Chapter 4: The Welcome Party (4)

I stopped directly in front of the Alpha council table. I looked straight into the faces of Kaelen, Jaren, and Thad.

Kaelen had one dark eyebrow raised in genuine intrigue. Jaren was leaning forward, his calculating eyes tracking my every breath. Thad had his jaw clenched tight with a dangerous, complicated tension.

"Alpha Kaelen," I said. My tone remained perfectly steady. "I sincerely apologize for the unpleasant interruption to your evening. I will clean up the broken glass immediately and return to my assigned duties."

I knelt on the floor. I began collecting the jagged pieces of broken glass. The sharp shards immediately sliced into my cold fingers. I absolutely refused to flinch. Thin lines of red blood mixed with the spilled champagne on the white marble.

I reached for the largest piece of glass. Before my fingers touched it, a large, warm hand closed firmly around my wrist.

I snapped my head up. I looked directly into the silver eyes of Jaren Vane. His handsome face was completely unreadable, but his physical grip was surprisingly gentle.

"Stop," Jaren commanded. His voice was pitched low, meant strictly for my ears. "That is enough."

Behind Jaren, Thad pushed violently back from the table. His heavy wooden chair scraped loudly against the stone. Thad's intense eyes fixated on his brother's hand wrapped around my bleeding wrist. A dangerous, possessive tension radiated from his rigid posture.

Kaelen stood up slowly. He buttoned his tailored suit jacket with deliberate precision. The simple movement commanded the entire ballroom.

"Jaren is absolutely right. This pathetic display is entirely beneath our notice." Kaelen looked down at me. For a fraction of a second, a strange flicker of light ignited in his cold eyes. It looked terrifyingly similar to genuine recognition.

"You will clean this mess later," Kaelen ordered. "Right now, you are going to do something vastly more important."

He held his large hand out toward me. It was not a command. It was a formal invitation in front of the entire pack.

I stared at his outstretched palm for a long, agonizing moment. The massive ballroom was dead silent. Hundreds of wolves held their breath. Evelina's perfectly contoured face had gone completely pale. Sera looked as if she were about to faint into the crowd.

I reached out and took Kaelen's hand.

He pulled me to my feet with shocking strength. For a fleeting moment, I stood flush against him. I smelled the intoxicating blend of cedarwood cologne and raw Alpha pheromones. I saw the microscopic gold flecks hidden deep within his silver irises.

Kaelen smoothly broke our eye contact. He turned to face the stunned room and projected his overwhelming Alpha aura.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We have all had enough mindless entertainment for one evening. The anniversary celebration will now continue in the east garden. Enjoy the remainder of your night."

It was a total dismissal. A clear, final order from the future pack leader.

Within seconds, the grand ballroom began to empty. Wolves filed hurriedly toward the garden doors. Their confused glances lingered on my soaked form.

Evelina broke away from her sycophants and approached us rapidly. Her signature smile was forcefully glued in place, but her eyes blazed with manic fury. "Kaelen, darling, whatever are you doing with the..."

"We will speak later, Evelina," Kaelen interrupted. He did not even look in her direction. His undivided attention remained focused on me. "We need to talk privately."