The meal finally began, but the first few minutes passed beneath an uncomfortable silence. Plates shifted, cutlery scraped softly against porcelain and servants moved around the table, refilling glasses and placing fresh dishes within reach.
Yuki tried to focus on her food, carefully cutting into the meal in front of her, but she could feel the tension sitting around the table like an invisible weight. The brothers were unusually quiet.
Eventually, Aevia broke the silence. She glanced towards Lydia with a polite smile, her voice deliberately light. "Lydia, where is your husband? I thought he was coming with you."
Lydia paused with her fork halfway to her mouth before lowering it onto the edge of her plate. "He couldn’t make it," she explained calmly, though a faint trace of disappointment softened her words. "Our Alpha sent him on official business. Apparently, it couldn’t wait."
"That’s a shame," Aevia replied, her expression softening with genuine regret. "I would have loved to have him here."
Lydia gave a small nod and picked up her fork again. "He wanted to come. Unfortunately, duty came first."
Before she could continue, Alexander suddenly leaned towards Aevia.
"Wait," he murmured, his voice gentle.
Aevia blinked in surprise as Alexander reached across and brushed the corner of her lips with his thumb, wiping away a tiny smear of sauce. "You had something there," he explained casually, as though the intimate gesture were the most ordinary thing in the world.
The gesture lasted barely a second, but it was enough. Yuki’s gaze flickered towards them. So did Kaden’s. His fingers tightened around his fork until his knuckles whitened beneath his skin. The metal bent slightly under the pressure. Across the table, Killian remained focused on his food, but the faint tightening around his eyes told Kaden that his brother had noticed it too. Kieran’s expression remained unreadable, although his gaze briefly lifted before returning to his plate.
’Can you believe this man?’ Kaden’s voice cut through the mind link, dripping with irritation. ’He dragged us here just to flaunt his new family.’
’Kaden,’ Kieran warned through the link, his tone low and restrained.
’What?’ Kaden snapped back, barely containing his anger. ’Mum almost died, and he is sitting here showing off like nothing happened.’
’Let it go,’ Killian ordered firmly through the link. There was a quiet authority in his voice that made the warning unmistakable.
Kaden’s jaw worked as he forced himself to lower his gaze. ’Easy for you to say.’
Kieran’s eyes flickered briefly towards him before he answered with controlled impatience. ’You’re making it worse.’
Kaden didn’t respond. Yuki glanced between the brothers, her brows drawing together. Something was wrong. She could feel it in the silence between them. Killian and Kieran seemed determined to concentrate on their plates, while Kaden looked as though he was one careless word away from snapping the fork in his hand. She looked back at Alexander and Aevia. They seemed perfectly happy. The sight felt almost surreal.
Then a deep, youthful voice interrupted her thoughts.
"So, Yuki..."
She turned towards Terence. He was looking directly at her, his expression openly curious as he leaned slightly forward in his chair.
"Do you have a mate yet?"
The table went completely silent. Yuki froze. Aevia’s smile vanished almost instantly. Even Lydia lowered her fork, her eyes narrowing slightly at Terence.
"Your coming-of-age ceremony already happened, didn’t it?" Terence continued innocently, apparently oblivious to the sudden tension.
"Terry," Aevia cautioned, her voice firm enough to make several servants glance over. "You shouldn’t be asking her that."
Terence frowned, genuinely confused by the reaction. "Why?"
The single question hung over the table. Yuki’s fingers slowly tightened around her napkin. Aevia’s warning reached her through the mind link almost immediately.
’Ignore him, Yuki. He’s being childish.’
Yuki understood. Aevia didn’t want her discussing the rejection at the table. They had spent enough time keeping their family problems behind closed doors, and Yuki had no intention of exposing their dirty laundry in front of everyone. She forced a small smile and picked up her glass.
"I don’t have a mate," she answered naturally.
Terence’s eyes widened.
"You don’t?" he blurted, his disbelief completely genuine. "How is that possible? Is the Moon Goddess blind?"
Lydia slowly shook her head, looking thoroughly exhausted by the conversation. "What exactly does that mean, Terry?" she asked wearily.
Terence didn’t seem to notice the warning in her tone. He leaned closer to the table and shrugged. "Come on, Yuki is too pretty not to have a mate. Unless he died or they rejected her."
Yuki’s fingers paused around her glass. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Terence had no idea what his words meant. She forced herself to lift the glass and take a sip of water before setting it down. Then she tilted her head towards him, managing a faintly amused expression.
"So you’re saying pretty people are more privileged when it comes to finding mates?" Yuki chimed.
Terence nodded immediately, completely confident in his logic. "Exactly. Remember Kelsey? She was ranked second on the beauty list back at school. She got mated during her coming-of-age ceremony to some noble from another pack. Pretty people always get mates early."
Yuki stared at him. She genuinely didn’t know whether to laugh or bury her face in her hands. Terence, unfortunately, wasn’t finished.
"So what happened with yours?" he asked curiously. "Don’t you like your mate, or are you still caught up on that crush of yours? The one who was a senior at Xyrus Academy?"
Yuki’s face went pale.
"Terry," she snapped. Her voice came out far sharper than she intended.
Terence blinked. "What?" he blurted.
"I am warning you," Yuki hissed, her fingers curling tightly around the edge of the table.
Terence looked genuinely puzzled. "What? I’m not lying. I saw your secret sketchbook where..."
Yuki’s chair scraped against the floor as she moved. Before he could finish, she reached across and clamped her hand over his mouth.
"Terry," she whispered through clenched teeth, shooting him a warning glare.
His eyes widened above her fingers. Across the table, Aevia’s expression changed. The playful warmth disappeared from her face, replaced by sharp curiosity.
"You had a crush?" she asked, her voice suddenly serious.
Yuki slowly turned towards her.
"It’s nothing," she said quickly, forcing a nervous smile. "Terry is making things up. There was no crush."
Aevia studied her carefully. "Is he from a good family?" she asked, her tone becoming even more thoughtful.
Yuki’s smile faltered. "Why do you want to know his background?" she asked, eyeing Aevia suspiciously.
Before Aevia could answer, Terence bit Yuki’s palm.
"Ow!"
She immediately released him. Terence rubbed his mouth and looked entirely unapologetic.
"I’m not lying," he insisted, speaking with the confidence of someone who had just uncovered the greatest secret in the kingdom. "I even heard her talking about her crush with her friend Bianca. They said he was from a good background."
Yuki’s stomach flipped. She stared at him in disbelief. He did that on purpose. Aevia leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on Yuki.
"Why didn’t you mention him?" she asked, her voice surprisingly serious. "If he comes from a good family, we could have considered him as a candidate for the arranged marriage."
Yuki’s eyes widened. Aevia’s expression softened slightly as she continued,
"It would be nice if the person chosen for you was someone you already liked."
Yuki’s gaze slowly shifted towards Terence. He was staring back at her with the faintest hint of satisfaction. Yuki’s eyes narrowed. He absolutely did that on purpose.
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