Chapter 362: A toast!
Noah.
The moment the lady with the golden mask appeared, I felt it instantly—a strange, undeniable pull toward her that tightened in my chest like an invisible chain. It was not just recognition; it was instinct, deep and unshakable, as though something inside me had already known her long before my mind caught up.
And in that instant, I realized she was Maria.
Everything in me stilled the moment the truth began to settle properly, sinking deeper into my thoughts like something heavy I could no longer ignore. Now I finally understood the reason the Lycan prince had been so insistent that she remain untouched—completely unharmed, without even the smallest scratch on her skin. It was not mercy. It was not protection in the way I had foolishly assumed before.
It was something else. Something far more deliberate.
He wants to marry her?
The thought struck through me like a sharp blade, sudden and cutting, leaving behind a strange emptiness I couldn’t immediately explain.
But why?
My brows tightened slightly as the questions built up again, one after another, refusing to quiet down.
Does he even know Maria... or is this something entirely different, something I am not seeing yet?
Or was he deliberately provoking me from the very beginning, carefully pushing me toward a reaction I still could not fully understand?
Does he want war?
Those questions kept echoing endlessly in my head, circling like vultures as I sat there, forcing myself to remain composed, forcing the food down my throat even though it tasted like nothing. My hands felt stiff, my body present but my mind far away, trapped in confusion and rising anger.
But why would Maria agree to be his Lycan Princess?
The more I thought about it, the heavier everything became, the more my thoughts tangled, the more my determination sharpened into something sharp and dangerous. I needed to know the truth. I needed to find out who was really under that golden mask, even though a part of me already knew and refused to accept it completely.
I could not hold it back any longer, I spoke to the point, I angered him, but then I saw it—the way she suddenly wrapped her hands around him when he threatened me. That single gesture shattered every remaining doubt. In that moment, I knew immediately it was Maria.
Relief washed over me for a brief second, soft and disorienting, but it did not stay. It twisted quickly into something else—anger, frustration, and a deep ache in my chest. I was not strong enough, not fast enough, not capable enough to protect her the way I should have.
And when she left, I did not even think. My body moved before reason could stop me, and I almost followed after her immediately.
But I stopped myself in time.
I knew better now. I couldn’t follow her directly, not like that. I had to be careful, calculated... or I would only alert the Lycan prince to everything.
"Arrrrghhhhh!" I screamed out loud, the sound ripping through me as my fists clenched tightly at my sides.
I just want to get rid of him.
I stood in the garden for a few minutes, trying to steady the storm in my chest, before finally turning back and heading inside. My steps were controlled on the outside, but inside, everything in me was tightening with irritation and restrained fury. I walked straight toward the dining hall, my jaw set, my mind already anticipating what I might walk into.
As soon as I entered, I froze for half a second.
Surprisingly, the Lycan prince was already making a toast.
The entire hall had shifted into that unsettlingly formal atmosphere, with everyone standing to their feet, goblets lifted high in their hands, ready to celebrate whatever twisted occasion he had decided upon. The sight alone made my expression darken further. Their obedience, their ease... it all felt wrong.
My anger immediately surged higher, sharp and hot in my veins, because I was certain—absolutely certain—that he had just finished saying something absurd and now wanted to seal it all with a toast as if words could make nonsense become reality.
I moved toward my seat slowly, stopping at the side without fully settling in. My posture was stiff, my presence restrained, and I hadn’t even properly stood still when his voice cut through the hall again.
"You came back right in time, Alpha Noah!" the Lycan prince said, his tone dripping with mockery. "We were just giving a toast... to my successful marriage and a happy ever after," he added, as if each word was deliberately chosen to provoke me.
I knew it. This bastard was speaking nonsense again.
My hands clenched tightly behind my back, my fingers curling so hard I could feel the pressure in my knuckles. I forced myself not to react immediately, though every muscle in my body wanted to move.
"Why don’t you join us?" he said casually, as though he were offering me something harmless instead of poison wrapped in celebration.
"Arrrrghhhhh!" I screamed inwardly, the frustration boiling inside me like fire I could barely contain. At this point, I just wanted to walk straight up to him and punch that smug expression off his face.
Instead, I swallowed it down.
Reluctantly, I lifted my goblet, my movements slow and controlled, forcing my lips into a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. It felt fake even as I held it, like I was betraying my own anger just to maintain appearances.
"To a successful union!" the Lycan prince echoed loudly, raising his glass higher.
"To a successful union!" the rest of the hall chorused after him.
The sound hit me like a wave I didn’t want to feel, and I could feel my blood boiling beneath my skin, my patience thinning to something dangerously fragile.
I held my smile in place anyway.
But inside, one truth stood firm and unshaken.
I will never allow this to be successful.
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