The Lycan King's Rebel Countess

Chapter 8 - Forever the baroness, never the princess.

SIERRA BELIEVED NOW THAT Seth was gone, she could claim that he had abandoned her and if she played her cards right, she could seduce the king. Then she would finally be higher ranked than Daniëlla, and she could ruin her stepsister’s life.

She was smiling about her plans when she noted the king dragging the prince off somewhere and, in her mind’s eye, she could already imagine herself as the queen who was dragging Daniëlla out of the conversation of any future event.

Royal life suited her. Of course, her mother made sure she was always dressed in the finest, but the Viscountess had strict rules, and she bought Sierra a new wardrobe as soon as she arrived. Sierra was also allowed to wear some of the cheaper jewels to make sure the Viscountess didn’t look bad in front of anyone. They quickly became friends because Sierra knew how to play on the sympathies of the old woman.

CAMERON DRAGGED JARED into the castle where none of their guests would hear and Jared instantly looked offended. They were twins, and the only thing that made things different was the fact that Cameron was born first.

If Jared had known while he was in his mother’s womb, he would have kicked his brother out of the way to make sure he was born first. He pulled his jacket back into place and glared at his brother. That was the only other thing that was different between them. Jared’s eyes were never as striking as Cameron’s had been. His eyes were a duller green. Jade, his mother used to call it, while Cameron’s eyes always seemed to shine like emeralds.

“I told you to break things off with Anita!” Cameron growled at his brother and he could see the shock in Jared’s eyes.

“I did. Am I not allowed to talk to her now?” Cameron could see that Jared was lying by the way he suddenly tried to avoid his brother’s gaze.

“Stop lying to me!” Cameron grabbed his brother around the throat and shoved him up against the wall.

“Did that little tart tell you?” Jared looked furious while struggling against his brother’s grip. They might have been born as twins, but the differences were quickly becoming clear. Thanks to his rank, Cameron was a lot stronger than Jared, and it infuriated Jared to the point where he forgot that he was trying to hide his affair with Anita from his brother.

“She didn’t have to, you i***t! The rumours have spread all around the castle.” Cameron let go and stepped away, turning his back on his brother. Jared couldn’t believe how incredibly arrogant Cameron had become. If Jared moved quickly enough, he could kill his brother and, with no witnesses around, nobody would dare blame him.

“Do you realize what kind of position you are putting us in? I’m warning you, Jared. If you ruin this for us, I will not hesitate to throw you out of the kingdom.” Cameron growled before storming out again. Jared knew better than to go after the source of his troubles right away.

He knew all eyes would be on him the moment he returned to the party, and someone would tell his brother if so much as touched a hair on the little tart’s head! He made his way outside and very quickly became slightly intoxicated.

One of the side effects of being a wolf was that you couldn’t get blind drunk and, most of the time, he cursed the fact that he couldn’t drink away his problems the same way humans could. Like on the night that Cameron informed him, he was to marry, and that it wouldn’t be Anita.

He loved Anita. She was his destined mate. He wanted to be with her. She was of noble blood. She was a lady. But Cameron didn’t see it that way, and Jared wondered if his brother wanted Anita for himself. He found Anita talking to a group of women and walked right past her to where Daniëlla was standing.

She jumped the moment he put his arm around her. He joined the conversation and tried his best to smile, but he could feel Anita’s glare burning into his back. As if dealing with Cameron wasn’t enough, he knew he would have to deal with his very upset mistress later.

Daniëlla knew that Cameron was the reason behind Jared’s sudden interest, and she paid him no mind while she answered questions about the upcoming wedding and all the events planned before it. There was strict royal protocol and her omega had already explained everything.

On the one hand, it made everything so much easier, since Daniëlla didn’t have to waste any time on arrangements. On the other hand, she would have appreciated having some say in what was going to be the biggest day of her entire life.

Daniëlla glared when Anita decided to join the group, but when she tried to excuse herself, Jared’s grip grew tighter, and he wouldn’t let her go. She didn’t want to be in the middle of their tiff. She didn’t even want to be there.

“So, Daniëlla…” Anita smiled, purposefully not using any kind of title. “Will you keep your title as countess once you marry?” She sneered, and it nauseated Daniëlla, but she smiled and sighed deeply.

“I don’t think I will need it then, Anita. I will be the princess.” Daniëlla wished that she could say what she was thinking, but she kept the words back. “Unlike you who will forever be a baroness.” She thought as she smiled at the group of people who suddenly seemed incredibly uncomfortable.

“If you will all excuse me. I see someone I simply have to catch up with.” Daniëlla waved at nobody in particular, but a young woman waved back and this time Jared let her go. He had his own problems to deal with and felt he had spent enough time with his future bride.

Knowing Cameron, he would already be back in his office and not paying attention to what Jared was up to. Daniëlla walked up to the young woman and introduced herself and found it delightful to speak to someone her own age for a while.

They both enjoyed reading and the young woman’s mother recently passed, which meant they could understand each other’s lives to a certain extent. Daniëlla remembered how she felt when she lost her mother and she and the girl talked for what felt like the rest of the afternoon.

When the time came for the last of the guests to say goodbye, Daniëlla felt better than she had in a while, and she promised to invite the girl over for tea.