Chapter 138

Ava

Amelia came jogging up to us, her red hair bouncing with each step, just as Chris was about to hand me the rose. He quickly dropped it back to his side and whirled around to face her.

“Alpha Chris!” she called out breathlessly. “It’s so good to see you.”

Before either of us could react, she suddenly clutched her chest, her eyes widening upon seeing the flower. “Oh, Chris…” she sighed dreamily, snatching the flower from his fingers. “Oh, you shouldn’t have.”

Chris’s eyes widened in alarm. I stifled a laugh, quickly pressing my fingers over my lips and looking away.

“Uh… Yes,” Chris said slowly, shooting me a sidelong glance. “I hope you like… roses.”

“Of course I do.” She brought the flower to her nose and inhaled deeply—but then gasped sharply as one of the thorns pricked her index finger, a single crimson bead of blood welling up against her pale skin. The rose slipped from her grasp, fluttering to the ground between us.

For a long moment, no one moved or spoke. Amelia simply stared down at the fallen flower, her face contorting through a myriad of emotions: confusion, hurt, longing. Finally, she lifted her gaze to Chris, her green eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“Are you alright?” Chris asked. He looked utterly bewildered, exchanging a helpless glance with me as Amelia held her finger up.

Finally, after a dramatic pause, she sniffled and nodded. Chris stooped down to retrieve the flower, but she shook her head when he held it out to her again.

“It’s alright,” she said, then laughed coyly and tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear, nudging me with her elbow. “Ironic, isn’t it? The flower he gives me winds up hurting me… It’s sort of poetic.”

I restrained another laugh. “It sure is,” I said, winking at Chris over Amelia’s shoulder.

“Well, uh…” Chris eyed the flower for a moment longer before tossing it into a nearby bush and stuffing his hands in his pockets. “It was good seeing you, Amelia, but I’ve got to go. Unless you needed me for something…”

“I did, actually.” Amelia wiped her bloody finger on her skirt, clearly not caring that it stained the fabric, and squared her shoulders. “Elder Elise informed me about the date you intend to take me on tonight. I wanted to thank you in person.”

Chris’s brow furrowed, and he opened his mouth to protest, but I quickly nudged him with my elbow, clearing my throat meaningfully. Gritting his teeth, he exhaled slowly through his nostrils.

“Right,” he said at length. “Our date. Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

An utter lie, if his pained expression was any indication—but Amelia didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she just didn’t care.

“Excellent!” she breathed. “I’ll see you later, Alpha Chris. And…” She paused, eyeing me warily. “Good day to you, Acting Luna.”

I tensed at the undercurrent of disdain in her voice but forced a polite nod. “You as well, Amelia.”

With one last, longing gaze at Chris, she turned and flounced away, her hips swaying dramatically with each step. As soon as she was out of earshot, Chris rounded on me, his expression exasperated.

“A date?” he hissed, raking a hand through his tousled hair. “Elise must have set this up without my knowledge—that scheming little…”

“Hey.” I rested a hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “She’s just doing what she thinks is the right thing.”

He scoffed, clearly unconvinced, but seemed to deflate a little at my words. “I suppose. Still, I should put a stop to this before it goes any further. I’ll tell Amelia she needs to return to her pack—”

“Don’t be hasty,” I cut him off, pursing my lips. “Just… humor Elise for now. And be kind to Amelia. The date has already been set, and Amelia thinks it was you who set it up; it would look worse if you canceled now rather than simply telling her you didn’t hit it off later.”

Chris studied me for a moment, his jaw working silently, before letting out a resigned sigh and nodding. “Alright, alright. I’ll play nice for now.” He shot me a sidelong glance, the faintest hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “But I’ll be coming over later to raid your wine cellar to help dull the pain.”

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly, unable to stop the teasing grin that spread across my own face. “Oh, no.”

…

Later that evening, after parting ways with Chris, Leonard and I returned to my cottage with heavy shoulders.

It was a long and exhausting day, one that was filled with Chris, Leonard and I trying to figure out how to handle the Moonbite powder—and eventually settling on sending out a scout to keep an eye on the area in case the cloaked figure returned. The scout would keep watch for a few days, just taking notes on the figure’s whereabouts and schedule. It wasn’t instant gratification, but it was something.

After all, if that Omega girl had been pushed by this strange drug peddler, then we needed to handle this with caution—even if it made the process a bit slower.

“Hm,” Leonard said, sniffing the air as we pushed open the front door. “Something smells good.”

“I’ll say.” I inhaled deeply, my mouth already watering at the scent of freshly-baked cookies. “Ophelia?” I called out. “Are you baking something?”

Sure enough, Ophelia poked her head around the corner a moment later, a half-eaten chocolate chip cookie in her hand. “Your neighbor stopped by,” she said, stepping into the foyer, “and dropped off a plate of baked goods. Gemma, I think her name was? She’s a sweetheart.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah. She is.” Already, I was licking my lips; I was starving, and cookies sounded like the perfect treat to take my mind off of things.

“Well, don’t just stand there—have one!” Ophelia urged, gesturing toward a plate on the kitchen counter piled high with cookies. “They’re delicious.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Shrugging off my jacket, I made a beeline for the plate and scooped up one of the still-warm cookies, letting out a blissful sigh as I took an enormous bite.

“Oh, Goddess,” I moaned around the mouthful, my eyes fluttering closed. “These are incredible… Leonard, you have to try one.”

Leonard grinned and indulged, too.

Before we knew it, we had downed half the plate of cookies. I went for a third, so hungry that I could barely help myself.

“Slow down there, Ava!” Leonard chuckled as I licked the crumbs from my fingers. “You’ll make yourself sick if you’re not careful.”

I waved a dismissive hand, suddenly feeling a bit light-headed and sluggish as I sagged back against the back of the kitchen chair. A bone-deep exhaustion was rapidly settling over me, my eyelids growing heavier and heavier by the second.

“Mmm, I’m just… So sleepy…” I mumbled, struggling to keep my eyes open as the room started to spin lazily around me.

“I’m rather tired, too,” I heard Ophelia say, her voice sounding oddly distant and muffled. “Perhaps a little nap wouldn’t hurt…”

Whatever else she said was lost as a thick fog slowly clouded my mind. I was vaguely aware of my head lolling over against my shoulder, my limbs turning to bricks as the irresistible pull of sleep dragged me away from the waking world.

The last thing I remembered was a momentary clarity—a split second in which I saw my friends collapse to the floor and my mind knew that something was terribly wrong, but my body was useless in fighting the sleep that suddenly consumed me.