Chapter 139: Chapter 139; I invited them
Alina’s POV
My gaze drifted across the crowded ballroom, instantly locking onto Aiden as he purposefully marched over to the section where Lucian and Sammy were standing. The air between them practically crackled with unspoken hostility.
"Excuse me for just a moment," I said smoothly, offering a polite, practiced smile to the pack elders I had been chatting with.
I turned and began weaving through the elite guests to intercept them, but before I could take more than a few steps, a sharp figure stepped directly into my path.
Emily.
Her arms were crossed tightly over her stomach, her face twisted into a venomous glare. "You are enjoying this, aren’t you?" she spat, her voice vibrating with barely contained rage.
I let out a slow, entirely unbothered sigh, a calm smile remaining fixed on my lips. "Emily, do you really want to do this right here? There are a lot of people watching us."
"I don’t give a flying fuck who is watching!" Emily hissed, stepping closer until she was nearly in my face. "You are so shameless for actually showing your face here tonight. You are nothing but a placeholder, Alina. You always have been."
I tilted my head, looking down at her with calm amusement. "You are entirely right. I was a placeholder. But I’m not anymore. You are the official Luna now, Emily... So why the hell are you still acting like the placeholder?"
Emily’s jaw dropped, her face turning an ugly shade of maroon as she frowned heavily.
"I must really get under your skin," I murmured, leaning in slightly so only she could hear. "But I think you should probably start smiling right about now. If people see you looking like this, they are going to think you are miserable in your marriage. And you wouldn’t want that rumor spreading, right? So smile."
Right on cue, a pack photographer wandered past, pausing as his eyes landed on us. "Luna! Over here, please!"
The transformation was instantaneous. Emily’s furious scowl vanished, replaced by a bright, completely fake smile as she turned her head toward the lens. Flash.
I smirked, holding her gaze for one final, mocking second. "That’s much more like it, Luna."
Leaving her fuming behind her plastic smile, I walked away and headed straight toward the brewing storm across the room. The moment I stepped up to the group, Lucian’s dark eyes instantly lit up, a visible wave of relief softening his rigid posture the second he saw me.
"You guys aren’t supposed to be here," Aiden was saying, his deep Alpha voice dripping with cold authority.
Lucian’s brow furrowed into a deep, dangerous frown, his inner wolf instantly bristling at the disrespect.
"Oh, I invited them over," I intervened smoothly, stepping right between them.
Aiden snapped his head toward me, the hard, commanding look on his face instantly melting into a vulnerable, deeply hurt expression. "Why would you do that, Alina?"
"Because Sammy is my brother," I responded, my tone perfectly logical and airy. "And I thought it would be nice for him to attend a function like this. You’ve always had an issue with rogues, Aiden, and my brother wants to start working the right way. As for Lucian... I think he just tagged along to follow them."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my words hit Lucian like a physical blow. His jaw clenched tightly, a flash of deep hurt and agitation crossing his features at how easily I had dismissed his presence as an afterthought.
Aiden adjusted his suit jacket, looking dismissively at the two men. "Fine. As long as they don’t cause any trouble. Because let’s be honest—no one actually wants them here."
"I can assure you they won’t," I said.
Before another word could be exchanged, Aiden reached out and firmly took my hand in his. "We should leave this corner. Come with me."
The second Aiden’s fingers wrapped around mine, a sharp, terrifying CRACK echoed through our small circle.
I gasped, spinning around. Lucian had clenched the crystal whiskey glass he was holding so violently hard that it had completely shattered in his palm. Shards of bloody glass embedded themselves into his skin, and dark crimson blood immediately began pouring down his knuckles, dripping onto the pristine ballroom floor.
"Lucian! Are you okay?" I asked, a surge of genuine panic and worry bleeding into my voice as I tried to step toward him.
But before Lucian could even open his mouth to respond, Aiden firmly pulled me back against his side. "He’s fine," Aiden dismissed coldly, barely sparing my bonded mate a glance. "He’s a shifter. He will heal. Let’s go, Alina."
I threw one last, deeply meaningful, knowing gaze at Lucian over my shoulder. He stood frozen, staring back at me through a haze of raw fury and heartbreak, entirely unhappy as Aiden steered me away into the crowd.
For the next hour, Aiden dragged me around the ballroom, introducing me to dozens of high-ranking Alphas and foreign pack dignitaries. To my surprise, the conversations went smoothly. Everyone kept commenting on how refreshing and wonderful it was to see a divorced couple co-parenting in such a healthy, sophisticated way. Aiden introduced me to every single one of them as his ’best friend,’ and the elite guests didn’t seem to find the dynamic weird at all. In fact, they praised him for it.
But the weight of the double-game I was playing was starting to pull at my nerves.
"Aiden, I’ll be right back," I told him, gently unlinking my arm from his after we finished speaking with a prominent Beta. "I need to use the ladies’ room."
"I’ll come with you," Aiden offered immediately, his possessive instincts refusing to let me out of his sight.
I let out a soft laugh, shaking my head. "Aiden, that’s incredibly weird. Stay here."
He paused, looking a bit sheepish. "Okay. Don’t be long."
I turned and walked briskly away from the pulsing music of the ballroom, slipping down the quiet, dimly lit hallway that led to the restrooms. I pushed open the heavy door of the luxurious ladies’ room, relieved to find it completely empty.
Walking over to the marble sinks, I turned on the tap, scooped up a handful of cold water, and splashed it directly onto my face to cool my flushed skin. I took a deep breath, grabbing a paper towel to pat myself dry, and then lifted my head to look at my reflection.
My heart completely stopped.
Reflected in the mirror right behind me wasn’t empty space. It was Lucian.
Before a single gasp could escape my throat, I spun around on my heel. "Lucian—"
I didn’t even get to finish his name.
He lunged forward, slamming his hands flat against the wall on either side of my head, trapping me completely between his muscular frame and the cold marble. His lips crashed down onto mine in a brutal, violently possessive kiss, effectively crushing the words right back into my throat.
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