I assume Lucian doesn’t know about me”
“I already am” I stepped around him.
“Excuse me”
I didn’t wait for his response. I moved through the crowd, searching.
Where was Lucian ? He had been near the eastern side of the hall. He wasn’t there now. My pulse pounded harder. I checked near the balcony. Near the refreshment tables.
Nothing.
The air felt thicker with every passing second. Had he seen us talking? Had Lorcan said something to someone?
I pushed through another cluster of guests yet Lucian was nowhere to be found. My chest tightened painfully. He wouldn’t leave without telling me.
Would he?
I moved toward the exit. Maybe he stepped outside for air. The corridor beyond the hall was dimmer and quieter. My shoe echoed faintly against the stone.
“Lucian?” I called softly.
No answer. I moved farther down, past the garden doors. And then… I saw them. Two figures in the half-lit corridor near the far archway.
One tall. Broad-shouldered and very familiar. My heart leapt in relief.
“Lucian..”
The word died in my throat because he wasn’t alone. His hands were gripping someone. And that someone was…Elara. Their lips were locked. My mind refused to process it.
I froze for a second or minute. My heart shattered and something inside me split violently. The world went silent. My breath stopped. My heart pounded so loudly it drowned everything else.
They looked to intimate. This scene felt familiar like déjà-vu. My fear from the past weeks came back and I was right after all. My voice tore out of me before I could stop it.
“Lucian..”