Chapter 50: _Keeping Things Cute

Chapter 50: _Keeping Things Cute I quickly tried to regain my composure by clearing my throat as I watched Odessa walking toward me. She had a nervous look on her face as she held onto the sides of the ruby-red gown that once belonged to my mother. The ruby necklace I gave her on our rushed wedding was still on her neck, causing a slight smirk to curl up the corner of my lips for a brief second. ’Oh, la, la. Someone’s clearly smitten.’ Damon used the opportunity to tease me just then, causing me to mentally roll my eyes. ’Shut it, runt. She’s beautiful and it’s not wrong if my mind registers that.’ I responded to him plainly but soon realized my mistake. He could easily use those words against me. ’Wait, what I mean is–’ ’Oh, don’t worry. I get it.’ Damon remarked with a mischievous tone, making it clear that he didn’t, in fact, get it. ’Regardless of what you call it, you can’t deny the fact that you’ll most definitely be taking that gown off her tonight.’ Okay... That was enough bantering with my wolf for one night. Without warning, I successfully cut off the link with Damon, giving me temporary breathing space as Odessa finally got in front of me. "Good evening." She muttered, stretching her right hand forward in a formal manner. I brought my gaze to her outstretched hand and smirked before I took it in my grasp. "Good evening," I responded, my gaze lingering on her eyes. She had a smokey purple eyeshadow that complimented her violet eyes. "You look..." I muttered, lost for words until I soon became self-conscious. I scanned my gaze around and realized that even though the music was still playing and most were still intermingling and drinking, most of the people still glanced at Odessa and me occasionally with suspicion and curiosity. "Is that her? The Alpha King’s Witch bride?" I heard a voice from a corner ask. "So the rumors are true?" "What rumors? It’s a known fact that he decided to marry a witch. Do you live under a rock?" "What about Luna Celine? How does she feel about this?" Oh, that’s right... I scanned my gaze around again before I spotted Celine sitting at a table close to the stage. However, despite her distance from us, she still glared at me and Odessa, ignoring her mother who sat beside her and was trying to draw her attention to something else. "Let’s go to our seats upstairs," I whispered to Odessa, holding her hand tightly before leading her to the stairs. She had a confused look on her face at first but didn’t dare resist as we climbed the stairs. We navigated our way through the gallery and finally got to the separate spot where the South American Alpha King and his wife were also seated on a well-decorated rectangle table. Luna Queen Reina had her gaze on Odessa, who kept her gaze lowered as she sat on her chair, which was to my left, while Alpha King Leonardo sat to my right with his wife to his right. "You look beautiful, witch." Luna Queen Reina muttered just then and to my surprise, there was no contempt or disdain hidden behind her voice. She was being genuine. Odessa had a blush on her face as she bowed her head slightly at the Luna Queen. I glanced at her, my wife, and couldn’t help but feel warm in my chest. I knew that if I gave Damon access to my mind again, he wouldn’t let me hear the end of it. Anyway, we sat down quietly as we watched the nobles intermingling before a dance music was played and some of them walked to the dance floor with their partners. I caught Odessa glancing at me at the corner of my eyes and almost instantly knew what she was thinking about. Unfortunately, it would be an impossible thing for her to ask of me. Not necessarily impossible... But hard nonetheless. "Honey, do you want to dance?" Luna Queen Reina suddenly beat her to it, tapping her husband with excitement in her tone. It was nice seeing such a happy couple keeping it cute despite their age. Anyway, Alpha King Leonardo grabbed a glass of wine he poured for himself, taking a sip before he responded to his wife. "Honey, we have some more important things to attend to, like discussions about the truce." He remarked, a wry smile on his face before he glanced at me and Odessa. "Besides... Our host couple haven’t even gone to dance yet. We should let the younglings open the floor for us." He proceeded to pat me on my shoulder, causing me to breathe out as he chuckled heartily. "Isn’t that right, Kaelos?" He asked. I flashed a smile at him, nodding my head even though my smile probably didn’t extend to my eyes. I loved these people but they were low-key starting to get on my nerves. They could ask whatever they wanted to ask and be on their way. I even saw the visit as a waste of energy and resources but I didn’t dare voice that out for fear of losing an important ally in the international werewolf community. Anyway, the ball finally got to a point where the MC, my assistant Layla, took a microphone and got on the stage which was just below where we were sitting. "Tonight, we’re gathered to welcome one of our own from the other side of the globe." She said with glee in her voice. Knowing Layla, she was probably exaggerating her enthusiasm because she knew she represented me. Just then, Marcellus got to the gallery and walked up to us with a smile on his face. I glanced at him, feeling relieved that he didn’t seem upset about our earlier conversation. "How are you folks enjoying the party?" He asked as Layla continued speaking downstairs. I parted my lips, about to respond when a cold shiver suddenly ran down my spine. My ears picked up the sound of a click... Like from the click of a gun. I turned my gaze to the ballroom downstairs and dimmed my eyes, searching for the source of the danger. "Kaelos?" Marcellus called me, sounding worried. It was then that I saw it... A beam of light heading toward us at a speed that seemed to break the sound barrier. "Watch out!"