Hope Is Not Optional — Manuel Flores 86
86 Lady Selene, would you dance with me?
86 Lady Selene, would you dance with me?
Selene
“Sienna, he is looking at you.”
One of the women’s voices snapped me out of my thoughts. I lifted my head and immediately noticed the shift around me. The group of women standing nearby had gone wide-eyed, their expressions glowing as if something miraculous had just happened. Their cheeks were flushed, smiles stretching too wide as they stared past me, all of their attention pulled in one direction.
Alpha Tristan.
Especially Sienna.
She had that shy, carefully plastered smile on her face as she looked toward him, her lashes lowered just enough to appear modest while still inviting attention. The idea of having not only Adrian’s attention, but Alpha Tristan’s as well, clearly thrilled her. To her, this was everything, proof that men of power couldn’t resist her.
One of the women giggled, leaning closer to her. “Oh, Sienna, you’re so lucky. I can’t believe a man like Alpha Tristan is interested in you. Why does everyone like you? Even your two hot brothers can’t stop paying attention to you.”
Another woman chimed in immediately, her voice full of envy. “I know, right? Sienna, tell me, what’s your secret? You have so many men wrapped around your finger. You even caught the interest of the war-headed alpha.”
Sienna’s lips curved into a smug smile. Men like Alpha Tristan looking at her was only natural, in her mind. Still, she glanced at me, as if checking whether I was watching, and whether I looked jealous enough to satisfy her. She turned back to the women, touching her cheeks lightly, feigning embarrassment.
“Come on, girls, you’re being dramatic. How do you even know Alpha Tristan is looking at me? He could be looking at someone else, you know.”
Her gaze shifted fully to me and pointed. “For example, he might be looking at my sister.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Right, Selene? Do you think Alpha Tristan is looking at you?”
All the women turned to face me at once. A few of them didn’t even bother hiding their laughter, amused snorts slipping out as if the idea itself was ridiculous. I met their gazes calmly, my expression blank, unbothered by their mockery.
I knew exactly what Sienna was doing. She had cornered me perfectly, pushing me into an embarrassing situation with no clean way out. If I said yes, they would laugh and mock me for being delusional, for daring to think that an alpha like Tristan would ever look at someone like me. If I said no, they would nod smugly and say at least I knew my place.
Either answer would entertain them, and Sienna knew it. She might act foolish most of the time, but when it came to humiliating others, especially me, she was sharp.
Before I could respond, Lucas finally spoke.
“Does it matter?”
The women turned toward him at once, their reactions almost identical. Their faces flushed the moment they met his gaze, breaths hitching slightly as if their bodies betrayed them before their minds could catch up.
It was almost laughable how quickly they were affected by him. Beside me, Lucas looked bored, his golden eyes half-lidded as he stared down at them like they were nothing more than a nuisance he hadn’t bothered to swat yet.
He tilted his head slightly, his tone flat and unimpressed. “Is this what werewolf women do these days?” he continued, his gaze sweeping over them without a shred of interest. “Wasting time talking about men and trying to drag others down just to feel superior. How disappointing. Even other beasts don’t behave this
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86 Lady Selene, would you dance with me?
pathetically.”
The color drained from their faces, smiles freezing all at once. The smug amusement they had worn so proudly vanished, replaced by shock and humiliation. I felt my lips curl into a faint smirk before I could stop myself.
If I weren’t already exhausted and on edge, I might have applauded him. At the very least, he had said what I didn’t have the patience, or the strength, to say myself.
One of the women snapped out of it quickly, masking her embarrassment with anger. She scoffed and crossed her arms, glaring at me. “Look at you, Selene. Your guard is speaking for you,” she sneered. “Aren’t you ashamed? Or is it that you don’t even know how to defend yourself?”
I let out a quiet breath. “I’m tired,”
She blinked, clearly not expecting that answer. “What?”
I looked at her indifferently. “I’m perfectly capable of defending myself and putting you all in your place, I just don’t think any of you are important enough to waste my energy on, and I don’t have the strength to deal with the aftermath right now.”
All of them turned red with embarrassment once again. It was obvious they didn’t like what I said, especially since I hadn’t raised my voice or shown any anger.
Sienna opened her mouth, clearly ready to smooth things over with her usual good-girl act, but before she could speak, one of the women suddenly leaned forward and whispered urgently, “Guys… Alpha Tristan is making his way towards us.”
Their attention snapped away from me instantly, and their heads turned in unison, smiles reappearing as if nothing awkward had happened just moments ago. One of them laughed and said, throwing me a disdainful look. “You’re right. He’s coming. Let’s pay attention to him instead of this bitch who clearly doesn’t matter,”
I shrugged. Reaching out, I took two glasses from a passing server and handed one to Lucas. He glanced at it, raising an eyebrow. “What is this?”
“Something that will make today go faster,”
He studied me for a second, and I almost opened my mouth to say it wasn’t poison, but before I could, he had already taken a sip. I chuckled under my breath. I honestly didn’t know whether he trusted me that much or if he was simply confident he could digest anything without consequence. I lifted my own glass and took a sip as well.
“Oh, he’s coming,” one of the women whispered excitedly. “He’s definitely going to ask you to dance, Sienna.”
Sienna smiled shyly, touching her hair. “Do you think so? Should I dance with him though?” she asked. “ Wouldn’t Prince Adrian get jealous?”
I took another sip of my drink, tuning them out completely. It wasn’t my concern whether Alpha Tristan was interested in Sienna or not. None of this mattered to me. The only thing that would become a problem was if he decided to get in my way, and if he did, I wouldn’t hesitate to deal with him just like I planned to deal with Sienna and Adrian.
Alpha Tristan stopped in front of us.
The women looked between him and Sienna with barely contained excitement, clearly waiting for him to ask her for a dance. Even Sienna had already extended her hand slightly, confidence shining in her eyes.
He ignored her completely.
With that familiar lazy smile, he turned toward me instead. He held out his hand, looking at me through his long lashes, and said, “Lady Selene, would you dance with me?”
Everything froze.
The hall went silent, and I nearly choked on my drink as I stared at Alpha Tristan, my mind blank for a split second.
What?
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86 Lady Selene, would you dance with me?
Did this crazy bastard just ask me to dance
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