(New and edited)
CHAPTER 15: All Clans Together As One
He didn't have time to punish me. I changed into a black silk gown, a neck holder one with a gold chain down the centre of my back. My rustic golden curls in a partial bun and the rest cascading down my back after the maids who were assigned by the court step out after finishing my make-up, my jewellery, my hair, my looks...everything but the way I felt.
He's on a small podium in front of a mirror, removing his tie and unravelling a few buttons other women would likely consider sexy at the exposing skin of collarbone and chest, everything he wore was pitch black. A darkness that couldn't even consume him. We look like we're going to a funeral. He still hadn't said a single word, but I knew his eyes were on me through the reflection of the mirror, "Why so glum? This feast should be enjoyable, there will even be dancing." He says lightly.
There was no other suffering torture like anticipation.
Oops, I lied.
There was real suffering.
And there was real torture.
He pockets his hands in his sharp dress pants, his deep, almost navy blue shoes only brought the tiniest of colour to him as he kneels down before me and slides my uncomfortable heels on me. The one thing the maids didn't do. I fidgeted mindlessly with my rings, the make-up and fake lashes on my own were making my eyes water from the heavy uncomfortableness of it all. He lowers the dress back down and the bed dips next to me as he takes a slow seat.
I stare at the clock.
It was still too early to go down. We had another half hour and I was dreading every minute of it, "Are you going to ask?" He says to me.
I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of an answer. I knew what was to come. What would he do? Bend me over his knee? Slap me. Make me count how many times like a sadistic psycho? Go all fifty shades on me? It made me sick, like even the thought of him touching me right now would make the dam break and everything would come crumbling down.
I shouldn't feel like this for sticking up for myself.
"I will not do any of those things, Cele." Oh fantastic, he's given me a nickname, he's used a softer tone of voice, he's made me believe he's not like every other Alpha male in this pathetic building. I didn't buy it. Not after what he said to Houston. Not after announcing our sex life, or lack there of.
"I'm sorry I did that. I had no right to, I know. I was just...not in my right mind." He murmurs.
He's never in his right mind. None of them are. It's in their DNA to be cavemen and absolute arseholes even when they have an audience. Houston had no qualms in dishing out little misogynistic digs, and Serena stood there like a pretty dumb princess, just agreeing like a doll. A faceless, nameless doll, there to make him look good but fucking hell, not to talk. Not to stand up for another girl while her pathetic mate treats her like scum.
"Celestine, why don't you say all this aloud, instead of making me read your mind all the time?" He asks me, leaning his elbows on his knees, intertwining his fingers. Like talking this out would be a smarter way than a punishment my gut told me was coming. Like I should feel the undertone of enriched anger, a thinly veiled sting of fury under his skin, in his blood. Even when the calm serenity of waves on a beach at midnight under a crescent moon is how he seems to be reacting here.
"I'm sorry for what I said to him, I should have put him in his place." He reaches for my hand, but I pull it away from him. I didn't want to be touched, not right now. His skin isn't calming, his aura is disruptive and I felt suffocated as of right now. This is what it has turned into. Maybe what triggered it is the way Serena handled her mate. Or the tears eyes of that skinny Beta who had scars, but didn't look ruffled up.
Martin purses his lips next to me, "You are only seeing the negative."
What. An. Arsehole.
He stills, "Celestine, you just need to focus on us, not what you see in others." He tells me, like he does that too.
He has to see others, that's his job as a leader. He was living a fantasy if he wasn't doing that.
I just wanted this night to be over already. I looked at the clock. It had only been ten minutes. I step off the bed and towards the en-suite. He doesn't stop me. I close the door, I lock it and I sit down on the ice cold tile with the light flicking on with a sensor. I use to be fearless. I use to be stronger than this in the field, working for the council and feeling honoured to do so. Now, I'm restricted to sitting on tile that felt more deadly than a vampire's skin. I stare at the room. There's a weight checker in the corner of the room. I sit cross-legged, leaning my hands on the jacuzzi. The door opens with the break of a lock.
I don't bother turning to him, I figured he'd just tell me the door is dirty. To pick up my worthless form off the floor and make him happy. It's almost too easy to predict what every male wolf wants, not just an Alpha.
"The floor is dirty, so let me make it more comfortable." He says above me, sitting down before I'm picked up, my crossed legs on top of his and he hugs me from behind. Though his words sounded more like a sexual innuendo, if anything. He relaxes his hands, no muscles tension or contracting while I flatten the stupid ringlets against his jacket before he brushes them over my shoulder and slides his cheek against mine.
"I won't hit you for standing up for yourself."
How funny? He has hurt me for sticking up for myself against him.
He brushes his lips against my temple, "Okay, we won't talk. What about cuddling? You going to object to that?" He's soft words weren't anything more than a trying distraction. He didn't say anything else and for once, I was thankful for it. My arms bare to the temperature of him, "You're beautiful." He murmurs, brushing his knuckles along my chin. I still as the forefinger tucks under my chin, turning me to face him.
His eyes penetrate mine, "I do not need to punish someone for who is already punishing herself for speaking out of profession to another Alpha. I told you I am not like other Alphas. Physically, even emotionally hurting you hurts. More than you can imagine. And I have to learn to control the side of us you do not wish to accept." Glittering gold shimmered from his lips while all he said was I don't need to punish you because you're doing it for me.
He stares into my eyes, not denying it.
I move his hand away, folding my arms, staring back at the candles around the tub.
By the time the clock struck seven, he curled my limb arm around his, that robotic touch under my skin as Reina goes on and on about the excitement and thrill of it all because in some ways it was a familiar setting to the Mating ball. I stare at my reflection in the elevator and wonder just how I got here. From the day of birth, to this very moment. I stare at my reflection, because it's all I can do in this sad moment. Fingers roll down my spine, I waited for him to turn the key in my back, to turn me on and watch me play.
His fingers pinch and then turn as he chuckles above me, "Your metaphors are colourful, my dear." He chuckles, causing Reina and Robert to look at us curiously.
"You two talking better now?" Reina hopes like a godmother on Cinderella's night.
I wondered if her skull would crack if I accidentally slammed it against the mirror, "Now, now. No threats before dinner." Martin comments above me. I tense and gasp when sharp fingernails drag down my back in retaliation.
I shove at his hand, "WHAT THE HELL?" I roar at him, staring at the peeled skin, the blood dripping down my pristine white back once I see it in my reflection.
He stares at me, "Punishment for threatening your kin, not another clan's kin." He says to me slowly. Reina folds her arms, pursing her lips harshly at me. The doors ding, the elevator opens to the foyer. I spin around, his enforces, Vulcan, and his Gamma look at my back for a second.
"Someone made up." I overhear Serena, she giggles while her mate snorts, my back in view, even as the skin heals, the streaks of blood drying on my skin are too contrasting against my skin. A rough hand grips my wrist and pulls me out. Serena stares at my back, before Houston stares at me down his nose.
"It would be best not to anger a wolf, they bite, darling." He says to me, sniggering as Martin pulls me towards a set of cars for guests, to be taken to the first ball, the entrance of the games.
I use a tissue, a wet wipe from Reina, she hands it to me without looking, I stare at her for a second, she never made this easy, but I did feel bad for thinking what I did. I never said it, it's all because Martin could read my thoughts, will he cut me now? Small wounds that won't scar on my physical body but will scar my mind instead. A slow torture. Martin sits next to me, reaching for me, for my hand. No one but those of his kin were in the car, I rip my hand from his and move closer, almost up against the door.
He clenches his fist, "There are cameras in there, we are being watched." He seethes.
I stare out the window, "They can hear, they can see, what they can't do is read my fucking brain." I spit at him.
"I told you, you need to be on your best behaviour here." He snaps at me.
"Martin." Reina whispers slowly. Her hand raised in a gesture to calm down.
He snuffs and looks to his window. I wish I'd brought a gown to cover my back or something, unable to hide what he left behind. Those little cuts, each one grating, biting at me running mountains just to keep me in the dark. I stare out the window just so to ignore the eyes on me, penetrating my skull in ways that should not be possible to ignore, but they were.
I could smell it, he had my blood on his fingers and he slides on gloves next to me, just as we're pulled into a blackness where the cars are electronically directed, I knew this because I'd seen it all done before.
I could barely control my breathing, feeling hunched over in the quake of auras domineering and older than mine, in that way they're stronger, wiser and they were in this car. Once we're parked, he steps out first, not taking my arm or anything and I was glad for it. The electric room was much like many fancy balls. Tables all lined around the edges of the room, with the table for the council, more distinctive than the rest. Colours of red, yellow and green. Yellow chandeliers of diamond and gold. Green vines around the walls, giving a forest touch. Red...the roses, the tables blanketed. Red like blood. The dance floor was already consumed by dancers in masks, obviously brought in by the council, but that is not the only thing about those dancers in masks. They all wore very exotic dresses, cleavage shown, stripped so bare they looked like entertainers.
Robert flicks at me, clicking me rudely in the face, "Follow him." He orders, pointing to Martin. I give him a disgusted look at his attitude. I walk in behind Martin, he takes his seat first, a scowl on his face. Before I'm shoved, stumbling into mine. I look over and see Alpha Griffen Marcel shove through to sit closer to the council, but I was the only one he hit in the process. His Luna gives me a sneer, telling me to sit. I give her a dirty look before slowly pulling out my chair, looking over, I meet the same pale blue eyes. The one Serena said was sweet and shy, she was the Beta female.
She changed dresses into a cleansed bright red, a neck holder one like mine, revealing her bite...like mine. She was so skinny, too caking to bear any pups or anything. Her Beta ignored her, speaking to Alpha Kai Torrence, a clan I didn't know well. Maybe Irish, given the name Torrence and his deep reddish ginger hair, next to his mate, who appeared as similarly skinny as her Beta female.
She smiles at me shakily from across the room.
I saw her, she appeared so much like me. I smile, it's small and it's genuine. Bowing my head to her in respect, she does the same. Before a dancer gets in our way and bows in front of Martin. With her breasts in my view, he gets comfortable in his seat next to me, waving her off, she turns, shaking her bare arse at us both while I look to where the seats with no council members are held. Menus on tablets are given to us. Martin takes his sweet time while I just choose pasta.
"Do you have any questions?" Martin asks me.
I look at him, "No."
He reaches for my hand, I slide the closest one to him, to my champagne glass and take a sip, holding it now just so I don't have to hold his disgusting hands. He hands his tablet back over to the waiter who puts our names in to correlate with our chosen meal. My stomach knotted, I felt queasy, tired and already in a bad mood when an exotic male dancer steps in front of me, I block my eyes immediately just to indicate I didn't want the attention. He moves along and I feel Martin's eyes on me closely. Others were watching too, because every other women accepted a dance from the men who had moved into the room after everyone seated.
I still in horror when two guards step out and grab the dancer I blocked my eyes from, he screams, "PLEASE! NO! PLEASE!" His horror, his fear so tangible, I could taste it.
I stand in horror, Martin rips me back down into my seat while Reina winces.
"Sorry, I was meant to go over with you the rules, a female dancer and a male dancer must be accepted and watched by each individual here in a solo manner. If turned away, if rejected straight away, they're punished for not doing a good job." Reina says to me swiftly.
Before I hear a whip go down and I see the man's face, "ENOUGH!" I roar.
Ripping out of my seat, my heart racing as I strut down the wall in my heels, "By order of Agent Celestine Colton, former employee to the highest order of Councilmen, you will unhand him!" I snap, grabbing the suit of the guard holding the whip. I slam my fist straight for his skull. He drops down with a grunt and I shove the other guard off his feet too. Removing the bindings on the dancer, I hide a swallow at the look of his back.
He hunches on his hind legs, breathing in minuscule pants.
I stare at him, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
He had dark hair, brown eyes, skin that looked so completely untouched, his chest had no scars, like he'd been so perfect, until his back, "I need a healer, now!" I snap, reaching for the dancer, who flinches away. I tense and hold my hands out in surrender as healers move into the room and help him.
The music stopped.
The eyes on my back, "What's your name?" I ask him.
He won't look at me, even with the mask on. I stare at the doors they left through. The dancers, they moved into the corners of the room with their heads bowed, huddled so close there was barely any breathing room for those who weren't at the front.
"Celestine Colton, still a firecracker I see." The deep voice echoes.
Councilman Charles. I turn around and face the eyes of the council. Only four of them seated there with the elders, including Elias, seated on either side of those four individuals. My stomach clenched, Charles studies me, intertwined fingers with a pristine suit on, he gestures forward, "It is good to see a past agent live and well. However, you should have known the rules of this ball. Rejecting a dancer deems him or her unworthy of your sight and therefore unworthy of perfect skin, of the perfect stance and of the perfect life we grant our exotic dancers with each of these events. I did not believe you would not have listened to your Beta female, who would have discussed these requirements to you."
I stare at him and only him, "We both know I wasn't aware of such pathetic traditions. I understand everyone has a job, but exactly what message are you giving to each and every clan here. Rejection has consequences? That the guards have the right to beat an innocent, well-working man? That an alpha female only blocked her eyes for the respect of not looking at another man besides her alpha? Clans of the world, do I have the right to stop an innocent dancer from being whipped bloody because I was not told of such conditions in what should be a respectable courtroom? A ballroom. Tell me that I am wrong?!" I spit, my voice resounding.
I am not weak.
I will not be cut and shamed.
Alpha Houston blinks at me, as if dumbfounded. Most of the fucking males in here are.
Completely dumbfounded.
By what? That I could fight? That I would fight?
The ballroom is deadly silent.
Charles grins, "Congratulations to the Julius clan, who will receive the first prize of the first trial assigned at the Elite." He announces, standing and clapping. I blink as every other individual around the tables stand slowly. They clap in congratulations.
I stare at Charles, before looking at Martin, who eyes me like a lover. His eyes shine, he's happy. He's really happy. Clapping along with everyone else, he's given eyes of respect from other leaders of many ranks. My nostrils flare, "Might we explain the rules to you, Celestine." Charles says to me from where he slowly sits as the clapping dies down. As each seat is pushed in by a waiter or staff member working tonight.
I tilt my head at him, "What could I possibly be congratulated for?"
"You rejected him, then fought two guards for him. Any other female or male who has done that has either not fought for the dancer well below their status, or did fight for them and got hurt in the process, rendering their actions incomplete and therefore, a failure. You took down both guards, you called in healers, you asked for the dancer's name. You cared for the thing you rejected, just as you rejected Alpha Martin Julius...and yet here you are, wearing his mark, standing by his side. You have accepted in which the mere thing you denied. That is progress and that is a win. You have won the honour of claiming the first of twenty trials among the highest ranks in each clan. The world now knows your name, with footage of your kindness and your power, for all of the public to see. Your sponsors, your fans...the publicity you and Alpha Martin Julius will now receive is an honour." He states, his explanation thorough.
"Congratulations. Depending on how much money will be sponsored in for your name, I believe you will not have to worry much in the future of these trials, Alpha Julius. You should be proud and heart-warming to your Alpha Mate." Councilman Kade Knight spoke in a stoic, mildly impressed voice.
I stare at him with newfound eyes. He stares at me, "You may sit back down when you are ready, Lady Celestine." He bows his head to me.
My fingers clench into tight fists. Martin stands at his seat, making me look at him. His eyes move to the chair, the free seat next to him, "I'll get your favourite drink, darling." Martin says to me, in front of everyone.
I was going to kill him in these games.
I was going to end him.