Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

|| David Calisto's POV ||

Gods, I hated this..!

The air in the throne room usually full of my own authority now stank of.. of him.

Marcello.. My brother..

The word itself was a bitter pill I’d never wanted to swallow again. He stood there as if he owned the space with his Lycan escort at his back but I was the Alpha here. This was my pack, my territory and that woman, standing frozen in the doorway like a startled doe, was my Luna. My wife..!

He was looking at her and not just looking. That smirk… it was a private joke, a silent communication that excluded everyone else in the room, especially me. It was the look of a predator who’d just found the most interesting plaything.

A hot, possessive anger coiled in my gut, tight and dangerous as I crossed the room in three strides. I didn’t look at him. My focus was entirely on Ashina.

She seemed pale, her eyes wide and I slid my arm around her waist, pulling her firmly into my side. She felt small against me and stiff but I held her tighter, my fingers splayed across her back, a clear unmistakable message.

Mine..!

I called out to a servant with my leaving no argument and a servant snapped to attention.

“Take our… guests… to the visitors’ wing. They can freshen up before the feast tonight.” I ordered.

Marcello’s smirk didn’t fade. His eyes, those strange, piercing eyes flicked from Ashina’s face to mine.

“Of course, brother. We are in your… capable hands.”

He made ‘capable’ sound like an insult. He and his wolves moved to follow the servant with the tension in the room easing only a little as they left. The second the doors thudded shut, I dropped my arm from Ashina.

The sudden silence was filled by a frantic, quick-paced thumping. I tilted my head, listening. It was her heart.. beating so hard against her ribs.

I turned to her with my gaze sharp.

“What’s that about?”

She blinked with her hand fluttering to her chest as if she could hide the sound.

“What’s what?”

“Your heart. It’s trying to beat its way out of your chest.”

“Oh! That.” She let out a breathy forced laugh that did nothing but annoy me. “It’s nothing. Just… excitement, I suppose. I’ve never met a Lycan before! They’re… uh… very impressive.”

Impressive…? The word landed like a slap. She was flustered and it wasn’t from my presence.. it was from his.

“Right,” I said, my voice flat. “Exciting.”

“I should go,” she blurted out, already backing away. “So much to do for the feast. I’ll see you later.”

She practically fled the room, her skirts swishing as she hurried down the corridor.

I watched her go, a deep frown etching itself onto my face. That wasn’t just excitement.. that was guilt.. or fear.. or… something else entirely.

I’d had my suspicions for a while with the unexplained absences and the distant look in her eyes but I’d never had proof that she was actually cheating on me.

An Alpha’s accusation without iron-clad evidence was a weakness I couldn’t afford. Now with that infuriatingly handsome prick Marcello under my roof, those suspicions roared back to life, louder and more insistent than ever. I’d have to watch her.. closely.

“Everything alright, Alpha?”

My Beta, Gavin materialized at my side, his expression concerned.

“Fine,” I grunted, tearing my gaze from the empty hallway. “Everything is perfectly under control.”

It wasn’t.. not even close.

---

Hours later, the scent of roasting meat and spiced wine began to fill the pack house as the feast was imminent.

I walked into our bedroom, the tension from the throne room still knotting my shoulders.

Ashina was at her vanity, brushing her hair. She looked beautiful and composed.. the picture of a perfect Luna. She met my eyes in the mirror with her expression carefully neutral.

I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms and I waited a moment, letting the silence stretch.

“You’re not going to the feast,” I said finally.

The brush stilled in her hand and she turned on the stool to face me.

“What? Why?”

“Consider it a mercy,” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm. “I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you. All that… exciting Lycan energy. Might be too much for your poor heart.”

She flinched, her composure cracking.

“David, that’s not... you’ve misinterpreted what I said.”

“Have I?” I pushed off the doorframe and took a step toward her. “It seemed pretty clear. Your heart was beating like a little drum the second you laid eyes on him. I heard it. So tell me, what was so… exciting?”

She stood up, clutching the hairbrush like a weapon.

“I told you! I’ve never met one of his kind before! It was a surprise, that’s all!”

“A good surprise, I take it?” I scoffed, the ugly jealousy I’d been fighting all day finally breaking its leash. “I hope you weren’t too disappointed when you didn’t see them walking around with giant manhood!”

Smack…!

Her hand connected with my cheek and her eyes were wide with shock at her own actions.

For a second, we just stared at each other and then a strangled gasp escaped her and she turned and fled into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

I touched my stinging cheek and a dry humorless sneer twisted my lips.

“Fine. Suit yourself.”

I turned and walked out, leaving her there. The feast could go on without its Luna.

And it did.

I sat at the head of the table, playing the gracious host to a brother I despised and his pack of judgmental wolves.

The food tasted like ash, the wine like vinegar and every laugh from Marcello felt like a personal taunt to me. I spent the entire night pretending I couldn’t feel his silent, smug satisfaction radiating from across the room.

The next morning, I rose early with the previous night’s anger still burning slowly in my blood.

A little while later, I strode into the council room ready to get this over with.

Marcello was already there, leaning against the map table as if he’d always belonged there and he looked up as I entered with a casual infuriatingly handsome smile on his face.

“Good morning, brother,” he said. His eyes scanned the room behind me with a mock look of concern flashing across his features. “I didn’t see your lovely Luna at the feast last night. I do hope she’s feeling alright?”

Every muscle in my body went rigid and my hand clenched into a fist at my side with the knuckles cracking with the force of it.

The urge to drive my fist right into his smirking face was so overpowering I could almost taste the copper tang of his blood…!