Lucian's POV
*****
"Alpha Prince." Beta Axel's voice was plain as he eyed Lucian stoically before bowing slightly. "Good evening. Or, at least, I trust you've been having a good evening."
Lucian squinted his eyes at the man, his jaw clenching. He could smell it.
Wrapped around the Beta like a miasma was HIS scent. Elian's scent.
Lucian had hated it just a few seconds ago when Aurora pointed out that she could pick up Elian's scent on him but for some reason... Smelling that same scent coming from another man was infuriating.
The plain and unbothered expression on the Beta's face as he proceeded to walk past him and sit on the table ticked Lucian further, his hands balling into fists beside him.
"Ahem!" The Alpha King cleared his throat, causing Lucian to glance at him.
His father kept his gaze on him for a bit before he proceeded to walk to his seat at the head of the table, drumming his fingers on the table.
"I still see no sign of the O..." He paused, drawing in a slight breath. "Elian. Where is he?"
Beta Axel furrowed his eyebrows, scanning his gaze on every face present before he spoke.
"No one can find Elian? He's in one of the special guest rooms. I escorted him there, and he seemed really comfortable. I told the maids on that floor about the room so they could take note."
Lucian stared at the Beta, feeling like he was about to roll his eyes.
The man was trying too hard to be... Perfect. Loveable. Kind.
Or was he only noticing this because he wasn't any of those things himself?
'Screw being loveable.' Lucian thought to himself, shaking his head in reality.
"I wonder why he's not in his room." Beta Axel blurted just then, seeming genuinely troubled.
Meanwhile, Aurora grabbed a glass of wine in front of her and took a sip before remarking. "Hmm... I wonder why too."
She glanced at Lucian with a knowing glint in her eyes, causing him to grunt as he sat, adjusting his slick black hair.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Lucian said with a snigger, grabbing a spoon. "Who knows? Maybe he realized how useless he would be as my mate and decided to run away."
There was a drawn-out silence after that, and Lucian could feel his father's silent stare in that moment. But then instead of him, another voice spoke up.
"Elian might not be as important a mate to you. Doesn't mean he's not important to others." Beta Axel said with a firm voice, causing Lucian to tilt his head at him.
Well, well, well...
"Aw, so you find the Omega important, Beta?" Lucian pretended to be invested, resting his face on his right hand. "Bet he made quite the impression. I can smell how much you enjoyed him."
Aurora who had wine in her mouth nearly choked, spitting out some of it and covering her mouth with her right hand before staring at Lucian with a "what the fuck is your problem" look.
Meanwhile, Beta Axel's jaw clenched as he locked his eyes on Lucian's face. "You're being unnecessarily vulgar, Alpha Prince. It's unfitting of... Young boys like yourself."
Lucian felt like he had just been splashed with a bucket of cold water.
Young... What?!
He gritted his teeth and was about to say something brash when he suddenly heard the sound of incoming footsteps. He swerved his head in the direction of the footsteps and spotted Estella and his mother walking in, both wearing elegant evening gowns.
Estella had a bright smile on her face, her lush blonde hair done into a high chignon with blue moonstones glued on it.
"Good evening, Alpha King. Good evening everyone." She greeted before stopping behind Lucian, placing her right hand on his shoulder and whispering. "Good evening, my prince. You look stressed. Perhaps you want a little massage after dinner?"
Lucian blinked a few times, taking in her scent.
He was… Non-discriminating in terms of gender when it came to his partners. He and Estella have had a history a few times, but they just couldn't make a connection outside casual interactions.
The thing is, usually he would be willing to take up her offer and even take things a step further... But all he could think about right now was the Omega.
His mate.
Just thinking about that word when thinking about him was jarring and almost unbelievable, but it was his reality. His wolf howled in his soul, trying to get him to find Elian.
"Dinner looks ravishing today." The Luna Queen remarked, sitting at the Alpha King's right hand side before she turned her gaze to her daughter. "Aurora, isn't your mate joining us for today?"
Lucian glanced at his sister as Estella sat beside him, subtly placing her left hand on his lap underneath the table.
"Oh, Magnus wouldn't be able to attend dinner. He still needs to... Prepare stuff at home." Aurora said with a blush, playing around with her drink.
The Luna Queen squinted, nodding slowly. "Right..." She brought her gaze to Lucian, raising an eyebrow. "And Lucian?"
Lucian was conflicted as Estella trailed her fingers on his lap, bringing them slowly to his forbidden area. She's always been a wild card and her touch was supposed to be bringing some kind of reaction down there.
But there was nothing but a deep-seated disgust and agitation as his mother called him again.
"Lucian..."
He swerved his head to her, seeing the curiosity and hesitation in her eyes as she cleared her throat.
"Your... Mate. The Omega. Where is he?"
Lucian's eyes twitched as he finally swatted Estella's hand on his lap, causing her to freeze with shock.
But he ignored that as he blurted flatly to his mother. "We don't know where he is, Mom. And if you ask me, it's better that way. He's a stain on my image anyway."
The Luna Queen parted her lips slightly as if her stance on Omegas had suddenly changed overnight after her son got mated to one.
Maybe it did... But Lucian couldn't give less of a fuck.
The Luna Queen's fingers curled around her goblet, her knuckles paling just slightly. Her voice was gentle, but the hesitation behind it betrayed something deeper — discomfort, perhaps... or guilt.
"I know how... Unnerving the idea of being mated to an Omega might be." His mother muttered. "But it's the moon goddess' will, son. And if there's one constant in this empire, it's that we should—"
"Always trust the goddess' will." Lucian completed with a roll of his eyes. "Been there, done that. Wouldn't change the fact that he's an Omega, does it?"
There was silence at the table after he said that.
His mother blinked with confusion at first before she let out a sigh, glancing at her husband.
But the Alpha King kept a neutral expression, ignoring the conversation entirely.
Seeing his father's nonchalance made Lucian grit his teeth at the same moment that Beta Axel got on his feet, clearing his throat.
"I'll go find Elian." He said plainly, stepping away from the table.
Estella's eyes lit up like she was about to speak but the look Axel shot at her silenced her. She blinked rapidly, her lashes fluttering like wings clipped mid-flight.
Still, her hand lingered on Lucian's lap beneath the table, as if silently staking her claim despite his reactions.
But Lucian didn't even glance her way.
His grip on his spoon tightened, the clinking metal the only sound he could hear over the chaos in his mind.
Why did Axel care so much? Why did HE care that Axel cared?
He couldn't sit here pretending to be unaffected, not when his blood was humming with something annoyingly close to jealousy.
'It can't be fucking jealousy. No way…' he thought to himself, shaking his head slowly.
"I'm going for a little walk," he muttered, rising before anyone could question him further.
Without explaining more, he turned around and walked away, although deep in his mind, he knew he wasn't going for any "walk".
What was that Omega up to?