As the music drifted in the air, River saw the men and women dancing with their partners. Since she had never been to a ball, she didn’t know how to dance, but she enjoyed seeing others dance. She watched Rosalie mingling with all other guests as if nothing happened at all. With a ragged breath, she drew her eyes away from Rosalie because every time she looked at her, River was reminded of how she behaved with her.
Hunter was standing with River and glanced at her once in a while because he couldn’t resist himself. All at once, a bundle of energy came rushing towards them.
“River!” Mia shouted. “Brother!” She came darting towards them from across the hall, looking excited. She hugged River and then spun in her dress, “How do I look?” she asked River, her face beaming with happiness.
River chuckled. She was looking pretty in her pink dress. “You look beautiful!” she said softly.
Hunter was grinning at his sister and she launched herself in his arms. “It’s nice to see you here, Mia,” he said, stroking her hair affectionately.
Mia was about to say something when Hunter’s beta, Elijah came over. “Alpha, can we talk for a moment please?” He glanced at Mia who immediately blushed under his gaze.
River noticed Mia’s blush and raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t say anything.
Hunter frowned. “Can’t it wait?” He didn’t want to leave River’s side.
Elijah was surprised because usually Hunter listened to him if it sounded urgent. “Of course, it can,” he said and stepped on the side where Mia was standing. Mia was beaming with happiness a moment ago and in Elijah’s presence, she became quiet and blushed all the more.
River saw that while Elijah was standing beside her, his jaws were clenched and he was trying his best to keep his hands in tight fists, as if he was resisting himself to reach out to Mia. She wondered what was going on between the two of them. “Would you like to dance with me, Alpha?” Rosalie’s voice snapped her out of her reverie.
“No!” Hunter growled rudely.
Rosalie shrank with fear. Embarrassed at his rejection, she walked to stand on the side with her lips downturned. She stepped back into the shadows and wiped her cheeks that were wet with tears. She took a deep breath and watched others dancing on the floor.
Moments later, a few she-Lycans came to Hunter. “Alpha Hunter, you must dance with Lady Rosalie,” said one of them. “It is for the charity gala!”
One of them giggled animatedly. “If you like you can dance with me!”
It was Gina who pulled Rosalie out of the shadows and said, “Since Rosalie has organized this event and you are the main guest, it would be really nice of you to dance with her.”
Rosalie lowered her head and said, “Please girls, it is fine. It is not necessary. I am sorry that I misinterpreted our Alpha. He was being so kind and I-” her throat choked as she blinked away her tears.
Gina wrapped her arm around her. “Rosalie, it is so nice that you have apologized.” After that she became silent and
gave Hunter an accusatory glance.
Hunter was feeling guilty, not because he shunned Rosalie, but because of the fact that he was the main guest of the event and he was behaving rudely. He looked at River as if asking her if it was okay for him to dance with Rosalie. River pursed her lips, not understanding what he was trying to convey to her. So, she stood there without reaction. When his eyes went to Mia, she mouthed, ‘You should’
He grunted and said, “Okay, one dance.”
But the moment he held Rosalie’s hand, River felt this strong pang of jealousy that was so out of the blue. She hadn’t felt like this since Hector pierced his fangs in Victoria. The feeling left her… shaken.
At the same time, Mina urged Elijah to go and have a dance with Mia. Mia’s cheeks pinkened but she grabbed Elijah’s hand the moment he offered it to her.
River was left alone as people with whom she felt comfortable were gone. The girls who had come to be with Rosalie surrounded her. Mina said, “Did you think that you could pull the Alpha away from Lady Rosalie?”
“What?” River was shocked.
Gina added, “Rosalie is going to be the future Luna of the Dark Moon pack. Don’t ever cross your lines, breeder!”
Another one said, “We all know why Hunter attacked Rosalie. It wasn’t because she took that necklace from you, but it
was because she refused to have sx with him earlier in the day. And it is normal in our society to be upset when your mate refuses to have sx with you, so Alpha’s reaction was natural.”
Blood drained from River’s face when she heard those words. Sx? Mate?
“Rosalie and Alpha Hunter are very close to each other,” Mina hissed. “If you try to ruin their relationship, you are going to be thrown into the dungeons! Do you get it?”
“You don’t belong here,” Gina scoffed. “And you never will. Don’t hurt Rosalie, else we are going to hurt you so bad that you will beg to d*e!”
River gulped. She didn’t know that these vipers were waiting in the shadows to attack her like this. Intimidate her. While dancing with Hunter, Rosalie turned her face to look at where River was standing, surrounded by her friends. She smirked at her when their eyes met. Did the breeder think that she could take Hunter away? Look how she grabbed Hunter and left her alone. In order to show River her authority over Hunter, she leaned on his chest.
All this was Rosalie’s plan. She had staged her act of looking sad and miserable in front of Alpha Hunter to get his attention. She had roped in Mina and Gina and three more girls for the whole act. She was the one who started the gossip that Hunter was upset because she didn’t have sx with him, when the reality
was that she had never had sx with him. In fact, when she ‘accidentally’ blurted about sx, her reputation only went a notch higher. Rosalie stifled a giggle as to how easily she maneuvered Hunter.
While dancing with her, Hunter was hating every moment of it. And when she leaned on his chest, that was it. He pulled away from her mid-dance and she faltered in her steps. Without another word, he walked away from her towards his mate who was surrounded by the girls. His sharp ears caught what they were saying from a distance through the music that hit the crescendo. They were threatening his mate. How dare they? He saw red. He wanted to
rip their heads off.
Anger flared. River’s face was pale and she looked… hurt. With rage building inside him, he closed the gap between them in long strides. “Are you threatening her?” he snarled at them, releasing his aura.
The girls winced as his aura compelled them to submit. He was so powerful that if he wanted, he could ment*lly cripple them with his command. Scared as h*ll, they started shivering.
“N-no Alpha,” said Mina as her head hurt with acute pain. “We were talking-”
“Silence!” he snarled. Then he grabbed River’s hand and said, “Let’s get out of here, River. Tonight, you will be sleeping in the room adjacent to mine!”
