Chapter 190: The Wrong Kind of Drama
Aurora's Pov
There she was.
Lena was in the door frame like it was hers. She wore a silk robe that hung loose on one side, hair all messed up in a "just got out of bed" style that must have taken an hour to make right. Her smile was big, showing off teeth, but with a sharp edge.
“Don’t stop on my account,” she purred, stepping inside with the slow grace of a predator. “I’d hate to interrupt… whatever this is.”
Annie stiffened beside me, her coffee cup hovering halfway to her lips. Gabriel’s smirk faltered. Rafael busied himself with his plate like if he didn’t make eye contact, he could pretend she wasn’t there.
Alessandro didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But I saw it the subtle tightening of his jaw, the faint twitch in his fingers against the tablecloth.
I swallowed. “Lena.” My voice came out cooler than I expected.
“Didn’t know you were staying here.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” she drawled, circling the table until she stood just behind Alessandro’s chair,
“I stay wherever I’m welcome.”
Her manicured nails brushed the back of his shoulder as she leaned down close enough that I caught the faint scent of her perfume.
My stomach knotted.
“I missed breakfast yesterday,” she continued, her gaze flicking to me, eyes glittering with something sharp.
“But I see I came at the perfect time.”
Alessandro’s hand lowered from his knife to rest flat on the table.
“Lena,” he said, his voice low, warning.
She ignored him. “So… what were you two talking about before I arrived?”
The question hung in the air like a lit fuse, ready to blow.
I opened my mouth to answer God knows what would have come out, but Alessandro beat me to it.
“What are you doing here, Lena?” His tone was flat, almost bored, but I could hear the steel beneath it.
She scoffed, tilting her head like he’d just asked the world’s dumbest question.
“Alessandro… I have every right to be here, since I am carrying your brother’s child—” she glanced around the table, letting the words settle like poison—“and the future heir to this pack.”
I saw it then. Alessandro’s knuckles whitening around the handle of his knife, the muscle in his jaw twitching like he was fighting the urge to put it straight through her.
“Lena,” Rafael’s voice cut through the tension, low and razor-edged, “you are not welcome here. And you know that.”
Her eyes slid away from Alessandro and me, landing on Rafael with slow, deliberate contempt then caught on Annie.
“Oh…” she drawled, smile curling cruelly, “and this must be one of your sluts you drag into bed, Rafael.
So typical of you to bring one of them to the dining table.”
My blood boiled. How dare she call my friend a slut?
I was halfway to snapping back when Annie, bless her fiery little heart, beat me to it.
“Oh, I see…” Annie leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs like she was settling in for a show.
“You must be the infamous Lena everyone’s been talking about. The bitch who’s always sniffing around for something she can never have.”
Lena’s smile faltered, the mask slipping just enough for the cold fury underneath to show.
Annie didn’t stop there. “I mean, really throwing yourself at men who don’t want you?
Pretending you matter more than you do? That’s not confidence, honey… that’s desperation in heels.”
The room went dead quiet. Lena's eyes turned to thin lines, her whole body shook with anger she held back.
Then, she made her move.
Her hand swung up fast, her fingers set to hit Annie's cheek, but something caught her eye.
She stopped, shock showing as she breathed hard.
“You’re... human?” she spat out, her words full of shock and hate.
“A human speaking to me this way?”
Annie raised an eyebrow. “Seems so.”
Lena’s lip twisted, her anger breaking free, just then, a firm, loud voice cut through the air.
“Stop.”
Leonardo walked in, his presence heavy like a storm.
His eyes fixed on Lena’s hand up in the air, and he spoke with a voice that meant trouble.
“Put it down, Lena. Now.”
Everyone at the table froze, their breaths held in the tight space between her anger and his order.
Without a word, he strode to Lena, his presence swallowing the space between them.
Before she could react, his hand closed firmly around hers.
“Leonardo—” she began, but his grip tightened.
He didn’t slow down.
He walked towards her, ignoring the startled gasps from the table, and dragged her away from the dining room.
Her heels scraped the floor, her breath catching in a mix of shock and anger as his long strides forced her to follow.
“Leonardo what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Lena snapped, twisting her wrist, but his hold was unyielding.
“Removing you before you embarrass yourself further,” he said, his tone calm but with that quiet thunder beneath it.
“I wasn’t embarrassing myself,” she shot back, heels clicking against the hardwood as he dragged her toward the hall.
“I was putting a human in her place.”
Leonardo stopped dead, spinning to face her so fast her robe swayed around her legs.
“Her place? You think you can walk in here and insult my pack, my family, and my guests?”
Her chin lifted defiantly. “Your guests shouldn’t disrespect me—”
“You earned every word Annie gave you,” he cut in, his voice slicing the air.
“And if you’d touched her…” He leaned in just enough for his eyes to pin her in place.
“We’d be having a very different conversation right now.”
Lena scoffed, but there was a flicker just a flicker of uncertainty in her gaze.
“You’re defending her? A human? Over me?”
Leonardo’s jaw tightened. “Over you? Right now? Yes. Every damn time.”
She laughed, bitter and sharp. “You’ll regret talking to me like this.”
He didn’t flinch. “I already regret letting you through the door.”
With that, he resumed walking, dragging her along without another glance back at the table.
The sound of her muttered curses trailed behind them until they vanished into the hall, leaving an echo of tension in their wake.
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