Chapter 22 ANNUAL BALL
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO | ANNUAL BALL
LYRA
When Damian informed me about the annual ball yesterday, I thought he was joking or trying to change the subject to take my mind off the secret I was desperately trying to uncover. But when maids trooped into my room this morning, various accessories in their arms, bowing and informing me that the Alpha had ordered them to dress me up for the ball, I knew it was real.
I chose the simplest gown I could find and made sure my makeup was minimal. I wasn't in the mood for partying.
Damian came to escort me when I was done, and I must admit, even with my anger toward him, he looked rather ravishing. He wore a black Armani suit with a gold bow tie and shirt that coincidentally matched my golden gown with a mermaid tail.
“You look beautiful,” he said, looking me over and taking my hand in his.
I wanted to return the compliment, but pettiness stopped me from doing so. I ignored him, and he said nothing about it.
“I hope you know what it would mean when you're introduced as our mate and Luna?”
I knew what it would mean, even though I wasn't ready to accept it. It would mean that my chances of escaping would be close to zero, and I'd have no chance of living a peaceful, quiet life if I ever escaped.
“Everyone will be there, including your family.”
I almost forgot that part.
The annual ball was a celebration that happened once a year in the werewolf kingdom. This was the time every Alpha who had found his mate got the chance to introduce them to the whole pack. Every pack would come together in the Grand Hall to celebrate. Some packs looked forward to this party all year.
Everyone was supposed to attend, but I had never been allowed to. My parents said I was going to bring nothing but shame to their name.
“You know how it works, right? The Lycan introduces their mate last.”
“No,” I responded. “I've never attended the ball before.”
“Well, good. I'm glad we'll be your first.”
He took me to Damien, who was waiting for us in front of his car. He also looked so good I would have rushed to give him a kiss if I wasn't mad at him. He was such a mean person.
Unsurprisingly, he was clad in the same suit as his brother, and his hair was slicked back. Anyone who didn't know them well wouldn't be able to tell them apart.
“Are you guys ready?” he asked, taking his gaze off the documents he was holding.
He was always working, and it was so frustrating.
He did a double take when he took in my appearance. He swallowed, his eyes slowly dragging over my body with a hungry gaze that made me hot all over. But unlike Damian, he didn’t compliment me. He turned back to his file without sparing me another glance.
“Asshole!” I mumbled at the same time as Damian.
I smiled a little and would have joked about us being the real twins since we were in sync, but I held myself back.
I must never forget that they are not my friends. They are my enemies, and I must treat them as such.
We went into the car and drove to the venue that would be housing the party of over ten thousand guests from various packs across the world.
I became nervous halfway through the journey and rubbed my palm on my dress to stop it from shaking. Damien noticed it too, sighed, dropped the documents his face was buried in, and held my hand still.
“I am fine.” I wanted to take my hand out of his, but he held it firmly.
“I never said you weren't,” he grumbled, never taking his hand off mine.
He rubbed the back of my palm slowly, soothing my nerves.
I must admit, Damien was a complete jerk, but he had his small moments.
When we finally got there, cars were lined up, and various guests of different calibers were all around the hall, gossiping and catching up.
But we didn’t park with the rest of the cars. We went to the VIP section. We weren’t just important guests; we were the most important guests of the occasion. Without the Lycan’s approval, the ball couldn’t hold. And since I was their mate, I was automatically just as important as they were.
Damien opened my door and helped me out, but my foot had barely touched the ground when I was attacked.
I smelled her signature perfume before I saw her. I didn’t need anyone to tell me it was my mother who had attacked me.
Damian held her back, but my father rushed at me next.
“The next person who moves will face my wrath.” Damien’s cold and chilling voice cut through the chaos, silencing everyone and stopping all movement.
I was impressed by the power he held. One word from him was all it took to tame my parents.
“We are so sorry, Lycan. This is our daughter. Our pack Alpha told us about how she has been throwing herself at you both. Our sincere apologies. We will discipline her for her behavior,” my mother said, genuine embarrassment on her face. She took hold of my arm, planning to drag me away.
But Damian’s voice rose again, even more intimidating and authoritative than before. “Who gave you permission to touch her?”
She was stunned, stuttering for a while before speaking. “You don’t understand, Lycan. She is my daughter. The slut who has been forcing herself on you belongs to us.”
Damien’s eyes flashed, a low rumble rippled out of his chest. My mother gasped, staggering back.
“You,” he pointed to the closest guard he could find, “take this woman out. Give her fifty lashes. Make sure the whip is soaked in wolfsbane.”
I couldn’t even speak. I was too stunned to say anything. I knew he meant every word, and my mother was going to be flogged until she cried blood.
My father stepped forward, trying to intervene. “She hasn’t done anything wrong. We only wanted to take our stupid daughter—”
“One hundred strokes for him,” Damien told the guard, sentencing him to an even worse fate than my mother.
I wanted to speak, to tell him to let them go even though they’d been horrible to me all my life, but one lifted finger from him shut me up.
I watched as they were dragged away, thinking about what they said Orion told them about me. He had been spreading lies that I’d been throwing myself at the Valentino twins, and it only made me wonder what other lies he had told people about me.