“It’s Raine,” I said with a tight smile, getting way too tired of being called the “pet,” “newblood,” or “friend.”
She raised her brows. “Raine,” she repeated. “As Darian has alluded, I’m Mabel, alpha of the House of Faren, high house of shadows.” She paused then and gestured to the room with a bony hand. “I trust you are enjoying the festivities. The other newbloods have informed me that Katakin is vastly different from what you were previously accustomed to. Much more…” She circled her hand in the air as if she was trying to find the appropriate word. “…civilized,” she finished.
I nearly snorted in her face. I wanted to point out that back on the island we were more civilized than monsters who stole and tortured humans to get them to turn into them, but as I peered around at the milling figures in extravagant garments and the opulent ballroom surrounding me, my words died in my throat. Instead, I said carefully, “This room certainly is spectacular. I’ve never seen anything so grand.”
“I imagine not.” Mabel nodded as if satisfied with my answer and turned to a handsome wraith beside her, who handed her a goblet of wine. Taking a sip, she pulled the goblet from her thin lips and changed the subject. “I hear you are enjoying your time with Locke and his friends. I must admit, I was surprised when rumors of your little welcoming arrangement reached my ears.”
Welcoming arrangement?It didn’t take me long to understand her meaning and make sense of the amused glint in her eye.So everyone does think they’re keeping me as their own personal sex toy.Without thinking, I opened my mouth to tell her that it had been more like a weird little prison than a sex pad, but Darian spoke first.
“Our darling Raine has been most satisfied. In fact, she’s in no hurry to leave,” he said with a smug smile, and he trailed his fingers up my bare arm that was still linked with his. Tilting his head to the side, he gave me a subtle look.
At his comment, I remembered we needed the monsters to believe Darian and the others were only keeping me close because they were playing with me. I forced a smile onto my face. “Yes, I’mveryhappy with how I’ve been treated so far.”
Though Mabel’s smile stretched wider, there was no warmth in her gaze. “Perhaps they should be reprimanded for keeping you all to themselves. I hear you have become a powerful shifter. I’m always intrigued by what new abilities the curse bestows on newcomers, and I’m looking forward to seeing you fight. I’m sure we will become firm friends.”
From the way she said the wordfriends, I was betting we didn’t share the same views on what the word meant, but I smiled and politely said, “I’d like nothing more.” All right, so now it sounded like I was kissing ass, but pissing off the alpha of the House of Faren didn’t seem like the best idea. Goddess, I knew it was expected that all the newbloods become acquainted with the alphas, especially those from the high houses like Mabel, but I wondered how long I had to talk to her to fulfill my obligation.
As I racked my brain for a seemingly appropriate question to ask the alpha that any normal newblood would ask, my attention went to the heart-shaped female with the pale-gray eyes. She was practically drooling as she stared at Asher and had been for almost the entire time Mabel talked. Asher was acting oblivious, though the small quirk of his lips showed that he noticed, and I couldn’t take it. I glared at the female, making it clear that it was annoying me because it damn well was. I wasn’t surewhyit was, but it fucking was. All the guys got looks often, but this female pressed her thighs together as if she was about ready to rip her dress off and bend over for Asher.
Mabel followed my glare, and the moment the alpha turned toward the wraith, the female’s face morphed, her expression turning from appreciation to downright disgust as she stared at Asher. I mean, her lip curled, her nose wrinkled, and I could practically hear her sniff as she made a show of dismissing him.
If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.Un-fucking-believable.Now I was irritated because she was acting as if Asher had some kind of disease. I had thought it was strange the way Mabel’s gaze never went to Asher as if she refused to acknowledge him, but seeing how the heart-shaped female had changed, I was sure something was going on. When we finally finished speaking with Mabel a few excruciating minutes later, and Darian began leading us back through the crowd, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Now that I was paying attention, I realized that most of the alphas didn’t acknowledge Asher. Many of the monsters from the lower houses appreciated him as much as they appreciated Kade and Darian, taking in their muscled bodies, but nearly all of the monsters from the higher houses ignored Asher as if they were content to pretend he didn’t exist. If the demon noticed, he didn’t seem to care and had a perpetual grin glued to his face.
I moved closer to Asher, becoming more bothered by the situation with every passing moment. “Why are they looking at you like that?” I hissed.
Asher winked at a pretty siren female, and she frowned and turned her back to him. “Like what?” he asked.
“Likethat,” I said, motioning to the female who was ignoring him.
“Oh, her. She’s from the House of Saceris.”
“Andwhyis she treating you that way?”
He gave a casual shrug, seemingly not disturbed by it. “Remember when I told you my mother went crazy?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, she didn’t just try her cure on me. A few monsters in the House of Thorem woke up as she tried to hack their tails off or sawed at their horns. They all healed, but the reputation of the house suffered when others heard that our alpha was strugglin’ to control one of his own. Some of the monsters, especially those from the higher houses, choose to ignore me now. I don’t think they believe I’m crazy like her, but it’s more as if they don’t want to be associated with the son of the monster who went insane and tried to destroy her house.”
I stopped walking, disbelief rooting me to the spot. “But that’s absurd. Your mother was unwell. You can’t be blamed for that.”
Asher gave me a lopsided smile. “Don’t worry about it. By the end of the night, even the females from the high houses will be crawlin’ all over me. They’re just worried about their reputations, but if their alphas leave, things will change. They like to pretend they’re too good for me, but they can’t stay away.”
My brows slammed down as I struggled to understand how he had so willingly accepted the situation. “Wait, so they ostracize you because of what happened with your mom, but when their alphas go away, then they want you? That’s messed up. I thought anything goes during the Week of Orash?”
“Yeah, I guess my situation is a special one,” Asher said with a shrug. He didn’t seem bothered by it all, but I found myself growing angry. Angry at the monsters for treating him that way and angry that he accepted it. Fuck that. Back on the island, I was treated as a bit of a freak because I spent my days training rather than learning to sew and weave like the other girls. But for the most part, the villagers had accepted me.
I stared at Darian and Kade, but while they looked sympathetic, it was clear they’d also accepted the situation. “None of us have a house,” Darian said calmly. “To an extent, we’ve all been shunned.”
As he said it, a scantily dressed goblin on our right glared at Asher as she passed.
“Who’s that?” I asked Kade.
“Belongs to the House of Axeran,” he replied. “One of the high houses.”
I glowered at the female and had to stop myself from going over and slapping the haughty look from her face. Determined to dosomethingwith myself, I gave Asher’s hand a tug. Taking the hint, he leaned down.
