His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 66: Frustration

"Thank you, Theo." His head snaps up. A mischievous smirk ghosts his lips before he is serious again. "Are you okay?"

"In your presence, I am well protected." Theo places his hand on his chest and bows his head. The nobles behind us continue stirring, no doubt discussing what they have witnessed.

I cannot protect him but the nobles will see his confidence as a means that I hold power within these palace walls. They might question now about mistreating me. I will not dare hope that anything will change yet.

This makes me wonder if it had been planned or if Theo thought quickly on his feet. Either way, the Countess’s downfall has been a stepping stone for me. Deyanira will not be pleased to hear about this.

At the height of all this ’excitement’, my heat has simmered a little, though I still allow some distance between myself and Theo, especially after what has just happened to him.

"I hear I missed quite a show." Eryx strolls forward, a smirk gracing those lips as his eyes are glued to me. He doesn’t register Theo, Alaric or any of the other nobles.

Alaric dismisses everyone else and gives me a nod before Liva manages to take him away with a bright smile. Eryx’s body and presence fill the balcony. But now that I’d witnessed Theo being groped and was in a vulnerable position by standing out and alone without his ’master’ nearby, I decidedly hate this area.

"Is Kharis with you tonight?" I ask the Alpha Prince, wondering whether he is one of Eryx’s men who is sneaking around in my brother’s study.

"Present!" A joyous voice calls out, seemingly out of place, considering what has just happened. Of course, it is Kharis. I blink back at Kharis’s raised hand from behind his Prince.

I look to Eryx, who shrugs. "I figured you might want your guard after hearing the rumours circulate back to me." The Prince offered me one of the drinks he had promised me earlier.

"Rumours?" I glance at Kharis, who rounds Eryx’s large form. The pair blocks out the golden hue from the ballroom and casts us all in darkness on the balcony.

"About you and the Countess," Eryx says, sipping from the goblet and holding my gaze.

"That was quick," I breathe, flicking my gaze back to Theo, who doesn’t look pleased to see Eryx.

’Dirty look’ is an understatement. He has been through a lot. "Kharis," I call, my eyes still on Theo, who is adjusting his new golden choker. The damned jewellery really does make him stand out more.

"Princess."

"Take Theo back to my palace."

Theo’s head snaps up then, eyes widening. "Your Highness, I can stay-"

"You should get some rest," I interrupt with a small smile and step forward, lowering my voice. "Right now, I cannot protect you; my focus lies elsewhere with these vipers and..." I glance behind me, making a silent point to my friend. "I would feel more comfortable if you were safely at my palace."

"Have I not done you well tonight?" Theo questions, and my eyebrows shoot up at his words.

I glance behind me warily again, aware that Eryx and Kharis are listening. "We will discuss this when I return." I cup his cheek and hold his gaze.

The gesture doesn’t escape notice—Eryx is growling for some reason, Kharis snickers before breaking into a cheerful whistle, and Theo’s eyes light up.

It is only now I realise I shouldn’t have touched him at all. Theo could have reacted badly, especially after being groped by that disgusting woman. Touching his cheek also sparked that dull warmth inside me, so I stepped back swiftly and turned away.

"We should return to the ball," I tell Eryx, and almost gasp at his eyes. The pupils have widened, almost encasing the green in them. Gingerly, I raise my hand to touch his chest.

Kharis’s whistling silences, but Eryx’s growling also reduces until his chest no longer vibrates and his eyes return to normal. The Alpha Prince looks down at me like he wasn’t close to almost shifting or whatever he might have done.

I don’t quite understand it, but I remove my hand as heat surges through me under his touch. It’s almost painful this time; touching Eryx is like touching the sun. How does Eryx affect me so? I gladly take a few gulps from the goblet Eryx gave me, hoping to satiate this thirst.

Eryx offers me his arm and leads me away from the balcony. As we stroll back into the brightly lit hall, I’m swigging down the wine, in need of another. My fingers, arm and shoulder connecting to Eryx are tingling as desire flourishes beneath my skin.

I slowly look up at the Alpha Prince, my mouth and throat becoming dry as he stares back at me, those green eyes roaming over my body, leaving invisible flames to sizzle along my skin. He draws closer to me as I start to lean up on my tiptoes, but something out of our peripheral vision snaps us out of what could have been a huge mistake in the middle of a ball.

Sigurd and Ivar, the brothers, marched up to Alaric and spoke to him urgently. I step towards them before I can recall what I am doing. But Eryx’s arms curl around my stomach, halting me.

I look behind me, ignoring the heat smouldering around my stomach from his touch. "What are you doing?" I turn my head to the side but do not crane it back to look at him.

"Stopping you from drawing attention to what is clearly meant to only be for the Alpha King’s ears," he says quietly, close to my ear.

Before I reply, Alaric’s expression hardens, and he nods before following Sigurd and Ivar, their walk brisk. It is urgent, I can tell. I start to step towards them again, but this damned oaf halts me.

"Are you holding me against my will?" I hiss to the side.

Eryx chuckles. "I don’t think it’s against your will," he muses.

My eyes narrow at his words. "I need to know what is happening."

"It is an attack," Eryx says with a note of confusion. He doesn’t know what this ’attack’ could mean. It is clear the attack is not from Sun and Fury.

"And how do you know that?" I ask, alarmed by his words.

"Faidon. He is nearby."

I searched the hall but already knew it was useless to look for someone who was trained to stay in the shadows. Even looking for shadows doesn’t help.

"I have to-"

"You do not have to do anything," Eryx interrupts, his words calm and more of a drawl, which frustrates me more.

I bang against his arms, trying to wiggle free. It caused a few nobles to look in our direction, so I immediately stopped. Eryx leans closer, uncaring about anyone watching and leans his chin on my shoulder. The act causes goosebumps to ripple along my skin and tighten my nipples against the fabric of my dress.

I fought off an annoyed and turned-on hiss. "You are safest in my arms," the Alpha Prince murmurs, his smooth accent relaxed and seemingly unaffected. Why would he? I am the one that has an issue here. "What more can you do? He has not sought your assistance. You cannot help."

His words annoy me as much as my body’s reaction to him. "Fine. Now let me go."

"Hmmm, no."

"No?" I blink profusely, hands clutching at his arms again. "What do you mean no?"

"Exactly that," he hums. "No."

"You cannot hold me here! Especially in the middle of this hall!" I whisper shout, aware that the turmoil within me and the turmoil that is quite possibly outside the palace walls is creeping up on me. It should be recognised how much control I show right now.

"Hmmm, then why don’t we go somewhere a little more... private," his rumbling whisper caresses my ear before he playfully nips it, and Goddess, it almost makes my knees buckle to the ground.

After what happened earlier with Theo, I thought my heat had reduced, and I could ignore it, but I couldn’t, especially with Eryx touching me.

The Alpha Prince chuckles like he knows exactly what he has done before he starts to take me away from the hall.

"You can’t be serious!" Even as I say it, I’m still allowing him to take me away.

"I don’t mind proving to everyone here who you belong to, Princess," he smirked down at me as he held my hand prisoner against his.

"You wouldn’t dare!"

"Try it," he winks. I don’t know why my core is pulsing right now. But my heart thuds wildly in anticipation. "I did say I’d help you when you need it. It is part of the deal."

Eryx is also using it as a distraction from what has taken my brother away from this ball. Still, my legs follow him, and any futile attempt to remove my hand from his has stopped. The moment the door to the ball closes behind me, shutting out the noise, I can hear my heart more as I stare up at his large form.

Heat pools between my thighs as I stare at his muscles flexing beneath his clothes. "Goddess," I whisper, wiping at the back of my neck. It hadn’t been this bad earlier.

"Your pheromones are getting worse... Your heat shouldn’t be acting up like this," Eryx growls, glaring over his shoulder.

The playfulness in his tone is gone. I already know his wolf is getting riled up. We had been close to others, and if my scent spread, it could call to other unmated males.

He tugs me forward, and in a blur, I am pushed against a closed door in a parlour, staring up at a beast whose chest rumbles and nose is already inhaling deeply at my throat.

"Fuck," I whisper.

Eryx smirks against my throat. "That’s right," he growls. "Fuck."