Chapter 5: Vespera's special diamond

Kaelen's POV

The party was getting on my nerves until I set my eyes on her, her happy chatter interrupting my quiet thoughts,

the way she moved in the skin-fitting dress made me question my self-control.

My eyes stayed on her every move while my wolf stirred restlessly, howling for her, she was like a magnetic field that pulled me in.

"No, not her." I knew who she was, and no matter how bad my wolf wanted to claim her, I couldn't, and I wouldn't, not yet anyway. She isn't strong enough to stay by my side and lead the Silvermoon pack as it's Luna.

My lips tugged at the corner, and I almost smiled, something I rarely do, as she set Kat, a petty but powerful lady, straight, her sharp retort drew blood to Luna's face.

There's my fierce little wolf.

She spun around after mumbling some excuse to the ladies, she looked across the room and our eyes locked,

"Mate!" My wolf howled, and fought for my mind's control,

I stared at her intensely for a moment before dragging my eyes away from her delicate face. I didn't think anyone could look that beautiful after Caroline, but there she was, looking ethereal and graceful even after the lanes of hell she'd been through.

"Enough, only a strong enough woman is worthy of being my mate" I gathered control and quieted my wolf. I have no intention of claiming my mate until she's of proper age and aware of the mate bond anyway.

I sipped from my glass slowly and forced my mind to focus on other important things, like the Ironfang pack's next alpha.

The old lady would probably not hand over the reins of leadership to her useless grandson or her beautiful jailbird granddaughter and since she was too old to handle the affairs of a pack, she would have to choose the Beta.

I've never thought much about Beta Damian but if he's to hold the alpha title, he damn well better deserve it, if he doesn't fit my criteria I'll have to break all alliances with the ironfang pack, and even though I might suffer a personal loss, I wouldn't allow my pack to suffer for anyone's foolishness.

"Are you related to the Silvermoon family?" Her soft but cold voice once again breached my train of thought.

Rowen's POV

His face looked familiar but I just couldn't place my finger on the how or why,

His striking handsome face stuck with me even after I emerged from the ladies' room,

I glanced in his direction, taking a proper look at him.

He sat alone; everyone kind of avoided staring at him or even talking to him, but his aura was unmistakably strong. I don't know what it was about him, but he looked powerful.

I sincerely hope he isn't connected to the Silvermoon family in any way, there's no way my proposal would go through if he was on the council, even though he looks young, he could be a person of influence and after the way, I behaved earlier, who would want to join forces with our pack?

I can't explain it but I felt compelled to walk over to him, even though everything about him screams danger! So I did just that.

I went through the crowd until I stopped in front of him,

"Are you related to the Silvermoon family?" I snapped my mouth closed; my voice came out sharper than I intended; he probably already doesn't think much of me, and talking to him in that rude voice doesn't help.

But instead of talking, his eyes went over me slowly and I could feel the heat rise in my stomach, my nerves knotted tightly as his gaze swept over me before settling on my face.

I didn't think he would respond and I was ready to turn on my heels and do the walk of shame when he cleared his throat.

"Is there anything I should concern myself with?" His voice sounded like a low rumble, rising from within him, and I could only pray my knees, which have now turned jelly, didn't give out under me.

"I-"

"Sister! There you are." My lips froze mid-sentence as I heard the voice.

I turned around slowly to see Vespera with her arm hooked to a girl's

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Her voice was suddenly the loudest sound in the room. It took me a moment to realize the room had gone silent, but I gathered myself and smiled.

"That would be true only if you were dead," I said lightly and walked over to a champagne table, taking a glass for myself.

"I'm sure you're surprised to see me here, but I just couldn't leave you all alone, amid so many people you barely know." She said so sweetly, but I could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"We don't want anyone's jewelry disappearing after all" She smirked and smiled smugly.

The whispers spread through the room quickly, and I could see the dirty stares; I knew Vespera did that on purpose. She wasn't playing the sweet, innocent girl card anymore; she wanted to sabotage me before I even had the chance to establish my presence.

I smiled in reply and tilted my head.

"If that's your aim, then you should have stayed away; after all, once you step in a place, things start going missing or getting mixed up." Anger flared in her eyes, and her face darkened slightly.

"I mean, three years ago, you entered my room, and your special diamond necklace magically appeared in my belongings from your safe. Yeah, we definitely want to avoid that" I smirked and walked away from her,

"Oh, this gala definitely beats last year's. Will they fight? I would love to see some fists." I heard a distinct voice above the whispers as I tried to move away, but Vespera wasn't done with me.

"Are you claiming you didn't steal my jewelry to sell?" She scoffed loudly, drawing more attention to us,

"Or would you lie about trying to steal Damian from me too? You should be ashamed of yourself, SISTER, trying to take my mate less than a week after helping you get out of prison." That stopped me in my tracks. People started mumbling. Vespera was giving them a free show, and they loved it.

If this goes her way, it'll be the talk of the town and no one would take me seriously.

I turned to see her lips curled in a sneer, her eyes challenging me, urging me to take the bait.

You really wanna do this huh?

"She really has a talent for taking things that aren't hers!" The girl beside her laughed loudly, and a few people found it funny, too.

"I think since we're talking about stolen things and since you're so quick to point out how HARD I'm trying to steal your mate, I think you should also add that the man you're marrying was my birth mate?" The gasp that went around the round caused quite a stir but I wasn't done yet.

"I was only away for a few years, but you've planted yourself in my house, stolen my name, identity, and mate, but you want to talk about stealing?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"You want to talk about your stolen jewelry? Yes let's talk about that"

"Why don't you tell me how your special diamond went missing from your well-secured safe into my room, and I never stepped into your room; oh wait, did it find its way into my bag on invisible legs?" I raised my brows and smirked.

"My bad, I think you left out an important detail, I didn't go into your room but many people saw you go into mine to 'look' for me while I wasn't there and if I were a conspiracy theorist I'd say you planted your jewelry and evidence on me so you could send me to prison and take Damian"

The room was in a standstill when Damian made his entrance and walked over to Vespera, most eyes were glued on her and her face turned white, leaving her red gown as the only colorful thing about her.

She hung on to the girl's arm like her life depended on it.

"Careful, SISTER, you look like an actual ghost; you might start scaring people," I said in a satisfied voice, my gaze darting to Damian's face.

He pried Vespera's fingers off the girl's arm. The music started slowly, and it drowned out the words he whispered to her.

Staring at his gentle face, I just couldn't believe that for power, he'd commit a grievous act in the future that brought the end of my family.

I have to protect the future of my family, and the pack, and the only man who could help me prove that I can is nowhere to be found.

I turned away from the scene, watching Vespera cling to Damian like a wet puppy made my stomach turn,

I have a mission and it was time I got down to it.

"The alpha wants to meet with you." A tall, dark-haired man slipped me a card. I stared at it, and my heart sank into my ribs.