Rosalie joined her family to offer their congratulations to the newlyweds. Rosalie bowed her head to her Alphas but refused to look at Chris, even though she was certain that he was ogling her.
The realisation that he could only see her and not touch her brought her a sense of satisfaction. That must be annoying. She let out a chuckle.
A congratulatory toast was offered to the newly mated pair. Everyone got to their feet, bent their heads towards them, and then took a drink from their champagne glasses before standing back up. There was a brief speech that included the typical things that individuals say at their wedding reception.
Chris finished his thank-you speech by saying, "Thank you all for coming. With the blessings you have given to me and my dear mate, Grace, as my last words to such a beautiful event, I invite you all to feast and dance all night long."
Once the speech was done, Rosalie focused on the food. Because she had skipped lunch earlier in the day, she was extremely hungry. She reached for a piece of bread and cheese, but her mother quickly pulled her arm away.
"Don't eat that! You'll end up looking like afat cow if you continue to stuff yourself. If you really must eat, take this instead." She added a couple of figs and dates to her dish, along with a bite-sized piece of pastry.
Rosalie sighed, grabbed the pastry, and crammed it into her mouth. Then she grabbed her goblet and drained a sizable amount of wine to help it go down. She swiftly proceeded with the figs and dates and then took another sip of the wine after that.
Her mother heaved a sigh and pleaded with her, "Please, in the name of God, slow down before you choke yourself."
"Mum, I just want to eat," Rosalie said through a mouthful of food. Since she had not seen Alex the whole day, food was the next best distraction for her broken heart.
The first dish to be presented was a meat stew that had onions, spices, and wine, which was served alongside additional bread.
The next course comprised gigantic platters, each of which featured a whole roasted pig accompanied by roasted apples, turnips, potatoes, onions, and peas that had been seasoned with herbs and garlic. Guests at lower tables got up and started dancing as they waited for the meal to make its way around to them as omegas cut the roasts and served the guests while musicians played in the background.
Rosalie, who had been drinking too much wine, turned her head when she heard a loud outburst of laughter coming from a table that was located close to the head table. Alex, who was dressed in a tuxedo and looked incredibly dashing, was seated in the middle of the table. While he was keeping his table entertained by whatever story he was telling, his eyes remained on Rosalie. He would look away from her for just long enough to give the impression to his tablemates that he was interested in the conversation, and then he would look back to glimpse her.
As Rosalie's cheeks flushed, she quickly averted her gaze and preoccupied herself by rearranging the cutlery on her plate and the napkin that was sitting on her lap.
Rosalie glimpsed the eyes that she already knew were focused on her by simply raising her eyes upwards without moving her head. She then quickly averted her gaze and looked away again. After the party had settled down, Melissa made her way to Rosalie's seat. While talking to Melissa, Rosalie couldn't help but keep peeking over at Alex.
"He is looking at you," Melissa whispered to Rosalie.
Rosalie's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.
"I do not know what you are talking about." She replied and stuffed a piece of chicken in her mouth.
"Hi Rosalie," Alex said as he got closer to their table.
Surprised, Rosalie stared at him. She gulped down the chicken and croaked.
"Ummm... hi... Al... I mean Alpha Alex."
Alex was aware of the fact that the entire table was startled. He gave a friendly smile towards Scott and asked nonchalantly, "Sir, I would like to ask your daughter for a dance; do you give me permission to do so?" He said it gallantly.
Her mother wore a broad grin. Rosalie could nearly hear what was going through her mind. Mothers have a way to figure out what's going on in their child's life. Rosalie glanced at her father, partially hoping that he would be a strict dad and refuse Alex, but to her dismay, his expression eased and he smiled.
"Of course, you may, Alpha Grayson."
After saying that, he turned around and grabbed his wife around the waist. "Come on Amelia, I believe we should dance as well." Amelia let out a snicker that betrayed her apparent excitement. As her parents walked away, Rosalie rolled her eyes and grumbled to herself.
After flashing a grin and vanishing, Melissa abandoned Rosalie and Alex to their own devices.
Realising that she had no other choice, Rosalie stared at Alex. He beamed an innocent smile in her direction. He extended his hand to her but then took a few steps back before doing so. His left eyebrow arched up, drawing attention to the intensity of his eyes. His scent was musky, like freshly cut grass. Why didn't I notice it before? Rosalie thought.
"May I have this dance, my lady?"
She glared and frowned at him. "You're being extremely annoying on your last night here, Alpha Greyson."
He grasped her left hand. "Come on! Just one dance!" She heaved a sigh and followed him toward the dance floor.
Almost as swiftly as he had pulled her, he grabbed her arm and whisked her over to the area where lines of dancers were spinning to music. He manoeuvred her into a line across from him before she objected, bending down and standing back up while she was in motion. Rosalie, who did not want to cause a commotion, joined in the dance, curtsying in his direction and moving down the line, moving back and forth to the music, taking Alex's hand and coming together and apart to the notes of the tune, smiling at herself. After the lively dance, she found it difficult to catch her breath, but she couldn't stop giggling as he led her back to her seat.
She said, "That was such a blast!"
He grinned.
"See, I told you, it would be fun."
She sipped her wine and felt Chris's eyes on her. She stole a glance at him and smiled to herself at his annoyed expression. So he was jealous! Serves him right!
She picked up a big piece of cake and took a bite. Alex gave her an amused look when he saw her chewing quickly.
"Sorry, my mum would kill me if she me stuffing myself like this." She said this while stuffing the cake in her mouth.
Alex chuckled and poured her another glass of wine.
"Well, your secret is safe with me," he said, raising his glass in a toast. She laughed and clinked her glass against his.
"Ummmm, this is good." She said as the warm wine flowed down her throat, making her cheeks flush with a pleasant warmth.
Alex picked up a napkin and slolwy wiped a trickle of wine from the corner of her mouth, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I'm glad you're enjoying it," he replied, a smile playing on his lips.
Her heart almost stopped beating, feeling a sudden rush of excitement at his touch. She took another sip of wine, finishing it quickly.
"I never thought you would be this fun." She giggled.
"Do you know what would be more fun? Taking a stroll in the moonlight." Alex's eyes twinkled.
"That seems like a fantastic idea, but my father might come looking for me," she replied.
Alex leant in closer, his warm breath tickling her ear. "Then we'll have to make it quick," he whispered, sending shivers down her spine.
He cast a glance over the couples dancing and noticed that her parents were busy interacting with the other couples.
"Everyone is busy; no one will miss us. What say?" He quirked an eyebrow.
Rosalie was the type of person who would never say no to an adventure, and she simply could not control her giggles. Besides, the wine was slowly affecting her judgement.
"Get away from him!" Chris's voice yelled in her head.
She jerked in surprise and shifted her attention to the host table. Chris was so angry that he was glaring at her table. And he still dared to mess with her head. The nerve of him! How dare he be possessive over her after everything that's happened? She yanked her head back and shut off her thoughts. 'Fuck you, Chris! This time I am going to disobey you.'
She gave Alex a warm smile and attached her hand to his arm as she said, "You know what, Alex? I would love to take a stroll with you."
Alex raised an eyebrow at her sudden enthusiasm. He took a firmer grip on her left hand this time.
"The pleasure is all mine, Milady."
Rosalie giggled again. She paid no attention to Chris and instead let Alex lead her out. They were unaware that Chris was directing a furious glare at their departing figures from his table while his mate was engaged in conversation with one of her Betas.