11. Capture His Heart
CAPTURE HIS HEART
The next time I saw Damien was the following night.
Leif received an invitation to a music recital titled “Weeping Silver.” A famous troubadour was going to perform for the young nobles on a small island several miles away from Erevos, perched in the middle of the rushing torrents of the Shimmering River.
To arrive there, we had to board an overly decorated, impractical royal barge, drift down the Shimmering River for about an hour, just to hear some bard’s singing.
I really didn’t get all this fuss, couldn’t that bard just come to the court to perform like everyone else?
How did Nocturne manage to become so influential when they wasted all their time on this sort of frivolous stuff?
Leif nagged me at least a hundred times to put on my finest clothes, saying it was supposed to be a refined event.
So, I shaved my face again, then changed into my only silk tunic that came with a high collar.
I even undid my warrior braids and loosely tied my hair back like how some of the long-haired southern men usually did.
I looked like a spoiled aristocratic brat in the mirror ... but apparently, this was considered “refined.”
Leif was beautiful as usual, though his clothes were a little too ... flimsy. My first instinct was to wrap him in a cloak.
“I don’t need it! It’s almost summer, and this is the South, Fenris!”
“I can almost see your skin!” I held the cloak out, insisting adamantly. “I’m not about to let some random alphas ogle my brother!”
Leif rolled his eyes exasperatedly. “No one is going to ogle me! This is how southern omegas dress at late-night events like this!”
“You are not a southern omega!”
“In Great Wolf’s name, you are so ... last decade sometimes! You are more old-fashioned than my mother!” Leif complained irritably as I draped the cloak over him and tied the strings.
When we arrived at the dock and were about to board the ship, I had an eerie feeling that someone was staring at me.
I looked up and saw Damien leaning on the railing on the second floor, a glass of wine already in hand.
Our eyes met, and he smirked at me, showing one sharp canine tooth.
My red garnet knife was hanging on his belt, glistening faintly in the glass lantern light.
This little shit ... Was he showing off that he had some sort of ownership over me?!
The barge was large enough to support a small, two-story palace.
The interior was as excessive as the exterior, with gilded murals on the walls, colourful mosaics on the floor, and crystal chandeliers hanging from the canopies.
Some bards played lutes and lyres; soft music floated above the rich wine, golden pastries, and delicate cakes on the side tables.
People were dancing leisurely in the middle of the room, nothing like the formal dances you would see in a ball, but more relaxed and intimate.
All the prominent members from the guest clans were present.
If I thought people were overdressed for the Presentation, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of jewellery, headdresses, feathers, ribbons, and all sorts of decorations people managed to load on themselves.
The hodgepodge of numerous strong perfumes was so overpowering that I felt like even if I didn’t wear the scent mask, people wouldn’t be able to discern Damien’s scent on me.
Leif was right: The omegas and female betas dressed more audaciously than they did on usual occasions.
Semi-transparent, diaphanous fabrics allowed light to pass through, revealing the delicate silhouettes of their frames.
I didn’t understand such a tradition. Why would they put omegas and female betas at risk like this?
What if some alphas decided to take advantage of them?
“See, I told you, people all dress like that,” Leif said as he doffed the cloak, handing it to the servant at the entrance.
As though he could read my inner thoughts, he said, “You know, omegas should be able to wear whatever they want; it is alphas’ responsibility to control their urges.
Even if we wrap ourselves up from head to toe, if an alpha decides to force themselves on someone, they would do it anyway. ”
Leif liked to tell me about all these new, advanced ideas he read in books. I tried to be supportive and receptive, but sometimes it was hard to just completely turn away from the old ways of thinking, I guess.
Among them, surrounded by the eager crowd, were Damien and his alpha sister, Cassandra.
The oldest prince, Valerian, was not present, though.
Perhaps because this kind of event was more like a chance for potential mating partners to flirt, it was not so appropriate for someone like Valerian, who had already chosen a mate.
Technically, Damien and I were also mated ... but I refused to think of it that way.
Suddenly, the crowd stirred. I saw Damien push through the crowd and come directly at me, his eyes locked with mine.
My heart suddenly began to thump heavily in my chest, and an electric tingle crackled under my skin, as though my whole body suddenly woke up in anticipation just because he was approaching.
I knew it was probably because of the mate bond, but still, it made me nervous.
Hell, I wasn’t even this nervous when facing an entire vampire army that was ready to tear me apart.
What was he doing? Why was he approaching? Everyone was watching, he was not going to do anything crazy, like touch me or kiss me, right? He was just joking when he said he wanted to just let it all burn, right?!
Then he was right in front of me. His scent reached out to me like grasping hands, pulling me toward him. My feet might have taken two steps toward him of their own volition, but my rational mind intervened in time before I made a fool of myself.
“Fenris,” he said, his voice carrying a magnetic vibration when he said my name. “Glad to see you’ve recovered from the ‘cold.’”
I replied rigidly, “I ... I’m recovered. Thank you for your medicine.”
Leif gave me a strange look, probably finding my overly polite demeanour unusual.
“You look dashing tonight.” He smirked a little.
I couldn’t even find a proper response to this, and I refused to consider if the hotness on my cheeks indicated how red I was.
But then, he turned his attention to Leif, and it was like his entire being softened.
“And you look absolutely stunning, Leif.” He smiled charmingly, extending his hand in a chivalrous way. “May I have a dance with you?”
I heard a murmur spread among the crowd near us. It was probably the first time Damien had asked someone to dance with him that night, and it meant something, apparently, judging by the almost fuming look on Lovel Eclipse’s expression.
Leif was surprised. He blushed beautifully and nodded, accepting Damien’s hand.
I watched them move to the centre of the room, capturing everyone’s attention. They looked perfect together. Damien was strong, tall, and handsome, while Leif was delicate and pure like the snow lily growing on the northern cliffs. They were a beautiful couple.
I wanted to ignore the sharp pain of jealousy and the sense of loss and betrayal raging in my head.
I knew it was just the mate bond messing with my mind, but it came so strongly that I could barely contain it.
I tore my eyes away from them and hoped my face hadn’t given anything away, or even if it did, that everyone was watching Damien and Leif, and no one had noticed me.
But then I noticed that Cassandra, Damien’s sister, was looking at me, an unreadable look on her face.
The one hour on the ship stretched into forever, and I had nowhere to go and no better thing to do. Not trusting myself to keep a straight face, I went out to the deck to cool my head.
As I gazed at the fragmentary moonlight flickering on the water, a pleasant scent, reminiscent of lemon and fresh leaves, approached me from behind. I smiled a little before hearing Johnathan’s voice.
“Your brother is doing exceptionally well, why are you still sulking?” he said, leaning on the railing next to me.
“I’m not sulking,” I said dryly.
I worried that Johnathan might notice my altered scent, but since he hadn’t known me that long, and since betas were generally less sensitive to smells than alphas and omegas, he seemed to be oblivious to the change.
Johnathan chuckled and looked at me with gentle eyes, saying, “You are very protective of your brother. I like that about you.”
I was indeed protective of Leif, but today it was for a different reason, something too shameful and sordid to even think about. So I tried to steer the topic in a different direction.
“So you like me, huh?” I curled the corners of my mouth.
He used his elbow to nudge my shoulder playfully. “You alphas are always so full of yourself.”
“It’s not ‘full of myself’ if it’s true,” I said smugly.
“Well then, why don’t you ask me to dance?” Johnathan turned slightly toward me. The moonlight glowed ethereally on his elegant countenance.
I cleared my throat and said awkwardly, “I ... um ... I don’t dance.”
Johnathan widened his eyes incredulously. “Seriously? How come? Don’t you northern clans ever dance?”
“We do, but not like that. Our northern alphas’ dances are more like ... drunkenly flailing our arms.” I scratched my head. “And it wasn’t part of the training I received.”
“We’d better amend that.” Johnathan stood straighter and extended a hand to me. “I’ll teach you.”
“Now?!” I looked around, not wanting people to see my clumsy dance steps.
“Yes, I’ll lead.” Johnathan smirked with a slight raise of his chin, as though challenging me. “Or are you too embarrassed to let a beta lead you?”
I took his hand to prove that I was not some alpha with a fragile ego. He placed my left hand on his shoulder, wrapped his right arm around my waist, and held my right hand with his left.