MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS-Chapter 36: THE GODDESS

AMARIS

I stared at my reflection and almost didn’t recognize the girl staring back.

The black ball gown Nia had picked out for me fit like it had been sewn directly onto my body, hugging every curve before flaring out at my hips in layers of fabric that rustled when I moved.

Nia had spent an hour on my makeup, brushing and blending and muttering about bone structure like I was some kind of masterpiece she was restoring.

My hair fell in loose waves down my back with small braids woven through that caught the light when I turned my head.

"Wow," Nia breathed behind me, her hands clasped together like she was watching a miracle unfold. "You look like a fucking goddess." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

I turned to look at her and caught my reflection doing the same thing.

"I feel like one," I admitted, and the smile that pulled at my mouth was genuine for maybe the first time since arriving at Gravemoon.

Nia grinned back at me and grabbed my hand. "Come on goddess, your audience awaits."

We walked through the hallways toward the banquet hall and with each step I could hear the noise getting louder, voices and music and the clinking of glasses that meant people were already deep into whatever expensive alcohol Alpha Corvin had provided.

I kept my chin up and my shoulders back because fake it till you make it was basically my life motto at this point.

The doors to the banquet hall were already open and the second I stepped through them the room went quiet.

Not slowly, not gradually, just instant silence like someone had hit a mute button on the entire pack. Every head turned toward me and I felt the gravity of their stares like physical things pressing against my skin.

I wanted to run.

Instead I smiled and kept walking because running would prove every terrible thing they thought about me and I was done being the girl who proved people right.

My eyes scanned the crowd looking for familiar faces and found some that made my heart flutter.

Rowan stood near the far wall with Lila pressed against his side like she was surgically attached to him. He was staring at me with his mouth slightly open and when our eyes met he smiled, this slow warm smile that made my chest ache. Lila noticed and her grip on his arm tightened, her perfectly painted mouth going thin.

Ryker leaned against a pillar near the bar with Cole beside him and the way he looked at me was different than Rowan’s warmth. This was hunger, dark and consuming, his eyes tracking over every inch of me like he was already stripping me naked and thinking of exactly how he wanted to ruin the dress I was wearing. I felt heat flood through me just from that look and my legs squirming slightly.

Then there was Corvin.

He stood near the center of the room talking to some older pack members and he wasn’t looking at me. Wasn’t staring like everyone else. He was very deliberately not looking and somehow that felt worse than if he had been.

I made my way through the crowd with Nia trailing behind me and people parted like I was royalty, their whispers following in my wake. I caught fragments as I passed.

"She’s stunning."

"So young."

"The Alpha certainly has good taste."

I was almost to where Corvin stood when he finally turned and his eyes found mine. He looked at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable, then cleared his throat.

"You look beautiful," he said, and his voice carried that same businesslike tone he used for everything but the words still landed differently because this was the first compliment he had ever given me.

"Thank you, Alpha Corvin. First time complimenting," I pointed out, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.

He didn’t respond to me, instead he offering me his arm. "Shall we?"

I took it and let him guide me around the room while he introduced me to what felt like every single person in attendance. Pack members and visiting Alphas and various important people whose names I immediately forgot because there were too many of them and my brain was already working overtime just trying to remember to smile.

"Your Luna is so beautiful," an older woman gushed, her hand fluttering to her chest. "She looks even more beautiful than Luna Zoya."

The words hit me wrong and I felt my smile freeze on my face. I glanced up at Corvin and saw his jaw tighten.

"I don’t like being compared to her," I said quietly once we had moved away from the group.

"Neither do I," Corvin responded, and I could feel the sincerity in his tone.

I looked up at him surprised. "Why not? I thought you would like people thinking I measured up as your Luna."

He stopped walking and turned to face me fully. "A woman’s beauty should not be reduced to just her looks," he said, his dark eyes holding mine. "Zoya was beautiful because of who she was, not just what she looked like. Comparing you to her based on appearance alone diminishes you both."

I stared at him because that was not the response I expected. That was almost thoughtful, almost human, almost like the kind of thing someone who actually cared about people would say.

Who the hell was this man and what had he done with the cold Alpha who told me I was just a womb with legs?

"You should mingle," he continued, already turning away from me. "Walk around, talk to people, try not to act like the tyrant you usually are."

And just like that the moment was gone and he was back to being an asshole.

I smiled sweetly. "I will do my best to contain my natural tyrannical tendencies."

He almost smiled back but caught himself and walked away leaving me standing alone in a room full of strangers who all wanted to talk to me about how pretty I was or how lucky the Alpha was or how they hoped I would give him strong heirs.