Chapter 23

Ava

I felt my throat tighten as I looked down at the bruised and bloody Omega who lay in front of me. Her fingers, weak and cold around my wrist, tightened ever so slightly as she spoke those words.

“Thank you, Luna.”

On instinct, I shook my head solemnly and corrected her. “Acting Luna. Not Luna.”

The Omega blinked slowly, her brow furrowing in confusion for a moment before the other girl reached out and placed a gentle hand on her arm. The two exchanged a silent look, a flicker of understanding passing between them, before allowing the medics to whisk them away.

Once they were gone, I turned back to face Chris and the Elders with a heavy sigh. Chris had a faraway look in his eyes, his jaw clenched as he stared off into the distance.

It was clear that the violence had taken its toll on him as well, despite his usual stoic exterior.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he seemed to snap out of his trance. “I will be issuing a decree first thing in the morning,” he announced, his voice low and resolute.

The five Elders murmured amongst themselves, their expressions ranging from curiosity to concern. Finally, Elder Degas stepped forward hesitantly.

“And what, pray tell, will this decree entail?” he asked, his tone laced with trepidation.

Chris shook his head. “You’ll have to wait and see,” he replied cryptically. “For now, I think it’s best we all retire for the night now that the situation has been handled. This has been... a trying evening for us all.”

The Elders exchanged uneasy glances but ultimately nodded in agreement. With a few parting words, they filed out of the room, leaving Chris and me alone in the haunting silence.

I paused for a few moments, looking around at the wreckage. The room still smelled like blood, burnt flesh and hair, and smoke. “This place is a mess,” I finally blurted out.

Chris chuckled. “Don’t worry. Olivia will be cleaning it up.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Olivia?” I asked.

He nodded. “She’s the one who made the mess. She’s the one who can clean it up.”

There was another brief silence, and I couldn’t help but be in awe of Chris’s calm demeanor and steady way of handling these things. In the past, Ethan would have simply called upon more Omega slaves to clean this up had something like this happened.

But now, things were different. And for the better, too.

“Shall we?” Chris gestured towards the door, and I nodded wordlessly.

The walk back to my house was a somber one, the weight of the evening’s events hanging heavy in the air between us. It wasn’t until we reached the front path of my home that Chris suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze drawn to a small patch of wildflowers swaying gently in the breeze on the other side of the picket fence.

Without a word, he stepped off the path and plucked a single blossom from the bunch, twirling the delicate stem between his fingers for a moment before turning to face me.

“For you,” he murmured, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he tucked the flower behind my ear.

I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle, shaking my head in disbelief. “Really, Chris? A flower? After everything that just happened?”

He shrugged, his expression growing serious once more. “It’s a reminder that even in the darkest of times, beauty can still be found if you know where to look.”

I fell silent at that, my gaze dropping to the ground as I mulled over his words. He was right, of course—but there was clearly still something nagging at the back of his mind.

“You know,” he said slowly, leaning on the fence, “earlier, on our way to the Packhouse, you brought up the alfalfa being crushed.”

I nodded. “What about it?”

Chris shrugged. “It just seemed like such a small thing to worry about when there was so much more—two lives—at stake.”

I paused for a moment, chewing the inside of my cheek before I answered. “All life is equal here, even the plants, Chris. They may not be able to scream or bleed like those poor girls, but they’re still living beings that deserve our respect and protection. It felt important to me, even at the moment.”

For a long beat, Chris simply stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then, finally, he nodded slowly, a newfound understanding flickering in his eyes.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he murmured, reaching out to gently tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I guess the human world, for all of its greatness, made me forget that. Thank you for pointing that out to me. I’ll be more conscious of it in the future.”

I felt a warmth blooming in my chest at his words, and I found myself leaning ever so slightly into his touch. Our faces were mere inches apart now, his breath fanning across my cheeks as he gazed at me with an intensity that sent a shiver racing down my spine.

Slowly, almost cautiously, he began to lean in closer, his eyes flickering down to my lips for the briefest of moments. My heart hammered wildly in my chest as I felt myself gravitating towards him, every fiber of my being yearning for his touch, his kiss, his embrace.

But just before our lips could meet, logic took over. I placed a hand on his chest, gently stopping him in his tracks. He blinked, confusion and a flash of hurt flickering across his features as I took a step back, breaking the spell that had fallen over us.

“You know we can’t,” I whispered, my voice trembling slightly. “It’s... inappropriate.”

And yet, even as the words left my lips, a part of me wondered if I truly believed them anymore.

Chris simply nodded, his expression unreadable once more as he turned and continued down the path towards my home. We didn’t speak another word for the rest of the night, but the tension that hung between us was palpable, buzzing with unspoken thoughts and desires that threatened to consume us both.

That night, we fell asleep in silence. I let Chris sleep in my bed again, but this time, he didn’t reach for me.

Or maybe he did, but he lost his nerve before his fingers met with my waist.

…

The next morning, Chris and I made our way to the village square for his decree. I still didn’t know what he was planning on saying, but I didn’t ask. I simply took my place beside him, playing the part I had come to know well.

Acting Luna.

Chris stood at the podium, his expression severe as he surveyed the assembled pack members.

Off to the side, flanked by two burly guards, was Olivia—her arms were folded across her chest and a haughty sneer was plastered on her face, but I could see the fear flickering in her eyes as she no doubt wondered if she would suffer the same fate as Ethan. Banishment.

As the last few stragglers trickled in, Chris raised his hand, and the murmurs of the crowd slowly died down until a heavy silence blanketed the square.

“I have brought you here today to issue a decree that will change the future of our pack... forever,” he began.