Chapter 55 Lyria
For a moment, no one spoke.
The ballroom felt like it had been frozen by a single breath. The music didn’t stop completely, but it turned low, like even the instruments were afraid to be too loud. Conversations died mid-sentence. Laughter disappeared. Even the sound of plates and forks seemed to vanish.
All eyes turned.
Selene stood in the middle of the open space, the silver of her dress now stained with dark sauce. A piece of meat rested awkwardly against the fabric near her waist, sliding slowly downward, leaving a trail that looked ugly against the smooth shine of the dress.
It happened so fast, but now it felt slow.
Like the moment was stretching on purpose.
Selene’s body was still healing, and her first instinct was to step back. To protect herself. To move away from the mess and the eyes and the shame that came with it but she forced her feet to stay still, because she knew what this really was.
They want to trigger her to react.
The girl in front of her made a loud gasp, hand flying to her mouth as if she had just seen something tragic.
“Oh my goodness!” she cried. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”
Her voice was too loud.
Too clear.
Too practiced and it is pretty obvious.
She stepped closer, eyes wide and wet, as if she was about to cry from guilt. She looked around quickly, making sure people were watching. Then she looked back to Selene with fake worry.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice trembling. “I swear it was an accident. I slipped!”
Whispers immediately rose around them like a wave.
“Did she just—?”
“That looks on purpose.”
“Look at the dress…”
“That’s the Alpha’s guest.”
“Here she goes again.”
Selene could feel the heat of attention on her skin. It wasn’t just the stares. She could feel the judgment behind them.
Selene swallowed slowly.
Her heart was beating hard enough that she could feel it in her ribs.
Her first instinct—deep inside—was anger.
Not the loud kind. Not the violent kind.
The kind that makes your blood turn hot and your hands shake. The kind of anger that comes from "Don’t let anyone step on you."
The kind she had learned to bury when she was still in the West Pack but Selene kept her face calm.
She lowered her gaze to the stain again, letting herself take it in without reacting. She studied it like it was just a problem she could fix later because if she reacted, she would lose.
Not just lose her calm. She would lose control of the room and she couldn’t.
She couldn’t afford to.
Ryzen wasn’t here.
Ryzen had left her alone for only a moment and Selene knew exactly what people like this girl wanted.
They wanted Selene to explode.
They wanted Selene to show her claws.
They wanted to say, Look. The enemy wolf is dangerous. The Alpha is wrong for bringing her here.
Selene’s fingers curled slightly at her sides.
She forced them to loosen.
"Don’t", she told herself, "Not here. Not now."
She took a slow breath, one after another and in her mind, she spoke to herself quietly, like she was calming a frightened child inside her chest.
"If you make a scene, it won’t just be about you. It will be about Ryzen. It will be about his leadership. It will be about his judgment."
She could already imagine it.
Council whispers.
High-ranking families pointing fingers.
People saying he was blinded by a pretty face.
People saying he let an enemy into their hall.
People using one small mistake as a reason to question him.
And Selene knew something else too—something bitter.
This girl wasn’t the only one watching.
Somewhere in this ballroom, people were waiting for Selene to slip.
Waiting for Selene to say the wrong thing.
Waiting for Selene to prove she didn’t belong.
Selene’s eyes burned slightly, but she blinked it away.
"Be a good girl," she told herself, "Be the good, harmless guest. Be innocent. Make them choke on their own cruelty."
The girl was still standing there, still pretending to panic.
“Oh no,” she cried again, reaching out like she wanted to touch Selene’s arm. “Your dress… I ruined it. I’m so sorry.”
Selene raised her eyes slowly and then she smiled.
A small, gentle smile.
“It’s okay,” Selene said softly.
The girl blinked. She is not expecting that.
The whispers grew louder.
“She’s not mad?”
“She didn’t even yell.”
“That’s… strange.”
The girl forced her expression to stay worried. “A-are you sure?” she asked quickly. “That dress looks expensive. I didn’t mean to— I would never—”
“It’s okay,” Selene repeated, calm, even kinder this time. “Accidents happen.”
The girl’s lips tightened for a second, the worry on her face flickering.
Selene noticed it but she didn’t react.
Instead, Selene looked down at the girl’s hands, then at the empty plate she was still holding.
“Did you burn yourself?” Selene asked gently.
The girl froze.
“…What?”
Selene tilted her head slightly, still soft. “The food was warm. It spilled on me, so maybe it spilled on you too.”
The room went quiet again, but in a different way.
This wasn’t the silence of shock.
It was the silence of confusion because Selene wasn’t doing what everyone expected. Instead of being angry, she was worried about the person who just humiliated her. The girl stared at Selene like she didn’t understand the language being spoken.
“I’m fine,” the girl said stiffly.
Selene nodded. “That’s good.”
The girl’s fake worry shifted into something else—annoyance but she tried to hide it.
She turned her face slightly to the crowd and spoke louder again, making sure the room heard her.
“Please forgive me,” she said dramatically. “I truly didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of everyone… and in front of the Alpha.”
Selene’s smile stayed.
Inside, her thoughts tightened.
"There it is. Just like what I have thought, all of this... is for the Alpha. Not surprising. This girl was doing it on purpose. She was planting a seed. Is she really trying to embarrass me? If she wants too, maybe she should try someone who did not go through a second life. This is such a pathetic child play."
She wanted the crowd to think Selene was a stain on Ryzen’s night.
Selene took another breath.
Then she spoke again, sweet as morning light.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Selene said. “And you didn’t embarrass me.”
The girl blinked, thrown off again.
Selene continued, still gentle. “It’s just a dress. Dresses can be cleaned.”
More whispers.
“She’s too calm.”
“She’s… nice?”
“That girl looks angry.”
Selene could feel jealousy in the room like invisible smoke. It drifted from groups of women who were watching too closely, eyes sharp, lips pressed into fake smiles.
She knew what they were thinking.
Why her?
Why is she beside the Alpha?
Why did he bring a stranger?
Why didn’t he choose one of us?
Selene didn’t blame them for feeling it.
But she also refused to be crushed by it.
The girl in front of her straightened her back slightly, as if she remembered her role.
She lifted her chin and smiled politely, the kind of smile that looked kind but wasn’t.
“I’m Lyria,” the girl said, placing her hand lightly against her chest. “Lyria Avenhart.”
The name caused another wave of whispers.