Chapter 43

“Ruby,” Caleb began as he pulled me ever so slightly closer. The fabric of my bodice crumpled, and his grasp made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.

“Excuse me!” Harper chirped behind us, using her hands to pry us apart and take centerstage. “May we have a dance as well?”

She gestured to Lucas to follow her, taking his hand like an impatient schoolgirl. “Ruby and Caleb are not the only couple near the throne, and wouldn’t it be unfair to deny his younger brother the same birthright?”

I scoffed, stepping forward to interrupt her, but Caleb’s hand on my wrist stopped me. I turned back at him, expecting to see fury on his face as well., but he shook his head.

“I would never deny my brother a privilege, especially when he has been such an exemplary guest.” Caleb said, nodding to the musicians to take up a second dance.

The conductor looked between the two men, seemingly confused, but he quickly returned to the players behind him.

“What are you doing?” I whispered harshly to Caleb, trying to keep my frustration from my face.

“Playing a long game,” he replied without looking at me. Lucas and Harper had begun swirling around the ballroom perfectly in time with the song, as if they had been practicing for this.

“This is a little bit more than a game, Caleb.” I retorted as Lucas dipped Harper nearly to the floor, earning a round of applause from the audience.

“We have to make it clear that we are the team playing fair,” he said. “Lucas can pull whatever dirty tricks he wants, but as long as the Lycan citizens understand that’s the way he wants to win, they’ll be more inclined to support us.”

I tilted my head, biting my lip. “I have something.”

“Oh?” He glanced down at me, the sensation of his gaze burning the back of my neck. I shivered.

“On Harper.”

“Which is…?”

“Proof she has been sleeping with Lucas’s gamma Adrian behind his back. This whole charade of ‘loving Lucas’ is just to get her close to hsi power. As soon as he cracks, she’s planning to leave him and elope with Adrian.”

Caleb clicked his tongue, “I didn’t think Adrian had any balls on him, trying to steal his Alpha’s lover is an impressive move.”

“It’s not just a conflict between them, it could spell a shift of support away from Lucas and towards you.” I said. Harper spun out from Lucas’s arms, the jewels at her neck sending a spray of multicolored light onto the marble floor.

I spent years in my past life wishing I could be as beautiful as Harper, thinking that maybe if I could compare to her, Lucas would come back to me. But now, all I saw was a whore playing dress up. Lucas had clearly spent a lot of money on her dress and shoes, and the precious stones in her necklace could easily have paid for the entire ball.

“It would certainly call his personal life and his integrity into question,” Caleb mused, his hands going to his pockets.

“I don’t think we can afford to wait, I’m going to present after the dance.”

“Ruby, I need to be strategic, and you can’t just make decisions like this without me.” He said, his voice going lower and slightly threatening.

I huffed, angry and indignant that even after our moments of connection during the dance, he still couldn’t trust me. “What has gotten into you?” I hissed. “I’ve only ever known you as the confident playboy, what the fuck made you so insecure?”

I breathed deeply, refusing to let the guests see the anger on my face. Even if Caleb couldn’t play his part, I would.

I smiled sweetly, and tugged at his collar, bringing his ear close to my lips like I meant to kiss him. “If you want to roll over and let Lucas take the throne from you, fine. But I would rather die than watch that bastard have any power over me.”

Caleb looked stunned as I released him, and I pranced away to stand near the musicians.

The audience didn’t seem to have noticed our little disagreement, but I quickly realized it was because they were so captivated by Lucas and Harper. The music was nearly over, but their energy and charm made them look like they had just begun.

Harper’s dress was magnificent, as much as I didn’t want to admit it. It stung to remember how the public perceived her.

In my past life, even though I was married to Lucas, Harper was always the popular one. No one ever seemed to notice the way she put me down and tortured me.

My memories of Harper rolled through my mind. She tore my dress during a political event, and laughed about how ‘clumsy’ I was. She was printed in the media for her ‘impeccable’ style, while I was made out to be a backwards peasant, whose pregnancy weight made her look like a troll.

I grit my teeth, remembering how she murdered my child. I smelled the blood, felt the horrific cramping in my stomach. The woman who caused me so much pain was dancing around like she didn’t have a care in the world.

I couldn’t let her get away with it. Even if she hadn’t done it yet in this life.

The musicians slowed their tempo, and the music finished. The crowd erupted into deafening applause, even louder than it was for Caleb and I.

Harper pretended to look bashful, hiding her smile behind her hands. Lucas waved to the audience like he just won a competition.

But the game wasn’t over yet.

I went straight for the emcee, who was bringing the microphone to his lips for another announcement.

“May I?” I interrupted sweetly, smiling and reaching my hand out expectantly.

He looked slightly startled, but offered me the microphone.

I spun around and took a moment to arrange my skirt, drawing up to my full height to look as regal as possible. The guests watched me curiously, and some murmured in confusion.

“That was beautiful, thank you so much for gracing us with that performance.” I said, leading another round of applause.

Harper and Lucas looked hesitant, but nodded their acceptance of my words. Caleb was right, I had to make sure we kept our image clean. I would be tactful, but the truth would come out.

“We haven’t quite finished the festivities for this evening, but I do still want to thank you all for coming. I am so proud of the work we have put into making this evening happen, and it is a delight to finally be able to share it with all of you.”

Another round of polite clapping.

“And lastly to Lucas and Harper, whose friendship was so beautifully on display during their dance.”

Just as I expected, there were whispers in the crowd.

“Friendship? Aren’t they in a relationship?”

“What is she talking about, I thought they were getting married?”

“No, they’re not engaged yet, but they’re definitely more than just friends.”

I let the confusion spread a little bit more, before I continued. “Lucas is a worthy opponent in our competition for the throne, and his friend Harper has definitely done him justice in their dance.

“I know many of you may have believed that they were romantically attached, but this is not the case. In the interest of honesty, I believe I should clarify this for you.

“Harper has been secretly seeing Lucas’s gamma, Adrian, for the past two years without Lucas’s knowledge.” I retrieved the photos and engagement ring, and held them into the camera line, where they were projected onto the screen at the west wall.

As I shuffled through the photos of Harper’s naked body writhing under Adrian’s, the crowd gasped.

“This is the ring they planned to use to elope, and these are the unedited photos of her infidelity.”