chapter 143
Tori's POV:
The crystal chandeliers cast a soft glow across the ballroom as I made my way back to my seat after offering Olivia Sullivan my birthday wishes.
I slipped into the chair beside Lucas at the Grayson family table. His hand found mine beneath the tablecloth.
The room quieted as William Sullivan approached the podium, his posture regal as befitting the son of the evening's protagonist.
Elizabeth sighed softly, her gaze following him with something like pity.
"Twenty years, and still Susan won't sit at the same table as him for his mother's birthday," she whispered. "Some wounds never heal, I suppose."
I glanced toward the far corner where Susan Shepherd sat with Charlotte, deliberately positioned as far from William as the room would allow.
The tension between them was palpable even from this distance.
At the dining table, Lucas pulled out my chair, then immediately began selecting items from the various platters.
"You need to eat," he said, placing a perfectly seared lamb cutlet on my plate. "You've barely touched food all day."
My stomach tightened with nerves. "I'm not sure I can eat," I admitted quietly, tugging at his sleeve. "Maybe stop adding more?"
Lucas's expression softened, but he persisted, adding roasted vegetables to my plate. "Just a few bites. You need your strength."
I sighed, picking up my fork. When he turned to respond to a question from another Alpha, I discreetly slid a piece of meat back onto his plate. When he turned back and noticed, his eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Sneaky," he whispered, but ate it anyway.
From across the table, I noticed Ethan watching us. The pain in his eyes was unmistakable, and he abruptly pushed back his chair and left.
Beside me, Fiona's voice cut through my thoughts.
"Tori, I truly envy how well you get along with everyone," she said with a practiced smile. "You and Ethan used to be inseparable too, didn't you? So close, never fighting."
The atmosphere around the table instantly froze. Several wolves shifted uncomfortably in their seats, scents of anxiety and curiosity mingling in the air.
"Fiona!" Ethan's mother, Grace, frowned from across the table.
Bringing up my history with Ethan in front of Lucas was clearly stirring trouble.
Fiona's expression remained perfectly innocent. "I meant nothing by it. I just admire how easily Tori forms connections with people."
She paused, her eyes gleaming with malice beneath her sweet smile.
"I remember seeing you two during school, walking together under the moonlight, so intimate with each other. They say first love leaves the deepest mark on each one. I imagine you must feel the same, don't you, Tori?"
I instinctively glanced at Lucas, my heart hammering against my ribs.
His expression remained perfectly composed, not a flicker of emotion crossing his features. But I knew better—the subtle tightening of his jaw, the almost imperceptible shift in his scent told me he wasn't nearly as unaffected as he appeared.
I took a slow, deliberate sip of my water before responding.
"You know, Fiona," I said calmly, "I've noticed that people who constantly dwell on the past usually do so because their present isn't particularly fulfilling."
Gasps rippled around the table as I reached for Lucas's hand and deliberately placed it over mine where everyone could see.
"My present and my future," I said clearly, looking directly into her eyes, "belong solely to my Alpha."
Heat rushed to my cheeks immediately after the words left my mouth.
I couldn't believe I'd just said something so intimate in front of everyone. It was the first time I'd openly claimed Lucas this way, and the vulnerability of it made my heart race.
Lucas's fingers wrapped around mine, turning my hand over to interlace our fingers.
When I dared to glance at him, the softness in his eyes made my breath catch.
Yet, the next second, a warning that radiated outward to everyone at the table.
His expression conveyed a clear message: he wasn't looking for trouble, but if anyone wanted to challenge what was his, he would gladly oblige them.
Fiona's face paled as Lucas's cold Alpha presence expanded slightly. She immediately adopted a wounded expression, her eyes seeking out Elizabeth as though appealing for protection.
Elizabeth glanced meaningfully at Fiona's slightly rounded belly, then released a weary sigh. Her eyes narrowed in silent reprimand toward Fiona before she turned to Lucas and me.
"Now, now," Elizabeth said diplomatically, her voice carrying the practiced calm of someone who had mediated countless pack disputes.
"Let's not upset ourselves. Fiona is carrying the next Grayson, after all."
The tense moment was shattered by a crash from across the room.
I turned to see a server standing frozen in horror, a hot drink stray tumbling toward Susan Shepherd, who sat with her daughter Charlotte at the neighboring table.
In a flash, Charlotte lunged forward, shielding her mother. The hot drink made contact with her arm, and she cried out in pain, collapsing to the floor.
William Sullivan was across the room in seconds, his expression taut with concern.
He reached Susan first, his hands hovering near but not touching her shoulders.
"Are you hurt?" he asked urgently, his voice carrying across the suddenly silent room.
Susan shook her head, but William's relief was short-lived as his attention immediately shifted to Charlotte, who lay grimacing on the floor, angry red burns forming where the silver had touched her skin.
"Charlotte," he breathed, dropping to his knees beside her.
"Get a medic!" he barked, already carrying her toward the door. Susan watched him go, her face a complex mask of emotions as she followed quickly behind.
Elizabeth's eyes tracked William's retreating figure. "The Shepherd girl is loyal, I'll give her that," she murmured. "Always protecting her mother. I don't know if it will leave a scar."
The incident cast a somber shadow over the rest of the evening, and shortly after, Lucas suggested we leave.
"Anna's still at the hospital for observation," I reminded quietly. "I should check on her."
Within minutes, we were in his car, the lights of the Sullivan estate fading behind us.
The silence between us grew heavier with each passing mile.
Lucas's profile was rigid in the dim light of the dashboard, his jaw clenched and hands gripping the steering wheel more tightly than necessary.
I couldn't help but wonder if Fiona's calculated words had found their target after all.
I studied him nervously, gathering my courage.
"Lucas," I finally ventured, my voice barely above a whisper. "Is there... anything you want to ask me?"
Lucas turned his head slightly, one eyebrow raised. "What would you like me to ask?" His tone was even, controlled.
I lowered my gaze to my hands in my lap.
Fiona had implied that Ethan and I had a beautiful time, and we were the most unforgettable first love for each other...
"Don't you want to know if what Fiona said was true?" I asked, shifting in my seat to face him better.