Page 15 of Luna's Forgotten Vow

Axel is sweating now.

Soren turns his gaze to the crowd. "Am I to believe that the people I have fought and won wars for, whose children I have sacrificed my blood and life for, think me incapable of reasoning?"

Every eye drops to the ground and I stare, dazed. To hold this much power over so many people, to command respect and so much fear that the weight of it prickles my skin... it is incomprehensible.

Green eyes latch onto Axel's dark ones, before moving onto each person. "It will do you all well to remember that the reason why your voices carry weight in this hall is because I allow it. This is the last I will hear on this issue." His chilly tone is directed towards Axel now. "The next time you insult my wife, I'll flay your pelt off your bones and add it to my collection outside. Do you understand me, Alpha Axel?"

The man's head hangs low and sweat drips down his skin. "Yes."

Soren watches him with unblinking intensity. "Good. Apologize to Seraphina."

Axel's head snaps up and his eyes bulge with barely restrained anger. "To her?"

I might have cajoled Soren against the apology if he didn't refer to me like I was little more than dirt underneath his polished boots.

Soren's eyes flash a lethal gold and I have never seen anyone move so quickly. The older man has my fingers in his in a matter of seconds and I cringe as his lips brush against my knuckles. "Forgive me, Luna."

My gaze flies to Soren's as I am unsure what to do in this terribly awkward moment, but Soren only tilts his head in what I assume to be approval and...pride? That can't be right.

I retract my fingers gingerly. "It is...alright." I am surprised at how steady I sound, as opposed to the variety of emotions I feel inside.

Alpha Axel steps off the dais and disappears into the crowd. The silence is immediately broken—fortunately—when Eric announces, "On that note, you must all be overjoyed to know that there will be a revelry tonight to properly celebrate this union as Alpha Soren was much too excited to get his bride alone and couldn't adhere to traditions."

That breaks the tension as laughter cascades throughout the hall, but when I look up, all I see is Alpha Axel's dark gaze fixed on me.

If looks could kill, I'd be fucking pulverized.

"My, you have such lovely eyes," a blonde coos, stepping way too far into my personal space, grey eyes shimmering with interest as they zero in on the silver choker around my neck. "What alovely piece. I've heard the Head Alpha is quite generous with his lover—partners."

I blink, resting back against the heels that are currently trying to murder me. I have barely responded when a redhead suddenly invades my line of vision, seemingly awestruck by the dress that fits around my body like a glove.

Her friend tells me I look so good in short hair, I just might set a trend around here.

My responses get shorter and my smile faker. I've never had to deal with a crowd of this magnitude before—at least, from what I can recall—and having them fawn over me makes me feel suffocated.

I start for the banquet tables covered with succulent fruits, roast meats, pies and tarts, but yet another step only earns me a fluttering crowd of chattering women and inquisitive Lunas, demanding answers I cannot give.

A high-pitched voice reaches me. "How did you meet the Head Alpha? You must tell us if he is indeed as good as they say in bed. Surely you have consummated your union."

I choke on the sweet grape wine in my mouth and the liquid goes down the wrong hole. I cough, giving the hall a quick search for the man in question.

After the gathering, he'd sent me off to my chambers with Eric, who I had cajoled into giving me a brief tour around the mansion, not particularly looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon holed up in my room, anxious and bored. The brief tour lasted about an hour and a half, most of which consisted of being flocked around by people I didn't know who kept introducing themselves with careful inclusion of what packs theycame from, out of the assumption that Soren has a soft spot for me.

They couldn't be more wrong.

In a room of hundreds, I find him quickly. It isn't just that he's one of the taller men, a whopping six foot six inches tall. Neither is it his hulking frame and that dark aura of his that seems to be in love with him.

It is that...Gods, it feels stupid to admit that I can just...feel his presence. It's like having a boulder hovering over your head while standing close to a barbed fence. I know he is there without looking.

He's switched his blue embroidered coat from this afternoon out for a fitted high-collared deep black brocade that reaches him mid-thigh. He tilts slightly to swipe a drink off the tray of a moony eyed maid and I catch a glimpse of the silk black dress shirt underneath. The top button is left open, revealing the tan, strong column of his throat. I force my gaze upwards before it can travel to his crotch and below.

Most days, I have a reasonable dislike for men. And when I do look, I prefer light-haired ones, lean and sinewy. The kind whose muscles don't hulk under their shirts or flex with every damn movement.

But I watch Soren's glossy dark hair, his strong jaw, his largely built frame that crowds and intimidates, his ironically delicate facial features that suggest he took more from his mother than his father, that scowling mouth and the scar that glints in the warm evening light. He is...somewhat attractive.

Okay. Very.

In the dark sort of way. His is a face that you don't look away from, even when you know you should, even when you see the hint of something dark lurking beneath the surface, watching you, too.

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