He opened his mouth to say something, but a single sharp look from me silenced him immediately.
I reached for my coat draped over the chair back and turned to face the gathered wolves.
"I have other matters to attend to. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"Oh, and Marek—in the future, don't bother inviting me to gatherings of this caliber."
I truly couldn't stomach another moment in this place.
Selene Frostveil's insufferable posturing made my wolf snarl with disgust beneath my skin.
But I had no interest in exposing her lies.
The social debt and face from this meal—I'd consider it my final gift to her.
Yet as I passed by her seat, she suddenly seized my arm.
"Kael Nightcrest, aren't you forgetting something?"
"What would that be?"
"Settling your own portion of the bill."
I tilted my head, certain my ears had deceived me.
"Selene, has your mind gone completely feral?"
"The Lodge Marshal clearly stated tonight's expenses were waived. What exactly am I supposed to pay?"
Selene let out a cold, mocking laugh, her eyes dripping with contempt.
"The waiver exists because my mate commands respect across territories. What does that have to do with you?"
"Since this gathering was hosted under my name, I decide who benefits from my generosity."
She strode to the entrance and ripped the itemized ledger from its hook.
"Tonight's total comes to eight hundred thousand in pack credits. Split among twenty former packmates, that's forty thousand each."
"I've covered everyone's share—except yours."
"Forty thousand. Will you pay in trade goods or have it drawn from your personal stores?"
Garrick Pineward stepped forward quickly, attempting to interject.
"My lady, regarding tonight's accounting—"
I raised a hand and gently pulled Garrick behind me, then leaned closer to Selene.
"You've decided to make an enemy of me tonight, haven't you?"
Selene nodded without hesitation, her words cutting like fangs.
"Absolutely."
"I actually considered honoring our past connection by letting you experience a taste of how the upper ranks feast. But you've proven yourself incapable of accepting such grace."
"Since that's how it is, I'll teach you a lesson tonight—help you understand exactly what kind of creature you truly are."
Her words didn't anger me. Instead, I found myself laughing.
"My apologies, but unlike you, I know precisely where I stand in the hierarchy. You're the one who's lost all sense of her own rank."
The moment those words left my lips, the wolves around the table erupted into hostile murmurs.
"Kael Nightcrest, you've really become addicted to this delusion of grandeur. Looking down on Selene? If you had any real standing, would she have cast you aside like dead weight?"
"Exactly. Her mate is an Alpha whose territory holdings are worth hundreds of millions. If you scraped together everything you own, would it even amount to the scraps from his ledgers?"
"He's nothing but a fool living in fantasy. If he actually tries to pay, nobody lend him a single coin!"
I ran my tongue across my teeth and swept my gaze across every face in the room.
"What fascinating observations. But I don't just look down on Selene Frostveil—I look down on all of you."
"Because everyone seated here is nothing but refuse."
I've never been one for excessive socializing, but I understand basic pack courtesy.
From the moment I sat down until now, these so-called former packmates hadn't exchanged a single word about genuine bonds or shared history. They'd spent the entire evening groveling and fawning over Selene.
Why should I preserve the dignity of wolves this desperate to lick boots?
My declaration instantly made me the target of every hostile glare in the room.
Marek Hollowmere shot to his feet in fury, slamming his palm against the table with a thunderous crack.
"Kael Nightcrest, someone like you doesn't deserve to share a meal with us. Pay your debt and get out!"
Selene watched the chorus of mockery grow louder, her smile deepening with satisfaction.
She lifted a bottle of rare aged spirits—a limited vintage from the northern territories—and poured ten generous glasses.
"Kael, I understand that asking a wolf who runs deliveries for scraps to produce forty thousand on the spot is quite the challenge."
