"Alpha... the new bride is here."
Seven stuttered as he made the announcement. He had been informed over an hour ago, but he had spent the entire time contemplating how to break the news to Rodrigo.
He was scared of what the Alpha would do. But he was more scared of what would happen if Rodrigo walked in and found the guests there without prior notice.
Rodrigo stopped by the doors. He turned slowly to glare at Seven.
"Why are you just informing me of this now?"
Anger simmered beneath Rodrigo's word.
"They just arrived, Alpha. Not so long ago."
Rodrigo watched him for a few seconds, his gaze cold and unblinking. Then he drew in a breath.
"Is there anything else I need to know, Seven?"
Seven took a few steps back instinctively. "Lady Charlotte and her son Dominic, will be joining dinner."
He looked away from Rodrigo's face, already feeling the weight of that pointed glare on his skin. Without casting him another glance, Rodrigo turned and disappeared into the house.
He made his way to the living room and walked in. The guard by the door immediately bowed and announced his presence as he approached.
Rodrigo's eyes scanned the faces of the guests, his expression blank.
Then they landed on her.
And he frowned.
She was staring at him as though she had just seen a ghost. Unblinking. Unwavering.
He was caught off guard. Not many people could hold his gaze for more than a second. Most looked away immediately, too frightened to meet his eyes. But this woman was staring straight at him like she had forgotten how to look anywhere else.
Was she fearless, or was she simply stupid?
"Alpha?"
Marjorie's voice broke the silence, her lips falling open in shock.
What was going on? The rumors said he was so hideous he couldn't bear to look at himself in the mirror. Who was this man standing before them?
Marjorie couldn't believe her eyes. Her gaze darted from Rodrigo to Nina, and a glint of animosity flared in them.
Did she just hand over her daughter's husband to Nina on a platter of gold?
No. She forced herself to calm down. Even if he was handsome, the other Lunas had all died. It didn't matter how he looked. Nina was still going to die.
Jonathan cleared his throat and lowered his head briefly.
"Alpha, thank you for having us," he said, his tone solemn and measured.
Rodrigo glanced at him with barely concealed distaste, ignoring the remark entirely. His eyes turned back to Nina, studying her with that same cold, unreadable expression.
Nina's gaze faltered. Her face grew warm, and she blinked rapidly, trying to collect herself.
What was she expected to do now? Greet him? Bow? Curtsy?
She swallowed hard and, without thinking, slowly extended her hand for a handshake.
"It is great to meet you, Alpha. I—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Gasps rippled through the room. The servants turned to stare at her as though she had just walked off a cliff.
Nina looked around, confused. Then she looked at him.
When she met his gaze—cold, hard, deadly—her hand dropped immediately to her side.
Shit.
She had made a mistake. It was her first day, and she had already incurred the wrath of the Alpha. Why the hell had she stretched out her hand to him? Was she insane?
Rodrigo stared at her hand like it was a weapon pointed at his chest.
Did she just try to touch him?
Earlier, he had wondered if she was fearless or stupid. Now he had his answer.
She was stupid.
The only reason anyone would dare to touch him was if they were courting death.
Nina's hands trembled at her sides as she noticed the expressions on the guards' faces. They looked horrified. Like they had just witnessed someone sign their own death warrant.
And then she remembered the rumors.
He didn't allow anyone to touch him. No one. Ever.
God, she was done for.
Was this how the other wives had died? Had they tried to touch him and paid for it with their lives?
Nina turned to her parents, desperate for some sign of support. But Marjorie had already shifted several steps away from her, putting distance between them.
Leaving her to her fate.
There was pin-drop silence in the room. The air grew heavy and suffocating. Rodrigo's gaze remained fixed on her, unmoving.
Nina's mind raced. What was he thinking? Was he going to order the guards to drag her away? Was he going to have her hands cut off for daring to touch him?
Nina began saying her last prayers in her head.
Then a voice broke through the silence.
"Dinner is served."
Nina's head shot up.
The Matriarch stood by the doors, her hands resting on her walking stick, her expression calm and unruffled. As though nothing unusual had happened at all.
Nina nearly collapsed with relief.
Without wasting another second, she stepped away from the Alpha and walked briskly toward the doors, putting as much distance between them as possible.
Now that she was away from him, she could finally breathe.
Marjorie and Jonathan followed immediately, neither of them willing to remain in that room a second longer than necessary.
The guard led the family down a long corridor and into a vast dining room. A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting soft light over a table long enough to seat twenty.
Nina waited until her parents had taken their seats before lowering herself into a chair, her body still tense, her hands still trembling beneath the table.
The moment the servants left them alone, Marjorie turned on her.
"Stupid girl."
She spat.
"Haven't you heard that the Alpha doesn't allow anyone to touch him? How dare you stretch out your hand for a handshake? You? A servant's child? Have you lost your mind?"
Nina's eyes dropped to her lap. Her hands curled into fists on her thighs.
"I didn't know," she said quietly.
"Don't you dare sabotage this arrangement, Nina." Marjorie's eyes were venomous. "Behave yourself until the wedding is over. After that, you can run into a river and drown for all I care."
Nina said nothing. She kept her gaze fixed on her hands and forced herself to breathe.
A few seconds of tense silence passed before Marjorie turned to Jonathan, her voice dropping.
"Honey, didn't you say the Alpha was hideous? What is going on?"
Jonathan looked just as confused. He tugged at his tie, frowning. "It seems the rumors were false. I wonder what else we've heard is wrong," he said curtly.
Sweat broke out on Marjorie's forehead. She turned to look at Nina, her heart beginning to race with an uneasy feeling she couldn't shake.
She hoped she didn't just hand over her daughter's destiny to this servant child?
What would she do if this stupid girl didn't die in two weeks?
Did she accidentally make the illegitimate daughter a Luna?
Marjorie bit her lower lip until it nearly bled.
No. There was no way. It couldn't be a coincidence that four previous Lunas had all died—and this one would somehow survive.
She thought, eyeing her.
No. It wasn't possible.
But... what if, by some impossible stroke of luck, it was?