26. Troy

Chapter twenty-six

Troy

I linger in the shadows at the edge of the room, keeping an eye out for any hostile activity.

This is a large event with some of the most prestigious packs in the city, so I must be cautious.

I have two Omegas to look out for now, and I will not let any harm come to them.

Not while I live and breathe.

I decided to slip away from the rest of my pack half an hour ago, and it seems none of them have even realized I'm missing.

My heart becomes heavy with grief, but I swallow the weakness aside and keep my eyes peeled for enemies.

Yet I can't take my eyes off her.

Belle…

She looks so radiant tonight.

The belle of the ball truly.

None of the other Omegas can hold a candle to her innocent beauty, and I can't stop staring at the exposed skin of her throat.

The way those curled strands hang over her sloped neck, and I groan when her shimmer catches the lights of the chandeliers.

Rian can't take his gaze off her either, nor Leo or Jeremy for that matter.

We're all so smitten with her.

It just took me a little longer to fall for her, and I will be kicking myself with regret for the rest of my life for not realizing how I felt about her sooner.

Instead of accepting my feelings for her, I lashed out, deeming her a threat to my whole pack and my Omega, and now she will never look at me the way she looks at Rian.

Neither Omega wants anything to do with me, but I have come to accept my fate.

It's what I deserve for being so wicked to her.

Suddenly, Belle peers left and right. Then she searches the room, and it takes me a moment to realize she is looking for me.

My heart hurts.

I really don't deserve her.

I resist rushing to her side to confirm I'm still present, but I keep to the shadows.

One of us has to be on guard duty after all.

The others can sit back and enjoy the festivities.

There aren't many Betas in attendance tonight. Just several Beta companions for a myriad of packs, and a few Beta guards standing watch, but everyone else is Alpha or Omega.

That's because this is an event exclusively for Alphas and Omegas—a place where Alphas can showcase their Omegas and present them to the world.

Betas seldom get the privilege to attend such a ball.

Only those with influence get to attend tonight, and that's when my gaze latches on to the lithe woman beside Gryphon Hart.

Governor Lavender.

She's pretty with red flowing hair and bright hazel eyes, but there's something about her that I find suspicious, and it's not because she's Beta.

It's the way she glares at our governor when he's distracted by the sight of his own two Omegas.

After all, it's something she will never get to experience herself.

Pack bonds and pack life.

The Presentation will begin soon. The Omegas are lining up, and that's when I find Rian threading his fingers with Belle's before he slips away.

He mouths that he will return shortly as he goes to ascend the stage, and there's no missing the sadness in her eyes.

She's not sad that she doesn't get to present herself.

She's broken because she wants to be by Rian's side.

Alas, she will have no choice but to watch from the crowd as Gryphon and Lavender introduce him to the elite.

He's nervous. I can tell.

But I can't wish him good luck because he closed off my connection to the pack bond.

Now my pack brothers' voices are a distant murmur as I search the crowd.

There's noise all around, and it's hard to tell who is friend and who is foe in such a harsh environment.

That's when my gaze finds him…

He's as putrid as I remember—a crisp clean suit of black as he glares at the Alphas as if they're diseased.

He even has a bottle of hand sanitizer, and now my vision smears red with his blood.

Francis.

He has some nerve showing his fucking face here.

Thankfully, I come to my senses, taking several deep breaths before I do something rash.

He looks at Belle with Leo, and there's no missing the flare of anger as he realizes his plan failed.

She got out of prison in the end, and now he is running out of options.

He fidgets next, scanning the room quickly as he must have finally sensed my presence.

He was a fool to come here tonight. Because he will not be leaving alive…

I will be taking matters into my own hands.

Fuck the law.

I duck behind a marble column when his eyes drift toward me, deciding that stealth will be my best course of action.

He didn't see me.

Good.

When I peek around the column again, I find him glaring at Belle as if she's shit on the bottom of his shoe, and if he keeps looking at her that way, then I will ensure that he no longer has a nose to sniff with.

Francis covers his nose with a napkin, and it appears that the smells are getting to him.

Killing him will be easy.

But first, I want answers.

Then I can finally atone for my sins when I present his head to Belle.

He won't ever get his hands on her again.