Chapter 5

Aritzea POV

"Ugh..."

Why did I agree to come.... Why was I here....

"Aritzea!"

"What?" I turned to look at my brother who was staring at me with a frown.

He stared at me for a while before looking away to "Remember, no funny behaviour tonight."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure." But I couldn't promise anything. I didn't even want to be here.

Thorne glanced at me sternly before pushing open the door of the car to get out. I took a deep breath and followed. Vampires. I could smell them.

Originally, I wasn't one to enjoy attending such pompous events, but the fact that it was filled with vampires made it all the more unbearable for me. Diplomacy, they called it.

Fuck diplomacy. It was a test of patience. My patience, to be precise.

The two groups separated themselves, werewolves huddled in one side of the room and vampires on the other. The only people interacting were the high-ranking members of both factions pretending to engage in civil conversation.

I glanced over to where Thorne was talking with some damn vampire, his back straight, his expression calm. Anyone watching might have thought he was actually enjoying himself. But he was my brother and I could tell Thorne hated this just as much as I did. I looked away, suddenly wanting to punch something.

Or someone.

Maybe both.

Thorne has changed. Being the Alpha of our pack and taking over our father's shoes had made him more responsible. Even if it meant talking to disgusting vampires.

Ugh...

With a huff, I turned my gaze elsewhere, trying to distract myself before I did something that would make this whole event even worse. My fingers twitched at my sides, itching to snap one of these vampires in half just to see if they really did shatter like glass.

As I moved through the room, a vampire brushed past me, close enough that I could smell the faint scent of blood on him. He turned to look at me, his eyes filled with something I didn’t like. I should poke them out of his skull. He'd look better without them.

"Careful, wolf," he purred, his voice dripping with arrogance. "You might get lost in a crowd like this."

I raised an eyebrow. "If you came looking for death, it's not here. Move aside, leech."

His eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, I walked away. Idiot.

It took everything I had not to rip his throat out then and there, but Thorne would probably frown on that. Plus, I didn’t feel like getting vampire blood on my dress.

It wouldn't be a pretty sight.

As I made my way further into the room, I spotted a familiar face among the crowd. Selene. She was chatting with a few other wolves, but the moment she saw me, she broke away from the group and made a beeline toward me, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Ah! A breath of fresh air in this damn place.

"Ari!" she called, grinning as she reached me. "I didn’t think you’d actually show up. I thought you’d rather gnaw off your own arm than attend a banquet full of vampires."

If I had the chance.... that sounded like the better option.

I laughed. "Trust me, the thought crossed my mind. But Thorne insisted, and I figured it would be better if I was here to keep an eye on things. You know, make sure no one snaps and starts a war."

She chuckled at my words.

"Of course," she said with a smirk. "And by ‘someone,’ you mean yourself?"

"Naturally," I replied, unable to hide the sarcasm in my voice. "But hey, if things get really boring, I might just stir up some trouble myself."

Selene laughed, and for a moment, the tension in the room seemed to lift. This was one of the reasons why I loved Selene—she had a way of making even the most frustrating situations bearable.

"So, where’s your brother?" she asked, glancing around.

"Talking to a vampire," I said, my tone flat. "It’s tragic, really. He used to be so much fun."

"Oh come on... it's not that bad."

I shrugged. Maybe I was just making a big deal out of nothing. Selene seemed to notice my reaction and I could see she felt bad.

"So.... what about Ethan?" She asked, awkwardly trying to change topics.

I knew what she was doing but it worked. "I don't know. He's with some girl. Says she's his mate."

Selene was suddenly intrigued. "His mate? I thought he said he hated the concept of mates?"

I chuckled. "I think he realized how important it was. Also, I'm glad he found his mate."

"That’s the spirit," she said, clapping me on the back. "You’re better off without him anyway. I mean, who needs a guy who doesn't stand by his words."

"Exactly," I agreed, though my thoughts were already drifting elsewhere.

Before we could continue our banter, someone approached us.

"Aritzea,"

I felt my mood darken when I saw who it was, Lucas, Ethan’s younger brother. He'd always been an unbearable little weasel, and I wasn't in the mood to deal woth him tonight.

"Looking good tonight. Shame you’re all alone." he said, his eyes trailing along my body in a way that made me want to poke them out.

"Lucas," I said coldly, folding my arms. "If you feel your eyes are important to you, then scram before I get rid of them."

I felt I was quite nice. Warning him before I took any action. But he didn't seem to heed my warning. His smirk widened as he stepped closer, and I could feel the irritation rising in me like a storm.

"Oh, come on. Now that you’re not tied to my brother, maybe you and I could—"

"Lucas," I warned, a second time. "Walk away while you still have your dignity."

He didn’t take the hint. Instead, he reached out as if to touch my arm, and that was it.

I didn’t hesitate, my fist connecting with his face in a satisfying crunch. He staggered back, clutching his nose as he fell to the floor.

The room went silent suddenly, all eyes turning toward us as whispers spread through the crowd. Selene covered her mouth to hide her giggles, while Lucas’s mother rushed forward, her face filled with horror.

"How dare you!" she screeched, kneeling beside her son. "You attacked him for no reason!"

I winced, her voice was a bit too loud. And this would have been my mother-in-law. Thank the moon goddess for giving Ethan a mate and saving me from this.

I looked away, not bothered at all. And so, she started to protest. I watched the show she was putting on with Lucas, the both of them crying and hugging each other like I was just about to kill them.

It wasn’t until Thorne appeared that I finally turned my attention. His eyes were hard, his jaw set in a way that told me he wasn’t happy.

"Thorne, I—"

"Aritzea," he interrupted, his voice sharp. "What have you done?"

I paused to look at him. He looked back sternly. At this point, I could tell he didn't care about the reason I had punched this idiot. What he cared about was that I had started a fuss.

So, I rolled my eyes and looked away. He wouldn't listen to anything I said, so there was no need to explain.

Thorne noticed my actions and frowned even deeper. "Aritzea, apologize."

Apologize? I looked down at Lucas who stared back smugly. I looked away. There was no way I was apologising to this idiot.

"Aritzea!" Thorne called angrily. "I said—"

Before he could finish, someone else’s voice cut through the tension, a smooth, commanding tone that made the room silent.

"Now, now,"

The single word hung in the air, and I felt a chill run down my spine. Slowly, I turned to see who had spoken, my eyes widening in surprise as I met the gaze of the last person I expected to see tonight.

Our eyes met and I could see a smile stretching out on his lips.

Fuck! Why is this bastard here?!