Chapter 126

Ava

I swayed to the orchestral music, the man’s arms around my waist as we moved across the dance floor. He was being perfectly chivalrous—keeping an appropriate distance, making polite small talk about the decor and the musicians. He had introduced himself as Patrick, a member of Moonrise pack who had been working and living in the human world over recent years.

But despite his gentlemanly efforts, I found my attention continually wandering, my eyes roving over the crowd in search of one person.

Chris.

Where was he? Was he off chatting and laughing with another bachelorette? Was he being threatened by Elise in the same way she had threatened me? The thought made my heart clench painfully in my chest.

“You seem a bit… distracted.”

The sound of Patrick’s voice pulled me out of my reverie. I blinked, snapping my attention back to him with an apologetic smile.

“Forgive me,” I murmured, my face reddening ever so slightly. “I’m afraid my mind is… elsewhere this evening.”

He chuckled softly, giving my waist a gentle squeeze. “I can only imagine where. Or should I say, with whom?”

My face flushed hot and I averted my gaze. So he had noticed my wandering eyes after all. Of course he had. Who hadn’t?

“There are rumors about you and the Alpha, you know,” Patrick said softly. “l admit, I was quite intrigued when I first heard them.”

I tensed, opening my mouth to deny it—to insist that the rumors were nothing more than vicious lies. But Patrick simply shook his head, stopping me before I could even begin.

“No need to explain, my dear. Whether or not you and the Alpha are truly together, we’ve all seen the way you look at him when you think no one’s watching.” His hand drifted up to cup my cheek, tilting my chin up so our eyes met. “It’s not the most subtle thing, you know.”

The breath caught in my throat. There was no judgment in his gaze, no condescension or scorn. Just… understanding.

“You seem like a good woman, Ava,” he murmured. “A woman who deserves to be happy, regardless of what others might say.”

I swallowed hard, unable to find my voice. Patrick’s thumb traced along my cheekbone almost absently.

“And if things don't work out... Well, I’ll be waiting.”

Suddenly, a throat cleared loudly behind me, making me jump. I whirled around, my heart pounding, to find Chris standing there with his hands shoved into his pockets. His tuxedo jacket was hanging open and his tie was slightly off center—clear signs that he had been fussing with his appearance.

“Mind if I cut in?” His tone was polite and there was a pleasant smile on his face, but his jaw was clenched tightly.

Patrick offered a small nod, stepping back—but not before shooting me a knowing glance. “Of course, Alpha.” He took my hand and pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Until next time, my dear.”

Then, with a wink in my direction, he melted back into the crowd, leaving Chris and I alone on the dance floor.

For a tense moment, neither of us spoke. Chris simply stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then, clearing his throat, he extended his hand in invitation. I hesitated only briefly, glancing over my shoulder to see if Elise was still watching, before slipping my hand into his and allowing him to pull me close.

We began to sway slowly to the music, but the tension between us was palpable. Finally, clearly unable to bear it any longer, Chris broke the silence.

“What was that about?” His tone was careful, but I could hear the undercurrent of hurt beneath his voice.

“I was just mingling,” I replied coolly. “How has your night been going?”

Chris’s nostrils flared, his hand tightening almost imperceptibly on my waist. “We don’t need to be doing this. I could have canceled all of it.”

I frowned, momentarily opening my mouth to tell him about Elise’s warning—but then decided against it. It would only cause more trouble tonight, and besides, I didn’t know exactly what Elise was implying when she had said that there were ways to ‘get rid of those who threaten the sanctity of an Alpha’s marriage’.

“You can’t,” I finally said. “Canceling it today would have been a major faux pas.”

Chris grimaced slightly. “You know I don’t care about all that.”

“Yes, well, I do,” I replied, averting my gaze. “So does the pack. And the Elders.”

For a moment, Chris opened his mouth as though preparing to retort, but then shut it again. He sighed, pulling me fractionally closer until our bodies were flush against each other. I flushed deeply under his gaze, gently pressing my hand into his chest to put some space between us then—and glancing over my shoulder as I did so.

“Goddess, Ava,” Chris whispered, shooting me a curious look, “you keep looking around like you expect someone to be aiming a bow and arrow at the back of your head.”

I pursed my lips—Elise would never do something like that.

Would she?

“I just… don’t think it’s a good idea to be too intimate here,” I said softly.

Chris sighed deeply. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t care?” he asked. “Hell, I’d give all of this up for you. We can leave right now. Go to the human world and never look back.”

I let out a soft gasp. “You can’t mean that, Chris. Especially not now, with everything going on—the blight, that poor Omega girl…” I trailed off, shuddering at the memory of her limp body on the forest floor. “The pack needs you. Don’t say things like that.”

“Someone else could lead,” he insisted, his tone adamant. “There are others who could—”

“Don’t act so foolish,” I cut him off with a scoff. “With all of the signs pointing to you belonging here?”

Chris opened his mouth, then closed it again with a heavy sigh. He looked away, clenching his jaw tightly before he spoke again.

“Degas… proposed an idea to me,” he said softly. My brow furrowed and I pulled back slightly, regarding him with wary eyes.

“What sort of idea?”

Running a hand through his hair, Chris hesitated—almost as if he were steeling himself for my reaction.

“Not that I’m really considering this, but… He mentioned an old practice,” he began slowly. “One that would allow us to be together, while still fulfilling the duties expected of us.”

A lead weight seemed to materialize in the pit of my stomach. I had a feeling I knew where this was headed; I had heard of this sort of thing before.

“A political marriage,” he confirmed, his voice barely more than a whisper. “One where we would be free to love each other in secret, but I would take a public Luna for the sake of my title and our people.”

My jaw dropped as the pieces began to fall into place. Public wife... Secret mistress... I was stunned into silence, unable to fully process what he was saying.

“We would, of course, have to keep it completely secret,” he continued. “No one could ever know except us and the Elders. We couldn’t have children, and I’d have to produce a biological heir with the Luna. But we could be together, at least. Ava, I—”

“No.”

The word tumbled out before I could stop it. Chris stopped short, his eyes widening slightly.

“Ava, I never said—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Chris.” I pushed him away, extricating myself from his grip. Tears pricked at my eyes no matter how much I tried to stop him. “I don’t want to be your mistress.”

“Look, Ava, I don’t want it either,” Chris whispered, stepping closer to avoid being overheard. “But if we can’t find another way to be together…”

I shook my head and took another step back, putting distance between us once more. “I… I think you should just marry a beautiful woman and learn to love her instead,” I insisted. “Not me. I’m… I’m an old maid, Chris.”

“No, you’re not—”

“It’s not going to work. Not in public, especially not in private. I can’t be your Luna, but I also can’t be your mistress.” With that, I turned on my heel and began to push my way through the throng of other dancers.

“Ava—Ava!”

The sound of his voice followed me, but I didn’t stop or look back. I stormed off through the crowd, and I didn’t stop until the cold outside air hit my face.