Chapter 123

Ava

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air as I set the tray of mugs on the kitchen table. Ophelia and Leonard shuffled over, looking a bit worse for wear after our late night; meanwhile, Chris lingered off to the side, busying himself with flipping pancakes on the stove—although I knew he was really just trying to hide his embarrassment from nearly being caught.

“Thank you for this, Ava,” Ophelia said, sinking into one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. She pushed a stray lock of blonde hair out of her eyes and sipped her coffee, letting out a moan as she did. “Ah, this coffee is so good. Much needed.”

“Definitely needed,” Leonard chimed in, cradling his mug in both hands. He glanced at Ophelia, and for a moment I swore I saw a flicker of something pass between them. I knew what it was, of course, and I instantly felt my face flush a deep shade of red. Surely they had put two and two together by now.

But it wouldn’t happen again. Chris and I couldn’t… Especially not with the ball today.

Ophelia cleared her throat, finally breaking the awkward silence. “So, last night was... eventful,” she cooed, reaching under the table to pass Princess a small treat.

I winced at the mention of it. “Ophelia, I’m so sorry you had to get caught up in that search party on your first night here,” I said. “I was really looking forward to showing you around Moonstone.”

Ophelia waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t be silly, darling! Believe it or not, I’m actually quite excited about the whole thing.”

Chris snorted from behind the stove. “You?” he teased. “Ophelia, I can’t remember the last time I saw you do anything that required physical activity other than pilates.”

Ophelia shot Chris a warning glare, causing him to go quiet and return to his work. She leaned in conspiratorially toward me. “A real-life mystery right in your own backyard? How thrilling!”

Leonard shook his head. “I’m not sure if ‘thrilling’ is the word I would use for discovering a dead body.” He took a sip of his coffee, grimacing slightly. “Poor girl. What a terrible way to go.”

I nodded solemnly. “I can’t stop thinking about it. And to think, just the other day she was working at the cafe, all full of life and energy…” My voice trailed off as the image of her lifeless form flashed through my mind.

Ophelia reached across the table, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Well, we’ll get to the bottom of it, Ava. I’m sure of it.” She shot Chris a pointed look. “It seems that there are a few matters I must attend to before I leave.”

Chris pursed his lips, momentarily glancing at me, but said nothing. I felt my face redden and quickly sipped my coffee in the hopes that my mug would hide it.

“Well,” I said, just wanting to change the subject, “I’d still like to show you a nice time around Moonstone, Ophelia. I swear it’s not all dead bodies and mysteries around here.”

Leonard perked up. “Actually,” he said, “I was going to suggest a picnic at the farm. I could show you around, let you get a taste of country life.”

Ophelia’s face lit up. “Oh, I would love that!” She glanced over at me. “You’ll come, won’t you, Ava? You simply must!”

I managed a small smile. “Of course. It sounds lovely.”

As if on cue, Chris appeared at my elbow and began placing the plates of fresh pancakes and bacon on the table. The smell made my mouth water, momentarily making me forget about everything else.

But even then, as I reached for the maple syrup and our fingers brushed, I felt my heart do a funny little flip in my chest.

“What do you say, Chris?” Ophelia asked, either oblivious to the tension or choosing to ignore it for now. “A picnic? Later today, perhaps?”

Chris blinked, his gaze flicking over to me briefly before he cleared his throat. “Uh, actually, I... I’ve got to head to the Packhouse,” he said. “The ball is today, and I have some work to finish up.”

“Oh.” Ophelia’s face fell, and she shot me a withering glance. “I didn’t think that the ball would still be… You know…” Her voice trailed off, but the implication was clear: she actually thought we would call off the ball.

If only.

Chris offered her a small smile, then turned to me. “Ava, can I talk to you for a sec? In private?”

I glanced at the others, then nodded hesitantly. “Of course,” I said, standing. As we stepped out into the hall, I couldn’t help but notice the curious looks Ophelia and Leonard exchanged. But they didn’t say anything, and I was grateful for that.

Once we were alone, Chris turned to me, his brow creased with worry. “About earlier... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

I held up a hand to stop him. “It’s okay. We... got carried away, that’s all.”

“That’s it?” he hissed. “Carried away?”

My heart clenched painfully in my chest. “Yes.” I swallowed hard, turning my head so I didn’t have to look at him. “Listen, you have the ball to worry about tonight. We can... talk more later, okay?”

Chris grit his teeth. His hand momentarily fluttered up as if to cup my cheek, but then he pulled it away. “I’d cancel it, you know,” he whispered. “If you wanted me to.”

I whipped my head around and shot him a frown. “Don’t you dare. You can’t. Especially not now, with all the upset from last night.”

Chris opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it again. Finally, with a defeated sigh, he turned away. “Alright. We’ll talk later, then.”

…

We strode across the plaza, Chris barking orders into his phone while I pored over the list of last-minute preparations. The food needed to be laid out, the bartender called out sick and we had to hire another, some streamers and other things had fallen down last night because someone left a window open…

Goddess, it was all too much.

And to top it all off, just as we were about to reach the Packhouse, Chris stopped and checked his phone with a furrowed brow. “I’ll call you back,” he said before switching over to the new line. “Hello?”

A moment later, his eyes widened. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up, turning to me with a look of shock written across his face. “It’s the coroner,” he said. “He needs to see us.”

A little while later, the two of us were standing in the morgue below the clinic. I pressed my handkerchief to my nose against the scent of formaldehyde and cold bodies, leaning closer to get a good look at the young woman laid out on the exam table.

“Bruises,” the coroner said softly, pointing out the dark black and blue marks littered across the woman’s back. “Ten small bruises.”

I jerked my head up, my gaze instantly locking onto Chris’s.

“Does that mean…”

“Yes,” the coroner said, nodding hastily. “I believe she may have been pushed after all.”

…

I stood in front of the full-length mirror, smoothing down the front of my dress—a plain midnight blue dress, nothing fancy. I didn’t want to detract from the bachelorettes, after all.

Ophelia, sitting behind me with a frown on her face, stroked Princess’s head thoughtfully.

“I think you should have let him cancel it,” she said. “The four of us could be frolicking around Leonard’s farm right now without a care in the world.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not that simple, Ophelia.”

“But you two promised to talk.”

“Yes, well…” I swallowed, turning to face her fully. “We did.”

“And? Did anything come of it other than you two giving in to your desires and making out on the kitchen counter?”

At the mention of that morning, I felt my face flush a deep shade of red. I dropped my gaze to my feet and wrung my hands, blinking rapidly to dispel the tears that threatened to come. “I… I can’t get in the way of this, Ophelia,” I murmured. “With everything going on… Chris needs a real Luna. Our pack needs that strength.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Ophelia rose and strode over to me, clapping my shoulder with one hand and practically forcing me to look at her. “Do you ever think about anything but the pack?”

“I—”

“Never mind,” she said, turning me and wheeling me toward the doorway. “I don’t want to hear it. Tonight, I’d better see you having the time of your life—and preferably with that boy by your side.”

She paused in the doorway, momentarily glancing out the window where we could already see the flickering lights of the ball from my very bedroom. The bachelorettes should have already been arriving by now, and the thought made my heart shatter just a little bit more in my chest.

“And if not,” she said, sighing, “then you’ll just have to have the time of your life anyway.”