Helen quickly changed me for dinner before I rushed downstairs with my evening dress on.
I hadn’t had time to pin my hair back away from my face, something I knew Grey Blake preferred his daughter to have during their dinners together. I’d have to spin it in a way that made it seem like it hadn’t been my choice but also wouldn’t get Helen in trouble because of it.
I could feel the sweat starting to accumulate on my brow and quickly wiped it away before stepping into the dining hall.
The place was immaculate and even more grand than I’d pictured.
The room was large, clearly had enough room in it that I could throw a small ball in if I wished. Gold trim lined the entire room, reaching up to the high ceilings which had been painted with a skilled hand. I ran my eyes over the scenes depicted, realizing that it was from the great war only a few decades prior to the start of the series.
A chair scraped, catching my attention once again. In front of me was a long table that stretched almost the length of the room, with two chairs seated at the very end on the right. Grey Blake was standing at the head of the table, his chair pushed back as he stared at me.
I quickly moved.
The staff buzzed around us as soon as I came around the other side of the table and sat. Various dishes that I could barely recognize were placed down onto the table and uncovered. Steam billowing out from underneath them.
Everything smelled absolutely divine and I could wait to dig in.
“Good evening, Vanessa.” Grey greeted me, immediately picking up his wine glass and taking a long swig from it.
I twisted the napkin in my lap and nodded my head to him. “Good evening, father. How was your day?”
He gave me a strange look, placing his wine glass back down and leaning away so that another servant could come over and refill his glass for him.
“My day was… fine. Long. I was told you went out into the gardens today?”
I slowly picked up my utensils so that he wouldn’t see my hands shake at the question. While Grey Blake was the Beta of our pack, he had the iron fist of an Alpha lying dormant within him. I’d always thought that he would’ve made a better match as the Alpha in the story and that the original writer had missed an important piece to whatever puzzle they’d been spinning at the time.
Although, I guess that might’ve been a better choice, because Vanessa being the daughter of an Alpha perhaps would’ve ended the entire story a lot sooner.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, I did. I was meeting a friend there for a small talk.”
“This friend wouldn’t happen to be Falcon Briarly, would it?”
I paused in cutting my meat, treading the upcoming waters very carefully. “Why… yes, it was. How did you know?”
“I have eyes and ears all over this manor, Vanessa.” He popped a piece of steak into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully before saying, “You know that.”
Well, now I did.
I nodded nonetheless and took a sip of my wine in order to avoid answering any more questions.
“I can’t say that I’m surprised,” He continued.
That made me pause. Where was I in this story? I knew that I couldn’t be that far from the beginning, considering I still had Erik locked away downstairs. But if Grey already knew about me being in cahoots with Falcon, that would mean I was much farther along in the story than I thought I was.
“And why do you say that?”
He snorted at me, a surprising gesture coming from someone so hardened from his time within our pack.
“Your affections for the Heir to our pack are more than a little obvious, Vanessa.”
I felt my face heat up. I know that he wasn’t talking about me specifically, but it was still embarrassing to think at how obvious Vanessa and Falcon’s flirtations must be if it was being recognized by her own father who barely ever saw her longer than a dinner together every night.
I let out a small laugh. “Well, what can I say. Young love and all.”
He grunted at me but didn’t say any more. Clearly uncomfortable with the subject just as much as I was. Which was probably saying something, wasn’t it.
I tried to change the subject for both of our sakes.
“You said you had a long day? What was going on?”
Grey chewed thoughtfully for a long minute, his brows pushing together in a contemplative sort of way. While Vanessa’s father was a bit of a brute, he still cared deeply for his daughter. Which made him probably the perfect person to grill for more details on this story. If I was going to get any unfettered information, it would be through him.
“Yes, His Highness wasn’t too keen on what happened last week.”
I searched my brain for anything that could remotely be related to what he was talking about. If I was more towards the middle of the first novel, then the incident could be a toss up between a couple of things. All of which I had no idea if they had happened already, or if they were going to happen in the near future.
I looked down at my plate and shuffled my food around on it. I needed to test the waters somehow… figure out the exact point I was at so that way I could gather a concise map on which events still needed to happen and which ones already had.
I breathed in slowly and took my chances.
“So, His Highness finally realized that his youngest son was missing, then?”
My heart pounded as I twirled my fork in my hand. I hoped I’d made the right leap of faith.
“Well, he wasn’t exactly pleased, Vanessa. Think about how it looks from an outside perspective.”
I practically sagged into my chair out of relief. “He barely acknowledges the bastard in the first place.”
“So? He is still a Briarly.”
“Barely a Briarly,” I countered.
Grey looked up from his plate and gave me a flat look. “I know you’re having fun with your play toy but there is a point where you will need to give him back.”
I bit my lip in a way I felt Vanessa might if she’d been caught red-handed. “In-tact?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Alive at least. And preferably with all of his limbs attached as well.”
“Father, I can’t promise you where my creativity will take me.”
He took another long swig of wine instead of answering me.
I looked back down at my plate again, feeling the remnants of my success echoing in my elevated heartbeat. I can’t believe that I actually guessed correctly. It felt like I was on top of the moon and that I’d gotten away with something all at the same time.
I smiled to myself. Maybe I really was going to be able to figure this all out before the clock ran out of time. I really could save Erik like I wanted to.
“Speaking of your creativity.” Grey’s voice startled me. “I did receive your response back from our Lady Luna.”
I blinked in confusion. My letter? The Alpha’s wife? For what?
“Oh?”
Grey set his utensils down and looked at me, a small smile crossing over his face.
“She’s approved of your request.”
My brows pulled together. “My request?”
“Yes, Vanessa. Your request to mate with her son, Falcon Briarly. It’s been approved.”