Chapter 29: She Is Here By Our Invitation
The main dining hall was massive.
A long table that could easily seat fifty people dominated the center of the room. Crystal chandeliers hung overhead, casting warm light over dark wood and expensive place settings. Tall windows lined one wall, showing the darkening grounds outside.
And the room was full.
At least thirty pack members sat at the table....warriors, advisors, high-ranking wolves in expensive clothes that spoke of power and position. They were already eating, already deep in conversation.
Until Lilith entered.
Then the room went silent.
Every head turned. Every eye locked on her.
She felt the weight of their stares like physical pressure. Saw the recognition in their faces. The whispers starting immediately.
That’s her. The traitor’s daughter. Victor’s girl. The payment.
Mrs. Hallowell’s hand touched her elbow briefly....a steadying gesture...then withdrew.
"The Alphas are at the head of the table," she said quietly. "Go to them."
Lilith forced herself to walk.
The brothers sat at the far end of the table, elevated slightly on a platform that marked their position as leaders. Nicholas in the center. Sebastian to his right. Lucian to his left.
All three watched her approach with expressions that ranged from cold assessment to hungry anticipation.
The whispers grew louder as she walked. She caught fragments:
"...can’t believe they’re allowing her...." "....Victor Thorne’s daughter at the Alpha’s table...." "....heard they’ve been using her—" "—payment for what her father did...."
She kept her head up. Kept walking. Refused to show fear even though her heart was hammering so hard she could barely breathe.
When she reached the head table, she stopped. Unsure where to go. Where she was supposed to sit.
Nicholas solved the problem.
"Here," he said, his voice carrying through the now-silent hall. He gestured to the empty chair directly beside him, a chair that had been conspicuously placed between him and Sebastian. "Sit."
She sat.
Immediately, she felt Sebastian’s hand land on her thigh under the table. Possessive. Claiming. A clear message to everyone watching.
"Eat," Nicholas said, his silver eyes moving over her face. "You look like you haven’t had a proper meal in days."
"I haven’t," she said quietly.
Something flickered in his expression. Too fast to identify.
He picked up his fork, speared a piece of meat from his plate, and brought it to her lips.
"Open."
Lilith’s face burned. Every eye in the room was on them. Every pack member watching this display.
She opened her mouth.
Nicholas fed her the bite, his eyes never leaving hers. "Good girl."
The room erupted in fresh whispers.
Sebastian’s hand tightened on her thigh. Not painfully, but enough to remind her of his presence. His claim.
Across from her, Lucian leaned back in his chair with that feral smile. His golden eyes scanned the room, tracking every wolf who looked too long, who whispered too loudly.
A growl rumbled in his chest....low and warning.
The whispers stopped immediately.
"Something you’d like to say?" Lucian addressed the room at large. "Anyone have questions about our guest?"
Silence.
"No?" His smile widened. "Good. Because let me make something very clear to all of you."
He stood, his presence commanding immediate attention.
"This is Lilith Thorne," he said, his voice carrying to every corner of the hall. "She is here by our invitation. She sits at our table by our choice. And anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me directly."
His eyes glowed golden. A clear Alpha challenge.
No one moved. No one spoke.
"Excellent," Lucian said, sitting back down. "Now eat. All of you. Dinner’s getting cold."
The pack members returned to their meals, but the atmosphere had changed. No more whispers. Just wary glances and careful movements.
Nicholas continued feeding Lilith bites from his plate. Each time his fork touched her lips, it was a statement. A claim. A declaration to everyone watching that she belonged to them.
Sebastian’s hand never left her thigh. His thumb traced patterns on her skin through the fabric of her dress...possessive, territorial, reminding her with every touch that she was his.
"How are you feeling?" Sebastian’s voice was low, meant only for her.
"Like I’m being displayed," she said quietly.
"You are." His hand squeezed. "That’s the point. Every wolf in this room needs to understand that you’re under our protection. That you belong to us. That anyone who touches you answers to all three of us."
"I’m not..." She stopped herself.
Not theirs. She’d been about to say she wasn’t theirs.
But that would be a lie, wouldn’t it?
For the next month, she was exactly theirs. Property. Payment. Possession.
Nicholas leaned closer, his mouth near her ear. "Eat more. You’re too thin. I can feel your ribs when I hold you."
The casual intimacy of the statement made her stomach flip.
When had he held her and counted her ribs? During one of the times he was fucking her? After, when she was too wrecked to notice?
She ate what he offered. Let him feed her like she was incapable of feeding herself. Let Sebastian’s hand remain possessive on her thigh. Let Lucian glare at anyone who looked too interested.
Let them display her like a trophy.
Because that’s what this was. A power play. A message to the pack that the Alphas had claimed their payment and everyone needed to accept it.
Dinner lasted two hours.
Two hours of being watched. Being whispered about. Being displayed like property.
By the time Nicholas finally stood, signaling the meal’s end, Lilith was exhausted in ways that had nothing to do with physical tiredness.
"Council members, you’re dismissed," Nicholas said. "We’ll reconvene tomorrow morning to discuss the border dispute."
Pack members began filing out, but not before casting final glances at Lilith. Some curious. Some contemptuous. Some that looked almost like pity.
Within minutes, the hall was empty except for the four of them.
And Mrs. Hallowell, who appeared as if summoned.
"Clear the table," Nicholas instructed. "Then retire for the evening. We won’t need anything else tonight."
