Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

Aira’s POV

I stare at my reflection in the mirror, seeking acceptance for my attire. I wore a red body-hugging dress that hugged each and every one of my curves. It pools around my feet, making it appear like I was standing on a puddle of blood.

My shoulders and cleavage are completely exposed. A two-piece silver necklace adorns my neck, and my hair has been tied up into a high ponytail. My make-up was sharp and fierce, done just the way I like it with my blood red lipstick.

A knock comes from the door, and I know exactly who it is. I say, “Come in,” and the door opens to reveal my breathtaking mate.

And breathtaking he was.

The second our eyes locked through the mirror, I could not breathe. It was as though my lungs had forgotten how to function. He stood behind me, looking devilishly handsome as ever in his blood-red tuxedo and pants. His button shirt was as dark as night, the same as his shoes and gelled-back hair.

What a coincidence! We are matching.

As though he had shared the same thought as me, he grins deviously. He walks up to me slowly, snaking his arms slowly around my waist. His touch shot an arrow of tingles through my body; our eyes remain locked in on the mirror, and a smile creeps up my lips.

Alex crouches down to drop his chin on my shoulder, and he hums quietly in my ear. I wish we could stay this way forever, just the two of us, without having to worry about all the trouble this world has brought.

“Beautiful,” Alex whispers, his eyes trained on mine in the mirror. His words cause my smile to widen and a blush to creep up my cheeks.

“Handsome,” I whisper back to him, and he pulls away a bit to spin me around. A light laugh leaves my lips as I stand face-to-face with him. My arms instinctively wrap around his shoulders, and our lips hover over each other’s.

“Are you ready for tonight?” I ask him, and he grins.

“Are you?” he shoots back, and I was not sure of how to respond to that. I mean, tonight was my welcome party, which would be hosted at Kingston’s estate. After Camille’s death, I decided that it would be best to hand over the estate to Vincent. Seeing as it was Camille’s, she never actually left her property in anyone’s name.

So now, it was his.

My party would be thrown there, and I have to admit that I was feeling quite nervous about it. but I have Alex by my side, so what could possibly go wrong?

“I have you, so of course I am,” I say, and he places a soft kiss on the top of my nose. I do not know how, but that simple action caused my heart to flutter a bit. He takes my hand and meets my eyes.

“Shall we?” he asks, and I nod, a sheepish smile on my lips. He leads me out of our room and out of the palace. From the corner of my eye, I see Carla gushing at the both of us, and I roll my eyes at her antics.

Alex helps me down the stairs and into the car. He shuts the door for me, walks over to his side, and hops in. From the rearview mirror, I see three cars filled with our guards. All waiting to escort us to the party.

I shoot Alex an incredulous glance, and he shrugs. “What? What if my dear in-laws don’t like me? You never know how ugly things could get.”

My head shakes with disbelief, and I laugh slightly. He fires up the engine, and we take the highway at a dangerous speed. I grip my seat tightly as my eyes widen with horror.

“Alex! Take it easy; we are going to crash!”

Instead of heeding my words, he just throws his head back and laughs. And most definitely, to spite me more, he steps on the gas even harder. “Alex!” I scream at the top of my lungs, and his laughter mixes with the engine’s roar.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Thankfully, we arrive at the estate in no time, and I can finally get out of this monstrosity. “Finally,” I mutter beneath my breath, and Alex shoots me a wry smile.

“You know you had fun,” he says, and I shoot him a look that silently asks if he is mad.

“Um, no, I did not! I legit thought I was going to die.” I scream at him, and he raises a brow slowly.

“But you do it almost every day,” he counters, and I purse my lips. Touche.

As we drive into the estate, the sound of classical music fills my ears. The estate courtyard and pathways were swimming with people. I knew the party would be big, but I never expected it to be this big.

Alex parks the car, and before we step out, I grab him by the wrist. “Remember what we are really here for,” I tell him, and he chuckles slightly.

“What did you think I came here for? to dance?” He asks sarcastically, and I slap his shoulder playfully. The truth is, I didn’t come here to honor Vincent’s invitation. We came in search of the orb. Now I do not know who that little boy is or what was so special about it.

I just knew that somewhere deep down, I just had to find it.

Alex walks around the car to open the door for me. He takes my hand and leads me into the grand Kingston Hall. The music was loud yet peaceful. Men and women I have never met in my life danced to the beat in their royal-like attire.

As we walk deeper and deeper into the ballroom, there is this strange sensation that fills me. like a chill running up my spine.

“Aira, my goodness, you look absolutely breathtaking!”

I spin on my heel to come face-to-face with Rebekah. A woman I have never met before stands by her side. She has similar features to Malaya, and I just knew she had to be my last aunt.

“You look quite beautiful yourself,” I tell Rebekah before shifting my gaze to Betty. “It is nice to finally meet you, Aunt Betty.”

Her eyes widen a bit with surprise. “How did you know it was me?”

I shrug, “I just did.”

Betty and Rebekah share a glance but do not utter a word. They come up to my side and say, “Come, it is almost time for our family to address the guests.”

They start to pull me away, and Alex and I let go of each other. They start to lead me away, but I struggle against him. Something about being away from him tonight just did not sit well with me.

“But you haven’t met.” I start, but Rebekah stops me.

“Ah, yes, the mate. Nice guy,” she says hurriedly without sparing Alex a glance, much to my disapproval. I shoot Alex one last glance over my shoulder and mouth a ‘sorry’ to him. He nods once and turns his back on me, probably to go in search of the orb.

Rebekah and Betty lead me into a room just beside the ballroom, and inside is where I find all my aunts and uncles. All were present, except Vincent. However, a man I have not met before sits in the corner of the room with a book in his hands.

He seems rather uninterested by all that is going on around him and more intrigued by the fictional joy his book brought him. Could he be one of their siblings as well? According to Camille, they were eight, excluding my dad. So that is Camille, Vincent, Damon, Mason, Rebekah, Malaya, Betty, and this guy.

The second I step into the room, his eyes lock with mine. Unlike the others, there was a strange innocence in his hazel orbs. And he looked much younger than the rest of them-almost my age.

His lips form an open-mouthed smile as he drops his book and walks up to me. “For years, I have searched for the girl that would bring all of us back together, and now she is finally here. It is an honor to finally meet you, Aira. I see so much of Marco in you.”

Somehow, those words manage to tug at my heart strings and leave me speechless. “The honor is all mine, Uncle.”

“Richard,” he finishes politely. “I am the youngest.”

Ah, go figure.

“Alright, alright!” Malaya says it loud enough to grasp our attention. “Let us go out there and show the whole world that the Kingstons are back.” They all cheered, but all I could do was wonder what caused them to separate in the first place.

“What about Vincent?” I ask, and the room grows silent for a while.

“He will join us shortly,” Malaya says, but for some reason I did not believe that.

We leave the room and return to the ballroom together. They take the stairs and climb up to the veranda, overseeing the entire ballroom. My eyes scanned the hall for Alex, but he was nowhere to be found. Where could he have gone?

A waiter walks up to us and hands each of us a glass. Malaya hits hers with a fork in order to get everyone’s attention, and the hall grows silent.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is an honor to have you all here with us, and we are thankful for honoring our invitation. Tonight we celebrate the reunion of our great family and the return of our long-lost niece Aira.”

The crowd claps and cheers quietly. I smile and give the audience a little wave.

Malaya continues, “Tonight we eat, drink, and dance to our heart’s content! Cheers!”

Everyone lifts their glasses in the air and makes a toast. They joined their glasses with mine, but I didn’t pay much attention to any of it. My eyes kept searching for Alex. Once they start to disperse into the crowd, I attempt to leave, but Malaya takes me by the hand and says, “Come, I want to introduce you to some people.”

I yanked my wrist free with a bit more force than necessary. Malaya’s eyebrows furrow, and I quickly apologize. “Sorry, I just really need to find Alex.”

She doesn’t say anything; instead, she just watches me walk away. A shiver goes up my spine as I can feel her eyes drill holes into the back of my skull. I step out of the ballroom and begin to search the halls.

“Alex? Alex, where are you?” Is this what I chant over and over again as I search the halls for him? I am on the last floor and on the verge of losing my mind. Where the hell is he? I try to reach out to him through our bond, but I feel nothing there.

Just a blank, hollow space. There was nothing there to even begin with.

The fuck?

Just when I am about to give up and head back downstairs, I feel a tug. Not from Alex and I’s bond but from something else. Without thinking, I make my way towards the door at the end of the hall. A blue light seeps out of the cracks-a light that is so chilling and attractive.

I remember seeing a light like this in one of my visions.

It came from the orb.

Without thinking, I push open the door and step in. but the first thing I see isn’t the orb.

No.

My friend is tied to a chair, all battered and bruised. Alex’s head hangs loosely on his shoulders as blood trickles down it. My eyes sting with tears when I notice that he isn’t moving at all.

“About time you showed up.”

My eyes snap to my side to find Vincent adjusting his sleeves. His hand is bloody as he smirks viciously at me.

The rage that bubbles within me is like none I have ever felt before. The next voice that fills the room doesn’t sound like mine at all, but like the voice of an army of angry gods.

“I will kill you.”