Queen Huntress

Dessert can Thaw the Coldest Heart

Alpha Lucien Forrest P.O.V.

"That doesn't change the fact that on my last visit here my mother was ripped to shreds. On your land, by your own kind so explain that to me your royal jackass." Spat the Nightshade girl. 

She was flushed with anger, Lucien could smell it on her, over her overpowering perfume. He looked down at the small blonde. Her long now icy colored blonde hair was coiled into a tight braid that started at the top of her scalp and ended halfway down the skirt of her mermaid dress. With the way the dark silk fitted her body it was leaving Lucien no room to concentrate. 

He looked into her eyes and was shocked to find them glowing purple. 

"Nightshade--I," he stammered. 

Before he could even stop her she sprinted out of the elevator and ran to Commander Nightshade.

Xerses was laughing at Lucien. She is right Luc, you are a royal jackass. Yeah well she's mad at you too Xerses. He thought angrily. Lucien just knew he was done for. Lieutenant Nightshade was exactly his type, except instead of seeing his title she saw the monstrous part of him.  

Lucien stepped out of the elevator and watched her walk away. His heart panged with every step she took. Just as she was nearly out of site Theseus and Adrienne were descending the stairwell. Adrienne took one look at Lucien and knew he was sad. She reached out to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. 

"It will be okay Luc," She smiled sadly. "Trust me I'm a sear." 

She winked as she returned to her mate's side. Theseus laughed always appreciating his friends pain.

"Dude," He boomed. "Did you already piss her off?" 

Lucien could see the jest in his friends eyes and laughed half heartedly. 

"Man, she called me a royal jackass." he snorted. "Not that she's wrong in thinking that. We kind of convinced her to stay when she didn't need to." 

Theseus clapped his arm on Lucien's back and playfully howled. The trio walked into the ballroom laughing and joking the whole way. But the Alpha's heart wasn't in it, he knew that Blaise can't sense their bond yet but it still hurt that she completely rejected him, and all he did was flirt with her. 

Theseus made his way to the podium and addressed the pack members and their guests. Once Lucien was announced he entered the ball room. He waved at his people as he navigated towards the podium to speak. The applause was loud but not obnoxious, although he could see the Nightshade's open disgust. Wooing his mate was not going to be easy. 

Once he reached the podium Lucien wrapped Theseus in a big bear hug. He watched his Beta take his seat and turned to face his people once again. 

"Good evening, loyal subjects and guests," he started. "I'm pleased to announce that tonight not only are we celebrating the impending blood moon harvest, but we are lucky enough to be hosting the Nightshade hunters!" 

Murmurs fell over the crowd as the mysterious guests were announced. 

"The attacks we've been facing have been random, but organized. The fatalities have been incredibly high and we have lost many great warriors. The Nightshades have agreed to be our allies and to help us maintain order within our kingdom once more. Now I shall not keep us from eating any longer, please mingle with our guests and most importantly enjoy our celebration." 

The crowd erupted into applause. Lucien took his seat between Commander Nightshade and his mate. She never once looked up and this irritated Lucien. As he took his seat he started a conversation with Bain Nightshade hoping his gorgeous daughter would interject. He just wanted the opportunity to look into her indigo eyes that memorized him completely. 

"Commander Nightshade," said Lucien easily. "I am so pleased that you could make it out here so quickly." 

Bain eyed him cautiously. 

"When the King of all Alpha's calls his beta never leaves room to refuse an invitation." he replied shortly. 

Lucien kept his smile intact, not letting his irritation show. 

"He's an irritating little bugger isn't he." joked Lucien. 

Bain laughed. A noise that Lucien was shocked to hear come out of the great commander. He felt himself relax as he noticed some of Bain's figurative armor fall off. 

"That he is," Bain admitted. "You've really cleaned up the palace since our last visit." he offered. 

This is the closest I'm getting to an olive branch I guess he thought. 

"Thank you sir," Lucien started. "I've implemented a number of new security details, completely overhauled our laws, and cleaned house a few times to get here." 

The Commander nodded. "It shows." he replied. 

Omegas materialized with trays of food. The conversation ended with the arrival of food and everyone dug into their plates with enthusiasm. His eyes darted over to the Nightshade girl on his left more often then he would like to admit. A few times Seus flashed mindlinks of her glancing up at him. 

Once the Omega's started clearing plates Lucien decided to try his luck with his mate once more. He lightly tapped her on her shoulder and she glared up at him in a challenge. 

"Look," Lucien started with his palms raised in peace. "Let's start over. My name is Lucien what's yours?" he asked kindly holding out his hand to shake hers. 

The Nightshade girl huffed in frustration and turned to Lucien. 

"Blaise." She deadpanned. 

She hesitantly brought her hand into Lucien's palm. Well at least there was some progress. 

"I didn't mean to make you angry in the elevator." He offered kindly. 

She smiled a small smile. This is good she seems to be calmer. 

"Al--Lucien," Blaise stammered. "It wasn't your fault I just...was hoping to ride the elevator solo." 

He chuckled in response. "Well next time you want to let out your frustrations you can just ask me to spar instead." 

Blaise giggled. It was a ridiculously cute tinkering sound, Lucien could feel his face brighten at the sound. Suddenly he was chuckling along with her. The chef opened the kitchen doors with a bang and several omegas rolled out a ridiculously large five tier cake. It was of course chocolate and once Blaise laid eyes on it her mouth started to visibly water. 

Omega's made their rounds placing slices of chocolate cake infront of everyone. Blaise completely dug in to her dessert and let satisfied groans out with every bite. 

"This is, the best cake I've ever had," she mumbled through a full mouth. 

Lucien smiled down at her as he ate his cake. "The chef's specialty." he replied. 

All too soon the band started playing and it was time for the dance to begin. Lucien was disappointed that they would no longer be seated together, while feeling excitement at the idea of asking her to dance. The idea of her saying no would crush him, but he could always shrug it off as diplomacy. 

Blaise rose from her seat and proceeded to make her rounds. Lucien watched her stop and interact with her fellow hunters as she passed through the crowd. He couldn't help but notice that as she moved she scanned the crowd as though she was looking for someone. The idea that there was someone else in the room that she would prefer to talk to over Lucien made him angry, but he couldn't peel his eyes off of her. 

Lucien watched as Blaise spotted her target. She tapped the young girl on the back and the big bad Alpha let out a sigh of relief. She had been searching for Alexandra. Alexandra was wearing a baby blue ball gown from Adrienne's closet. It suited her beautifully. 

Lucien made his way over to the King's thrown and took a seat. Patiently waiting for an opportunity to interrupt the two girls.