The banquet started surprisingly uneventfully. Augustus was still ignoring Lucas's existence, but the latter was already getting used to that. Perhaps it was for the better – it would make quite an impression if the two started arguing in front of everyone. Even though most people knew of their mutual dislike, they never had a serious fight with the entire council present. Augustus had quite an influence on other alphas since he was generally perceived as wise beyond his age and nurturing leader. On the other hand, Lucas, apparently, was seen as someone who wants to take over the whole werewolf world. That could explain the subtle wary looks the three alphas who saw them that night exchanged with each other every time Lucas came anywhere close to Augustus.
With other alphas either politely pretending to tolerate or overall avoiding him, packmates constantly questioning him about the fight and outcomes of the ritual, and happy couples running around, Lucas ultimately felt lonely and melancholic at heart. He still had that careless smile and seemed to be happy to babble around with anyone willing to listen, but it was all weighing on him. He ended up not being able to eat anything but a piece of cheesecake and washing it all down with a generous amount of wine.
By the time the main event of the evening started, Lucas was already very tipsy at best. Luckily, his subordinates helped him out – two of them slickly took him outside to the open terrace for a while, brought him water, and then helped to freshen up in the upstairs bathroom. He thanked them, noted their names for the future, and returned to the main hall.
The ceremony itself was not very remarkable – couples came to their pack leaders, introduced themselves, and the alphas were to tell them they were accepted and give the two a bowl filled with the lake's water collected the night after the ritual. The bowls looked similar to the ones they used previously but were made of darker wood with carvings in Latin on the brim. Nothing really happened afterward – no magical threads, no visual hallucinations…
As Lucas expected, Augustus lied about the couple from his pack being unhappy together. One of Lucas's was a little hesitant at first – the poor guy was the only vampire in the house full of werewolves. He loosened up after Lucas joked about feeling like a family after drinking Bruderschaft with a third of the pack yesterday.
Closer to midnight, most quests left – some wanted to get rest before departure tomorrow and some wanted to have alone time with their mates. Lucas and Augustus were supposed to leave the last – they had to wait until cleaning was over and check if everything was fine. Not particularly excited about it, Lucas grabbed two bottles of wine from the kitchen and climbed to the roof. He was sure Augustus won't miss his company.
He liked the view from up there – it looked peaceful and calming. After the whole day of pretending to be his careless, chatty self, it was nice to have a breather and think of everything that happened in the last two days. It was a lot of information to process and Lucas was starting to feel emotionally exhausted.
He just had a few sips of wine when Augustus's irritated voice came from below:
"There you are. Come down, we need to talk."
"Brilliant, now you want to talk with me," Lucas sighed and got down.
"Wasn't it yours?"
Augustus was holding the wicker hat in his hands.
"No, it's Ashley's or so she said."
"Great, at least you don't deny that you slept with my niece."
"Woah, hold your accusations for a second. I didn't sleep with her."
"Then show me your arms."
"Alright," Lucas mumbled and was about to roll up his sleeves when he remembered the scars. "On second thought, I don't have to prove anything to you."
"I know you think it is about you or our situation, but it's not. Ashley is like my little sister; I care for her and I don't want her to get hurt."
"How noble of you."
"You are not the type of a person I want to see around her."
"Have you asked her? She's a literal adult. She's not a teenager anymore and you can't boss her around."
"I can't control her, but I can prevent the harm. So show me your arms."
"Fine. Look, the smaller one is from Ashley. I didn't lie that I haven't slept with her. Yet."
The moment Lucas finished his sentence, a strong right hook met his cheekbone. He stumbled on his feet and almost lost balance but managed to grab onto a doorframe.
"Whatever games you're playing, stay away from Ashley," still keeping his voice leveled, Augustus fixed his blazer and left the room.
Lucas coughed blood out on the floor and went to the bathroom to clean up the rest off his face. There were few red drops on his shirt and pants and, unlike the microfractures in his bone, they wouldn't go away on their own. It would take at least half an hour for injuries to heal, so Lucas went to the kitchen yet again, this time to grab a cooling pack.
Ironically, he met Ashley at the kitchen doors who was quick to conclude he and her uncle had another fight since they were the only ones left in the house, excluding the staff. Despite him reassuring her that everything was fine, she still followed him around until he gave in and led her to a room in the distant part of the villa.
"What happened?"
"I and your uncle had an argument. Again."
"I see, but why?"
"For the same reason as before – you."
"Me? Wait, is it because of the hat?"
"Yep. He thinks we're seeing each other behind his back."
"So what if we do? I'm not a child anymore."
"That's what I said. He told me I should back off before I hurt you and I think he's actually right for a change."
"You do?"
Ashley's voice sank and she seemed to be at a loss for words for a few moments.
"But didn't you deny your mate for me?"
"I… what?"
"I thought… I thought you wanted to be with me instead?"
Lucas didn't know what to say or how to feel about it and just looked at her blankly. He could not remember ever discussing feelings with Ashley and it all seemed to come out of nowhere. If anything, he would prefer to get another punch from Augustus than to have this conversation that suddenly grew painfully awkward.
"How could I not realize it earlier… You're not interested in me at all, are you? That's why you declined my birthday party invitation?"
"Wait, now you're just making stuff up," he said and immediately regretted it.
"Maybe I am! So what if I do? I can and I will feel angry about you toying with me. You can't pretend like you never knew about my feelings."
"But I didn't! How was I supposed to know if you never told me?"
"Haven't I given you enough hints? Or do you think I've been finding ways to sneak out of the house and even organize a party in another city outside of Augustus's domain to spend time with you just for the fun of it? Do you know how sensitive this man's hearing and smell are?"
"With Augustus constantly telling everyone how big of an idiot I am, I thought it was clear that the best way to tell me about your feelings would be to fucking tell me!"
"Well, I'm telling you now that I'm in love with you! Meanwhile, you have an unfaithful mark from someone else!"
Ashley pointed at Lucas's forearm, shook her head, and stormed out of the room, sobbing.
"At least my bone already healed," Lucas sighed. "Maybe I could borrow a spare uniform, so I'm not walking in bloody clothes?"
With that thought, he went to find a staff's changing room.
***
"Did you know about Ashley's feelings for me? By the way, it's not nice to peek at people changing," Lucas smirked, turning to Augustus who stood at the doors of the changing room.
"I did."
"Well, I didn't. Could you maybe turn away? I'm a little shy, you know."
"Everyone knows you have no shame."
"Doesn't mean you can stare at me while I change. If you did accept me as your mate, I could let you undress me though…"
Augustus rolled his eyes and went out of the room, closing the door behind himself.
"I know you can hear me full well even with doors closed. I also know you want to punch me again. I don't have any more clothes to change into, so better do it while I'm undressed. But that might be too kinky for the first time."
"Do your tasteless pick-up lines ever work?"
"Ask your sister," Lucas thought but wasn't stupid enough to say aloud.
"You know what, I'm tired of fighting with you. I'm sorry for what I said to and about Ashley. I didn't know she had feelings for me," he said after he dressed up, pushing the door open.
"Too late. I'm asking you on an official alpha brawl."
"What? For not returning her feelings?!"
"You not only offended me and my family but also my pack."
"You know what that means, right?"
Lucas could not believe his ears - Augustus just casually threw a duel invitation like it was something he routinely did before bed. Whoever won the official alpha brawl would get control of both packs, and he was willing to risk it all over someone else's broken heart. However, if Lucas won…
"This Waning Gibbous. There will be thirteen main packs again," Augustus said, and, without any extra words, he turned around and left.