The Lycan Series
The Lycan King’s Breeder Chapter 43

Avalyn's

POV

"I really don't know if this is such a good idea." I glanced toward Dawn, unsure.

Another dinner. Why did they have to keep forcing me to attend these? The last time I went to dinner with them, it had been a really uncomfortable experience for me.

She smiled as she gripped my hands with hers. "It's going to be fine, stop worrying so much."

"You said that the last time too, you know?" I replied. "I don't know, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Do you feel sick? Do you need to go see Lydia?" She asked worriedly, a look of urgency washing over her face.

I gave her a small smile. "I'm all right. I just don't want to go." I said, puckering my lips in a small pout. Dawn rolled her eyes as she chuckled a little bit.

"Come on, Avalyn. It's just a small dinner to welcome Emily back to the pack, we're going to have fun. Oh, and we're definitely getting drunk." She giggled.

I gave her a quizzical look. "You do know I can't consume alcohol, right? I have a baby growing inside of me."

"Oh. You're right." Dawn said awkwardly. "But you're going anyway."

I groaned at this. I really didn't want to be there, I was tired and needed to rest. And the fact that Willow was going to be present at this party made my skin crawl. I could still feel the way her hands had tightened around my neck, cutting off my oxygen circulation. She scared me, a whole lot, and being in the same room with her just filled me with dread.

I sighed as I watched Dawn running around the room getting ready. She had really outdone herself again while dressing me. My long hair had been curled and pinned up in a partial updo, and my makeup was done to perfection, with small hints of powdered blush highlighting my cheeks and giving my face a more innocent appearance.

Even the long formal gown she picked was beautiful, its light brown color was a contrast to Talon's dark brown eyes. Those same eyes were fixed in my mind every night before I went to sleep, I didn't know when it began to happen, but I felt safe and protected whenever he was around.

By the time Dawn and I reached the doors to the ground hall, Greg and Cassie were already there. They greeted us with smiles and I couldn't help but notice how dashing they looked in what they were wearing. Cassie had on a strapless black gown that complemented her figure perfectly, while Greg had on a jet-black suit, with a red tie. Honestly, they reminded me of Hollywood couples on a red carpet.

"Oh wow. You guys look so amazing," I said, smiling politely at them.

A chuckle fell from Cassie's lips as she smiled. "I could say the same about you as well. Radiant as always, Miss Avalyn."

I felt heat creep up my cheeks at the compliment. "Thank you, Cassie."

All of a sudden, a loud shriek interrupted our conversation. We all turned towards the source of the noise and I watched in horror as two little boys sprinted toward Dawn, tackling her to the ground. They screamed her name in unison and I realized they were actually hugging her.

"Goddess!" Cassie exclaimed as she proceeded to pull the boys off of Dawn who was still on the floor. "Who let you boys in here?" She scolded them both.

"I did." Emily's voice called from behind us. "It's my party, let the kids have fun." She chuckled as she ran over to pick one of the children up, throwing him in the air and catching him. The child laughed in excitement.

I helped Dawn off the floor and dusted the dirt off her dress. "Are you okay?" I asked, staring at her in concern.

"I'm fine, thanks. Those little devils." She sighed. "They're my nephews, I believe I've told you about them."

She had. I could remember her mentioning them once or twice. So, I nodded to her.

"Well that's Nathan," she pointed to the little boy in Emily's hands. "And that's Ethan. Don't let their cute faces fool you, they're horrible children."

I chuckled as I watched Emily struggle with Nathan who was trying to run to his mother. I had become so comfortable with everyone here, they made me feel at home. I couldn't believe they were the same people I'd been scared of in the beginning. "Shall we go inside?" Greg asked after everyone had tidied up.

Nodding my head, I took Dawn's arm and followed behind Cassie and Greg, Emily and the twins walked behind us. Dawn had tried to be highly reassuring, but I wasn't feeling as confident as I had been feeling the last time I was invited to a dinner party. "You're going to be fine. Don't worry, you'll be sitting with me at our own table." Dawn reassured.

"We'll have a table to ourselves?" I asked confused. The last time, we sat at the King's table with his guests.

"Of course. It's Emily's welcome party, she'll be seated with the Alpha and Luna, and so we're going to have another table to ourselves." Dawn replied.

I felt a little bit disappointed since I wasn't going to be close to Talon, but I tried to ignore it. Dawn led us to an empty table and we both took our seats. I watched as Emily made her way to the front of the room, she gave Willow an obviously fake smile as she took her seat. Even from across the room, I could feel the strong tension between them.

"You could just slice the tension between them with a butter knife. She looks so uncomfortable," Dawn whispered as if she could read my thoughts.

I giggled and looked toward the front of the room, Emily had a small frown on her face as she sipped from her glass, it was obvious she didn't want to be there.

"What's the deal with her and Willow anyway?" I asked curiously.

"I really don't know. She just doesn't like her." Dawn sighed. "It was so bad, the fights and quarrels. And Emily being her usual self wasn't scared to make it clear that she wasn't a fan of Willow. That was why Alpha had to send her away... if it was somebody else, they'd be dead the moment they said anything disrespectful about Willow."

I stared in silence, wondering what the actual reason for Emily's behavior was. Yes, I knew that Willow wasn't my favorite person. But they had to be a reason for the animosity between them.

After the first few hours of us being there, I began to actually enjoy the music and Dawn's company. She was really fun when drunk out of her mind. By the time the second round of meals had been dished, she was already a slurring mess.

"Ugh..." Dawn groaned loudly. "I think I'm going to throw up soon." She slurred as she slowly began getting up from her seat.

I stared at her in amusement, trying not to laugh. "You want me to help you to the rest-"

She didn't let me finish. "It's fine, Avalyn. Just enjoy the meal, I'll be back," she said with a dismissing wave, as she walked towards the door to exit the hall.

A small chuckle left my lips as I watched her go. Dawn was something else, she had made a promise to herself that she would never touch another bottle of alcohol, but here she was, drunk out of her mind. I couldn't help but find the situation really funny.

I had been seated alone for a couple of minutes wondering why Dawn hadn't made it back when I felt a presence behind me. I turned around sharply, only to be met with a pair of deep brown orbs.

Talon...

He stood before me in all his glory. His curly black hair slicked back and pulled up into a loose bun, he looked so majestic. The first two buttons of his black shirt were unbuttoned, putting the tanned skin of his collarbone on full display. For a split second, I forgot how to breathe.

"How're you enjoying the party so far, Avalyn?" His deep and sultry voice rang out. The way he said my name... Fuck!

"Ah... I-it's fine." I stuttered. I couldn't concentrate on anything that wasn't this man. How could I when he was looking at me like that?

He hummed as he walked straight to the empty seat beside me and pulled it out. My eyes widened as he settled down on the seat. I looked around and saw that nobody was even paying attention to us, but it still didn't put my mind at ease. Willow could be lurking around and she would kill me.

"How're you feeling?" He asked softly, his eyes going from my stomach to my lips.

"I'm good... I feel fine." I replied just as softly.

"That's nice," he said, not once did he look away from my lips.

Instinctively, I pulled my lower lip in between my teeth and gave it a small bite. Talon's eyes immediately flickered to mine and I felt my body shiver in arousal. I was so sure he noticed the change in my scent. We had been taught in school that different emotions had different scents to werewolves. He stared at me for a moment, before he sighed and buried his face in his palms. "You're messing with my head, Avalyn." He groaned huskily.

I stared at him in shock, hoping to God that nobody heard that. As I looked around the room, I locked eyes with Emily from across the room, she had an amused smirk on her face as she stared at me. I didn't understand what was going on so I raised a questioning eyebrow and she jerked her head to the side, gesturing to Willow.

I felt chills run down my spine at the realization that Willow had been staring at Talon and me all along. She had a deep scowl on her face as she glared daggers at me.

Had she heard what Talon had said?

No, she couldn't have. We sat so far apart for her to eavesdrop on our conversation, even with her wolf hearing.

Talon must have noticed the color drain from my face because he looked at me worriedly. "Are you feeling all right?" He asked.

"I feel really tired. I-I probably n-need to go lay down." I stammered out as I noticed Willow still glaring at me. Memories of her hand choking me filled my head and I tried not to panic.

Before I knew what was going on, Talon stood to his feet and helped me out of my seat, drawing the attention of a few people nearby. I thought he would just let go of my hand, but he didn't. He walked me towards the door and led me into the night. Just before the door shut behind us, I saw Willow lift her glass to take a sip, never once breaking eye contact with me.

Shoot, I was going to die.