Chapter 458

Olivia

Dan lifted his champagne flute, clinking a fork loudly until the buzzing conversations around the grand dining table quieted. All eyes slid expectantly to the head Alpha, who was grinning broadly as his gaze scanned the room.

“Esteemed friends and colleagues,” Dan said, “please lift your glasses in a warm toast; tonight, we are welcoming the most recent addition to our alliance.” As he spoke, his steely gaze landed on Nathan, who straightened proudly in his seat beside me.

“Young Mr. Ford here,” Dan continued, “represents the future of progressive change with his daring charity ventures and his lovely… family commitments.”

Heat flooded my cheeks at the veiled pregnancy reference. Dan’s eyes slid over to me, albeit briefly, and something in his gaze made me uncomfortable. I felt as if he was assessing, calculating.

But then, just as before, it was gone just as quickly as it had come. I hadn’t imagined the subtle jab in Dan’s tone and the cold look in his eyes, had I?

“To Nathan’s future,” Dan said, lifting his glass a little higher. “To new blood.”

The others at the table lifted their glasses as well. “To new blood!” they echoed, before they drank.

I chanced a glance over at Nathan, but his face gave away nothing. I felt his hand touch mine beneath the table, a silent reassurance. That was enough for me, at least for now.

I was able to breathe a little easier finally, once Dan’s scrutinizing attention shifted away from us and onto the other guests. Various small talk with the other guests around me helped to take my mind off of the discomfort I felt, although something about this small talk felt uncharacteristically bland and surface-level.

“So,” a red-haired woman who was seated beside me said as she leaned in, “how far along are you?”

“Five months, roughly,” I said with a smile. My smile broadened then, and I felt my cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. “I just heard the little one’s heartbeat for the first time the other day.”

The red-haired woman nodded, disinterest written across her face. “I see,” she said before turning her attention acutely away from me, and causing me to frown.

Beside me, Nathan was engaged in much more lively conversation.

“You see, Nathan,” Dan said, waving his fork slightly as he spoke, “once you’ve got more experience under your belt, perhaps you’ll understand these matters better. It’s always just as lucrative to broaden your commerce horizons as it is to nourish those that already exist…”

Nathan nodded thoughtfully. “I believe I understand that perfectly well now, Dan,” he said with a slight laugh. “But thank you for your insight.”

Dan hummed to himself, glancing over at the other Alphas seated nearby him. I could see the looks in their eyes: amused, egotistical, patronizing. They saw Nathan as a youngling.

Their gazes made my hackles raise, but Nathan seemed to take their attitudes coolly. I supposed that he understood, probably better than I did, that it was best to keep his mouth shut and be polite. He was, after all, still in a probationary period.

One misstep and he could lose his newfound position on the Alpha association.

Eventually, the servers swept away our salad plates in preparation for the main course. “And now for the seared duck breast in decadent morel sauce,” the butler said with a flourish as the servers brought out the trays.

The scent of the glistening duck elicited delighted murmurs from the other guests, and admittedly made my mouth water. Once everyone was served, I began cutting into my meat. It was moist and flavorful, and seemed to satisfy a craving I didn’t know I had.

“At least the food is delicious,” I thought to my wolf. “That makes up for the company.”

My wolf let out a rumbling chuckle in the back of my mind. “I don’t care for Dan,” she replied coldly. “His wife, on the other hand…”

“She’s familiar,” I finished for her. “Strangely familiar.”

As my wolf hummed in agreement, I cautiously lifted my gaze toward Dan’s wife, whose name I had learned was Clarissa. She really was familiar; something about her hair and her eyes, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Suddenly, Dan eyed my nearly empty plate from across the table with thinly veiled amusement. “It seems that the food is to your liking, Olivia.”

I swallowed my bite of duck, blushing a bit. “It’s delicious,” I said. “I’m actually not sure if I’ve ever had duck quite this good.”

Dan arched one silver eyebrow. “Yes, I suppose that tracks,” he said with a laugh. “Please, enjoy as much as you’d like.”

Heat flushed my neck and face. “I’m sorry,” I said, “I’m not sure if I know what you mean by ‘that tracks’.”

Dan shot me a quizzical expression, but there was a veiled sense of mocking amusement behind his eyes. “Well, I can imagine that your palate is taking quite the journey tonight,” he said. “After all, your little… charitable auction event must have had a limited budget for palatable recipes.”

I inhaled slowly. “On the contrary, actually,” I found myself saying. “The catering we arranged was organized by our best restaurant in town.”

Dan smirked. “Best in town, you say?” he cooed. “I suppose that’s not difficult for such a small place. But, still… your little auction was impressive, given the circumstances. It’s a start.”

Feeling rage beginning to bubble beneath the surface, I shot a glance over at Nathan, who was currently too engaged in a conversation with another Alpha to hear my conversation with Dan over the din at the table. Swallowing, I turned back to Dan.

“For what it’s worth,” I said, “I wouldn’t call raising nearly one hundred thousand dollars ‘little’—especially considering the short notice.”

There was a silence. A sense of sweet victory surged through me as I noticed how Dan’s thin lips pressed together in a flat line, and he seemed at a loss for words.

Suddenly, before Dan could come up with a retort, Clarissa leaned forward.

“I, for one, am thoroughly impressed with your work,” she said, her voice softer than I had expected. “Actually, I’ll be curious to see your future endeavors. You’ve caught my attention, that’s for certain.”

Dan stiffened at his wife’s words. “Well, my love,” he said, gripping her hand in a way that seemed to cause her to recoil ever so slightly, “let’s not get overzealous.”

Clarissa nodded and pulled her hand away. “Of course,” she said. “I was only giving credit where credit is due.”

At Clarissa’s kind words, I felt myself soften. But the feeling was momentary when I saw the look that flickered through her eyes.

Fear.

…

“Olivia, was it?”

A soft voice caused me to turn away from the marble sculpture I had been admiring. While Nathan had been pulled away into a conversation, I had gotten caught up looking at the artwork—another distraction from the company tonight.

When I turned, though, I saw her: Clarissa, with those strangely familiar hazel eyes. She was alone now, and her eyes were softer than they were at dinner.

“Clarissa,” I said, turning. “It’s nice to see you.”

She nodded, her eyes flickering down to my belly. Something that almost looked like longing flitted through her gaze.

“I must say, you’re positively glowing,” she said softly.

I blinked, taken aback. “Oh, um… Thank you,” I replied with a smile. “That’s very kind of you.”

Clarissa nodded. “I always wanted children,” she said. “But, unfortunately, it was never a possibility for me.”

Hearing this made my heart hurt for her. “I’m so sorry—” I began, but Clarissa cut me off with a shake of her head.

“No need to apologize,” she said, then paused, drawing in a slow breath. “I hope to meet your little ones someday, though. I love children.”

Her words gave me pause. The idea of exposing my children to this strange world of veiled disdain and concubines made me uncomfortable, but there was something soft and sweet in Clarissa’s gaze that made me soften to the idea.

In fact, I was just about to offer for her to stop by the villa someday to visit the twins when my eyes caught something from afar.

Nathan, who was sitting on an armchair by a fireplace, had been previously alone for a few moments as one of the Alphas had excused himself. And that was when it happened.

A leggy blonde in clinging red silk suddenly perched atop the sofa arm behind Nathan. He said something, and she laughed, the giggle sounding like the clinking of glass.

A concubine.

Possessive irritation churned in my stomach as I watched her leaning in toward him, saying something to him in a hushed tone.

“Excuse me, Clarissa,” I said, offering her a polite smile before breaking away. I clicked across the room, reaching Nathan and the concubine just as I saw her fingers creeping up over the back of the chair, inching toward the nape of his neck.

“Nathan,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, “can I talk to you for a moment?”