Chapter 115

Logan

The music was already swelling through the ballroom when I arrived. I had purposely come late, not wanting to participate in the showmanship of the heralded entrances if I could avoid it. By the time I came into the room, most of the revelers were too drunk to notice or pay attention.

Laughter echoed off the vaulted ceilings, goblets clinked, and noble wolves swirled across the polished marble floor in their finest gowns and suits. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen such joy in one place. Obviously, before the war, but how much more before then?

But despite my best efforts, I could not match the enthusiasm in the room. I had come alone, and though I wore the finest black suit I owned, I still felt like a shadow moving through all their light. Like a stranger just passing through.

At least there was one familiar face among the revelers. Alex was easy enough to find, tall and impossible to miss as he commanded a corner of the room with his easy charm. This was where he thrived, ever the prince. He could flirt and grin enough to smooth over just about any situation.

I found myself gravitating toward him. My Gamma unit clapped me on the back as I passed, and we exchanged a few words, but ultimately, our bond had been on the battlefield. There wasn’t much I had to say to them during the declared peacetimes, and the synchrony we exerted on the field was absent in the ballroom. Our conversations were quick and small. All the while, I made my way to Alex.

For a while, being near him was enough. I stood nearby as he cracked jokes with a group of noble wolves I did not recognize. And though I hardly knew what they were talking about, he still tried to include me, elbowing me in the ribs when I looked too broody or aloof, and gesturing toward me for my affirmation on topics I had no idea what I was agreeing to.

Eventually, he grabbed us both drinks from a passing tray. I was grateful for his camaraderie as he handed me a flute. After everything that had happened with his sister, he certainly didn’t owe any kindness to me, and yet here he was.

“And this here,” he said at one point, gesturing to me, “is one of our great heroes! I told my father that he ought to be awarded for the effort he showed during the war!”

“Oh, please,” I said, brushing his slurred comment off. But I couldn’t help but wonder if he was telling the truth. And if he was, what had his father said when he went to him and asked?

But before I could press him on it, a group of noble daughters descended on him. They were all polished grins, fluttering silks, and perfumed skin. And I knew he was lost to me then.

“Hello, ladies,” he purred, and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes at the change in his tone.

He grinned that unshakable grin, offered a bow, and before I could blink, he was gone, lost in a tide of bright eyes and cooing, feminine voices.

I stood there after he had left, holding my half-drunk glass, and it all pressed down on me at once. For the first time in a long while, I felt the full weight of my solitude weighing me down.

Everyone else seemed to know their place, but I had never been good in these settings. All of those people knew who they belonged to, what role they played in this venue. But not only was I deeply uncomfortable with the formality of the ball, but I was also alone. Emma was gone. My mother had been killed. Even Jesse, my distant, cruel half-brother, had become another casualty of the war.

Where had I gone wrong? I thought I’d done everything right. I had fought loyally, served the Alpha King, and sacrificed myself piece by piece until there was nothing left but duty. Now, it felt like there was nothing left at all. Because without her by my side, I was alone, and I had lost the thing that mattered most in my life.

I tipped the rest of my drink back in one swallow, the burn doing little to quiet the gnawing ache in my chest. But it would soon numb me, at least fractionally, and I needed all the help I could get that evening.

And then her name was announced.

“Introducing, Princess Evelyn, daughter of the Alpha King.”

The herald’s words sliced through my sorrow like a blade, so jarring it nearly made me jump. I whipped around to the entrance, and every head turned toward the grand staircase. As I looked up toward the open ballroom doors, my breath caught in my throat.

She was radiant. No, radiant wasn’t a strong enough word. I racked my brain trying to describe her, but all words failed to truly capture her essence. She was devastating.

The red silk gown she wore clung to her like it had been constructed from water, pouring over her like a smooth second skin. It was tight in all the right places, the neckline plunging low enough to cause me to forget how to breathe.

Candlelight traced the curves of her body, shimmered in her hair, and when her eyes swept the hall, every wolf in the room bowed to her. The reaction was expected in response to the entrance of a princess, but I was certain that it was at least partially because of how utterly awestruck they all were. Just like me.

And then, as though she had been looking for me, her eyes swept the room until they snagged on where I stood staring up at her. I waited for her to look away, to skip past me, but she didn’t. She only had to give me that lingering, mute look for me to know I was ruined.

I didn’t think. I just moved, weaving through the crowd until I was standing in front of her. Where I had been drawn slowly to Alex, I moved toward Evelyn with near desperation, like a man frantically swimming to the surface before he drowned.

And she let me. When she descended the steps, she paused, eyes still on me, waiting for me to approach her.

“You could have given me a warning,” I murmured, my voice rough with awe.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I need more of a heads up before you wear something like this. You almost killed me.”

The corner of her mouth tilted upward, the faintest hint of amusement in her eyes. “You're handsome when you’re flustered, Logan.”

Flustered didn’t begin to cover it. I wanted to drag her away from this hall, shield her from every staring eye, and take her, claim her, keep her all to myself.

Instead, I leaned closer, lowering my voice to a growl meant only for her. “You know how to make a man lose his mind, that’s for sure.”

I caught a strong whiff of her perfume. It was more intoxicating than the drink I had just swallowed. She was absolutely delicious, every aspect of her crafted to tempt me.

And as I leaned toward her, she didn’t push me away. She didn’t roll her eyes or cut me with one of her sharp retorts. Instead, she tilted her head, leaning in as well, just close enough that I could feel the warmth of her breath against my cheek. My pulse thundered in my ears.

“Don’t lose your mind just yet, Alpha,” she said softly. “We have a ball to get through. And everything after as well.”

I wasn’t sure what she was implying, but my interest was piqued, to say the least. Perhaps she had finally made up her mind about us, or maybe she was just toying with the idea again. Either way, I was game. I would gladly let Evelyn use me as a means to whatever end she sought.

But before I could close the distance between us, the Alpha King rose at the head of the ballroom, standing on the dais.

“My friends,” his booming voice silenced the musicians, “my warriors, and my great allies. Raise your glasses! I would like to toast to the end of war, and the dawn of a new peaceful era!”

The crowd erupted into cheers and lifted their goblets high.

Beside me, Evelyn straightened, pulling just out of my reach, and I was left standing there with my heart hammering in my chest and a thousand unsaid words burning my tongue.

But there would be time for that, as she said, later.