Chapter 53

Ava

A few days had passed since Olivia’s tirade. My scalp healed, but her words continued to cut—even though Chris’s kind words had helped soften the blows. He had confined her to her chambers once more, this time threatening banishment if she didn’t behave.

The pack fell back into peace again. Although, Chris was now hell-bent on finding a new Alpha to replace himself.

And he was hell-bent on returning to the human continent with me as his bride.

I stepped into the council chambers one particularly rainy afternoon, still shaking the beads of water off my hair. The chamber was empty, save for one person sitting at the head of the table. Chris.

“Afternoon,” I said, taking my seat on the opposite end of the table. I still found myself having a difficult time meeting his gaze since he had informed me of his intentions to marry me—and since I had told him that it was too much too soon.

But there was no hiding the blush in my cheeks.

Without a word, Chris suddenly rose and walked over to me. He said nothing as he slowly picked up my chair—with me in it—and carried it around the table. Gasping, I gripped the edge of the seat and felt my body clench with surprise.

“Chris! What are you—”

“There’s no need to sit so far away.” He carefully placed the chair back down beside his own chair, then sat back down and shot me an almost sheepish look.

I hated to admit it, but I was impressed by his strength just then. He had picked the heavy wooden chair up with me in it as though it weighed nothing, and hadn’t so much as gotten out of breath. I allowed myself, then, to carefully slide my gaze over to inspect his firm muscles.

“Your muscles have grown since you’ve gotten here,” I mused, shooting him a brief glance.

Chris shrugged and folded his arms across his chest, although I knew he was just trying to make his biceps look even bigger. The way they strained against the soft fabric of his shirt made my blush deepen, if that was even possible.

“I work out,” he said.

I furrowed my brow. “We don’t have gyms here,” I said, reaching out to touch his arm. “No, this…” I gave it a squeeze. “This is surely a product of the vitamins in our food here. I told you that it makes a difference.”

Chris rolled his eyes, although I could see the way his cheeks tinged slightly pink at my words. “I’m flattered, but no,” he said. “That’s just superstition.”

“Really? Drop your fangs, then.”

For a moment, Chris paused, watching me with a bemused look on his face. I simply leveled him with a stern gaze. Then, finally, he conceded and opened his mouth, revealing two pristine, glistening fangs on either side.

Leaning forward to get a closer look, I found myself utterly enamored with the look of his fangs—how sharp they were, how they had dropped with such ease, unlike when he had first returned from the human continent.

Without thinking, I carefully reached out to touch one. The tip was so sharp that it was almost needle-like, and a tiny pinprick of red blood beaded on the surface of my finger.

“See?” I murmured, slowly pulling my finger away to inspect it. “Sharp as ever.”

Chris gasped and grabbed my finger, drawing it back to his lips. His fangs retracted, and he quickly kissed the blood away. “I hurt you,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head, although there was no denying the deep red color of my cheeks by that point. It didn’t hurt; and even if it did, it didn’t matter.

Because this was a sign. A sign that he belonged here—here, where even the food grown from our land strengthened both him and his wolf.

For one breathless, intimate moment, Chris continued to kiss the tip of my finger. His lips, soft and sweet, seemed to linger on my skin; I relished the feeling, unable to deny the warmth stirring in the lower portion of my belly. We were close enough to kiss. I wanted that, I think.

But before we could, the door suddenly opened and the Elders strode in. Chris quickly released my finger before they could see, and we both straightened in our chairs, desperately trying to hide our flustered appearances.

“Alpha. Acting Luna.” Elise took her seat on the left side of the table, momentarily glancing at our positions, but said nothing. Once all of the Elders had taken their seats, Chris stood.

“Thank you all for coming,” he said. “It’s about time we begin discussing the Alpha selection process.”

“I believe there may be a few candidates in Moonstone pack who could fit the bill,” Fatima began without preamble. “Perhaps we could—”

“Actually,” Chris interrupted, “I was planning on opening the running to anyone who wishes to participate. Those from other packs, as well as… werewolves who reside in the human world.”

An audible gasp rippled around the table. I, too, felt my mouth hang open at Chris’s sudden admission.

“This is highly unprecedented,” Claire said.

“Untraditional, too,” Bradley added.

Chris nodded. “You should expect that deviating from tradition is…” He paused, glancing briefly over at me before returning his gaze to the Elders. “...Kind of my thing.”

“Your thing?” Elise scoffed. “Alpha Chris, you cannot mean to—”

“But I do,” he said, stepping away from the table and turning to pace over to the fireplace with his hands in his pockets. “I think it’s high time that our pack’s traditions begin to evolve. It’s a new era. And after all, with the Omega plan already a success so soon…”

Degas, clearing his throat, spoke up. “I’ll admit I am intrigued,” he said, exchanging glances with me from across the table—and I had to admit as well that I shared his sentiment.

“But we require an Alpha who truly cares about the good of Moonstone,” Fatima protested. “A pack should not be ruled by an outsider. We cannot be sure of their motives. And besides, what sort of image would that create for Moonstone if we cannot entrust one of our own to run the pack?”

Chris turned then, his eyes flickering with something I couldn’t quite place. I remained seated, my mouth slightly agape and my eyes wide. He hadn’t mentioned this to me.

But then he turned to me. “Ava,” he said, shooting me that charming smile that never failed to make my knees weak and set my heart racing, “you’re my Acting Luna. What do you think?”

All eyes turned to me then. “Yes,” Elise said, leaning forward slowly and almost knowingly. She tented her fingers in front of herself with her elbows on the table, and leveled me with a stern—almost warning—gaze. “I, too, would like to hear Ava’s thoughts.”

I swallowed, unsure of what to say. On one hand, the Elders would certainly be furious with me for supporting any of this—after all, keeping Chris here in Moonstone and thwarting his efforts to leave should have been my priority.

But on the other hand… I had promised Chris that I wouldn’t partake in any schemes to keep him here. And I intended on keeping that promise. On keeping his trust. Which of those was more important?

“I… think it could work,” I found myself saying, my voice growing further and further away in my ears as the Elders’ gazes—all except Degas’—turned to stone as they looked at me. “Perhaps an outside perspective would be beneficial to the pack.”

A stunned silence fell across the room then. I could feel the Elders’ eyes boring into my head, their fury simmering just beneath the surface. I was failing my duty, in their eyes.

But I wasn’t done.

“I… I would like to at least propose a compromise,” I added before anyone else could speak. I looked up at Chris and shot him a quizzical look. “If you don’t mind.”

Chris nodded without hesitation. “Of course. Your opinion is important to me. To all of us.” He shot a warning glare at the angry Elders, and they seemed to relax a bit in their seats, realizing that he was right.

I nodded, feeling bolstered by his support.

“We should all serve as a panel of judges,” I said. “Only a majority vote between all of us should allow for a participant to be chosen. That way, whoever we choose will be certain to be…” I paused, glancing up at Chris one last time, only to see a slow smile spreading across his face that bolstered me even further. “...Suitable.”

The room fell into silence.