Chapter 36

The moonlight cast long shadows across the terrace as I made my way to the Ruby Room, my footsteps muffled by the plush carpeting. It was late—much later than I’d intended, yet again. This investigation was eating up all my waking hours and then some.

The band lead wasn’t panning out, and that put us back and square one. I was having sudden bouts of nausea and already couldn’t stand the smell of chamomile, which was in the tea I always drank in the evening. I wasn’t getting as much sleep as I should, especially when my body was spending so much energy trying to build an entire person.

And yet, I couldn’t slow down.

There were six victims, six missing Omegas, six families with a gaping hole where a beloved member used to stand. Six people whose deaths couldn’t be confirmed, meaning they could very well be alive right at that moment. Six people who could be going through horrible tortures to survive, crying out for help that I was meant to give them.

I was going to find them. They needed me to find them.

Now that I was sleeping in the Ruby Room and Elroy was nourishing our child nightly, I could afford to get a little less sleep without risking my baby. It couldn’t last for long, but if I put my head down and did the work now, I was hoping to have this investigation wrapped up before the real pregnancy symptoms hit and took me out of commission. Astor was being far more cooperative now, even taking an active role in the investigation, but I still didn’t want to hand the entire case over to him.

The air was thick with the scent of night-blooming jasmine, a flower my father loved, and it put me at ease without me even noticing. One of the windows must be open, or one of the balconies. I was passing the halls where the high council lived, and it wasn’t uncommon for there to be little gatherings in the evening hours.

And yet, it was so very late. I heard hushed voiced drifting towards me on the night breeze, and I wondered why anyone would be chatting so late. Suspicious, I stopped to listen.

"Can you believe it?" a woman's voice hissed. "After everything, Elroy chose an outsider as Luna."

I pressed myself against the cool stone wall, eyebrows raising. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, maybe something alluding to the missing Omegas or maybe simple idle chatter, but courtly gossip? About me, no less?

Well, I would take an opportunity to hear it from the horse’s mouth. I recognized the voice as belonging to Evelyn Archer, the wife of a councilman, and she was one of the well-known socialites in the pack. Any rumor she spread would catch on fast, and I figured it was better for me to be prepared than not.

So I stayed, silent and still, leaning on the wall and waiting to hear what she had to say.

"I know," another voice replied – Councilman Reid's wife, Marian. "We were all so certain it would be Rita.”

“It should have been,” Evelyn declared with a huff. “Rita is one of us, she knows our ways, she’s established in high society—and she and Elroy always had such a connection.” I pursed my lips, leaning closer.

"It’s just such a waste," Evelyn sighed. "Far be it from me to question our Alpha, but I just don’t understand why he didn’t follow his father’s footsteps. Maybe he sees his mother in our new Luna, but that hardly justifies putting a stranger on our throne.”

I clenched my fists, galled by the audacity this woman had—to doubt her Alpha and her Luna for one, but to condone what Elroy’s father did when all I’d heard was that he was a cruel and useless man? She wanted my Mate to be like that?

“Are you…talking about Apothecary Iris?” Marian asked, as if she was scared of being overheard. “I didn’t know she was the Alpha’s mother.”

“Well, no one talks about it much,” Evelyn sniffed. “Our former Alpha had his vices, and pretty women certainly made the list. It wasn’t hard for some Moonshadow tramp to worm her way in.”

My blood ran cold, fury and fear warring within me. I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my breathing steady. After everything Iris suffered, that was how they spun the story?

“I suppose she’d thought he’d make her Luna, but of course she was unfit for the position. Still, we all know our Alpha is soft on her, so it’s no surprise he’s trying to be a hero to the newest Moonshadow interloper. She’s got him so bewitched that poor Rita can’t even catch his gaze.”

Kill them, my wolf growled. They’re not worth keeping alive.

I can’t, I responded, infuriated. They have the right to gossip.

That didn’t mean I didn’t want to follow her lead, though.

Marian clicked her tongue. "Well, Rita's house arrest is almost over. Who knows what could happen?"

I almost growled out loud. So people were still backing up fucking Rita—I bit down on my anger. Keep a cool head, Olivia.

"True," Evelyn mused. "Elroy and Rita have always had such a chemistry."

That was funny, I thought, Elroy had seemed indifferent to her whenever she’d come up. Was there a history there I didn’t know about?

And if so, why didn’t Elroy tell me?

“But he has an appointed Luna now,” Marian pointed out. “And based on what my husband’s said, she’s rather…strong-willed.” Evelyn snorted inelegantly.

“That’s a word for her, yes,” she agreed. “But no one lives forever, dear, and Rita would make a wonderful stepmother, don’t you think?”

I'd heard enough. Forcing myself to move, I continued on my way, my mind reeling.

Had someone just insinuated killing me? And taking my baby? My hand went to my stomach as cold fear crawled up my spine.

Rita had started this war with a faked poisoning, I truly didn’t know how far she’d go. Now that her punishment was over she was a more tangible threat than I’d realized.

She cannot have my baby.

I tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to shake the unsettling thoughts swirling through my mind. Elroy's steady breathing beside me offered little comfort. I turned to face him, studying his strong profile in the moonlight filtering through the curtains.

If it came down to her or me, who would he choose?

He rolled over, still deep in slumber, and his hand came to rest on my belly in a gesture so natural and protective it made my heart ache. Even in sleep, he sought to nurture our child. I felt the familiar warmth of his energy flowing into me, into our pup.

My resolve began to crumble, the walls I'd built to protect myself weakening. How could I doubt him when his very instincts screamed of his devotion?

And yet... as dawn began to break, I found myself unable to close my eyes. Every time I tried, I saw Rita in Elroy's arms, cradling my child, and I was instantly wide awake again.