Chapter 8
Valarie
“You can’t be serious,” Sophia deadpanned, a piece of buttered toast halfway to her mouth.
I sat with my hands folded, having already eaten before Sophia was served. I glanced at the kitchen maid, busying herself by the door with a tray.
“I am. I’m entirely serious, Sophia. You can’t give in to him. He has a plan—”
“To ruin us all?” Sophia asked incredulously. “What does he hope to achieve?”
“This wasn’t his choice. He’s being forced to choose a mate this Hunt, and he’s only going to do it in the most painful way possible for all.”
Sophia sat back in her chair, delicate legs crossed, her brows heavy with thought.
“So… another challenge that isn’t on the list, then.”
I held back a sigh. Of course, that’s how Sophia would see it.
“Well, a challenge he’ll have, then. I won’t be giving up anything that easily,” the princess declared haughtily.
A light knock at the door was received by the maid, who curtsied immediately and stepped back.
I didn’t have time to collect myself as a manservant stepped in, followed by King Gabriel himself, as if he knew we’d been speaking of him.
I tried to keep the mortification off my face.
“The King, your majesty,” the manservant murmured, and I recognized the second voice from the night before. He was an average-sized man, with a pleasant face, serious and sharp. I straightened up hastily and glanced at Sophia.
Who was, unfortunately, far gone.
The princess was staring at Gabriel as if she’d never seen another wolf before. I watched her eyes darkening to the maroon that took over whenever we transformed, and I could tell by the twitch in the princess’s shoulder that she was fighting hard to keep her composure.
“My King,” she murmured, standing and curtsying low to the ground. I followed suit quickly and stood again to find Gabriel’s narrowed eyes on me.
He clearly recognized me from our run-in outside the banquet.
Gabriel looked back to Sophia, and took a few, slow steps into the room, surveying his surroundings.
“I came to be sure you have everything you could possibly need,” he said, his eyes moving languidly to the princess as he said it and trailing down her body.
Sophia’s cheeks flushed just slightly, her mouth parting.
It was then I knew that all hope was lost.
“I do,” Sophia answered breathlessly. “Thank you.”
Gabriel nodded, a small smirk gracing his lips.
“Good. In that case, I’ve come to personally inform you that there will be a dance tomorrow night. And if you would have me, I would like to be your first partner of the evening.”
His voice purred on the end of the last word, as it had our first day here, and my eyes narrowed. I knew exactly what he was doing, and unfortunately, he was doing it well. Sophia was totally and utterly lost to his charm.
“I would be honored, my King,” she replied, curtsying once again.
With the princess’s eyes on the ground, Gabriel looked at me, dead on. He didn’t bother hiding his interest at finding me here. I had mentioned Sophia’s name at the dinner.
“And of course, everyone is welcome,” the King added, eyes flashing before he looked back to Sophia.
We both murmured our thanks once more as Gabriel smiled gracefully before taking his leave.
When the door shut, my head snapped to Sophia.
“Are you kidding me?!” I exclaimed, reaching out to shove the princess, who stumbled to the side.
“What?”
“What happened to not falling for his tricks?”
Sophia’s cheeks flushed prettily, and she straightened out her clothing, composing herself.
“Well, I can’t let on I know what he’s planning, can I?”
“Oh, is that what that was?” I retorted. “Because it looked like you were practically salivating over him—”
“I was not!”
“Your eyes changed.”
Sophia looked away, the blush on her cheeks darkening. “He is a very attractive man,” she muttered, and I threw up my hands.
“It’s as if you’ve never seen a man before!”
“Well definitely not one like him. I mean, really, Val. Have you ever seen anyone as handsome in the Autumn Pack?”
John’s face flashed briefly through my mind, and I fought the rising sadness, telling myself that John was definitely not as attractive as Gabriel.
John had been handsome in a rugged sense, a traditional sense. Gabriel was more… beautiful. Imbued with power and grace and strength.
Sophia was smirking at me.
“That’s not the point, Sophia. You’ll need to watch yourself around him. I don’t think you two should be alone.”
“When would we possibly be alone? There will be probably hundreds of people attending the dance, the dinners, the events—”
“Well, finding a way to be alone with women hasn’t been a problem for him in the past.”
The princess rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue, instead turning back to her rooms.
“Come help me find a dress for tomorrow,” she called, and I sighed, already worried about the tinge of excitement in the princess’s voice.
***
The dance was held in a different hall, smaller, but no less beautiful.
Everything was white and varying shades of blue. The floor tiles were patterned intricately, the chandeliers glittered above them, and the King himself wore a beautiful, midnight blue suit, tailored perfectly to his lean body.
I glanced at him and then away, taking in the much more intimate crowd.
It was all the Alphas—the princesses—and a few, very important, betas. Maybe sixty people in all, including the handful of servants I could see, myself included.
Many of the princesses had made the mistake of coming on their own, it seemed.
The Queen wasn’t present either, which seemed strange, and when the doors shut behind the last few guests with an audible click, my ears perked up.
This felt like some kind of trap.
King Gabriel didn’t do much to dispel that feeling.
He stalked the edge of the room, hands behind his back, looking intently at each princess.
The women tried to carry on with their conversations, but stuttered, glanced his way.
The Blue Pack princess stared at him openly and I wrinkled my nose at the scent of lust in the air. Could she be any more obvious?
The band began to play light, uplifting music with one glance from Gabriel. I adjusted Sophia’s dress from behind and then made my way surreptitiously to the edge of the room to watch.
True to his word, Gabriel changed direction and came right to Sophia.
The princess held her chin high, but I could see her eyes darken in submission and barely stopped myself from groaning aloud.
Sophia and Gabriel danced the first two dances together as the other princesses watched on with barely concealed jealousy or disdain. A few of the more eager women waited at the edge of the dance floor, practically pacing, their eyes on the Alpha’s broad back.
I squinted as I looked at the two. I wanted to be pleased that Sophia so obviously had his attention, but they just didn’t look quite… right.
Sophia was so petite and elegant. Gabriel was every inch the elegant gentleman as well, but there was something dead about his gaze.
Like frost, I remembered Sophia sighing, but didn’t quite think this was what the princess had meant. His gaze was cold and unstaring, calculating in a way that made my hackles rise.
I stepped back into the shadows, resigned to watch over the princess for the next few hours as she competed with the others for the Alpha’s attention, along with everyone else in the room.