The silence in the grand hall was deafening as everyone stared at the scene unfolding before them.
Willow's heart stopped beating for a moment as she watched the dark red wine spread across Dorian's pristine white shirt like blood seeping through fabric.
The liquid dripped down his black jacket and onto his lap while his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
Dorian shot up to his feet so quickly that his chair scraped loudly against the stone floor and the sound made everyone in the room flinch.
His icy gray eyes blazed with fury as he looked down at his ruined clothes and then up at Willow who stood frozen in absolute horror at what she had just done.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as his Alpha presence filled the space and made everyone instinctively want to submit or run.
"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, Alpha." Willow gasped as panic overtook her completely and she grabbed a napkin from the table without thinking.
She rushed forward and pressed the napkin against his chest, trying desperately to soak up some of the wine before it could stain permanently.
The moment her hands made contact with his body through the wet fabric, electricity shot through her fingertips and up her arms like lightning.
The mate bond roared to life between them and she could feel his heart pounding beneath her palms as she tried to clean the wine from his shirt.
His muscles tensed under her touch and she could feel the heat radiating from his body despite the cold fury in his eyes.
Her wolf whimpered and pushed forward, wanting to be closer to their mate and her hands trembled as they moved across his chest with the napkin.
The wine had soaked through completely and she could feel the hard planes of his torso through the wet fabric as she tried futilely to clean up the mess she had made.
The contact between them was electric and overwhelming and she could smell his scent so strongly now that they were this close.
Pine, earth and something uniquely him that made her wolf want to bare her neck in submission.
Her breathing became shallow as she continued to pat at his chest. She could feel his breathing change too even though his face remained a mask of anger.
"Please let me fix this." She whispered, her hands moving lower trying to clean the wine from his jacket and the movement brought her even closer to him.
She could feel the power rolling off him in waves and it made her knees weak, but she kept trying to clean up the wine because she didn't know what else to do.
Her fingers brushed against his abdomen through the soaked shirt and she felt him inhale sharply at the contact. The air between them crackled with tension as a result of the mate bond that neither of them wanted to acknowledge.
Suddenly, his hands grabbed her wrists and pushed her backward. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, but it was firm enough to put distance between them and break the spell that had fallen over her when she touched him.
She stumbled back a few steps and looked up at him with wide frightened eyes while he stood there with wine still dripping from his clothes and his jaw clenched so tight, she could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin.
"Stay the hell away from me." Dorian barked, his voice rough and deeper than normal like he was fighting for control.
Without another word, he turned and stormed out of the hall with his footsteps echoing off the stone walls.
Everyone watched him leave in stunned silence and Willow could feel hundreds of eyes on her as she stood there with the wine-soaked napkin still clutched in her trembling hands.
Magnus immediately jumped up from his seat and rushed after Dorian, but not before flashing Willow an apologetic look that was so quick she almost missed it.
His blue eyes held sympathy and something else she couldn't quite identify before he disappeared through the same doors Dorian had just exited through.
Carina stood up slowly from her chair and smoothed down her perfect red dress with elegant movements that drew everyone's attention.
She looked absolutely stunning and completely composed, despite the chaos that had just erupted at their table. As she walked past Willow to follow after Dorian and Magnus, she turned her head slightly and smirked.
It was a small expression that only Willow could see, but it told her everything she needed to know. That hadn't been an accident at all.
Carina had deliberately put her foot out to trip her, knowing exactly what would happen when she fell with a jug full of wine so close to Dorian.
The woman had orchestrated the whole thing to humiliate her in front of the most important members of the pack.
Willow felt sick as she realized she had been played perfectly and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't accuse Carina of tripping her. Who would believe a slave over someone of Carina's status?
And even if they did believe her, it would only make things worse because then, she would have Carina's official wrath focused on her instead of just her petty cruelty.
The hall remained silent for several more seconds before conversations slowly started up again. Everyone kept shooting glances at Willow who still stood there holding the wine-soaked napkin.
She could hear whispers spreading through the room as people discussed what they had just witnessed and she knew this would be the gossip of the pack for weeks to come.
"Get out," Martha's voice hissed in her ear as the head slave suddenly appeared beside her. "Get out right now before you make things worse."
Willow didn't need to be told twice. She dropped the napkin on the table before hurrying toward the servants' exit with her head down and tears burning in her eyes.
She could feel everyone watching her leave and heard the whispers growing louder as she passed by the other tables.
Some people laughed quietly while others made disgusted sounds and she wanted nothing more than to disappear completely.
She burst through the servants' door and into the corridor beyond where she finally let the tears fall.
Her whole body shook as she leaned against the wall and tried to process what had just happened.
She had spilled wine on the Alpha King in front of everyone who mattered in the pack, but worse than that, she had touched him and felt the mate bond flare to life.
The memory of his muscles under her hands and his scent in her nose made her wolf whine pathetically.
Even though he had pushed her away and told her to stay away from him, her body still craved his touch and her wolf still wanted to go after him to make sure he was okay.
It was torture to want someone who despised her very existence and she didn't know how much more of this she could take.
Lyra appeared in the corridor a moment later and immediately pulled Willow into a hug.
"I saw what happened and I know it wasn't your fault," She whispered as she held Willow while she cried. "Carina did that on purpose and everyone with eyes could see it even if they won't say anything."
"It doesn't matter," Willow sobbed into her friend's shoulder. "He's going to punish me for this and there's nothing I can do to stop it."
"Maybe he won't," Lyra said but even she didn't sound convinced. "Maybe he'll understand it was an accident."
Willow wanted to laugh at the absurdity of that statement because Dorian would never understand or forgive anything when it came to her.
She was his unwanted mate and now she had humiliated him in front of his pack.
Whatever small chance there had been of him treating her with even basic decency was gone now, and she could only imagine what punishment awaited her.