Chapter 06

XAVIE 

My hands were trembling as I hurried into the downstairs washroom that was sorely reserved for the party guests. The back of my hand where Alec had placed his mouth crawled, which was the reason why I had made my way quickly inside the washroom to wash it off. Splashing some cool water from the sink tap on my face, I stared into the large bathroom mirror, my breath coming out in short but heavy pants. 

It took all the self-control I possessed not to show a hint of what I was feeling back there, the betrayal still stings and the pain I felt was very much still there. When he kissed the back of my hand, anger stirred up inside me. Seeing me again had no doubt shocked him but I didn’t expect him to believe my memory loss stories right away. 

If there’s one thing I have, it’s patience. I will take my time convincing him and when he believes me enough and let down his guard, that’s when I’ll strike him so hard he wouldn’t see it coming from a mile away. Thankfully, the make up artist Alpha Kian hired did a pretty good job at hiding how pale I was. 

I looked over my shoulder as I heard a gentle knock, already guessing who it was by the familiar scent of coffee, I went toward the door to answer it. There stood Alpha Kian with his hands behind his back and watching me curiously. Several minutes passed with me still waiting for him to say something but the words never came and I realised he couldn’t speak! How do I keep forgetting? 

I flushed with embarrassment. “I’m fine, I just needed a few minutes away from the party, it’s quite overwhelming.” I told him, guessing he must be wondering why I left. 

He nodded, briefly looking over his shoulder, which caused me to frown with confusion, something was definitely troubling him and I had no idea what. 

“We both can’t be absent from the party for too long, we should go.” I stepped outside, brushing past him. His hands came to grip my shoulders, stopping me from walking any further. Once I halted, he removed his hands and tapped me then crawled his fingers into an okay sign. 

He was asking me if I was okay! Unable to resist, I smile a little. “I’m really fine, although I won’t deny that seeing him again has brought up some feelings.” Like betrayal, pain, shame and other negative human emotions, I avoided looking in Annika’s direction altogether. 

Taking my word for it, he nodded and extended his elbow toward me. I entwined it with mine and together we returned to the party. Once we arrived at the scene, Kian let me go to attend to some important guests while I was crowded by a fan of adoring females who wanted to meet me. 

Minutes turned into hours before the final member of the crowd finally left to probably bother someone else or enjoy the rest of the party and just as I turned to leave, I almost bumped into Annika, who was heading directly toward me. 

“You don’t fool me!” She hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Even though I knew what she was insinuating, I frowned pretentiously. “I beg your pardon?” 

“Pretend all you want Xavie but I’m not buying whatever bullshit you have Alec believing, also you already know me well enough now to know whatever you’re planning, I’m already five steps ahead of you. Go ahead and try, I made a complete fool of you once and I’ll do it again.” She concluded, her eyes digging holes into my face. 

I stepped closer to her, invading her personal space in a way that made her back away in panic. “Are you threatening me?” 

“Apologies…” A  familiar voice interrupted, causing me to look up at Alec. “My mate has awfully mistaken you for someone else, please pardon her.” He pulled her to his side, as if fearful that she might cause a scene. 

“For her sake, I hope this is a one time thing.” I responded, leaving the pair alone. Before I went out of earshot, I could still hear her frantically trying to get him to believe her. I almost burst into laughter as a new idea occurred to me. 

Bursting with excitement, I searched around for Kian until I found him alone at the decorated wine table, glaring at it like the existence of the objects had wronged him in more ways than one. The background instruments playing turned into a slow tune and couples moved to the dance floor, he turned just as I touched his arm. 

“I think we are expected to dance.” I said, glad that his face had returned to its cold neutral expression. “And while we are at it, I have something to tell you!” The excitement in my voice piqued his interest cause he raised a questionable eyebrow as I pulled him toward the dance floor. 

After positioning ourselves, we began swaying slowly to the tune of the music, others stared at us as if we were an interesting piece of art in a museum. In an attempt to make sure no one will hear a word we say, I moved closer, placing my face in the direction of his ear so that to onlookers it seemed like we were embracing or at least having an intimate conversation. 

“Alec doesn’t believe me, he’s too paranoid, which means we really have to put in a lot of effort to convince him of our story. Since you haven’t come up with anything yet, my plans can be our foundation and get this, Annika’s revenge is making her crazy.” He nodded every now and then to let me know he’s listening. 

“How you may wonder, but once Alec believes us, I’ll create doubts in her heart. First step to driving her crazy.” I sigh dreamily at the thought, letting my chin rest on his shoulder, I had to be on my tippy toes to achieve this. 

Before I could fully relax, the music came to a stop and so did the dance. “What do you think?” I asked as he led me back to our table. 

He nodded once more, letting me know we were on the same page. He pulled out a seat for me and once I was seated, he settled down next to me. While Kian was sitting by my right, Hilda, who hadn't been sitting there before, was currently present.

“I’m just here to make sure you don’t overstimulate yourself, and that’s enough dancing for the rest of the party.” She teased, passing a plate of chicken wings dipped in pepper sauce. “Eat this, it will give you energy.” 

Ignoring her teasing remark cause I know she was referring to Kian and I dance. “Good, I was starving.” He must have heard that because he swiftly turns and starts placing different dishes in front of me. Well, that’s to say, he’s a natural born actor if you ask me, playing the role of a doting husband. 

Being a doting wife myself, I pressed a chaste kiss that I could tell caught him by surprise. “Thank you!” I added, refocusing my attention back on consuming the foods in front of me. 

A much upbeat song starts playing and a group of entertainers step forward to perform a very interesting choreographic dance. I watched while munching on a chicken wing and drinking a glass of wine. 

“Keep your eyes on the servants, you only see them together in one place for a long time during an event and this is the chance to pick your maids in waiting, you can have any number of maids in waiting but start with two, I will advise.” Hilda informed me and I looked at the direction she had gestured toward. 

She was right, all the maids there already had their eyes glued on me. “I don’t need a maid Hilda.” It sounded weird, having another human wait on you or maybe it’s probably because I wasn’t used to it. Back at home, I used to do the waiting while Annika and her Mother used me as their servant. 

I pushed the memory aside when she started to speak again. ”You’re a Luna now, I fear it‘s a must, right Alpha?” He nodded in agreement. 

“Well, now that you two have ganged up against me, I guess I have no choice.” I finally agreed, not missing the way Kian smiled but it was Hilda who laughed out loud. 

“Kian, have you been hiding your wife from me? Do you ever plan on introducing us? Hello I’m Derek, his godfather and guardian.” An older man in his early fifties introduced himself, stretching his hand in front of me. 

He was unfamiliar to me but he had been present at the mating ceremony. I looked at my stained hand and flushed, catching the drill, he laughed and took a seat at the table. 

“Hello sir, I’m Xavie, it’s nice to meet you.” I noticed Kian was signing something to him but the minute he saw that I knew, he stopped. 

Derek just laughed at him before once more paying attention to me. “Sir?” He scoffed. “You’re family now, just call me Derek and ignore your husband's grumpy ass.”

The conversation was interrupted by the dancers as their performance came to an end, and everyone stood up to applaud them. The hair on my skin prickled and stood as goosebumps spread over my body, nervously, I darted a quick glance around, my breath hitching when I found Alec staring directly at me from across the room!