Caught In Between The Lycan Heirs

The after party

Riya's POV

Hiram's mansion was set in a sprawling private estate with lush gardens and a gated, heavily guarded entrance. I gaped in awe at the insides of the mansion which had high ceilings, polished wood floors and tall, high windows that flooded the room with natural lights. His mansion reeked of so much wealth and power.

"Candice. Receive her bags and take her to her room." He ordered one of his servants and she immediately carried his order, bowing before collecting my bags and leading me up the spiraling stairs.

"Here is your new room, miss. I hope you like it." She showed me to a spacious bedroom painted pastel pink and white. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and there was a king-sized bed covered in crisp white sheets by the corner of the room, close to the window. Candice helped me arrange the bags close to the huge closets before leaving. I spent the next few minutes admiring the room after she left. There was a vanity table and gilded mirror set against the wall with perfume bottles on the table. I opened the closet and let out a soft gasp at the rows of perfectly arranged expensive dresses inside.

"Select the best of them." Hiram's voice came from behind and I turned my head to see him taking long, confident strides towards me. He stood right in front of me, his eyes penetrating into my soul. "We have a party to attend tonight."

"A party?" I asked, curious. "What kind of party?"

"Casper and Laurie's after party. It's an exclusive party organized for our family and the top business moguls in Crescent pack."

"But I am not a part of the family…"

"We will be getting married soon. That automatically makes you a part of the family."

I bit my bottom lip and looked downwards, feeling inferior and unsure of myself.

"Hey." He whispered to me and touched my shoulder lightly. I felt an electric spark flow through my body as he touched me. Just like the first night he touched me years ago.

"You can do this. You need to do this. You need to make them pay for what they did to you." He affirmed to me and I nodded my head. He was right. I needed to do this. I needed to make them pay.

"Okay." I nodded at him.

"Good." He let go of my shoulder again and a part of my heart fell as he did so, feeling my shoulder suddenly empty and yearning for his touch again.

"This is your first task. It's a test to see how strong willed and how much of a potential you are. If you pass the test, we'll proceed to lay down the rules and go into details about our plans and the benefits you're in for."

I sighed deeply, harboring all the small bits of confidence left in me.

"Alright."

Let’s do this.

…………..

We arrived at the grand ballroom where the lavish after party was being held and my eyes stared in awe at the beautiful setting of the place, the low moody lightning and how elegant and sophisticated everyone was dressed. There was slow jazz music playing in the background too.

I noticed how everyone had their eyes on Hiram and I as we walked into the party, arms entangled around each other's arm. Hiram was wearing a perfectly tailored, rich charcoal grey tuxedo while I had a red silk dress on with a subtle slit by the side. My hair was done in a messy bun and my makeup was as minimal as possible.

"Who is the new girl?" I saw a woman lean in to whisper to another lady. They both had sneers on their faces as they stared at me.

"I don't know. But I must admit, Hiram surprised me. He has never been known to be with a woman his entire life." The lady replied to the woman.

"Isn't she the same girl who crashed prince Casper's wedding?" I heard another female voice beside me.

"The one speculated to be his enraged lover?" Another asked.

Hiram squeezed my arm lightly while keeping his face as straight as possible. He whispered to me.

"Ignore them. It's your moment."

I gulped and obeyed him, ignoring the whispers and stares that followed me as we walked into the party. I caught Casper standing with some other guests, his arms wrapped gently around Laurie's waist.

My heart raced and my palms suddenly turned sweaty. I was tempted to run out of the party but at the same time, my feet felt frozen in place. Casper caught my eyes and I quickly looked away and fumbled nervously with my dress.

"Hey." Hiram whispered calmly at me again. "Take a deep breath."

I nodded and did as he said.

"Take a deep breath." He repeated. "He's here. I'll handle everything. Just calm down and cooperate with me."

I lifted my eyes to see Casper and Laurie headed towards our direction. There was a small smile on Laurie's innocent, pretty face. Her long, blonde hair was perfectly curled and flowed down her back. She looked like a breathtaking bride. A perfect match for Casper.

"Hello, cousin." Casper threw a smile at Hiram and shook hands with him. "Thank you for coming to my party."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world." Hiram's smile was a lopsided grin. Casper's eyes moved to me and his chin set. He seemed to be as tense as I was. I wondered if he was regretting ditching me for someone else.

"Hi." He greeted me with a faked air of unfamiliarity. I had the strong urge to hit him right across the face and storm out of the party but fortunately, Hiram interceded on time.

"Riya, meet Casper; my cousin. Casper, this is Riya…" He introduced us and Casper stretched his hand towards me in a handshake. I received the handshake and felt Casper's hand freeze against mine the moment Hiram completed his sentence.

"...my girlfriend."

A shocked expression crossed Casper's face and he looked from me to Hiram before looking back at me again. His eyes held an inquisitive stare as if asking me to confirm if what Hiram had said was true or not.

Some footsteps advanced towards us and we turned our eyes to see the Luna walking towards us, a wide smile on her face. Her smile however wiped off as soon as she set eyes on me, recognizing me instantly.

"You!" She eyed me terribly, looking surprised by my designer dress. "What are you doing here and who invited you to this party?"

"I did." Hiram replied to her, looking unfazed by her cold welcome. He took my hand gently into his and squeezed it warmly.

"This is Riya Warren. My girlfriend and wife to be. We plan to get mated next week."

The Luna's face fell and she stared at Hiram like he had gone insane. Like he was just about to commit the worst crime in the whole of eternity.

"What do you mean, wife-to-be?" She queried him. "There are thousands of girls from noble families in the pack. Beautiful, well educated and respectable girls. Why did you have to choose her?"

"I don't care about the other girls, my luna." Hiram replied. "I want Riya."

"Why her?!" The Luna yelled at Hiram with so much viciousness that her voice thundered in the entire party, attracting the attention of everyone. My heart raced even faster at the intensity of the situation.

Hiram’s reply shut the luna up instantly and set my own heart fluttering.

"Because I love her."