Chapter 562 Welcome Banquet 4
Reluctantly, he forced himself to hold back. Even so, his hand seemed to have a mind of its own, instinctively reaching toward her wet panties as if drawn by an irresistible force.
Hearing his words, Addison immediately flushed with embarrassment.
"You beast!" she protested, attempting to growl at him.
Unfortunately, the effect was ruined by the breathless tremor in her voice. What was meant to sound threatening came out more like a flustered whimper, lacking any real conviction.
To Zion’s ears, it only made her sound even more adorable.
"You’re absolutely drenched," Zion growled in a low, husky voice, forcing himself to keep his tone restrained the moment his hand met that unmistakably wet and warm sensation. The discovery sent a spark through him, and it took every ounce of his self-control to keep his composure.
"I..." Addison began, but the words caught in her throat. She had no idea how to respond. If she claimed she didn’t like it, she would only sound insincere, her own body had already betrayed her.
"Ahem."
Sensing the steadily rising tension between Zion and Addison, the Alpha King deliberately cleared his throat, reminding both his daughter and her fated mate not to let things go any further.
Although the two believed they were being "discreet", the Alpha King had once been a young wolf himself. He knew exactly what Zion was trying to do, openly flirting with his daughter right at the dining table. He wasn’t blind, nor was he oblivious to the subtle exchanges between them. His mate had noticed it long before he did and was already hiding an amused smile behind her handkerchief.
As endearing as it was, the sight reminded them of their own younger days when they had been just as inseparable and shamelessly affectionate. Still, there was a time and place for everything, and the dining table certainly wasn’t one of them.
Besides, being force-fed such blatant displays of affection was rather unbearable.
The thought made the Alpha King pause.
’...Was I really that outrageous when I was courting my mate?’
The more he thought about it, the more he realized the answer was probably yes.
No wonder the older generation had always looked at them with the same mixture of exasperation and amusement.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere around the dining table had also grown increasingly tense. The Alpha King could feel the subtle undercurrents flowing beneath everyone’s composed expressions, making him even more determined to keep Addison and her fated mates on guard. It was especially important after seeing the unmistakable surprise on Addison’s face when she noticed Claire seated at the table.
The Alpha King’s deliberate cough successfully broke the spell.
Addison blinked before finally snapping back to reality. She bit her lower lip, trying to steady her racing heartbeat, then leaned closer to Zion and whispered, "Behave... don’t cause any trouble."
She took a slow breath, willing herself to calm down.
Zion chuckled softly, the corners of his lips curling into a cheeky grin.
"Then... can I continue later?" he asked in a voice only she could hear.
The Alpha King’s interruption had also brought him back to his senses, though not without consequence, because right now, his cock inside his pants was throbbing painfully, and he needed to take care of it, or he would suffer from blue balls. He silently suppressed a frustrated sigh, forcing himself to compose his expression.
Now was neither the time nor the place to indulge his desires, no matter how difficult it was to ignore them.
They returned to their meal as though nothing had happened, but neither Maxwell nor Levi had missed Zion’s subtle gesture.
Through the faint pull of their mate bond, they had sensed the brief surge of Addison’s desire. Although none of them had completed the mating bond by marking one another, they were fated mates with an unusually strong connection, allowing them to feel fragments of each other’s emotions even from a distance.
The fleeting sensation was enough to make both men exchange a knowing glance.
Once they returned to Addison’s chambers, they had every intention of pushing Zion aside and taking their turn with her. They were still young, after all, and a night or two of mating was hardly enough to satisfy them.
During their time in the West, they had been forced to suppress their desires, stealing only brief moments alone with Addison whenever they could no longer endure the desire surging through their veins. The restraint had only made their desire for her grow stronger.
Even so, neither of them allowed those thoughts to distract them for long.
The atmosphere around the dining table had quietly begun to shift. Beneath the polite smiles and courteous conversation, the nobles were carefully testing one another, probing for weaknesses, hidden motives, and political allegiances. Every word carried a deeper meaning, every glance meant another calculation.
Realizing this, Maxwell and Levi redirected their attention to the gathering.
Then Levi’s gaze landed on Claire.
The warmth in his expression vanished, replaced by a cold, sinister glint.
The memories he had tried to bury resurfaced without warning. He still remembered everything Addison had endured in the Midnight River Pack after Zion had returned with Claire. The humiliation. The suffering. The relentless torture that had nearly claimed Addison’s life.
Those memories had been etched into his heart.
He had never forgotten them.
And he never would.
Just like Zion and Addison, Levi couldn’t understand why Claire was seated at the main table.
The last time he had seen her, she had still been masquerading as a princess. Her web of lies had unraveled before both him and Zion, and just as they had been about to seize her and present her before the Alpha King, she had disappeared without a trace.
Yet now, there she was.
Not only had she resurfaced, but she was seated beside Princess Mila and her father as though she belonged there.
Levi’s mind immediately began piecing together the possibilities.
’Could she have found herself a powerful patron?’
His gaze shifted toward Princess Mila’s father, the Alpha King’s younger brother. A cold glint flashed across his eyes.
It wasn’t exactly a secret that the prince was an incurable womanizer. Over the years, he had fathered countless children with different women, indulging every whim without restraint. It wouldn’t be surprising if Claire had managed to catch his attention and secure his protection by becoming one of his lovers.
The thought settled heavily in his mind.
If that were true, Claire’s sudden reappearance and her privileged seat at the main table made perfect sense.
Without changing his expression, Levi reached out to Zion through their mind link, determined to confirm whether the same suspicion had crossed his Alpha’s mind.
"Alpha Zion, do you think Claire became the Alpha King’s brother’s woman?" Levi asked through their mind link, his gaze never leaving Claire. "Is that why she’s sitting at the main table, flaunting her new status right in front of us?"
"Maybe she even wanted Addie to see it, to remind her that she no longer has to hide behind lies or stolen identities because she now has someone powerful backing her. She might even think she can now challenge Addie openly."