Chapter 196: Her speech

Yuki’s entire body locked up.

Yuki? What was he doing here? she thought in confusion.

Her fingers tightened around the microphone as she stared at the silver-haired man entering the dome. The man who shared her name had appeared at Aevia’s wedding as though he had every right to be there.

She could hardly believe her eyes. He stepped into the dome with unhurried confidence, completely unaffected by the hundreds of guests surrounding him.

The chandelier light caught his silver hair, revealing a long, waist-length cascade of pure white that flowed down his back like liquid moonlight. Every step was measured and leisurely, as though the formal atmosphere and the hundreds of watching guests held no claim over him.

His resemblance to Aevia was impossible to ignore. The same delicate bone structure. The same striking eyes. Even the elegant shape of his face carried an uncanny similarity to her sister’s. Yet there was something different about him. Something older and more refined. He carried himself with the kind of effortless grace that made it seem as though he had never needed anyone’s permission to occupy a room.

And no one stopped him. Not a guard. Not a servant. Not even a curious guest. Yuki’s throat went dry. It’s really him. The man from the Great In Between.

There was no mistaking him. She had never seen anyone who looked so much like Aevia, and now that same impossible man was standing inside the Ravencourt palace as though he had simply decided to attend the wedding. His silver eyes swept lazily across the room before landing on Yuki for one brief second. Her breath caught. Then his gaze moved on and settled on Aevia.

Aevia’s expression changed. It lasted barely a second, but Yuki saw it. The colour drained slightly from her sister’s face before she quickly forced herself to recover. Her fingers tightened around the bouquet in her hand, crushing a few delicate petals between them as her lips pressed into a thin line.

Alexander noticed immediately. His brows drew together as he followed Aevia’s gaze, clearly trying to understand what had captured her attention. Yet Aevia didn’t look at him. Her eyes remained fixed towards the entrance.

The silver-haired man continued across the room until he reached a decorative pillar near the edge of the dome. He leaned casually against it and folded his arms across his chest.

There was no attempt at etiquette. No bow or greeting. He did nothing. He simply stood there, watching the room like some movie. Yuki’s attention snapped back to her sister. Aevia was doing her best to maintain her composure, but something was wrong.

Yuki had seen her sister frightened before, angry, heartbroken and even exhausted, but this was different. Their eyes met. For several seconds, neither sister moved. Then the silver-haired man smiled. It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t friendly either. A smug smile curled at the corner of his lips. A flash of anger crossed Aevia’s face before she buried it beneath a carefully composed expression. Yuki’s heart pounded. Who is he?

A long, uncomfortable silence stretched across the dome. Yuki remained frozen on the stage, the microphone hovering near her lips while the guests began exchanging confused glances. At first, the murmurs were nothing more than quiet questions.

"Why did she suddenly stop?"

"Did something happen?"

"Is she looking at someone?"

One woman leaned towards her companion, lowering her voice as though that somehow made her whisper less audible to the werewolves around them. "Do you think she saw a ghost?"

Her companion covered a small laugh with her hand. "Maybe. She looks like she just saw one."

A man at the next table glanced towards the entrance before scoffing softly. "Perhaps she isn’t used to this sort of attention. Standing in front of the entire high society is hardly the same as speaking at some little pack gathering."

"Exactly," another woman murmured. "She has no experience with this kind of occasion. Perhaps she simply froze because she has never held such an important position before."

"Chief bridesmaid at the Alpha King’s wedding is quite a position," someone else added with a faintly mocking laugh. "Perhaps they should have chosen someone with better etiquette."

The whispers grew bolder as more guests joined in, their words carrying through the enormous dome despite their attempts to keep their voices low.

"She should at least know how to conduct herself."

"Imagine freezing in the middle of a speech."

"Perhaps being Aevia’s sister doesn’t automatically make her suited for court."

The whispers reached the triplets’ ears.

Killian and Kieran’s expressions remained unchanged, their faces carefully composed as they watched Yuki standing on the stage. Kaden, however, wasn’t as successful at hiding his reaction. His gaze darkened as the contempt in the guests’ voices settled unpleasantly in his chest. His jaw rolled slowly, his teeth pressing together as he swallowed the words threatening to leave his mouth.

Eloise, of course, would never let an opportunity like this pass.

She turned towards Kaden with an expression of carefully crafted concern. "Do you think Yuki is having stage fright?" she asked softly. "It would be rather unfortunate if she couldn’t handle the attention. Especially at an event like this. It wouldn’t exactly look good for the Ravencourt family."

Her tone was gentle enough to fool anyone who wasn’t paying attention, but Kaden heard the mockery underneath every word.

He shoved the response rising in his throat back down. At that moment, he genuinely had nothing nice to say to Eloise, and saying exactly what was on his mind would only create another scene.

Instead, he forced a smile. "Maybe she simply has nothing good to say about her sister," he joked, and Eloise’s lips curved immediately.

"Perhaps," she replied, clearly pleased by his answer.

Across the table, Xavier continued staring at Yuki in confusion. He couldn’t understand what had caused her sudden reaction. His attention shifted towards the nearby tables just as a whisper reached his ears.

"She can’t even handle this?" The woman who had spoken leaned closer to the person beside her, her voice quiet but still perfectly audible to the werewolves seated nearby. "And she was supposed to be the right choice?"

Xavier’s eyes narrowed.

The woman hadn’t outright mentioned Yuki’s connection to the triplets. She didn’t need to. Everyone knew what she meant.

Alexander had made it very clear that no one was to discuss Yuki being the brothers’ rejected mate, but the ban hadn’t erased the knowledge from the court. Her words carried enough implication for everyone within hearing distance to understand exactly what she was referring to.

The woman was seated close enough to the triplets’ table that there was no possibility of them missing it. She had whispered, but they were werewolves with heightened hearing. Her statement had been an open challenge disguised as gossip.

Declan heard it too.

His brows drew together as his gaze shifted towards the woman before returning to Yuki. The disapproval in his expression was unmistakable.

Xavier’s fingers curled slightly around the edge of the table. He wanted to say something, anything, but this wasn’t the place. Not during Alexander and Aevia’s wedding reception. Not with hundreds of nobles watching.

Before he could decide whether to intervene, a cold voice spoke.

"Some people really forget whose wedding this is."

Xavier’s gaze flickered up, and he saw the icy look in Kaden’s eyes as he spoke.