Chapter 110

In New York, a five-star hotel had already been prepared for the slew of important dignitaries that would be arriving shortly. When Claire and Lukas’ cars pulled up to the hotel, the media were already waiting to capture the moment.
At the same time, another royalty was arriving, it was none other than Luna Queen Kim Yae-ji. Ignoring the media who were eager to take pictures of her and have a word with her. The beautiful Luna Queen made her way over to Lukas and Claire, a soft smile on her face.
“How pleasant that we arrived at the same time,” She beamed, offering a hug to Claire. “I’m so glad that I got to congratulate you both in person…”
Yae-ji was still as affable and pleasant as always, Claire couldn’t help but think that it was a good omen that the Korean Luna Queen was the first werewolf royalty she met. They posed for the media and after answering a few questions were led to their suites by uniformed butlers.
“See you at dinner, Claire!” Yae-ji waved as she sauntered off in slender high heels.
The suite reserved for them was lavish, the high-class bedroom opening up to an arched balcony that showed off the highrise buildings of the bustling city.
It was currently early in the afternoon, which meant that they had some time to themselves before it would be time for dinner.
Claire wanted to do some exploring of the city but she knew it was best that they remained in the safety of their hotel suite. The air was still tense at the moment with the upcoming conference, not to mention, she could always do the sightseeing with Lukas after the conference before they would have to return to Silverfall.
So after settling in, they ordered room service for lunch and spent the afternoon together on the balcony. The entire hotel was bustling as dignitaries were still arriving.
By the time the sun started to set, things had slowed down, and the paparazzi that had camped outside the hotel left as well. The dinner was supposed to be a private space for werewolf royalty to interact and relax without the interruption of the media or even other humans.
The media could only return after the annual conference was concluded, and by then, the werewolf royalties who had arrived for the conference would already be leaving. This meant that their arrival was the only time that the media could get content for the newsfeed which was why they had spent the entire day camped outside.
Claire chose to dress simply for the dinner, going for low heels, a habit she had recently cultivated after getting pregnant. It was a dinner for Royals so naturally she had to wear a crown, she tried not to think too hard about the fact that she would be the only human present.
Like Lukas could sense her anxiety, he wrapped his arms around her middle, gently cupping her slightly curved stomach as he bent forward to press a kiss to her mating mark. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He said with quiet intensity.
Claire didn’t doubt that, she never got tired of being her husband’s sole obsession. “Good,” She hummed, although she knew that wouldn’t be completely possible.
They were both dressed in matching black, Claire going for subtle ruby jewelry as a splash of color. She held onto Lukas as he kept a possessive arm around her waist, her dainty purse held in his veiny hand.
A butler was right in the hallway to lead them to the hall where the dinner was to be held. It was a dimly lit hall, elaborately designed chandeliers hanging low. Round tables were arranged strategically around the hall, with soft music playing in the background. The hall was slowly filling up, dignitaries from all over the world already mingling with familiar faces.
Lukas led them to an empty table, holding out her chair for her. Shortly after she sat, Yae-ji sauntered over. Claire was relieved to see her, she was the only Luna Queen that she was on friendly terms with, and from the way the other Lunas present looked her up and down, she was relieved to be able to talk to someone.
The Korean Luna Queen was ageless, Claire couldn’t guess her age to save her life, and it wasn’t just Claire, the entire world didn’t know Kim Yae-ji’s age.
“You’ve got to meet the ladies, they’re so eager to meet you,” Yae-ji said after pleasantries were exchanged.
Claire was pleasantly surprised to hear this, she shared a quiet look with Lukas before looking over to the table that Yae-ji had come from, and true to her words, it was full of the Asian werewolf matriarchy. The elegantly dressed women all had champagne glasses in their hands and were looking over in her direction with open curiosity.
Lukas didn’t look very pleased by this and Claire could understand why, she placed a reassuring hand over his, leaning over to place a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’ll be right back.”
“I promise to keep your mate safe, Lukas.” Yae-ji piped in, humor in her voice.
Although Lukas was hesitant, he didn’t want Claire to be an outcast amongst the other werewolf royalty, so he leaned back and watched her leave their table, his eyes never leaving her figure even once.
Just as Claire got to the table where she was immediately swarmed by a bevy of laughing women who were eager to hug her like she was a kitten, a shadow stepped in his line of sight. Lukas scowled, about to retaliate when he saw who it was.
He rose to his feet, “Alpha Costin,” He murmured, caught off guard.
Anton just chuckled, his voice hoarse, “Don’t get up on my account, may I sit?” He invited himself.
“Sure,” Lukas quickly agreed, gesturing to one of the empty seats around the table. He owed a lot to Alpha Costin so he had a lot of respect for the older werewolf.
“Your mate is in good hands,” Anton said after sitting on the seat offered like it was his throne, following Lukas’ faze which had returned right to the human Luna Queen who was currently holding a conversation with the bevy of Asian matriarchy.
“I don’t doubt that,” Lukas muttered, because it didn’t matter if she was in good hands or not, he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
“They know better than to harm an important chess piece and even if she wasn’t, they would be taken in by her nonetheless,” Anton noted, returning his gaze to Lukas. “I’m certain you’re aware of the talks to increase your territory.”
“They’re still nothing but talks.” Lukas said sharply, “There have been talks for years now and nothing has changed.”
Anton backtracked, well aware that this was a very touchy subject for the young Alpha King. “Perhaps, but I have a feeling that this time will be different.” He tagged on, looking back at Claire who was beaming at what someone else said.
After trays of food were served to the tables by uniformed butlers, they made themselves scarce, giving the werewolf royalty privacy.
This was the moment that the Asian matriarchy finally let Claire go, if they had gotten their way, they would have had Claire sit at their table for the entire dinner but Claire was eager to return to her husband’s side.
She rose to her feet and started over to her table where Lukas was waiting for her with an impatient look on his face only for someone to step in her path.
Claire glanced at the person in front of her, about to apologize only for her words to dry up in her throat, her brows furrowing. She was uninterested in dealing with someone as problematic as Alina right in the middle of all the werewolf royalty in the world.
She had just made really good friends, she didn’t want to ruin their image of her. Also, Alina was a really persistent and annoying pest, she was exhausted with having to constantly deal with her.
Without even so much as a hello, Alina went off on a rant, the neckline of her dress dipping far too low. “Did you think we would meet again? How dare you…”
“Alina! Come over here, right now.” Her father’s voice interrupted her tirade, making Alina fall quiet instantly, a lost look in her eyes as she hurried over to her father’s side.
Lukas had already started over to Claire the moment he had taken in the situation, leading his mate over to their table in the ensuing silence.
Claire smiled at him, “She’s surprisingly more obedient than I had been expecting.” She murmured in a tone that only Lukas could hear.
Lukas scoffed, “She only listens to Alpha Costin, she can’t stand to have him disapprove of her actions.” He explained, holding out her chair for her again.
Claire could see that happened, considering how miserably Alina currently looked as her father scolded her at their table. “I have a feeling that will be the last I’ll be seeing of her.”
“I’m sorry that I left her to you to deal with.”
She just waved off his apology, she hardly got to deal with Alina honestly. After the incident at Sabrina’s dinner party, she hadn’t seen the spoiled princess until right now.
“How did your introduction go?” Lukas asked as they quietly ate. Around them, there was a lot of socializing going on but he was content to focus all of his attention on his mate.
Claire’s leaf-green eyes brightened, “They were all so nice…” She beamed, launching into a detailed explanation of the conversation she had with the Asian matriarchy.
Lukas listened intently, his eyes never leaving Claire’s animated face. It wasn’t entirely surprising that Lukas didn’t interact much with the other werewolf royalty. Although he stood out, he preferred to be by himself, the only person he ever gave his undivided attention to was Alpha King Costin. But even the powerful and influential Alpha King was no match for his fated mate.