Damon didn't spare Clara another glance. Averting his eyes, he coldly said, "Leave for now. This is a matter between us." Despite the icy tone, it was a marked improvement over his treatment of Leah.
Clara's heart soared—she wondered if he was trying to protect her reputation. Flooded with affection, she glanced gleefully at Leah, who was still glaring at Damon.
Chirping an obedient "yes," she made a slow exit, keeping eye contact with Damon until she finally had to shut the door.
With water still dripping from Damon's curly blonde hair, he cast an emotionless look at Leah before turning his back. Leah remained frozen at the door, staring at the glass in her hand.
'Clara, Damon... I'll destroy you both for what you've done to me.'
After Leah washed the glass, her body collapsed in exhaustion as the tension left her body.
When she woke up again at ten, her body was still wrecked. The aftermath of the night's intensity left her sore, her legs trembling with every step.
She quickly went to the mirror. The dress Clara had helped her into was gorgeous, but it looked like something you would wear to a red carpet event.
In the past, Leah was a war orphan who had no sense of style. Before being brought to the Wolfborn Pack at eighteen, surviving the long, cold winters the only thing on her mind.
Checking her closet, she found the wardrobe full of luxurious gowns. They were all picked by Clara. Each of them cost a fortune.
Leah winced. On Clara's suggestion that she was the 'Princess Varkos,' she had worn them every day, making a laughingstock out of herself.
After looking for a while, she finally found a full-sleeve white silk midi dress. It came with an ostentatious ostrich-feather bolero, but without it, it was a decent ankle-length dress.
...
"Is Princess Varkos finally awake? My poor Clara had been running around for the Traditional Hunt since the crack of dawn." It was a shrill voice Leah instantly recognized.
Damon's mother, Silver Luna, was talking to Luna Camile next to her. Hearing that comment, she looked at Leah with pursed lips.
The speaker was Luna Laurent, Clara's mother, from the long-allied Royal House of Varkos. Many had once expected Varkos and Mooncrest Pack to unite through marriage, and in her previous life, Luna Laurent never missed a chance to draw comparisons.
Back then, after being humiliated and thrown out of her bridal room, Leah had burst into tears and stomped away—exactly the reaction Luna Laurent wanted. Already displeased about missing the Traditional Hunt because of her, the Lunas began to silently belittle her.
From that day on, society branded her the vulgar girl who tainted the Royal House of Varkos' family line.
That was also the beginning of the endless comparisons to Clara.
"I…" Hearing the comment, Leah looked up, stopping mid-curtsy, her hand clutching her necklace, and whispered shyly, "I couldn't sleep well last night, so..."
The Lunas who were invited as guests for the wedding, immediately noticed the hickeys visible beneath the concealer, giving knowing looks to each other.
"Oh, my gosh, look at the little one!"
"Your Highness should have been more considerate. She's still a half-human..."
"Hey! Hey! Since when do lycans care about that? I didn't leave my marriage bed for three days straight! My family still won't let me live it down."
"Why didn't I know Wolfborn Pack had such a pretty daughter… Oh!" Luna Camile stopped midway, realizing the blunder she had made.
It was no secret that the new Princess Varkos was an orphan, growing up on crumbs, God knows where.
Her mother, Genevieve Wolfborn, was a lycan warrior who got pregnant during the war by some human slave.
She was born with no father and dumped at the orphanage right after birth, only brought back by her grandfather after she turned eighteen to marry Prince Damon Varkos.
Thinking of that, Silver Luna coldly glanced at Leah.
As the Lunas waited for her reaction, Leah simply smiled at the ladies.
She quietly stepped into the gazebo and curtsied. "Your Highness, Silver Luna."
Silver Luna Selene did not want to be nice to the girl, but they were still in public. She held back her discontent and nodded without expression.
"Auntie Selene!" Clara's chirpy voice cut through the thick tension.
Clara entered the pavilion with a huge smile on her face. She placed the lacquered box down before wrapping Silver Luna in a back hug.
Silver Luna, who had been expressionless, immediately smiled. "Dear Clara! Why are you here already? Weren't you tired from preparing the Traditional Hunt all day?"
"I am!" Clara tilted her head cutely. "But… I just couldn't leave you ladies alone with no fun when I know you must have missed the Hunt!" She smiled, placing the big box on the table.
The Lunas cast subtle glances at Leah, looking for jealousy on the young bride's face at the differential treatment, and were surprised to see her nonchalantly sipping the served tea.
"Alas… a Hunt after all these years and no Ceremonial Run," Luna Laurent scoffed, adjusting her shawl. "What kind of royal marriage is that… if only…."
She cast a lamenting glance at Clara and sighed. Other women looked at both young women.
Clara was a well-traveled and well-educated beauty who immediately entranced you, with soft golden hair and huge grey eyes. Her lineage traced back to great generals. She looked like a model—a perfect Lycan Princess.
Leah, on the other hand, was merely five feet tall, had just graduated late from high school, and had a human slave for a father and a deserted warrior for a mother.
"I thought we would run behind Clara in the ceremonial run soon… If I knew, even my Solane was..." Before Luna Vivienne finished her sentence, she was hit on the hand by Luna Camile.
Luna Vivienne's smile suddenly disappeared. She looked to Clara with pity, who blushed, seeming embarrassed.
Everyone's eyes fell on Leah, who was eating the refreshments elegantly as if the remarks had nothing to do with her.
It wasn't that Leah had thick skin; she was just used to people rubbing her husband and his childhood sweetheart's tragic love story like salt into her wound.
Looking up, she smiled, resuming her breakfast. Their chatter didn't irritate her. She didn't come here to take the bait today; she was here to hunt.
All these women wanted their daughters to be the next Princess Varkos, but since it was Clara, they could understand the loss. To lose to a no-name orphan was an insult to them.
Silver Luna Selene pursed her lips.
Had it not been for the Alpha King—Damon's grandfather—who had issued the command, would such a woman even get to look at the Royal House of Varkos? To Selene, Leah was a stain on her perfect son.
"What did you bring us?" Silver Luna Selene curtly changed the topic, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold back her rage if she kept looking at the girl.
"Auntie, actually I got something very special to my heart for you." Clara goofily stuck out her tongue, smiling. "Please take a look."
Silver Luna did not hesitate and unboxed the carefully wrapped package before she saw a stunning Traditional Russian Gzhel ceramic serving set etched with frost motifs and ancient Eastern pack insignia.
The women leaned forward.
"How exquisite."
"Is that Volkov silverwork?"
"It must be custom."
Silver Luna Selene had a huge smile on her face, feeling extremely proud when hearing the compliments.
"It is my Clara's most prized possession. She won't even let her mother touch it." Luna Laurent took the opportunity to approach her and said, "It was gifted to her by the Eastern Veterans' Relief Chapter after she donated the trust fund her grandfather had left her to their rehabilitation fund in college."
This remark caused even more shock among the ladies. Everyone looked surprised.
The hundred-year war that ended twenty years ago, when the current Alpha King took the throne and put an end to the slavery system and tribal rulership, had casualties in the hundreds of millions and made them realize traditional rulerships could no longer work. Thus, a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy were established.
Once the Alpha King and Alphas took only ceremonial roles and parliamentary democracy ruled, wars between countries and regions came to an end.
"Clara donated everything the former Alpha of Mooncrest left her?"
"My God! Such a generous child at such a young age!"
"Selene, I'm really going to take Clara back to my pack now."
Everyone in their generation had lost someone precious in that war. Luna Selene had lost her brother and father, so it touched them all.
Clara smiled elegantly, nodding to all the compliments with grace.
Silver Luna sighed inwardly, gently touching the blue rim. If only Clara were her daughter-in-law. Looking at Leah, still nonchalantly eating, her smile disappeared.
Leah knew clearly what Silver Luna was thinking.
"Leah, where are your wedding gifts?" Clara successfully moved the focus back onto Leah. She smiled happily.
Indeed, it was Leah who got married, and Clara was the one presenting gifts to Damon's family.
Clara had taken care of everything. Besides, it had been years for her; she had no idea where they could be since she didn't see them anywhere while looking for a dress.
With a smile, Leah picked up a plate. "Clara, did you receive this gift of honour yourself?"