The Alphas Forgotten Daughter

Episode 16 - Entrees and enemies part four

Entrees and enemies part four

Dacre's POV

Rage coursed through my blood as my father recounted his meeting with Sylas. It was obvious from my first meeting this was going to be a fight, which was fine by me, but what I was not fine with was Sylas's lies. I had seen Mari's memories, been inside her mind and felt her pain.

"Father..." I began as my body shook, racked with anger and guilt. He raised a hand to stop me before I could continue any further.

"I know, son." he said with a solemn expression, "But we will do this the right way and he will pay for his crimes." His eyes turned dark as he looked me in the eyes and made his solemn vow to me. My mother stood up from her chair and placed a calming hand each on mine and my father's shoulders. "That sweet girl will be free soon, don't fret".

Reluctantly, I spent the rest of the day getting ready for dinner later that evening. It didn't take long. I had showered, shaved, changed and groomed myself and was standing in front of a mirror in no time at all, combing my beard and running pomade through my hair. Part of me took that little bit longer to get ready because I secretly hoped that Amaris would be there. Looking good for her was very important to me.

"To us!" My wolf said with an excited tone in my head.

"Yes, to us." I chuckled out loud to him in reply.

A few tense hours passed consisting of me pacing up and down and arguing with Drathos about our next move. He insisted we should just storm into her apartment and run away with her, killing anyone in our way. While I admired his passion and echoed his sentiments, I didn't feel it was well advised. I'd managed to talk him down and convinced him we'd see Amaris tonight, so, I would try and get some time alone with her. He seemed to be pleased enough with that.

With ten minutes to go, I was very anxious. I paced back and forth before stopping in front of the mirror one last time to check I looked ok. It was a semi-formal event but not exactly a black tie, so I'd gone with a simple 3-piece suit and tie. I had forgone the traditional kilt ensemble. I preferred trousers to kilts, so I kept those for very special and formal occasions. My 3-piece woollen suit was in bay-leaf green with thin silver pin stripes woven into the fabric. The tie was a lavender colour with a plain white dress shirt underneath. I fiddled nervously with my tie for the hundredth time. I frowned in the mirror and dove into my waistcoat for my pocket watch. As I flipped it open, I was startled to hear my mother clearing her throat loudly in my bedroom doorway. I jumped in surprise as I heard her delicate giggle from behind me.

"You know you've always done this, Dacre." My mother said with an amused expression on her face.

"Done what?" I replied, feigning ignorance and screwing my face up like I did as a boy. She laughed again and stepped forward to take my hands in hers.

"Fretted over important people's opinion of you." She said gently, looking directly into my eyes.

"Mum .... I ..." I began to stammer emotion threatening to burst forth from the back of my throat. She placed an open palm gently on my cheek and began to rhythmically move her thumb back and forth soothingly.

"I know, my sweet boy, I know," and she did know. That was her damned power. She could smell others' emotions. It came in handy, but it also meant trying to hide anything from her was futile. It's why she and my father worked so well as a couple. He was a man of such few words and kept his feelings very guarded, but he was a man who had very strong feelings about the things he cared about, much like me actually. It meant that when they first met, mum could read him like a book, so their courtship was short.

Courtship is usually short for wolf couples with the mate bond being a thing, but it was not unheard of that two people who were not in love had a mate bond. My uncle Hamish had a mate bond with his wife, Callie, but they were very open that while they would die for each other and had married for legal purposes, they did not feel a romantic love, more like brother and sister really. Which was fine with them. They were a happy, childless couple that lived in a cabin in the Scottish highlands . They spent their days indulging in their outdoor adventure sports together. They were happy.

That was all I wanted. For Mari to be happy. Happy and safe. Love would be a sweet bonus. For now, I just wanted to protect her and see her smile. That would be enough. A smile.

"Come along you two, I'll not be late for a dinner being held beneath my feet!" Father bellowed from the next room. Mum and I both stifled chuckles and exchanged a quick hug before we left for dinner.

It was a long, a painful wait before I actually caught a glimpse of Amaris. Reception drinks and aperitifs had been served and consumed before I even saw a flash of her gorgeous flame red hair. She was flitting around from group to group mingling and checking on her guests as a good hostess should. Goddess, she was going to make a wonderful Luna one day. She was an absolute natural. Elegant, poised, relaxed, charming, I could use every adjective in the dictionary and still not fully describe her perfection.

Just then, a gentle tinkling of a crystal bell interrupted the din of murmured conversation and the clinking of glasses. Everything fell silent and in the corner of the reception room by the large ballroom doors Sylas stood next to his niece, who took the bell from him dutifully.

"Welcome, honoured guests!" Sylas exclaimed in a cheerfully false tone as he gestured widely with his arms. He was obviously trying to look like an open, approachable alpha, but instead he looked like a predator trying to entice its prey into his trap.

"Thank you all for joining us! I hope you have enjoyed yourselves thus far but the evening has only just begun! If you'll follow me into the ballroom our evening meal will begin!" He ended his sentence with an unnecessary flourish and turned abruptly on his heels and threw open the doors to the lavish ballroom.

"Time to dine with the enemy Drath." I said inside my head to my wolf. His only reply or acknowledgment was to growl lazily. He was sulking. He was hoping, as was I, to catch Mari during the reception drinks because this would have been the most socially acceptable setting for us to have contact with her. However, not surprisingly, she seemed to purposely avoid my father, mother and I. My best bet would be that Sylas had ordered her to stay away. Especially after father told me what lies Sylas had tried to spin earlier.

You can imagine my surprise and delight when we were led to our seats at the head of the table next to Sylas and Amaris. My mother, being the absolute genius she is, managed to pull off one of the most daring acts of defiance I had ever seen. The usher tried showing my father and I to Sylas's right hand and my mother to be seated on the left next to Amaris. When the usher stated where she was to sit she gave a charming smile and breezed past him to sit down beside my father before he could even open his mouth to protest. My father, being the dutiful husband he was, pulled her chair out and swiftly tucked it back in for her, smiling like a naughty school boy the entire time. My mother obviously sensed my hesitation and before I could make things anymore awkward she came to my rescue.

"Oh Dacre, take a seat my love, I'm sure the usher was just confused. The Alpha would never insult his King by separating him from his queen. You can just take my intended seat." She gestured demurely to the empty seat next to where Amaris was to be seated and flashed me a knowing smile. I didn't need to be told twice.

Waiting for Sylas and Amaris to join us and take their seats felt like the longest 3 minutes of my entire life. The look on Sylas's face when he got a glimpse of the new seating arrangement made it all worth while. His eyes flashed with fury while his smile stayed fixed on his greasy stubbled face. I had to suppress a grin as Amaris took her seat next to me. Drathos yipped and howled in happiness inside my head. Maybe dining with the enemy wasn't going to be so bad after all.