The Alphas' Daughter (Alpha Eyes: Book 2)

Chapter 2

I gawked at the glittering room before me. I had never seen anything like it in my life, not even in photos. Lycans were as close to royalty as it got. In fact, some probably were. They were certainly rich and glamorous, and they knew how to throw a party.

Dad tucked my hand into the bed of his arm. "Try not to gawk too much, princess."

I snapped my mouth shut and smiled up at him. "This is the best belated birthday present ever!"

Dad grinned and nodded toward the grand doors. "Ready to go in?"

Mom appeared on the other side of Dad, her hair perfectly curled and pinned in elegant fashion. Her emerald dress matched her eyes perfectly. She truly struck a figure of power and elegance. No one would mistake her for anyone less.

"Let's go," I squealed.

We entered the ballroom together, no doubt a unique picture. My dad in his crisp black suit with emerald tie, Mom and I flanking him in our emerald dresses. In case it wasn't obvious, our family had a color theme. While it was a bit on the nose, all agreed that it suited our pack.

The second I stepped through the doorway, my wolf started to stir and feel around. I couldn't quite tell what she was getting wound up over, but I knew that I needed to keep her under control. This was not the place for her to get loose.

"Alpha Adrian, Alpha Sierra, and their daughter the Lady Karina!"

I suppressed the squeal in my throat. Being announced to the room was a royal-like thing. I'd begged my parents to hire a crier like that for my 13th birthday, but they hadn't done it. Even if it wasn't my party, I would pretend that it was. It was close enough.

"Oh, there they are," Mom whispered.

Dad steered us through the crowd, politely nodding to the other guests. The closer we got to the front of the room, the more my wolf aroused. She was really starting to get excited.

"Remember to smile, not gawk," Dad whispered.

I pulled my shoulders back, recalling every etiquette lesson I'd ever learned. I'd follow Dad's lead, of course. But there would be a certain point when I would be responsible for myself.

"Here we go," Mom whispered as we approached the group of people standing on a slightly raised dais. My wolf was borderline frenzy, and I was barely maintaining control of her. What was her problem?

"Excellencies..." Dad address our hosts.

I did a quick count. Ten in total. I knew that the family had four sons and two daughters. From the looks of it, there were three pairs: the parents and two of the sons. The daughters were some of the prettiest young women I'd ever seen. They positively glowed. I felt inferior, despite my bloodline

"Alpha Adrian and Sierra," the father of the lycans nodded to Dad. "You are very welcome here. Thank you for coming."

"It's our pleasure," Dad replied. "Allow me to introduce our daughter, Lady Karina." He nudged me forward.

I swallowed hard, one desperate attempt to keep my wolf down before she jumped out. With a little smile, I looked up to greet the hosts of this fabulous night. My brain barely had time to register all of the people looking at me before one of them spoke...or rather, growled.

"Mine."

I blinked, and one of the sons was standing in front of me. The deepest chocolate brown eyes stared down at me, touching my very soul and making my wolf absolutely crazy. I finally understood why she was so riled. This was the last thing I expected.

Dad let go of my arm and stepped aside. I swallowed again as the young lycan man took my hand and bowed over it.

"Lady Karina, it is my deepest pleasure to meet you. My name is Lucas."

"Hi," I breathed.

"Would you like to dance?" He straightened and tightened his hold on my hand. It didn't feel like a question, but I didn't mind. I couldn't take my gaze off him. Everything about him drew me like a magnet. So my answer was instinct.

"Of course."

His smile made me giddy. He led me out onto the dance floor just as a new song began. Thank goodness Dad taught me how to waltz. We stood in position until the first few notes soared into the air. In perfect time, we swayed into motion. The room spun around us, but I only saw the gorgeous guy holding me.

"You're very beautiful," he gushed. "I assume you know what we are to each other."

I nodded. "You're my mate, and I'm yours. And I just said that out loud."

He chuckled and pulled me closer as another couple twirled past us. "Yes, you did. How do you feel now?"

I certainly knew how my wolf was feeling. She was jumping around, sailing on Cloud Nine. She was even suggesting some things that I was immediately blocking out. The last thing I needed in this moment was her 50 Shades of Wolf fantasies.

"I feel amazing." We whirled through a couple more spins, so fast that I tightened my hold on his shoulder. The room was blurring into a mess of colors, muddled even further by the increasing haze of the mate bond.

Before I really knew what happened, the song ended and Lucas pulled me through a doorway into the hall. Maybe I should say a hall... it was dimly lit with no people. With my back now pressed against the wall, I stared up at the man who would be my everything for the rest of my life.

He gently cupped my face and leaned closer until our noses touched. "I can't believe I finally found you."

With his free hand, he traced the chain around my neck down to the pendant. A gentle smile touched his lips.

"You still wear it," he whispered.

"Yeah," I squeaked. "It helps keep..." Wait. How did he... I gawked and snapped my gaze up to his. "You sent it to me?"

He nodded slowly. "You weren't ready to accept what was happening, so I gave you a way to dampen the symptoms."

I cocked my head. "What do you mean 'accept what was happening'? What symptoms?"

"Your wolf was sensing a connection to her mate, yes? She was starting to get restless? And it was all too soon?"

Again, I gawked. "How can you possibly know that?"

He stared deep into my eyes. "...because I was feeling it too. The day my family visited your pack, I sensed that my mate was there so I went looking. I saw you through a window in the training den, and I knew you were mine. I wanted to go to you, but your parents had clearly kept you out of the meetings. When I was having to control my wolf's desires, I freaked that you would start taking wolfsbane or silver to dull the feelings. So I sent the pendant with my scent to your house, knowing that having some part of me close to you would keep your wolf calm."

My mind blitzed for a second, rewinding and replaying everything he'd just said. One word especially stuck out... Mine.

"I can tell that you're shocked," he continued. "Close your eyes. When you open them, I promise that everything will make sense."

I really didn't want to close my eyes. Mean guys left when the girl closed her eyes. Yet, some part of me wanted to believe him. So I closed my eyes.

His fingers brushed my neck, and the gentle weight of the pendant lifted. Was he seriously going to try to take it from me?

"What are you—" I opened my eyes to meet his gaze.

A thousand emotions and dreams and thoughts hit me all at once. Without the pendant, I was seeing and feeling everything about this situation. My wolf was howling in ecstasy, my body was tingling with pleasure, and I'm pretty sure my jaw was on the ground.

Lucas tucked the pendant into his pocket and smiled down at me. "Now do you understand?"

I gulped and nodded. Yes, I understood very well. I was mated to a lycan!