Chapter 66 Chapter 66
Violet
And that was the first time ever since Lady Aurelia had stepped in the hall that she looked at me.
Not just looked but talked to me.
“You wouldn’t have a problem if more people joined in, would you, my dear?”
Why would I? And most importantly why would she choose to ask me that question after ignoring me for such a long time?
The tension in the room was palpable and I felt like an intruder once again. Was this yet again going to be a deja vu where Elijah and his siblings fight and I was reduced to a helpless spectator?
The night Cassie and Elijah had a verbal spar had soured their relation to an extent and I wasn’t even sure who was coming now.
Lady Aurelia feigned being completely oblivious to Elijah’s words and looked around before muttering.
“The flowers compliment everything, right?” she asked nobody in particular. I was sure she was ignoring me so I tried not to butt in.
Elijah kept staring at her with narrowed eyes so Lady Aurelia moved her attention to Cassie with a hopeful expression.
Cassie nodded upon realizing she was supposed to fill in the awkward silence.
“Yeah, it does.”
“Do you think we should have gone with pink instead of purple orchids? It would have gone well with your dress.”
The two kept talking for a while as Elijah sighed audibly and then slowly let his back rest on the chair. His gaze flicked to me for a second as if he wanted to say something to me.
Lady Aurelia noticed him trying to open his mouth and suddenly directed her gaze at me.
“You look lovely, Violet,” she said, as if she had never ignored me. “I hope you are settling in well.”
“I am,” I replied with a smile, because that seemed to be the correct answer.
Maybe she had just been caught up with her family and only now found time to talk to a stranger, I told myself. That wasn’t necessarily bad.
But Elijah shifted beside me, his hand brushing the back of my chair as if to remind himself I was there. He had not spoken much since we entered the hall, and the tension rolling off him made my shoulders ache in sympathy.
Lady Aurelia glanced toward the tall doors at the far end of the room, then back at us. “It seems Alpha Alaric has finally finished the meeting,” she said lightly. “They should be arriving any moment now.”
Elijah straightened. “You said it would only be us. That was the agreement.”
Her smile did not falter, but something sharper glinted beneath it. “Plans change, my dear. Especially when family is involved. You can take it up with Alpha Alaric if you wish but later.”
“I wasn’t informed of any change,” he replied, his voice calm but edged tight.
“No,” she said gently. “You weren’t. Just like you won’t tell me which feral cat scratched you like that.”
Elijah seemed to fall silent at that and the pause that followed stretched thin. I sat there twiddling my thumb, wondering what those words could have meant.
I recalled the scars that he had hastily covered and avoided showing up at all ever since we set foot in the manor.
My gaze flicked up once and I saw Lady Aurelia look at me just briefly, assessing my reaction to that line.
I twitched, recalling the flight, the way I had curled up in his lap and how I had dug my fingers in the armrest before that while trying to fight the growing fear within me.
Could I have…
Before I could finish that thought, Lady Aurelia turned to me, her expression softening once more, as though the tension had never existed. “Violet, would you mind doing me a small favor?”
I hesitated. “Of course. What is it?”
“The door,” she said, nodding toward the entrance. “Our guest has arrived, and the maids are occupied correcting the flowers near the east wall. I would hate for the room to look careless when the Alpha steps inside. Would you mind opening it for us, my dear? Only if you do not find it inconvenient.”
Every instinct in my body stiffened.
Elijah’s chair scraped softly against the floor as he leaned forward. “Get one of the maids,” he said immediately. “That’s what they’re here for.”
Lady Aurelia’s gaze slid to him, calm and untroubled. “Normally, yes. But at moments like this, it is always nicer when a guest extends the courtesy. Don’t you think so?”
She looked back at me, waiting.
The maids were, indeed, busy now, clustered near the far wall, adjusting arrangements with quiet urgency. Whether they had been ordered there moments ago or had simply moved on their own, I couldn’t tell.
“I’ll get the door,” Elijah said but I stopped him.
“It’s fine,” I said before Elijah could speak again. “I don’t mind.”
His head snapped toward me. “Violet.”
I met his eyes and shook my head slightly. I didn’t want to be the reason he and his mother went to war tonight. Whatever strange rules governed this place, I had already stepped into them the moment I agreed to come.
Lady Aurelia inclined her head approvingly. “Thank you, dear.”
The walk to the doors felt longer than it had earlier, the sound of my steps too loud against the polished floor. I could feel eyes on my back, not judging exactly, but observing, as if the way I crossed the room mattered more than it should have.
I reached the doors and placed my hand on the handle.
Something about the moment felt wrong.
Three figures stood outside.
For a heartbeat, my mind refused to put names to them.
The man in front stepped forward first, tall and imposing, his presence commanding without effort. Alpha Deveraux. I recognized him instantly from old council gatherings and grainy photographs, though seeing him in person carried a weight I hadn’t expected.
And instinct made me step back, to not stare at him rudely and bow to him with respect like we had been taught from a young age.
I rubbed my hands together as the chilly wind brushed past me. Automatically I reached for the door to close it but then I heard voices.
Alpha Deveraux was not alone. There were more.
But why did the voices sound so familiar?
“Come in, it's freezing outside” Alpha Alaric motioned to someone and I caught a silhouette of a woman walking in. Light shone directly on my face so I raised a hand to guard my eyes but I could see the long gown of the woman gliding on the polished marble as she walked in high heels decorated with gemstones just like the rest of her deep black dress glittering like the night sky.
“What are you waiting for?” Alpha Alaric chuckled, turning back toward the entrance. “Don’t lag behind.”
The woman glanced over her shoulder, smiling at the man beside her. “Come on,” she said lightly. “Don’t be shy, Nate.”
The name hit me first.
Then the voice.
My heart lurched as I finally lifted my gaze.