Chapter 102

The reboot of Lady Vaschell’s exclusive dinner party garnered more and more attention as the day grew closer, it was even far bigger of a deal than the first one had been. Especially after the pictures taken of the Luna Queen and Lady Vaschell circulated the internet.
There was one person who wasn’t pleased about the dinner party though was her mate, Lukas. He lounged on their bed with an unimpressed look as she got dressed for the event.
“I’ll be fine, Lukas, I promise.” Claire tried to reassure him, she had gone out almost every single day of the week that just passed so she had more or less completely recovered from her kidnapping.
Lukas was looking to have a much harder time than her though, especially as the first dinner party was the reason she had been taken in the first place. “I’ll come with you then,” He decided, sounding very serious.
“I don’t want you sitting out in the car waiting for me,” Claire was quick to shoot down his plans.
“I don’t mind,” Lukas shrugged.
“Well I do,” Claire countered, she would have offered to have Lukas escort her to the dinner party but it would be odd to have Lukas be the only male at the party. “I’ll be going with extra security but Sabrina knows not to put the safety of her important guests at risk.” She explained.
Lukas was clearly listening to her but nothing would convince him so she shouldn’t have even tried. She was in an elegant black dress with a cowl neck, she had gone with simple silver jewelry, and even her crown was a little half silver crown.
She walked over to him when she was all done dressing, sitting on him when he sat up as she approached. "I'll be fine, I promise, and you don't have to wait up for me." She added, knowing that Lukas would do that regardless. It was overwhelming to be cherished so much.
Lukas gently cupped her face and tilted his head so that his lips found her neck. After finding out that Lukas darkened the mark on her neck every time she went out was to announce her as his, her knees went weak eevery timehe did it.
She blinked up at him with dazed eyes when he gave her some respite, wishing she could kiss him but not wanting to smear her lipstick on him.
Lukas had to be the one to take her outside to the car that would take her to Lady Vaschell’s manor because her legs took their time functioning again.
It was already dark, the sun had long set. The dinner would go on till very late in the night so it was only right that it began late as well. The moon was evident in the cloudless night sky, the glowing ivory orb casting aanethereal glowing over the city's neon lights.
Rosie had taken the weekend off to pay her parents a short visit so her assistant wasn't accompanying her to the dinner party. Even if she were around, Claire would have insisted that she stayed behind.
Claire couldn't help but feel tense as the car she was in drove through the wwell-litroads. She knew it was baseless but she couldn't help her reaction. She was well protected though, there was a car in front and a car behind her all filled with bodyguards.
Lukas had gone all out this time but what made Claire feel reassured was that no matter what happened to her, Lukas would definitely come for her. That was more reassuring than the entourage of bodyguards that had been sent with her.
Sabrina's Manor was literally glowing from all of the decorative lights affixed to it, and tens of expensive cars parked outside. Claire was led in by a butler, and two bodyguards followed her to the entrance of the Manor to protect her from the swarming paparazzi who were too eager to get a picture of the Luna Queen.
Sabrina herself came out to get her friend, something that she never did for anyone else. The media ate this up, their camera shutters going off in rapid succession as the two ladies hugged in front before stepping in.
The foyer was brightly lit as they stepped in but it was a welcome change to the flashing of the cameras outside.
"I'm so glad you could make it, Luna Claire," Sabrina said with the biggest smile on her face.
She was in a black and white leopard print dress that clung to her body like a second skin, the dress was slashed in a jagged cut that showed off her middle.
"I'm happy to be here, you put so much work into it," Claire complimented.
"Wait till you see the ballroom," Sabrina grinned, taking her hand to lead her there.
Claire was awed, Lola needed to attend one of Sabrina's parties to get fresh ideas, tand he werewolf was very creative. The ballroom was converted into a dining room worthy of a multimillion-dollar budget movie, and there was a dance floor in front of the stage which was on an elevated platform.
The ballroom was slowly filling with gorgeously dressed women, Claire saw a lot of familiar faces, familiar because they constantly appeared in the media. Sabrina didn't let her go even once, insisting on staying by her side the entire time.
Everyone was so polite with each other, heels clicking on polished marble floors as conversation buzzed in the ballroom. The dance floor was hardly for dancing and was instead used for mingling.
Dapper waiters weaved in between groups with hors d'oeuvres and glasses of expensive wine on trays.
Claire nursed a glass of wine, holding the exquisitely sparkling drink by the slender stem of the champagne glass. Everyone wanted to meet her and Sabrina so they were always talking to someone every other time, Claire would like to take a break.
Fortunately, at that point, someone came to whisper something in Sabrina's ears.
Claire waited expectantly for Sabrina to be done having the whispered conversation with a lady dressed in casual clothes.
"I'm sorry, Luna Claire but I'm needed backstage," Sabrina apologized.
Claire just waved her apology off, "It's fine, Sabrina, take as much time as you need." She reassured her, "Come find me when you're done, my legs are starting to hurt though so you might find me sitting." She added in a whispered voice, leaning ccloserto her conspiratorially.
Sabrina's laughter rang out, clear and lilting. "I'll be back soon, I promise!" She said in a rush, hurrying off.
Claire shook her head fondly, wondering how the half werewolf still had so much energy after endlessly socializing for at least half an hour.
She slowly drifted through the ballroom, taking the chance to get a proper look around. She hadn't had the time to do that early because she was too busy carrying on conversations.
She noticed as she walked through the ballroom that although a lot of people looked at her with curious eyes, none of them approached her. It was evident that the reason so many people had hurried to have a conversation with her was because she was with Sabrina. It made Claire wonder if she was really that intimidating because she didn't feel that way.
Now that she took a proper look around, she noticed that there were a handful of photographers but they kept to the fringes of the ballroom, staying out of sight so much that it took her this long to notice them.
After sufficiently touring the ballroom, Claire decided that it was time for her to take that breather. Sabrina still wasn't back from wherever she had gone and Claire didn't mind, she dropped her half empty glass on a passing waiter's tray, walking back to find a suitable seat.
She didn't get far though because the very last person she expected to see stepped right into her path, blocking her off. Claire’s brow furrowed, "Alina?"
"That's right," The werewolf princess said haughtily, staring her down.
Claire winced, she was just about to get off her feet, she really didn't want to deal with a headache like Alina. "What a pleasant surprise to see you here," She lied through her teeth, wishing she could just walk away from this conversation. But the paparazzi were here, taking evidence of everything that was happening so she had to play nice.