Chapter 9: The Price of a Drink

In an instant, every eye in the room was fixed on me.

My body instantly tensed.

I hadn't expected this man to publicly challenge me in such a setting.

Faster than the curious, scrutinizing looks of the onlookers came Damian’s furious interrogation.

Damian immediately spun around to face me, jaw clenched, his eyes cold. "Lila, you better explain yourself. What is the meaning of this? Why has the entire Thornridge Pack been compromised because of you?"

Even as he questioned me, Damian’s heart was in turmoil.

He was born in the Thornridge Pack and knew everything that had ever happened—except for the year he was gone with Isabelle. That year of absence meant he’d lost control of the pack, and even now, back in Thornridge, he hadn't fully regained his authority.

Had Lila and Lucas met, and had something transpired between them, in the year he was gone?

My nails dug into my palm, then relaxed, as I quickly composed myself. I curved my lips into the most natural, captivating smile I could manage, stepping forward to stand beside Damian and directly face Lucas.

“Prince Lucas is quite vengeful. I merely mistook you for a handsome college student once and made a slightly provocative joke. I only bought you a drink that night and left. It seems my appearance made quite an impression on you.”

Cornered by Lucas, I had no choice but to reveal a fraction of the actual circumstances, though laced with a two-part fabrication.

I certainly couldn't announce in front of everyone that I had slept with Lucas a year ago and ruthlessly dumped him two days prior, which was the real reason for his offense.

Everyone around us seemed to understand, and a slight chuckle rippled through the crowd at my playful, teasing tone.

Over the past year, my solitary management of the pack after Damian's desertion, and my success in developing Thornridge, was well-known. My beauty and figure were also famous, and today's deliberate styling had only enhanced them.

A capable and beautiful woman commands respect.

Damian subconsciously exhaled in relief. A moment ago, his gaze had been swinging between Lucas and me, scrutinizing us. For some inexplicable reason, he had felt a strange, ambiguous tension pulling between us.

Now, it seemed he had simply been overthinking things.

Nonetheless, Damian adopted the high-and-mighty demeanor of a pack Alpha, coldly chiding me: "A single drink is hardly enough. Mistaking the Prince for some random man on the street is a profound insult. You will apologize to His Highness properly again."

Seeing Damian's attitude toward me, the onlookers sighed, concluding that my relationship with Damian had clearly not been repaired since his return. Their pity for me deepened.

To be publicly abandoned by one's husband for a mistress, and then to be mercilessly scolded in such a grand setting—it was enough to break any woman’s heart.

I was indifferent to Damian’s attitude. I no longer loved him. When I won the Moon Trial, I would show him no mercy.

And Damian? If our wager were revealed and I won, he would likely be unable to survive in any pack. He would have lost all the dignity and respect required of an Alpha, a husband, and a man.

My main concern was Lucas’s reaction. Seeing that he didn't object to Damian’s commanding words, I took another step forward, closing the distance between us. Damian was now behind me, leaving me closest to Lucas.

I raised the glass in my hand, offering my apology to Lucas. "That night in the bar, I was blind—I had no idea you were a Prince. I hope you will not hold my offenses against me in the future."

My words were loaded with double meaning; I knew Lucas would understand.

But Lucas merely smiled.

It was a cold smile, and his voice carried a deep, unnerving undertone. “You think one drink is enough to wipe the slate clean between us?”

The onlookers felt a shiver of alarm, quietly thinking that Lucas was too petty.

According to Lila's story, it was just an ordinary flirtatious joke you might find anywhere. Most men would be secretly flattered to be teased by a beauty like Lila, as it affirmed their male appeal. Yet, Lucas was so fixated on this minor incident that he not only harbored a grudge for so long but was demanding more than a formal, public apology from a beautiful woman.

It seemed the future Wolf King was a terrifying, vengeful superior.

The guests inwardly vowed never to cross Lucas, while simultaneously sending me even more sympathetic glances.

“What will it take for you to be appeased?”

I took a deep breath, maintaining my bright smile, but I took another half-step forward. The physical distance between Lucas and me was no longer socially appropriate, but I didn't care.

This damned man was clearly still smarting from being dumped. As the superior in power, I couldn't beat him politically.

But as the superior in our sexual dynamic, I knew precisely how to handle him in this moment.

If I let him continue this charade, our true relationship might be exposed, which would destroy my legitimacy in challenging Damian for the pack’s authority.

My upper body leaned past him as I reached for an entire bottle of wine from the table directly behind him. I deliberately brushed my chest against Lucas’s arm. I knew he would clearly feel the unrestricted softness of my breasts, because I was wearing no bra, only nipple pasties, to fit the dress.

Then, I looked at Lucas with a challenging gaze. "If one drink isn't enough, will one bottle be satisfactory, Prince Lucas?"

My red lips bit the cork open. Amidst the gasps of the surrounding guests, I lifted the bottle to my mouth and quickly lowered the empty glass bottle. A single, residual trickle of wine slid down my jaw and neck, disappearing into the cleavage concealed by the dress fabric.

I intentionally darted my tongue out and subtly licked the corner of my mouth, looking directly at Lucas’s lower abdomen, specifically at the area between his groin where the fabric of his suit trousers had become visibly taut.

Lucas and I had shared a memorable experience where we simultaneously performed oral sex on each other while passing ice cubes and wine between our mouths.

That memory was unforgettable to me. Judging by his current physical reaction, he clearly remembered it too.

“The bottle is empty. Are you appeased?”

Lucas’s expression remained unchanged—in fact, it grew even colder. But I knew his body was hotter than anyone else's right now. He gave a cold laugh. “I forgive you. However, the Luna and Alpha of the Thornridge Pack seem genuinely devoted, working in perfect concert.”

With that, he turned and walked away, his stride noticeably stiff.

I, receiving a smattering of applause from the crowd, gave a knowing, triumphant smile. I elegantly turned back, facing the rest of the ballroom with composure, fully aware of the agonizing time Lucas was about to endure in private.