Chapter 71

Cora

I hadn’t expected to be this nervous.

Dinner had always felt like a mundane task, a way to keep myself and Riley fed, something to do while the evening passed. It was rare that a special occasion put an emphasis on the meal.

But tonight, the table was set with care, Kingston had cooked, and there was a bottle of wine on the counter to underscore the formality of it all. I stood in the kitchen, smoothing my hands over my dress for the fifth time, trying to calm the rising anxiety gnawing at my chest at the sight of the bottle.

The idea of meeting Liana—Kingston’s stand-in fake lover—felt like willingly stepping onto a landmine. I didn’t know what kind of woman she was, only that the pack wanted her to take my place beside him. That they thought she was better than me. And that alone made me want to hate her.

“She’s not your rival,” Kingston had told me hours ago. “Not even close.”

Easy for him to say.

The doorbell rang. My shoulders jumped to my ears.

Kingston smiled as he passed me on his way to answer it, giving me a reassuring glance. “You’ll see,” he murmured. “It’ll all be fine.”

I doubted that. But I followed anyway.

When the door opened, I got my first real look at Liana.

She was tall and willowy, dressed in sleek black pants and a fitted blouse that screamed elegance without trying too hard. Her pale blonde hair was twisted into a low bun, and her dark eyes swept the room with calm interest. Not predatory. Not calculating. Just… observant.

“Alpha King,” she said with a curt nod. “Thanks for the invite. I agree. This meeting is a good idea.”

My brows rose in surprise at the dryness of her tone.

Kingston grinned. “Glad you could make it and help clear the air.”

“Of course,” she said, stepping inside. Her gaze shifted to me. “And you must be the infamous mystery woman.”

“Cora,” I said, unsure whether to offer a handshake or a challenge. She was so hard to read.

Liana extended her hand before I could decide, and I grabbed the opportunity to give it a quick, firm shake.

“It’s a pleasure. I think,” she said.

I blinked. “Likewise. I think.”

She smirked, and just like that, some of the tension bled from my shoulders.

The dinner went… well. Shockingly well.

Conversation flowed easily. Liana didn’t hover near Kingston, didn’t bat her lashes, or ask intrusive questions about our relationship. In fact, she spent more time talking to me.

She made casual critiques of some of the Eastern packs and mocked the stiffness of political events hosted by the Silverfang pack. It was the kind of disdain I respected.

At one point, she leaned back in her chair, swirling her wine glass. “They told me I should be flattered. That I had a chance to marry and mate with the great Alpha King,” she said, exaggeratedly fanning herself. “But there’s not exactly anything romantic about a forced relationship, is there?”

I snorted into my drink. “Could be worse people to be paired up with, I guess.”

“I suppose you’re right. But your mate here broods like it's his job.”

Kingston gave her a look. “I do not brood.”

“You glared for most of our luncheon!”

“I was thinking.”

“Brooding,” she said flatly.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. And to my horror, I started to like her.

By the time dessert was served by Kingston’s butler, the edges of my wariness had dulled. This wasn’t the woman I’d pictured in my mind. I had assumed she would be a young woman, clawing for Kingston’s attention desperately.

Instead, she wasn’t scheming or flirty or obsessed with rank. She was clever, blunt, and surprisingly genuine beneath the sharp wit.

As Kingston got up to help his butler clear the plates afterward, Liana glanced at me. “Mind taking a walk? ” she asked.

I hesitated, but nodded. The thought of being alone with her wasn’t half as bad as it might have seemed a few hours ago.

We stepped out onto the back patio, the moon casting silver over the garden. Crickets chirped nearby, and the breeze carried the faint scent of pine and stone. It was strange how quickly this place was beginning to feel like a real home to me.

Liana stood beside me, her arms crossed.

“I get the impression you didn’t want to like me,” she said without preamble.

I glanced at her. “I’m not going to lie. No, I didn’t.”

She smirked. “Fair. I wouldn’t have liked myself either in your shoes. You thought I was here to take your place.”

“You are,” I pointed out.

“On paper, sure,” she said, shrugging. “But I’m not interested in Kingston.”

That surprised me more than it should have.

She turned to face me fully. “I’m interested in Ethan.”

My eyes widened. Kingston had told me as much earlier, but hearing it from her came on a wave of relief. “Really?”

“Really,” she said. “Don’t ask me why. He’s a bit boyish, and usually I go for the top of the pack.”

“But?”

“But he’s also loyal, smarter than he looks, and hot in that rascally sort of way.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me. “God help you.”

“Already too far gone,” she said with a sigh.

“He really is a gentleman, at least,” I said. “You two will be happy together. I hope it works out.”

She smiled. “Me too.”

We fell into a moment of companionable silence. Then she looked at me again, her tone softening.

“Look, I don’t know everything that’s going on here, and I don’t need to. But I can tell you’re important to him. Not because he told me. He didn’t even tell me your name, actually. But it’s because of the way he looks at you when you’re not watching.”

I swallowed hard.

“I’m not here to get between that,” she continued. “This fake dating thing? It’s a shield. For both of us.”

“Why tell me all this?” I asked.

“Because if I were you, I’d want to know,” she said simply. “And because I get the sense you’ve been hurt enough without me adding to it. I remember seeing the reports about you as they came out. I don’t want to put more stress on your life.”

She walked back toward the house, leaving me there under the moonlight.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself exhale.

By the time Liana said her goodbyes and drove off, I felt lighter. Not completely free, but like the weight of a war I never wanted to fight had been lifted.

Kingston came to stand beside me in the doorway, brushing his knuckles down my arm. “You okay?”

I nodded. “She’s good. I actually think I like her.”

He chuckled. “Told you that you would.”

“And she likes Ethan.”

“I definitely told you that.”

I leaned against him. “Thank you for doing this. And for being honest with me. I’m sorry I exploded a bit when Amy told me. She just has a way of getting under my skin.”

“Always,” he murmured. “No more secrets.”

We stood there for a while, wrapped in silence. Then Kingston kissed the top of my head and went inside to check on Riley.

I lingered, drawn to the night air.

And then I felt her.

My wolf.

Not in a distant, whispery way. No, she was there, inside me, stirring in such a way that she was all I could feel, all I could concentrate on. Her presence had grown stronger since we’d sealed the mating bond, her voice no longer a shadow behind my thoughts but a clear echo down to the marrow of my bones.

Now, she said.

The word rang like a bell in my head.

“Now what?” I whispered aloud.

Now that you are bound and awakened, it’s time. The truth must be known. You cannot wait any longer.

A chill crept down my spine. “What truth?”

The prophecy. The Moon’s Daughter. You cannot run from it anymore.

My breath hitched. “I don’t even know what it truly means.”

But you will. Soon. Step into your full power, Daughter of the Moon.

I gripped the porch railing, grounding myself as her presence faded slightly, retreating like a tide.

I didn’t know whether to be terrified or exhilarated. Probably both.

But one thing was certain.

My time was coming.

And in the cool breeze from that lovely evening, I decided that this time, I wouldn’t run from it.