Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Raven
Tonight would be my “official” engagement to Alpha Damien at the Shadow Thorn Pack, yet what I felt as I walked out of the changing room of the designer store Alpha Damien had cleared out for me was an unrelenting sense of trepidation.
Misha let out an impressed whistle as she caught sight of me. “That’s the dress.”
Wordlessly, I stared at my reflection in the mirror without really seeing anything. I didn’t notice Misha moving until she was suddenly at my side, taking my hand between hers, her soft brown eyes searching mine.
“Are you alright, Raven?”
Was I?
For months, I’d prepared to take Elias’s people as my own, but I could never have anticipated that when the day eventually came for me to go to the Shadow Thorn Pack, it would be as his uncle’s pregnant fiancée.
“I’m queasy and nauseous. I’m a bit nervous about the party.”
“Is that all?” Misha’s lips tilted up into a teasing smile, the tension in her shoulders dissipating. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. It’ll be like meeting the in-laws, but the only in-laws you have are your ex-fiancé and your viper cousin.”
I shot her a side glare.
“Right. Absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“Alright, bad joke,” Misha gave a sympathetic wince, her tone losing the playfulness. “But on a serious note, Raven, you did nothing wrong. If anyone should be anxious about tonight, it’s that waste of space, Elias. Not you.”
“But I—” I’d barely gotten the words out when Misha cupped my cheeks, forcing me to meet her no-nonsense gaze.
“Tonight is your night, Raven,” she said sternly. “You will wear this sexy ass dress, go to the Shadow Thorn Pack with your head held up high, take your rightful place at Alpha Damien’s side, and you won’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.”
Letting go of the awkwardness I felt was easier said than done, but a small smile found its way to my lips anyway.
“You really think this dress is sexy?”
“Damn right,” Misha nodded fiercely. “Alpha Damien won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”
I rolled my eyes, more irritated than flattered.
“Goddess, Misha— I don’t care about that! I’ve already told you this relationship isn’t real.”
I definitely didn’t want his eyes on me tonight.
Dressed in a completely black ensemble tailored to perfection, his dark hair pulled back into a slick low ponytail, Alpha Damien stepped out of the limousine in a single languid yet incredibly dominant motion. It took my legs a moment to start working again. A long moment.
At the approaching sound of my clattering heels, Alpha Damien’s gaze unerringly found me, his eyes slowly raking over me from top to bottom, and then back again.
Fine. I bought the damn dress. Sue me. I couldn’t find even a shred of regret for my decision as the weight of his gaze followed me while I closed the distance between us.
“You look…” His voice was low and smooth like velvet over stone. “Stunning.”
Due to the fact that Alpha Damien and I had yet to officially announce my pregnancy, my wardrobe choices had been limited to a rotation of loose, flowy outfits that obscured the slight swell of my bump and my ever-widening hips.
The dress did all that, accentuating my breasts that had gone up a cup size while its short bubble skirt flared just right to veil my belly without making it conspicuous and still making my legs look a mile long.
Flushing at Alpha Damien’s frank regard, my thighs pressed together under the weight of that stare, I struggled to find an amicable response.
“You clean up nice yourself.”
Understatement of the century. Alpha Damien always looked like he’d walked off a dark, brooding Vogue cover.
But tonight, he looked downright edible, and it took everything in me not to stare.
The sides of Alpha Damien’s lips twitched, a knowing look on his face as he held open the car’s door for me.
As I slid in, his hand grazed mine. A spark shot through me, and I reflexively jerked away from the contact, stunned by how easily my body reacted to his. Alpha Damien’s entire frame went taut at my recoil, his jaw flexing as he shut the door behind me before circling to enter from the other side.
The limo glided forward silently and smoothly.
I barely had time to adjust before Alpha Damien’s hand found my waist and tugged me so close that I almost fell into his lap.
I jumped, meeting the golden gaze that had haunted more than a few of my dreams since our almost-moment that day in the elevator.
“What are you doing?” My voice had no business sounding so breathy.
“We are announcing our engagement, Raven.” Alpha Damien’s tone was calm, clipped, and very professional. “We’re supposed to look madly in love. How is that supposed to work when you flinch any time I move?”
My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I scrambled for an excuse.
“But we aren’t there yet.”
He didn’t bother replying. Rather, Alpha Damien held out his hand towards me with a silent, challenging stare. For a beat, I stared at him. Then, swallowing the panic clawing at my throat, I placed my hand in his, and his hand curled up around mine, causing a flurry of emotions to surge within me.
He tugged me closer, and sucking in a nervous breath, I let him.
My senses blurred as I got caught up in his proximity, his scent of cedar and spice turning my head.
Fuck, he smelled really good tonight. So intoxicating.
My gaze dragged down his perfectly hooked nose to his lips, slightly parted as he spoke, but I was too gone to process a single word.
“...after we’ll close the event with a dance. Is that fine, Raven?”
With a blink, I came out of the trancelike state I’d fallen into. Shit. I’d missed everything he said.
“I—yes, it’s fine,” I said quickly, yanking my hand out of his grasp, turning to stare out the tinted windows like they held the secrets of the universe, my cheeks heated over with mortification. Silence bloomed heavy and awkward between us, and the ride couldn’t end fast enough.
Pictures hadn’t done the Shadow Thorn Pack justice. From the expansive, well-maintained forested lands on the boundaries to the lush estate grounds that surrounded the main pack house, which was an architectural marvel of marble towers, glass, and polished stones, it was exquisite.
A welcome team bowed at the doors of the pack house as Alpha Damien escorted me through, his hand slipping possessively around my waist. His touch seemed to sear my skin even through my dress, and I swallowed hard, forcing the anxiety I felt away.
We just had to sell this couple act well enough for this evening. I could do that. The gazes on me as we swept into the banquet hall seemed more curious than malicious, but feeling the gazes of hundreds of strangers on me wasn’t exactly comfortable.
The wolf with the buzz cut from the banquet, Sinclair, made his way to us, a terse expression on his face as he bowed to Alpha Damien and then me.
“I apologize, Alpha, but the council would like a word before your announcement.”
Alpha Damien’s countenance darkened, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly before his lips curved into a small, dry smile, and he nodded once before pulling me closer and dropping a kiss on my forehead.
“Don’t wander,” he whispered against my skin, and I shivered. “I’ll be right back.”
The moment Alpha Damien disappeared into the crowd, my breath returned to me, and naturally, the first thing I did was wander.
Anxiety-induced nausea or just plain pregnancy-related nausea hit me, and I desperately sought out a space free of guests, only to stumble across a balcony that overlooked the Shadow Thorn Pack’s forest.
Cool air swept over my skin, instantly calming my nausea. I sucked in a breath of relief, only to stiffen as a very familiar scent hit me. Elias’s voice came from right behind me.
“You never did like crowds.”
Closing my eyes, I struggled to put a lid on my irritation. Why couldn’t I catch a break? Just one? Bidding the beautiful view goodbye, I spun on my heels to leave, but Elias stood in my way, stormy blue eyes fixed on me.
“I want to talk, Raven.”
“Too bad, I don’t want to talk to you,” I said, stepping around him, but Elias grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop before I could go far, his lips at my ear.
“Was any of it real, or did you just use me to get to my uncle?” he asked, his voice tight with emotion.
Oh, the audacity of this man. But I didn’t intend to give him the pleasure of getting a rise out of me.
“I’m not doing this with you,” I intoned coolly, shrugging off his hold.
I made it a step away before Elias pushed me up against the stone wall, a growl leaving his lips.
“You aren’t leaving until I get an explanation for your actions!”
My control shattered, and I saw red.
“Who the hell do you think you are to demand an explanation?” My voice shook with fury. “You want to know what was real? How dare you ask me that when you repaid my love and trust with betrayal? When you and Ivy played me for a fool for two years?”
“How dare you ask for an explanation when you never gave me one?” Tears of rage and pain and anger stung my eyes. “Even now, you’re just jealous because your uncle wants the toy you discarded!”
To my absolute horror, tears spilled down my cheeks.
In a way, this was the first time we’d spoken, really spoken, since that night I’d seen him with Ivy, and by the Goddess, it hurt as much as it made me enraged.
Elias seemed as thrown off as I was by my tears and hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe my tears.
“Raven, I’m sorry. I—”
My tears had always made him disoriented in the past, and the fact that it was the same now somehow made it all hurt even more.
I slapped the handkerchief out of his hand.
“Don’t fucking touch me!”
As Elias watched it fall to the ground, his hand fisted in anger.