Lycan Legacy (A Soulmark Series Book 5), page 4
It may or may not be the real reason I am having such a marvelous time. The champagne softens all the raw edges of my nerves, and after a bit of time, being on Atticus's arm is the only place I want to be. If June were here to hear my sentiments, she would squeal in delight.
The only threat to my night of bliss is the surly faces of the Blanc Pack. In my champagne-induced haze, I came to realize that as long as I don’t make eye contact with them, I will remain untouched by their disapproving glares. My no-eye-contact rule also helps me push away the feeling of disloyalty that comes with glancing their way.
"Are you having a good time?" Atticus asks, his warm breath and lips brushing the top of my ear. I shiver a little but give a happy nod and look his way to bestow a gracious smile.
"How can I not be?"
Atticus smiles broadly, his pearly straight-white teeth dazzling me. "Good. I'm glad."
"Congratulations, brother," an increasingly familiar voice states from behind. Atticus and I turn to greet the Adolphus alpha, Xander, and his fiancée, Zoelle.
"You know," Atticus says, his broad smile still in place as he swings his arm across the back of my shoulders, "you only have to congratulate us once. This is your fourth time."
Xander laughs and tugs his fiancée closer into his side. She's a beautiful woman with dark skin and the most lovely, dark curls acting like a halo around her face. "Ah, but this time we come bearing gifts."
"More cinnamon morsels?" I ask eagerly. The champagne buzzes through my veins as I recall the delectable treat, but then I’m coloring as the three laugh at my brazen enthusiasm.
"No, I'm sorry." Zoelle’s cheeks retain a healthy glow from her laughter. "But I can make those for you any time. The gift I wanted to give you is from my coven, the Trinity Coven."
I freeze as she holds out a small purple bag to me, but it is Atticus who takes the gift on our behalf. With as much discretion as I can manage, I scan the faces of those who monitor us. Nobody seems to be watching our interaction closely—at least not that I can tell. Good, it won't do well if my pack mates see me accepting a witch's gift, regardless if she is the alpha's soulmark.
"Thank you," I finally manage to say, albeit a bit breathlessly as my heart thunders on at an unusually clipped place. Tonight, only pack is allowed. More specifically, those of the lycan variety. Zoelle's presence had been a quick concession on the Blanc pack's part, but behind closed doors, they fumed at the indignity.
Atticus sports a playful frown after dumping the contents into his palm. "Rocks?"
"Fertility stones," Zoelle corrects, the color growing brighter on her cheeks. Atticus lets out a boisterous laugh that draws the eye of a fair few, and I swiftly deliver an elbow to his side. He looks down at me in question, but I scoop up the stones and put them back into the bag with remarkable speed. I hold them back out to Zoelle.
"I don't have any pockets. Would you mind making sure these get set aside by the other gifts?"
Zoelle nods pleasantly in return. "I know the gift is a bit unorthodox, but Yule and Winter Solstice gifts like these are intoned with even more energy and power. You don't have to use them right away, but they've been known to do the trick."
"Thank you, Zoelle. How... thoughtful." And it is to an extent, but no amount of magic will give Atticus and me children.
"If you're curious, they're rose and smoky quartz, moonstone, and aventurine. They're commonly used for fertility," Zoelle adds and gives an impish shrug.
Years of practice are the only reason I am able to keep my emotions in check as the sorrow of the soulmark curse unfurls inside of me. I prepare to offer some excuse to leave the small group when a vision of chestnut curls and honey brown eyes make their way over to us. Lucy.
"Winny, why aren't you dancing with your handsome new husband?" In a gesture that is easily mistaken by the group as a friendly squeeze on Atticus's bicep, I see the more malicious curl to her smile as she lets her hand linger. Lucy shares her sparkling smile with the group. "You'll have to forgive me, Winny, but I absolutely must insist on stealing at least one dance with your husband. You don't mind, do you?"
Numbly I move my head side to side, and I'm startled when Atticus's lips briefly graze my cheek before allowing himself to be whisked away by Lucy. I watch their departure in a slight daze, my fingers coming to brush over the area.
"Don't worry," Xander says to me with warm affection. "I don't think Atticus can stand to be parted from you for more than one dance."
I give a grateful smile, half produced from habit, the other from genuine relief. Even though I know better than to give into this sort of simple jealousy, my mother's words of this "sham union" ring dutifully in my head. The words grow like some kind of weed, sprouting taller and reaching farther as the seconds tick past.
I catch Atticus's blue eyes from the dance floor, which hosts only members of the Adolphus pack. He shoots me a wink and grin, then spins my cousin at a dizzying pace. Her chestnut curls fly haphazardly about her face, strands sticking to the sticky gloss painted on her lips.
"See," Zoelle teases with a charming air, and indeed, my sprouting jealousy washes away as I turn my attention back to the alpha couple as proper etiquette dictates.
My mouth opens to impart some passing nicety when I am affronted with a most alarming sight. "Oh my God," I say and release a whimper. I stare in abject horror at the couple entering through the back of the building like lurking shadows right toward us.
Both alphas turn to see what causes me such alarm and in tandem let out their own pleased gasps. "Irina!" Zoelle cries with delight and rushes determinedly through the crowd, Xander hot on her heels.
"Wait—" But my plaintive cry is ignored.
They can't be here.
I swallow thickly and duck my head with more speed than necessary. Be natural, I scold myself. Maybe nobody will notice.
It's a foolish thought. Naive. I steal a glance their way. At least there isn't a scene being made... yet. Once my pack mates catch wind of this invasion, there will be hell to pay. Since our last encounter with Irina in the Dark Court, my parents have become disenchanted with the dominate she-wolf. For much of the wedding planning, Irina had been the main point of contact before mysteriously falling off the grid when final details needed to be organized. Of course, we connected the dots upon seeing her at the Dark Court as to why she was so unresponsive and another had taken over her role.
My father won't forget the slight. My mother cannot.
Though I hold no true misgivings for the woman, I still can't conjure warm feelings for her uninvited presence. And the night had been going so well.
A warm hand settles between my shoulders, and I jerk at the unexpected touch. Atticus wears a bemused expression at my reaction. Lucy isn't as kind.
"Did you enjoy your dance?" I ask, struck with a strange sort of breathlessness as I wait for his answer. I turn my back to the Adolphus alphas and the new guests. Thankfully, Atticus keeps his eyes on me. If our pack ties were stronger, he would be keener to my mild distress, but they haven't developed substantially—not yet, at least. The majority of my pack bonds still lie with the Blanc pack. Atticus also isn't privy yet to the subtleties of my body language... unlike Lucy.
Her honeyed gaze is piercing as she replies for the two of them. "Your husband is a lively dancer," she answers sweetly, a bell-like laugh chimes from her a moment later as she nudges Atticus with a playful smile. "I'm not sure if you can handle him, cousin."
"Nonsense. The soulmark makes certain of it," Atticus corrects her with a suave charm to his words.
He doesn't take his eyes off me once, and so I put on a smile I hope is convincing, place a hand on Atticus's flank, and attempt to steer him away from the reunion in the back.
"Let's grab a snack from the dessert table," I suggest. "We'll speak with you later, Lu—"
"Who are they?" Lucy asks. Her eyebrows pinch together as she studies the newcomers with Xander and Zoelle.
"Oh, just some close family friends I think who wanted to wish us a quick congratulations. They won't be staying long." I want to say more. I want to drag Atticus off and mollify Lucy's curiosity somehow, but Atticus isn't budging, and Lucy's shoulders become stiff. "I'd love a cupcake," I say in a last-ditch effort to steer their attention away.
"That's Irina." A note of shock lingers in Atticus's expression and voice when he looks their way. Then a wide smile splits across his face as he shakes his head in a good-natured fashion. "And she brought her soulmark with her. Hot damn."
He's striding off before I can stop him, but as I give chase to remind him how not good this is, a hand latches on to my arm and halts my progress. Lucy tugs me back, her brown eyes splintering with gold.
"What the hell are they doing here, Winter? Did you invite them?" I rip my arm from her grip, checking the delicate lace for any rips or tears.
"No," I reply back, my voice full of steel. "Of course not. They've come on their own accord, or by that of the Adolphus pack."
I'm not one to snap back or become aggressive, but Lucy brings out the wolf in me. The feat is rather remarkable really, for my parents made sure my wolf spirit was tamed to their hand and leashed to a point where I should rank far lower in the Blanc pack. I'm not sure how I managed the rank of fifth in the Blanc pack, perhaps by my parents bolstering alone. Regardless, my higher rank infuriates Lucy to no end.
As Lucy's eyes spark with more golden flecks, mine do the same. Our lips draw back into soundless snarls.
"Fix this," she says, her voice baring trace notes of command. I arch a brow. I might not be as physically strong as Lucy, but my will, when tested, can be just as strong as my parents.
"Go grab a drink and make yourself busy," I order back, throwing my weight into the command and seeing her flinch back. As the new beta of a different pack, my rank far outreaches Lucy's now.
Sneer still in place, she turns heel and strides toward the bar. I sigh in short-lived relief. Irina is on the receiving end of a larger-than-life embrace by Atticus. Her smile is unapologetically bright. When he sets her down, he delivers a hearty slap to the tall and slender man waiting beside Irina. He jostles from the force but wears a small, sincere smile.
I wind my way around tables and chairs, avoiding our guests with as much tact as I can summon while not tripping over my gown. Irina and her soulmark catch sight of my advance with the others following suit shortly after.
"Hello," I announce with an easy smile, my hands coming to clasp in front of me. "I didn't know we were expecting you, Irina."
Her copper eyes drill into me with mischief and knowing. "I do believe I said weeks ago I would do my best to make it."
"Of course," I reply, unable to tear my gaze away from her new eye color. I swear they were green like ivy the last I saw her. I shift closer to Atticus. "You've... changed a bit since I last saw you," I comment.
Irina smiles coolly back. "I died since you last saw me," she explains calmly.
My gaze shifts around the group's occupants with uncertainty. "Pardon?"
"Oh, everything turned out quite all right, I assure you. Here I am, better than ever." The gentleman at Irina's side splays a hand across her hip and looks down at me with a warning in his icy blue eyes.
"Wonderful," I respond.
The gentleman extends a pale hand in my direction. I take it and hide my balk at the cold touch. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Hayes. My soulmark has only kind words to speak of you."
A trickle of apprehension draws up my spine, and I straighten. Alpha eyes are upon me, and they do not belong to the two beside me. "How sweet of you to say, Irina," I manage to get out. "Atticus, I think we need to keep making the rounds. It was wonderful being able to meet both of you."
I avoid looking Atticus directly in the eyes as I make our excuses and my apprehension grows. Xander's demeanor changes an instant later. His face draws blank, yet cordial as he stares over my shoulder.
"Adele," Xander greets with a small nod a moment later. "From my understanding, you met my sister once before. Allow me to introduce you more formally. Adele Blanc, my younger sister, Irina Adolphus, and her soulmark, Jakob Vrana. They traveled all the way from Austria to wish Winter and Atticus well on their wedding day."
My mother's rage calls the entire Blanc pack to attention through the pack bonds. I know without needing to turn around that all eyes of the Blanc pack rest upon our entourage.
"And here I thought you'd be too busy gallivanting around in that dismal tomb preoccupying yourself with who knows what," Adele offers with a cruel smirk. Her hand comes to rest on my shoulder and the fine point of her manicured nails strum my skin.
"As the newly installed Royal Household, our calendar is rather full, but we wouldn't dare think of missing the wedding of the year," Irina says.
A coil of tension winds around our group and seeps into the watching crowd. My hands clasp onto each other more tightly as I shift myself toward my mother. Her influence through our bonds is strong, and the need to stand by her outweighs the call to side with my new pack and husband.
"I was under the impression that only pack would be in attendance for the ceremony and reception, Aleksander."
Xander, unmoved by my mother's hostile tone, gives an innocent shrug. "Irina is part of the Adolphus pack. By their soulmark, Mr. Vrana is accepted as part of my pack as well."
His blasé delivery prompts my mother's nails to dig into the soft flesh of my shoulder and urges me back with intentions meant to be seen as "motherly" concern. Xander's eyes narrow at the gesture, and I feel Atticus's warm hand shackle itself around my wrist.
"I didn't realize we were attending a funeral tonight, Adele," a new voice enters. Knox. My eyes shutter closed a brief moment at the cold opening. "Then again, with the pack's most beautiful she-wolf leaving our ranks, I suppose it is. But are the vampyrés"—he spits out the word like it's dirt—"really necessary?"
Another hand upon me, this one Knox's, grips my hip and guides me forcibly back to stand behind my mother. The dark-haired wolf shifts forward in my place, breaking Atticus's hold. My husband releases a soft growl.
"And who are you?" Irina asks, her nose twisting up into the air as her copper eyes narrow. The raven-haired beauty wears her disdain like a crown. Then again... she is royalty among the Dark Court now. When I met Irina all those weeks ago, I had not seen this side of her. I saw a she-wolf doing her best to survive and be strong. Now she is as cold as marble as she stares down my familial pack.
Knox ignores Irina and stares down Xander instead. Zoelle scowls back at Knox in Xander's stead, for his eyes remain trained on my mother. A wise move.
"This is Knox Bernard," I pipe up, earning a feeling of ire through the Blanc pack bonds. "Oh my, it looks like everyone's glass is empty," I rush on. "Perhaps we could all benefit from a refill."
"Quiet, Winter. This conversation is strictly between Mr. Adolphus and me. Though, I'm sure your father will be interested in the topic. Fetch him."
The order she issues is beyond reproach and is delivered far more roughly than I expect. I walk away, my eyes staring blankly ahead as I obey. She only issued the order so harshly as a power play, I tell myself. The Adolphus pack is strong, and she needs to remain steadfast in their eyes. Don't take it so personally.
I do anyway, keeping my tears at bay through a series of controlled breathes. Quinn and Ryatt watch me pass by silently, their expressions matching in concern and intrigue. I appreciate their silence, for all around me whispers twirl about the sudden scandal.
I block them out. Years of training make the action effortless.
"Father," I say in my most placating voice. He turns and regards me. His tumbler is topped to the brim with an amber liquid and ice sloshing up the sides. "Mother asked for you."
His eyes flit to the scene at the other end of the room and then back at me. I hold myself tall, smiling at the few pack mates he surrounds himself with. They all wear matching expressions of impatience, though I cannot determine if it is from my disturbance or what courses through the Blanc pack bonds.
"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me." We walk back over together, the members of our pack knowing better than to stop and make small talk with me. I feel their watchful gazes on my back but keep a placid smile on my lips as we pass back through the crowd.
Upon our arrival, it is clear harsh words have been spoken. Mr. Vrana, the blond vampyré, stands in front of Irina and glares daggers at Knox.
Xander shows his anger in the pinching of his lips and the narrowing of his eyes. My mother, however, is as red as can be. What can possibly have been said in under three minutes to ignite their anger in such a way?
"Malcolm, we're leaving," my mother says through a snarl once we are close. I stop in my tracks, my heartbeat thudding to a comical stop.
"What?" I ask. But nobody hears my soft-spoken question.
"What's going on here, Adele. And why is she here?"
I cringe at my father's harsh delivery and can only watch as he steps forward past my mother to enter into the thick of the argument. My mother allows him entrance and retreats back a few steps to be by my side as the scene unfolds.
"They are the epitome of uncouth, Winter. How you will deal with their vulgar and boorish ways, I do not know. But I do not envy the task," she says, not bothering to keep her voice down.
I catch Atticus's worried look, but before he can come to my aid, Knox makes a scathing comment in his direction.
"You didn't need to start a fight," I say.
"Me?" She scoffs and leans closer. "These dogs can't help but take the bait. They're wild, Winter. The sooner you can prove where your true loyalties lie, the sooner you may come home. And I do hope that day to be sooner rather than later."
This comment is whispered but lacks none of her previous severity. Before more can be said between us, my father spins on his heels to face us.
