Chapter 62

Chris

I stepped back from the mirror, straightening the starched collar of my crisp white dress shirt. The ceremonial attire of the Alpha of Moonstone pack always felt a bit stifling compared to the casual human clothing I had become accustomed to wearing in recent years.

“Dammit…”

With a frown, I tugged at the embroidered gold and sky blue sash draped across my chest, willing the thick fabric to lay properly. The sash was an old Moonstone tradition, the fabric supposedly imbued with magical properties dating back centuries. I didn’t know how true that was—it just seemed like regular old fabric to me.

All I knew was that the blasted thing never wanted to cooperate.

Suddenly, a soft rap at the door made me glance over my shoulder. “Enter,” I called out, expecting it to be Leonard, one of the Elders, or maybe even my damn sister.

Instead, the door creaked open to reveal Ava.

As soon as I saw her, I felt my breath catch in one of the deep recesses of my chest. She looked absolutely stunning in her ceremonial Luna attire; a gold and sky blue gown, matching my sash, that clung to her lithe figure like a second skin. The low neckline dipped just enough to hint at the tantalizing swell of her breasts, and I felt my throat go dry just at the sight of her.

“The ceremony is beginning soon. Are you ready?” she asked.

“You’re gorgeous,” was all I could manage in response, my gaze roving shamelessly over her.

She laughed—a warm, bell-like sound that did nothing to help the tightening in my pants and shut the door behind herself. “You’re one to talk. Here, let me fix that for you.”

Before I could protest, Ava crossed the room in a few graceful strides, her fingers already working at the sash across my chest. She smoothed the fabric over my chest with practiced ease, straightening the intricate knot and weaving in the trailing tassels just so.

“You’ve really forgotten how to do this?” she asked as she worked.

I nodded stiffly, catching our reflections in the mirror. “I know how to do all of the different knots for a tie, but for some reason this stupid sash makes me want to hit something.”

“You’re ridiculous.” She giggled again, and I felt a strain in my groin that took all of my willpower to ignore. With the full moon still affecting us, I felt utterly helpless around her.

Maybe that had been part of my problem last night, and why I had barely slept—after we had said our goodnights, I had tossed and turned for hours, trying to memorize the taste of her tongue.

Now, every brush of her skin against mine sent tingles racing across my body. This close, her heady floral perfume—or perhaps it was just the smell of her garden—enveloped me completely, and I found myself leaning in to breathe her in like a man dying of thirst.

My hands fell to her hips, then, and I could no longer help myself. Without waiting for permission, I reached out and touched her, my fingers splaying possessively over the soft fabric of her gown.

“Can I help you?” she whispered, tilting her chin up to look at me. I didn’t answer; I was too busy drinking in the sight of her glossy chestnut curls, her slightly parted lips, her deep blue-gray eyes darkening like a storm rolling in off the ocean.

In one fluid motion, I spun us and pushed Ava back against the table with a dull thud, my mouth crashing over her neck as if her skin contained some sort of magic elixir that would make me immortal. I felt her fingers tangle into my sash, then one hand crept up behind my neck, and a soft whimper escaped her lips.

It had been so long; or at least, that was how it felt. We hadn’t made love since that first night together, and had only come close when we had gotten drunk in her cottage. Maybe it was just the full moon making me feral, but I wanted her now.

“Chris…” She swallowed, panting beneath me. “We can’t, not now—the competition—”

“I don’t care about—”

Suddenly, a brisk knock at the door cut me off, followed by Elder Elise’s stern voice filtering through the wood. “Alpha Chris? Ava? You’re needed in the square. The first challenge is about to begin.”

We froze, exchanging wide-eyed looks. After a tense beat, Ava carefully disentangled herself and began smoothing her hair back into place with her cheeks tinged such a deep shade of red that I thought she might burst. “We should go.”

I growled low in my throat, sweeping my fingers through my mussed hair. “This isn’t over,” I promised in a rough murmur. “I want you alone tonight, just the two of us.”

Pink tinged her cheeks, but Ava didn’t miss a beat. “So demanding. What if I have other plans?”

“Then cancel them.” I smirked, stepping into her space again and letting my hands roam over the lush curves of her body. “Tonight, I’m taking you to bed and making you scream my name. Just like the first time we—”

Before I could finish, Ava gasped and swatted my chest with a frown. “You’re a pig, you know that?” she said, although I could tell there was no real anger in her demeanor. “Assuming you’ll get sex.”

I quickly shook my head and caught her hand, pressing her delicate fingers to my lips. “I’m only teasing,” I assured her. “But I’d still like to spend some time with you tonight, if you’ll allow me.”

Ava paused, tilting her chin up so that one of her loose curls fell over her pale shoulder—exposing the cute little mole right on her collarbone that I had memorized since childhood.

“You can come over,” she whispered, so low that only I could hear. “But just for a visit.”

“And some of that homemade wine?” I asked.

Ava rolled her eyes. “You’re a drunk,” she teased. “But yes. We’ll have some of that.”

“Hello?” Elise’s irritated voice came again, sharper this time.

“Coming,” I called out.”

With one last heated look, Ava pulled away and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Let’s go.”

She was still blushing prettily as we emerged, but I could only smirk in satisfaction. Time alone together was about all I craved these days, although I knew better than to push her boundaries. Just being near Ava, inhaling her scent and basking in her presence, was more than enough for me.

We made our way through the bustling village square, sidestepping the clusters of eager contestants as they jostled and sized each other up in preparation. One by one, the eight judges filtered out to take their seats along the raised dais overlooking the center stage.

Finally, when Ava and I were settled in our places in the center of the others, I stood and raised my hands to call for silence. The dull roar of the crowd slowly died away until you could have heard a pin drop.

Projecting my voice to carry across the entire square, I bellowed, “Let the first trial begin.”