The Way He Looked At Me
1424 Words
Chapter 4
The Way He Looked At Me
The tension between the two Alphas spread through the banquet hall like smoke.
Every wolf nearby felt it.
Dominance pressed heavily into the air as Kael and Draven stood facing each other in complete silence, neither willing to back down first.
Around us, conversations had completely died.
Even the musicians stopped playing.
I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.
Draven remained infuriatingly calm.
Kael did not.
My mate’s fingers tightened around my wrist possessively, subtle enough that humans would never notice, but wolves would.
A warning.
Mine.
Draven’s eyes dropped briefly to Kael’s hand gripping me.
Something dark flickered across his face.
Not anger.
Something colder.
“Careful, Ashford,” he said softly. “You’re holding her like you think she’ll run.”
Kael’s wolf surged violently beneath his skin.
I felt it through the bond immediately.
Territorial.
Threatened.
Enraged.
“She won’t,” Kael said flatly.
Draven looked at me instead of him.
And for reasons I didn’t understand, that terrified me more.
“Interesting,” he murmured.
The king stepped slightly closer.
Close enough that every instinct inside me screamed awareness.
I should have stepped back.
Instead, I froze.
His eyes searched mine with unnerving intensity, like he was listening to something no one else could hear.
Then his voice lowered.
“Are you always this quiet,” he asked me softly, “or only around people who don’t deserve your words?”
The question struck directly through me.
Kael stiffened beside me instantly.
“Enough.”
Draven finally looked amused.
“You seem tense tonight, Alpha.”
“You seem disrespectful.”
“That depends,” Draven replied lazily. “Do you consider noticing your Luna disrespectful?”
The silence that followed nearly suffocated me.
Kael’s grip on my wrist tightened painfully.
Not enough to injure.
Enough to remind.
Draven noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
His expression changed instantly.
Not dramatic.
Not obvious.
But dangerous.
The kind of dangerous that made ancient instincts whisper run.
The Alpha king tilted his head slightly.
“She looks uncomfortable.”
“I said enough.”
The sharpness in Kael’s voice finally snapped several nearby wolves out of their frozen silence. Conversations slowly resumed around the room, though everyone continued watching discreetly.
No one truly stopped paying attention.
Not when two dominant Alphas stood one breath away from violence.
Draven’s gaze lingered on me one final second before he stepped back at last.
Relief should have followed.
Instead, disappointment flickered unexpectedly through me.
The realization horrified me.
Draven noticed.
I knew he did because the corner of his mouth moved slightly.
Not a smile.
Worse.
Awareness.
“I look forward to tomorrow’s summit,” he said calmly.
Then his eyes met mine again.
“Lyra.”
The way he said my name wrapped around my spine like dark velvet.
And then he walked away.
Just like that.
The crowd parted instantly for him once more.
But even after he disappeared deeper into the banquet hall, the air around me remained charged.
Kael released my wrist abruptly.
I immediately missed the warmth.
God.
What was wrong with me?
“You will stay away from him.”
Kael’s voice came low and sharp beside me.
I looked at him carefully.
His eyes were darker than usual.
Jaw tight.
Wolf restless beneath his skin.
Jealous.
The realization stunned me.
Not because Kael had never been possessive before.
But because this was the first real emotion he’d shown toward me in months.
And somehow…
It took another Alpha noticing me to provoke it.
A bitter ache spread through my chest.
“You don’t get to sound territorial now.”
His eyes flashed instantly.
“I’m your mate.”
“Only when it’s convenient for you.”
The words landed harder than expected.
Kael stared at me.
Actually stared.
For the first time in weeks, his attention rested entirely on me.
No Selene.
No politics.
No distractions.
Just me.
And suddenly, I hated that part of me still wanted it.
“You’re upset,” he said finally.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Upset.
Such a small word for this kind of loneliness.
“I’m humiliated, Kael.”
Something shifted behind his eyes then.
Real guilt.
But before he could answer, a soft feminine voice interrupted us.
“There you are.”
Selene approached gracefully through the crowd wearing a pale silver gown that clung delicately to her figure. Several wolves turned immediately to look at her.
Beautiful.
Fragile.
Perfectly grieving.
Her son Rowan clung sleepily to her hand while two older she-wolves fussed over them protectively.
The image looked painfully domestic.
Like family.
My family.
Selene smiled softly at Kael.
“Rowan was asking for you.”
The little boy immediately reached upward.
Without hesitation, Kael lifted him into his arms.
Effortlessly.
Naturally.
My chest twisted so violently I nearly flinched.
Draven had looked at me for less than five minutes…
And somehow noticed more than my mate had in months.
The realization sickened me.
Selene finally turned toward me.
“Oh,” she said gently. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Lie.
She always interrupted.
Always softly.
Always politely.
Always effectively.
“You weren’t interrupting anything,” I said quietly.
Kael looked at me sharply.
Because this time, I didn’t sound hurt.
I sounded tired.
There was a difference.
A dangerous one.
Selene smiled sympathetically, which somehow felt crueler than open malice.
“The summit tomorrow will be exhausting,” she said. “You should rest early tonight, Lyra.”
Like I was weak.
Dismissed.
Unimportant.
I suddenly couldn’t breathe inside that room anymore.
“I think I will.”
Kael frowned immediately. “The banquet isn’t over.”
“I know.”
“You’re leaving?”
I looked directly at him.
“Yes.”
Something inside his expression tightened.
Almost panic.
But again—
Too late.
Always too late.
I turned before either of them could stop me and walked calmly toward the balcony corridors overlooking the mountains.
Cool night air hit my skin instantly once the doors shut behind me.
I exhaled shakily.
The stone balcony stretched high above the valley cliffs, silver moonlight spilling across the railings while distant forests swayed beneath the wind.
Finally.
Silence.
No whispers.
No pity.
No pretending.
I closed my eyes briefly.
“You look like someone trying very hard not to shatter.”
My entire body froze.
That voice.
Low.
Smooth.
Dangerous.
I turned slowly.
Draven leaned against the far stone archway partially hidden in shadow, one gloved hand resting lazily in his pocket.
Watching me.
Like he’d been there the entire time.
Moonlight caught the sharp lines of his face as he straightened slowly to his full height.
Predatory.
Beautiful in a terrifying way.
“You followed me?”
“Would you prefer I lied and said fate arranged it?”
I stared at him warily.
“You enjoy provoking people.”
“No.” His gaze lowered briefly to the fading marks around my wrist where Kael had held me too tightly. “I enjoy seeing truth.”
Heat rushed through me instantly.
Embarrassment.
Awareness.
Something worse.
I crossed my arms defensively.
“You know nothing about my relationship.”
Draven walked closer.
Slowly.
Giving me time to retreat.
I didn’t.
“That’s true,” he murmured. “But I know neglect when I see it.”
The word struck like a blade.
Neglect.
Not grief.
Not stress.
Not misunderstanding.
Neglect.
My throat tightened painfully.
Draven stopped directly in front of me now, close enough that I could feel his warmth despite the cold night air.
His eyes searched mine carefully.
Not lustfully.
Almost angrily.
Like my sadness offended him somehow.
“What exactly are you seeing?” I whispered before I could stop myself.
Something dangerous flickered across his expression.
“A female starving beside a feast.”
My breath caught sharply.
The bond inside my chest twisted violently.
Not toward Kael.
Toward the male standing in front of me.
Impossible.
Completely impossible.
And yet my wolf moved beneath my skin for him in ways she hadn’t moved for my mate in months.
Draven noticed.
Of course he noticed.
The king lowered his voice further.
“Tell me something honestly, little wolf.”
I should have walked away.
Instead, I stayed rooted there while moonlight spilled across the balcony between us.
Draven’s gaze darkened.
“When was the last time your mate looked at you,” he asked quietly, “the way a male should?”
- Writer
