Chapter 216

Chapter 216: Chapter 216

Julian

The main hall of the house was filled with low, smooth music and the quiet clink of crystal glasses.

Bright glass lights hung high from the ceiling, sending golden light washing over the floors. Rich businessmen in suits stood in circles, sipping wine and talking about one thing or another. Standing beside them were vampire lords, their pale skin catching the golden light, their sharp eyes scanning the room with calm, ancient authority.

It was an important evening. Drake had hosted this gala to honor his allies, bringing together the wealthy human investors and the vampire lords to secure the territory’s future.

I stood near the staircase, a tall crystal glass of red wine resting lightly in my hand. I wore a fitted grey suit, my hair combed back neatly.

Every person in this room was powerful, rich, or dangerous. Yet, none of them held the kind of power I held right now. They bowed to Drake when he walked past, but who could tell right now I had their highly respected lord eating from my hand.

I turned my eyes toward the center of the hall, where Drake stood surrounded by four vampire lords.

Drake looked imposing, his broad frame standing tall in a dark formal coat, his dark hair neat, his sharp gaze focused on the person he was locked in a conversation with. He paid rapt attention to the person, watching their lips move. He played the host perfectly listening to them even though sometimes his eyes would drift away towards the whole place to make sure everything was in order.

But I knew him better than anyone in this room.

I could see the faint tension along his jawline. I could see the way his eyes flicked toward the upper balcony every few minutes, tracking the hallway that led to his room. He wasn’t focused on whatever anyone was saying nor did the vampire lords catch his attention no matter how "focused" he appeared. His mind was upstairs, locked in a state of paranoia.

He was terrified.

With so many outsiders in his house, vampire lords who would love to find a weakness, and rich investors looking for leverage. Drake couldn’t risk letting Lysander step foot into this hall. He couldn’t risk an external enemy catching the scent of the baby, and he certainly couldn’t risk me getting close to him in a crowded room.

So, Drake had done the only thing his protective mind could think of.

He had ordered Lysander to stay locked inside the master suite for the entire evening.

But how did Lysander even agree to sitting in the room while Drake roamed around with different vampires?

I let out a soft, breathy laugh, swirling the red wine in my glass.

Before the guests arrived, I had overheard his conversation with Lysander trying to convince him to stay inside. His excuses had ranged from the stress of everything to the smell of the alcohol and to how it was unsafe for him, what if he fell. Listening to him, one would think that it was born from a place of love but that was very far from the truth.

He only cared about how he appeared in front of these men, he feared them catching a whisper of his affection towards Lysander, solely because he did not want his weakness to be known. It was his pride first before the safety of the man he loved.

But I knew how those words must have sounded in Lysander’s ears. He had spent weeks locked in the room and chained in the dungeon, being told to stay inside his bedroom while the rest of the world celebrated downstairs must’ve felt like a cage all over again.

I set my wine glass down on a passing waiter’s tray and walked slowly toward the base of the stairs.

The two guards posted at the bottom of the steps stood straight, their hands tightening on their sidearms as I approached. They glared at me with cold eyes, but they didn’t dare raise a hand to stop my approach.

"Is the guest of honor enjoying his quiet evening upstairs?" I asked softly, keeping my tone sweet and polite.

The lead guard’s jaw tightened, a sharp muscle ticking along his cheekbone. "Step back, Julian. You are not in there tonight."

"Of course," I purred, holding my hands up in a small, mock gesture of surrender. "I wouldn’t dream of disturbing him. I simply wonder if he enjoys being hidden away like a dirty secret while Drake entertains the lords down here."

"Move along," the guard growled low in his throat.

I smiled, taking two steps back, letting my eyes wander up the staircase toward the corridor above.

Up there, behind so much security and a locked door, Lysander sat alone. He could hear everything, living through the celebration in his mind only.

Drake thought keeping him upstairs would keep him safe. He thought hiding him away from the crowd was a display of strength.

He didn’t realize he was doing my work for me.

Every minute Lysander sat alone in that room, watching the clock tick while Drake smiled and drank with vampire lords downstairs, the small seed of doubt I had planted in the garden would grow a little deeper. He would sit there wondering why Drake kept so many secrets. He would wonder why he was allowed to be a mate only behind locked doors, away from the eyes of the court.

A human walked up beside me, holding two fresh glasses of champagne. He had white hair and had lazy eyes looking at me with a lust so deep it must be piercing through his bones.

"A magnificent gathering, wouldn’t you say, Julian?" the man remarked, handing me one of the glasses. "The Sovereign runs an impressive territory. Everything is so quiet, so controlled."

"Yes," I replied softly, taking the glass with a graceful nod. I looked back across the room at Drake, who was currently shaking hands with a vampire lord. "Everything in this house appears very controlled on the surface."

"Appears?" the man echoed, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh, it’s a lovely display," I murmured, taking a slow sip of the champagne, my gaze remaining fixed on Drake’s stiff, watchful frame. "But the most delicate things in this estate are kept locked away in the dark where no one can see them."

The businessman let out a confused laugh, assuming I was making a joke, and raised his glass in a toast before walking off.

I stayed standing near the stairs, tasting the sweet, cold wine on my tongue.

The music played on, the guests laughed, while Drake kept his eyes on the hall, completely unaware that the real damage wasn’t being done by the vampire lords or the businessmen in the room.

It was being done upstairs, in the dark, where his precious mate sat alone.