Chapter 50 - 48

Aaron Robert Dane was the bastard son of Alpha Robert Dane, and he was Darius’ older brother.

It had been twelve years, but he still carried himself with that same arrogance that disgusted Darius to the core. That was why, when he bumped into him earlier in the hallway, he ignored him. He had walked right past him without even sparing him a glance.

Now there was no avoiding the bastard when they sat at the same dinner table.

The tension was thick and heavy, settling over the room as they all sat in silence.

It was a long dinner table, large enough to fit the entire family without anyone having to sit too close to another. His father, Robert Dane, sat at the head of the table. At his right was Beta Cyril, then Aaron and his mate, a woman whose name Darius hadn’t bothered to remember, followed by Dahlia and her mate, Fredrick.

At the other side came the order of Aaron’s mother, a wretch named Linda, then Darius, Aurelia, Nicolas and Clover.

Darius sat back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the food in front of him rather than the people around the table. He could feel his father’s presence without even looking up, and every now and then, his eyes would drift toward the other end of the table where Aaron sat comfortably, acting as though he wasn’t a thief.

Aurelia sat quietly beside him, one hand resting against her stomach beneath the table. She hadn’t said much since they arrived at dinner, but Darius could tell she had noticed the tension too.

Dahlia cleared her throat, exchanging a look with her husband as though they were silently trying to figure out how to keep the dinner from becoming any more uncomfortable.

"So the healer said the baby might be here in a few days," she started, perhaps trying to make conversation. "We tho—"

"Why did you return?"

His father’s cold voice cut through her words.

Darius’ fist clenched against the table, his knuckles tightening as he kept his eyes lowered for a moment.

"I came for my sister," he said through gritted teeth.

"After twelve years you finally remembered you had a sister?"

"Father, sto—" Dahlia tried to defend him, but her father’s glare silenced her.

"You invited him without telling anyone." That horrid wretch dared to speak, her voice filled with accusation.

The sound of her voice made Darius snap. His eyes finally shifted toward her, his jaw tightening as all the old resentment he had buried for twelve years came rushing back.

"If you’re afraid I am here for your son and the title you so desperately want, Linda..." he said, his voice low and cold. "I am not."

"The title of heir is not something I have to fight for, Darius. It was mine by birthright." Aaron’s voice rose slightly.

"A murderer’s son has the right to talk about birthright?!" Darius’ voice rose above his.

He felt a hand grab his shirt, tugging at the fabric before he looked down. Aurelia was staring up at him, her silver eyes fixed on his, quietly telling him to control himself. Her fingers tightened around his shirt, a small but firm reminder that he wasn’t alone at this table and that he didn’t have to let Aaron drag him back into the anger he had spent years trying to bury.

He let out a shuddering breath.

He did have to control himself. He couldn’t let the murderer of his mother and his son get under his skin this early in the night. He also couldn’t upset his sister.

His eyes drifted towards Dahlia, who looked close to tears.

"By the way, Dahlia... have you thought of names for the baby?" Aurelia spoke, nudging Nicolas with her elbow.

"Yes... names." Nicolas nodded.

Dahlia’s brow furrowed slightly, obviously caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. She looked at Aurelia, then down at her belly with a small smile.

"I was thinking Yasmine for a girl."

"You don’t know the gender yet?" This time Clover spoke, looking at Dahlia with curiosity. "I can check for you if you want."

Dahlia shook her head, chuckling softly. "No... we wanted it to be a surprise." She glanced at her husband, and the two of them giggled, obviously excited about finally meeting their little one.

Darius’ shoulders loosened slightly at the change in subject. It seemed the tension in his chest was starting to ease, but that relief didn’t last long.

His father’s voice came again.

"You’re Asteria’s heir, aren’t you?" Robert leaned back into his chair, his brown eyes settling on Aurelia. His gaze moved over her silver hair, then to her eyes before stopping at the mark on her forehead. "Silver hair and eyes, and the mark on your forehead."

Aurelia turned toward him, her brows furrowing. "You know my mother?"

"Knew her." He corrected coldly, his expression changing as he looked at her. "I expected more from her offspring than to see you sitting here as a mistress."

The room went quiet.

Aurelia’s expression stiffened, but before she could respond, Darius felt the anger rising in his chest again. His fingers tightened against the table as he turned sharply toward his father, his eyes darkening.

"What did you call her?"

___

Something about the witch felt farmiliar.

Either way Cassius found her amusing, maybe it was the way she hid her anger so well behind that uncomfortable smile. The way her eyes narrowed slightly and her fists curled up at her side as if restraining herself from committing treason.

Most people feared dragons. They bowed their heads, spoke carefully and shook under his gaze like the prey.

Janine was no different. She feared him. She lowered her head. She was careful with her words. But then defiance burned through every action of hers despite composure. Regardless of the composure she held irritation burned in her eyes.

It amused him the way her emerald eyes had narrowed slightly after he got her name wrong, the way her jaw tightened like she was swallowing down several insults at once.

She tried so hard to remain polite, to stay within the boundaries of a commoner. But through her carefully constructed facade he saw the little cracks.

Cassius slowed his stride when he spotted her in the hallway.

She had her neck tilted up as she watched the paintings that hung on the walls. Her dark curls framed her face loosely, soft strands falling over sun kissed brown skin before she absently pushed them back.

Cassius studied her again.

He committed her features to his memory. She was different from the typical noblewomen, freckles dusted on the bridge of her nose and across her checks. Her eyes a striking shade of green that shimmered like emeralds in the sun. Her dress hung loosely at some places and clung in others, unable to conceal the shape of her body.

He took a step forward to head towards her, but before he could move a maid called her from the other side of the hall, in her arms was the black cat Alice had dressed up in a pink bow and a necklace.

The cat looked quite comfortable, completely unbothered by the wide eyed look on his owner’s face. He meowed softly in a way that sounded smug. He watched her carefully take the cat from the maid.

"We managed to distract the young Miss long enough to bring you back your familiar without a fuss" The maid said as she pulled up a bundle, "said these are some left sweets from the party if you want-" the maid didn’t have to finish before Janine snatched the bag, there was a little suppressed smile on her face that didn’t go unnoticed by him.

"I should get going then where’s the duke?" He heard her ask, the maid shot up a brow and pointed to him who was now leaning against the wall. He watched her turn and flinch back. Janine immediately bowed, half her body lowered as she held on tighter to her cat and bundle.

Cassius walked up to her. His steps unhurried, just a steady pace for someone who owned the hallway. She moved back, it wasn’t a dramatic retreat, a subtle one as she pulled her cat closer to her chest.

She had her head still lowered, her shoulders stiff as she tried to hold on to her polite bow.

Cassius stopped just a few steps away but close enough to smell the sweet aroma of her fear. He reached into his pocket and handed her a roll of gold coins.

"Ten for the cupcakes, two silvers for the delivery and four for the cat, the extra coin is a tip" he said dropping the roll into her hands. He watched a small smile form on her face and her eyes shimmered with a bit of greed. Janine pocketed the money and curtsied.

"Thank you My Lord. I will get going" Cassius smirked at her polite tone, it made a part of him wonder how many times did he have to push her buttons for her to snap. What would the look on her face be after being pushed to the wall.

He watched her straighten up then turn and leave with the maid. His eyes lingered on her retreating figure.

Janine Blaine was it?

Interesting.