I nearly jumped out of my seat when the music started playing. There were many people talking amongst themselves, but I didn't realize how quietly until the music announced itself to the ballroom. I looked around at other reactions. I didn't seem to be the only one startled by it.
"You better hide your awkwardness, Luna," Deja laughed as she looked over her shoulder and then back towards me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked just as her head ducked, showing me who she was referring to. Declan was walking right towards us. Suddenly everything stopped. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, but I knew my breathing stopped because I did it on purpose. I quickly glanced around the room. Socializing with other people didn’t sound so terrible now that the muscular male was walking in our direction.
"May I have this dance, Miss Luna," Declan asked politely as he bowed in front me, reaching out for my hand. Instinctively, I wanted to say “Yes,” but my mind continued to look for something to distract myself with. I was about to come up with an excuse when he looked up towards me and his light blue eyes hypnotized me. There was no way I could say no. I reached out for his hand and motioned forward on the chair, my heels hitting the black tiles just as he stood up straight. He was significantly taller than me, even if I did have heels on.
He led me over to the middle of the ballroom and wrapped his arm around my waist, placing his other hand within mine. The girls found dance partners and joined me on the floor. Declan was looking down at me with that perfect smile, his light brown hair making my black hair darker than it already was. A part of me wanted to reach out and touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked, but I somehow convinced myself to abort that mission.
"You look beautiful," Declan whispered as a new song started to play.
I really hoped I wasn't blushing, but by the heat I felt under my cheeks I had a bad feeling that I was. I tried to think of something witty to say so he didn't think I was some crazy village girl trying to get with the council member’s son. Then I remembered I wasn't a village girl. I was the alpha's daughter. Still, I didn't want to make a fool of myself, so I simply said, "Thank you."
"You seem to be worried about something," Declan observed. "I hope asking you to dance didn't cause it."
"No," I quickly assured him. "It isn't you. I just have a lot on my mind."
"Your father told you, didn't he?" he said, looking directly into my eyes as if that would make me tell him everything he wanted to know. It was working, but I found a way to shake myself out of his hypnosis.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I told him, forcing myself to look down at the tiles instead of into those gorgeous eyes. They were so light that they sometimes seemed like they were see-through.
"Yes, you do," he chuckled softly. "Your father talked to you about a potential binding between us."
Well, at least Declan knew about it. That was one worry I no longer had to think about, but there were so many others that were bigger and needed to be dealt with.
I rolled my eyes, slowly turning back into the girl he knew. "He dropped that on me this morning."
"Ouch, on your birthday?" He smiled. "I don't think I would ever do that. You don't seem to upset though, so I'm guessing a life with me isn't too terrible?"
"It was never about what life with you would be like." I shook my head as my frustration grew. I didn't want to talk about this right now, but I couldn't just walk away and cause a scene. Declan would be affected by this and it wouldn't be fair if I didn't hear him out. My father might have discussed this with him, but that didn't mean he was able to have an opinion. "I didn't think I would have to think about this until after my brothers were bound. My father is trying to bind us off all at one time for some reason."
"There's nothing wrong with your dad trying to gain some allies," Declan said as we came close to the council families. He quickly moved us away from them like he didn't want them listening in to what we were saying. "I'm not sure how much of ally he's going to get with my dad, but he will have me."
"I still don't understand how you turned out so different from your father," I said into his chest, trying to stay quiet. Any vampire in the room would be able to hear our conversation if they really wanted to, but I got the sense no one cared about what we were talking about at the moment. "I don't mean to be offensive, but I can't understand why my father thinks binding to your family is beneficial. It has to be because of you, but why risk letting your father get that close?"
"Only time will tell." Declan glanced around the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. "The only thing we know for sure is the bind between us will strengthen your father politically."
"How do you do that?" I looked up at him and met his sparkly eyes. Damn it, they were beautiful. "How are you okay with this knowing we're just pawns?"
"I know you'll be safe if you bind with me," he answered bluntly. "Binding to another council member's spawn won't guarantee that. I don't know what you're destined for, Luna, but if your father's right, then you need to be protected. Anyone else would use you as leverage against your father."
"So, this really is about protecting me?" I asked as a high note from the music caught my attention. "I know that's what my father said this morning, but I figured it was just him hiding the truth. There are other ways to protect me, you know. You don't have to bind to me to keep me safe."
"I've always cared about you, Luna," Declan admitted shyly. "Maybe I didn't think of you as more than friend before your father spoke to me, but it's been on my mind ever since. I'm not saying we'll be perfect together, but I think we could be happy."
I had to admit he had a point. I wouldn't do better than Declan. The rest of the council members' children would never treat me with respect the way Declan did. My father might not have told him everything, but he told him enough for him to realize what was coming would be dangerous. No one else would take it seriously. Declan was kind and generous and had been protecting me ever since we were young. He might have been Levi's best friend, but he never let any of the other council kids pick on me.
The council kids really weren't that bad, they just had terrible fathers. The council used them to spy on us in order to get information on the alpha and his family. The kids were desperate for their fathers' approval, and no matter what they did they were never going to get it. It was sad. My father was the first to break the cycle. He showed us that he loved us and told us every day. I know his father didn't do the same which only strengthened his motivation to be different.
"I can tell you're thinking about something," he said when I went silent. "Care to share?"
"I just didn't expect this topic to come up today," I answered honestly. "My mind is full of thoughts that I can't seem to put together. Nothing makes sense and I don't like that."
"I would never pressure you into something you don't want to do," he told me. "You know that, right?"
"Are you honestly telling me that you would go against my father's wishes if he told you that you had no choice?" I looked up at him as I asked the question. I wanted to see the look in his eyes when he answered me. He hesitated, telling me more than his words ever could. "I'm not mad that you would follow my father's demands, but that's exactly my point. I know your intentions are not to pressure me, but no matter what you do to try to make the situation better, it would happen anyway."
"Your father seems very determined to make this happen," Declan said just as we passed the alphas. He turned his face in the opposite direction, trying to make it harder for my father to hear us, but there was no way he succeeded. My father always heard every word no matter how far or how close we were to him. "If I knew more about why he was pushing this so much, I might be able to help more."
"I wish I knew why he was doing this now." I sighed as I thought about why my father did anything that had something to do with me. If I knew how his mind worked, I would never get in trouble. "He has a way of telling me what's going on and at the same time he leaves out litt
le details that he knows will persuade my decision."
"Even if your father does know more than he's saying, would it really be that bad binding with me? We've always gotten along, haven't we?" he asked me again. Why was he so desperate for my answer? He was the hottest vampire in the territory, who could have any girl he wanted. Why was he so focused on me? Had he always been this way and I just didn't notice?
"I haven't really thought about it," I told him, hoping he would be satisfied with my answer. "I'm not against it, but I need time. Once we do it, we can't go back, and I need to be sure. I'm okay if it's not perfect, but I'm not okay with us being miserable for the rest of our lives."
"Understood." He nodded just as the music stopped. It didn't even feel like we were dancing. We talked the entire time, so I forgot our feet were moving. That happened a lot when I was around Declan. He had a way of making me feel like it was just the two of us and no one else in the room mattered. I thought it was just him being respectful, but what if it was more than that?
Here I go, overthinking everything again.
Declan took hold of my hand and walked me back over to the table the girls and I were occupying. I curtsied as he bowed, smiling before he turned away. I sat back down, hoping that dance would be the most adventurous part of my night. The girls joined me as our brothers walked out onto the dance floor. It was tradition for all the members of the alpha families to have a dance before the ball officially began. It started with the girls and I since we were the youngest. The second dance was with our middle brothers, and the third with the heirs. The last dance would be the alphas and our mothers.
The girls and I were quiet as the rest of the dances went on. I should've paid more attention to who my brothers were dancing with; they were most likely the women my father wanted them to bind to. I didn't think about it until my parents were on the dance floor, so I missed my opportunity. My parents looked really happy as they gracefully moved across the room. I could tell they were having a conversation, and as much as I wanted to listen in, I convinced myself not to eavesdrop. The coordination between the two of them was admirable. They didn't miss a single step. Did Declan and I look like that? We must've done something right, since I don't remember moving. Maybe we were graceful too?
Or maybe I was just looking for signs that we would actually work well together.
When the music stopped, my parents sat back down with the rest of the alphas. The girls and I stood up from our seats and walked over to our parents, greeting the alphas and their wives officially. It seemed so silly to be so formal at events like this when in reality we were anything but formal. My siblings and I alone were like wild animals, fist fighting, yelling through the halls, pulling pranks on the alpha. You never would've known we were stupid kids by the way we acted at events like this, but we were just that, stupid.
My father was the first to take my hand. I curtsied to him. He kissed it as I looked up at his face, meeting his silver eyes that matched mine. His dark brown hair was slicked back, shaved on the sides of his head, making him look just as young as Levi. There was more maturity within his face, but he and Levi looked like twins tonight. My father was not old in any sense of the word, even though he was seventy now. He was old to me, but when you live to be five hundred, being under one hundred was basically the beginning of your life.
Levi and Liam were standing next to my father, the three of them wearing black formal coats that had long tails. They looked good when they were dressed like this, a change from their usual shirtless attire that only included pants, refusing to hide their abs from the world. As they stood close to my father, I could not believe the resemblance between them. The only difference was they had my mother's Caribbean blue eyes.
I greeted my mother after my father let go of my hand. She and I both curtsied to each other, even though there was no reason for her to curtsy to me. I was just the daughter of an alpha. She was his wife, and there were days when I could swear she was more loved than the alpha himself, and I'd come to believe my father was very much adored in our territory.
We looked like one big happy family as we stood there facing the rest of Medova. No one would ever know that we were just like every other family who fought with each other and had bad days.
I looked around for the girls after the greetings were finally over. They had all returned to their seats. My own feet moved to join them, but my mother stopped me. I cringed as I turned around, already knowing what was coming. I faced her, seeing my own face stare back at me. She smiled as she pushed loose hair back behind my shoulders.
"You need to go talk to some our guests," she said, her tone saying it wasn't a suggestion. "Shake some hands and talk to some people. Show them you're grateful that they took the time to celebrate your birthday."
"I am grateful," I assured her. "I just hate socializing. I always say the wrong thing."
"You're better at it than you think," my father chimed in. "You'll be fine."
"We'll go with you," Liam offered as he looked over at Levi. Our eldest brother didn't like being volunteered, but as the heir, he was more used to this kind of thing than Liam and I ever would be. He had more of an obligation to greet the villagers than I did, and more than likely my father would have sent him to do the same thing eventually. He might as well get it over with.
The three of us walked over to a crowd of villagers who went stiff as soon as they saw us walking towards them. One woman started to brush off her dress, making sure she looked presentable. A little girl tried to hide behind her mother while holding on to a handmade doll. A man tried to get his family to behave, although it looked like he was losing that battle.
"Happy birthday, Miss Luna," the woman said when she finished fixing her dress. She smiled as I looked at her, processing in my head what I was supposed to say next. I know I was supposed to thank her, but I froze. It's like my brain couldn't find the words.
"Thank you for coming," Liam said as he reached his hand out to the woman, shaking it as soon as she reached out her own.
"Yes, thank you" — I spoke quickly before I could forget the words again. "I'm sorry, I get nervous sometimes."
I bent down to greet the little girl, feeling more comfortable talking to her than the adults. She slowly smiled at me, unsure if I was friend or foe. If only I could go back to those simple days. I’d rushed to become an adult, and now I wished I could just be a kid for a little while longer.
"Does your doll have a name?" I asked her, hoping she would see that I was no threat to her.
"Josie," she whispered, a friendlier smile appearing as she spoke.
"She's very beautiful. Do you take her everywhere you go?"
"Yes, Miss Luna," she said, continuing in a quiet tone. I could tell she was just as nervous as I was, and in a way, I felt like she could see that I was struggling. She wasn't backing away from me as much as she was when I first came down to her level.
"It's nice to have a friend with you all the time, isn't it?" I smiled as she squeezed her doll a little tighter. Judging by the little tears and rips, the doll had seen better days, the age of it showing. It was slightly dirty no doubt because the little girl brought it everywhere. Those things didn't matter though. It was perfect to the little girl and it warmed my heart to see her happiness as she held it close. She shook her head in agreeance as I stood up. I brushed her hair back just as my mother had just done to me.
"I hope you have an amazing time tonight," I told the little girl. I caught Levi's expression when I turned away, for once showing approval. Not that I asked for it, but it was nice to see him look at me and appear proud. My brothers and I got along just fine, but I was closer to Liam than I was Levi. Our eldest brother spent his days with our father, learning how to be the alpha. Levi wouldn't be the alpha yet for a long while, but my father wanted him prepared. With him spending all day and what seemed all night studying the knowledge within the library walls, we had grown apart. I usually only saw him at breakfast or dinner, and on rare occasi
ons, both. We didn't say much since he and my father were usually in the middle of important territory discussions. That left Liam and I to ourselves. Sometimes we kept each other company, and sometimes we enjoyed the time alone. It depended on the day.
I went down the line with my brothers, shaking every hand that reached out at me. I said thank you each time, although I kept the conversation to a minimum. When it was all over, I found my mother and signaled to her that I had done my duty, but instead of praise I received an eye roll. I shrugged, knowing I did exactly what she asked me to and there was nothing more to do.
I sat back down with the girls at the table, looking exhausted and wanting to leave the ball. Nova handed me her drink after she saw how stressed I was. I never would’ve thought stopping for a moment to hydrate myself would distract me from the anxiety that was attacking me, but it did. I thanked her and gulped the rest of it, leaving nothing for her. I smiled at her, feeling guilty. I started to get up to get her another glass, but she stopped me before I could get too far.
"I didn't expect to get it back anyways," she laughed as I sat down again.
The girls and I watched as the people from the villages danced, smiling as they left all their stresses at the door. This was my favorite part of all the events the alphas put on. I loved seeing everyone having fun with their families. It was something so small, but it meant so much to the villagers. It meant a lot to me as well, because they didn't feel the need to change themselves to be something they weren't, and I admired that. I liked different personalities coming together.
"Is it bad that I'm ready for bed?" I asked as I faced my sisters again, all of them looking at me like I had finally lost it.
"We just got here," Deja reminded me.
"It's been over an hour," I calculated. "We did not just get here."
"I'm pretty sure if you leave your own ball after an hour, it's not going to look good," Nova added, grabbing the glass in front of her to take a sip, only to be reminded that I had finished it off.
Rise of the Assassin (Child of an Alpha Series Book 1) Page 3