Ardena's POV
The
song falters at that moment. I swear I hear the door open, but nothing has
changed. The metal handle gleams back at me, as if mocking my perception.
The
crowd swishes around us, chatters and murmurs surrounding us. But the world
could have ended at this minute, and neither of us would have realized it.
His
eyes are still on me, unflinching. My breath comes out shaky, and I try to wrap
my head around the strangeness of it all.
"Did
you hear that?" I whispered, inching closer to him.
"Hear
what?"
His
eyes dropped to my lips again, but this time, they were in no hurry to return
to my eyes. They linger, his long lashes reaching underneath his eyes. I want
to touch him, to feel him in my arms.
Yet,
I am conscious of every gaze in the room. They might not be on me right now,
but I know they are watching.
My
lips move, and I press them tightly together. Abruptly, I turn around to leave,
but his hands wrap around my wrist in one second, pulling me flush against him.
My hands fall flat on his chest, and my shoulder burns again.
I
hear his heart beat, erratic and intense.
"What
did you hear, Luna Ardena?" He calls my name like a line of prayer, fervently
and passionately, that tugs at my heart. A small moan falls out of my lips, but
it doesn't feel weird.
His
hand moves to my chin slowly, but he never grazes it.
Someone
dances behind me. I feel their gaze on the back of my head, and in that split
second, I remember where I am.
I
pull away from him sharply, my hands feeling cold where they drop to my side,
and that heady feeling resurfaces.
"Don't
call me that," I say, shaking my head slowly. It feels wrong, "said Ardena.
Call me Ardena."
"Ardena,"
he repeats without breaking. "What did you hear?"
"I
heard… someone came in. I heard a name." I had only just met him. I have no
reason to unearth myself. Yet, this is the only way it feels natural, like an
ancient tie that is only just materializing.
He
looks at the door then, slowly, before bringing his gaze back to me. "What
name?"
"Taren."
Something
stops him. I see it in his eyes, how they seem to darken, how the room seems to
follow suit, taking all the light with it.
From
the corner of my eye, I caught Draven watching.
"I
have to leave," I whispered, already pulling away. My feet hit the stone ground
as I rush through the crowd, trying to put as much distance as I can between
the both of us, before Draven does something we both won't like.
When
I reach the head of the room, I still find him watching me. He hasn't moved an
inch, a look on his face that I find hard to read.
The
air changes when Draven comes to stand beside me. I feel the heat from his
body, coming out in waves. A muscle works in his jaw as he lowers his glass in
the tray of the passing server. He waits for his steps to echo away before
looking at me.
"What
was that about?"
My
hands smooth down on my dress as I put on the most confused expression that I
can. "What?"
"You
were speaking to Taren. Why?"
Taren.
It is his name. It's the reason he froze. Was that my mate trying to
communicate? Or was that the moon goddess? It's impossible. She hasn't spoken
in the last five hundred years. It has to be something else.
"Ardena."
"Who
is Taren?" I narrow my eyes in his direction, my words falling out slowly,
naively. But Draven cannot be fooled, and I know it.
"Don't
test me, Ardena."
I
look back at the spot, but my eyes land on nothing. I tried to search for him,
to get him out of the throng of guests that were beginning to stream in through
the doors. But he seems to have disappeared into thin air.
Maybe
that, too, was a figment of my imagination.
"I
was just welcoming him to the faction," I murmur, looking at him. "He doesn't
look like he is from here, and he appeared lost."
Draven's
eyes search my face for what feels like an eternity before he drops it.
"Behave, Ardena," he warns. "Remember that your father is still a member of the
court and I can push him down the ranks as I please."
"I
know what is at stake, Alpha Draven." He has never ceased to remind me, from
the minute I stepped into his pack house. It is all I live for. Pleasing him.
"Stay
away from him."
The
words are on my lips. I need to tell him that I have found my fated mate. But I
know what will happen. I will be forced to reject Taren, and then, I'll get the
news of his death a few days later.
So
I swallowed it, pressing two fingers into my temple. "I'm going to call it a
night," I whispered. "I have a migraine."
Draven
barely gives me a nod, pushing back into the crowd like I am nothing but a
figurehead.
I
guess I should be satisfied. A lot of girls will kill to be mated to the most
powerful man in the faction.
It
is what I tell myself as I turn around, heading back through the doors I came
in from. My room is located on the second floor, separate from the Alpha King's
room.
When
I reach my room, the first thing I do is to stand in front of the mirror,
ripping the ball dress off my skin.
A
gasp escapes my lips when my eyes take in the spot on my shoulder. The intense
pain I felt earlier.
The
mark I have always thought was a birthmark is glowing a bright shade of red, as
if searing into my skin.
And
then, suddenly, a loud scream pierces through the air.