CHAPTER 4 – The Meeting
Caden grunted as he heard it. He gave her a look filled with disgust before entering the palace. Meanwhile, Darcy kept looking at her.
She wanted to explain herself. The look on his face was more than enough to tell her what he was thinking.
“I-I meant he was my mate,” she said slowly. “He rejected me,” she muttered, not looking at him. It was a shame to be rejected by your mate because you were not good enough.
Brittany didn’t want to see the expression on Darcy’s face. Although she had not accepted him, she knew she could not handle the disgust on his face.
Suddenly a pair of arms held her shoulders. She lifted her eyes to him. “His loss,” Darcy whispered with an evil grin on his face. Her stomach became warm and her heart started beating radically.
Darcy’s words were more than enough to entice her. She pulled herself together and took a step back, putting a little bit of distance between them.
“I think you should go in. The meeting is about to start,” she told him distractedly. He nodded without saying a word and entered the palace.
Brittany was tense all through the meeting. Since she was not an Alpha or daughter of an Alpha, she was not allowed into the meeting room. King Lucian only called her when he needed her to give the guests some refreshments but those were not the main course.
After a long deliberation, they were done. She stood outside as the perfect host, wanting to please the King so he would keep his promise to her. When King Lucian came out and saw her standing with a smile, his eyes narrowed dangerously and her smile flattered.
“It’s too fake,” he whispered into her ears before walking away. Brittany’s heart started beating faster. If he wasn’t pleased by the end of the day, he would deal with her later. She didn’t want to nurse any injury during this meeting as it would let everyone, including Richard, know what was happening to her.
The Alphas walked out of the room, one after the other, following them to the large dining that had been prepared for them. The food was already on the table. Brittany gave Riley a small smile when their eyes met. She was happy with how cooperative Riley was being despite her shortcomings.
“We should do this often,” one of the Alphas chuckled when he entered. Each seat had a name and it was placed in accordance to how close they were to the King.
King Lucian was a petty person. He purposely instructed her to do this to show them how important they were to him. When some Alphas didn’t see their names in the first few rolls, they threw Brittany a few glares while some murmured about how stupid she was.
Her fake smile didn’t falter despite their words. When Richard finally entered, she tensed up. She slowly shuffled closer to the King and touched his arm.
King Lucian noticed the change in her immediately and he smirked proudly. She wanted to show Richard how comfortable her life was despite his rejection.
While Richard searched for his name, Darcy walked in and their eyes met. His eyes noticed the little contact between her and his father. Ignoring them, he went to his seat which was by her side.
Richard also sat down and he continued glaring at her discreetly. No one started eating as they were waiting for King Lucian.
After a while, he stood up. “This is the beginning of a change in the country. I would make sure to make the country better,” he grabbed his drink and raised it.
“But for now, let us honor my new pearl,” he went on, looking at her. Brittany sat there, not understanding what he meant. “Stand, Brittany,” he gritted his teeth.
She stood up immediately, almost knocking her drink on the table. Luckily Darcy was beside her to save it. Her cute act was seen as an act of disgrace to the King.
“This is Brittany, the new soon-to-be Queen in my palace. Everything concerning today was prepared by her,” King Lucian introduced her. “For the next one week, you can call on her anytime to serve you and she will be there,” he told them.
As he spoke, Brittany started panicking within her. She wasn’t expecting the words to come out of his mouth. His words were insinuating something different and the Alphas smiled as he spoke. Some started giving her lustful stares.
“That being said, let’s eat and have a good time,” he chuckled and drank his drink. The Alphas followed him. Brittany sat down as he sat on his seat. Her hands were filled with sweat. Subconsciously, she glanced at Darcy.
His face was cold, for a moment she saw a murderous intent in his eyes before his expression changed into his normal flirty gaze. While everyone ate, Brittany could hardly munch on a spoon of rice. She had a bad feeling about King Lucian.
He knew what he was doing by saying those words to incite the Alphas. Suddenly Brittany felt a pair of hands touching her legs. She glanced at Darcy.
He continued touching her legs and started trailing south. Brittany shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Darcy’s touch was distracting. It felt too good.
Unable to take the torture any longer, she held his hand and pulled it away. Thinking she was free from him, his wandering hands started soon after again.
“Is something wrong?” King Lucian asked her in between his meals. She shook her head.
“No,” she answered, out of breath. King Lucian gave her a warning look to behave appropriately.
Just then, someone stood up from his seat. It was Richard. “Since we are all here, why don’t you tell us about how you met your lovely queen? I’m sure everyone is fascinated and curious too,” he said and sat down.
Brittany’s eyes widened at his words. She wanted to hit him for trying to disgrace her. King Lucian kept quiet for a moment.
“Why are you fascinated, Richard? You’re no longer her mate,” Lucian said coldly and the temperature in the room became cold in an instant.
