Chapter 86

Ava

I opened the door to find Elder Bradley standing on my front porch, his red hair practically standing up on end in the dim evening light.

“Elder Bradley,” I said, inclining my head politely. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Ava,” he greeted with a curt nod before craning his neck to peer past me into the cottage. “Is Alpha Chris here? I couldn’t find him at the Packhouse, so I figured…”

“He’s here,” I confirmed, stepping aside to allow Bradley to enter. As he brushed past me, I cast Chris, who had migrated to the kitchen doorway, a look over his shoulder.

“Ah! Alpha Chris.” Bradley stopped short in the foyer and bowed toward Chris. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“This late in the evening?” Chris asked, taking a bite of one of the cookies I had sitting out on the counter. “You know my work day ends at five o’clock.”

Elder Bradley let out a short laugh. “An Alpha’s work day never ends,” he said, waggling his finger in mock scolding. “But I do apologize. I assure you, my visit will be a short one. I hope I wasn’t…” He paused, glancing over at me and taking in my disheveled state. “...Interrupting anything.”

I quickly jumped in to cover our tracks. “Alpha Chris was helping me with some home improvement,” I said, gesturing to the array of supplies scattered around the cottage. “Be careful of the walls. I was touching up the paint.”

“I see,” Bradley replied. That seemed to satisfy him, at least for the time being.

“Well?” Chris asked. “What did you need, Elder?”

Bradley waved a dismissive hand. “Right, right. Here. I have something for you.”

With his other hand, he produced a neatly folded piece of paper from the sleeve of his robe and held it out toward Chris. Chris accepted the paper and unfolded it, his brow furrowing as he read.

I tried my best to feign disinterest, busying myself with the kitchen faucet that had been leaking for the better part of a week now. I focused intently on reassembling the fixture, forcing myself not to eavesdrop.

“What’s this?” Chris asked, his tone clipped.

“That is a list of all of the most eligible bachelorettes from the five packs—those who could potentially make suitable Luna candidates. The other Elders and I expect you to review it and submit your top ten picks within the next week for further evaluation.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Chris’s grip tightening ever so slightly around the paper, the muscles in his forearm twitching beneath his skin. He glanced up at Bradley, his jaw clenched so hard I could see the tendons straining against the sharp outline of his cheekbones.

For a long moment, the two men simply stared at one another—Chris trying to hold his tongue, and Bradley observing him down the bridge of his pointed nose. Finally, Chris gave a terse nod.

“Thank you, Elder Bradley,” he murmured, his voice tight. “I’ll look this over.”

Bradley’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly before flickering over to me, catching me mid-fidget with the faucet fixture. I felt an unmistakable heat bloom across my cheeks at having been caught eavesdropping, but forced myself not to look away from his piercing gaze.

“Very well,” Bradley finally said, turning on his heel to make his way back toward the door. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

The moment the front door clicked shut behind the Elder, Chris let out a deep huff of frustration, crumpling the list into a tight ball and hurling it across the room. It bounced off the wall behind the trashcan before falling inside.

“Like hell I’m looking at some ‘list’,” he said, sliding onto one of the stools next to the kitchen island.

I stared at the wadded up piece of paper in the wastebasket for a long moment, trying to ignore the way my heart was pounding against my ribcage. Slowly, I bent to retrieve it, carefully smoothing out the creases with shaking fingers.

So this was it, then—the Elders’ latest plan to ensure Chris took a Luna from a respected bloodline, just as tradition dictated. To secure a future for the pack, no matter how much it might hurt either of us.

With a heavy sigh, I stepped over to where Chris was still fuming at the kitchen counter, his head in his hands. Gently, I reached out to place the list on the countertop in front of him.

“You should at least look through it,” I murmured, trying to keep my voice steady and even despite the lump that seemed to be forming in my throat. “For appearances’ sake.”

Chris’s gaze snapped over to me. “You can’t be serious,” he said. “You know I only want you.”

I felt my heart stutter in my chest. “It’s just to appease them,” I explained softly, placing my hand over his. “Until we’re ready to announce our relationship. You don’t have to actually go through with anything you don’t want.”

Some of the rage seemed to bleed out of Chris’s face as he looked down at my hand, the tension slowly melting from his shoulders. With his free hand, he reached up to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing my skin.

“I shouldn’t have to appease them,” he muttered, his eyes searching my face. “I’m the Alpha. If I want to take you as my Luna, then I should be able to.”

I let out a sigh and shook my head, taking my hand and gently pulling his away from my cheek. “I know it seems silly. But to go so blatantly against the Elders time and time again…”

“I know, I know,” he sighed. “It’s not a good look. And it’ll make Moonstone look weak, show the cracks in our foundation. Someone could challenge me as Alpha again; or even worse, one of our less… friendly packs might try to overthrow Moonstone entirely.”

“Exactly.” I nodded and took a step closer, positioning myself between his knees. “But there is a way to make this work. We just need to think carefully, plan well.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” he asked.

“We have to show them how utterly loyal and devoted we are to the pack first,” I continued, leaning a little into his touch. “Prove that we would never do anything to jeopardize the stability or strength of our people. And then…”

I paused, feeling my heart somersault in my chest as my cheeks turned into an irredeemable shade of red.

“And then we’ll prove our love for each other,” I whispered.

For a long moment, Chris simply stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then, after what felt like an eternity, the corners of his lips tugged up into the tiniest hint of a smirk.

“Perhaps we could work on that second part first?” he murmured, his voice lowering to a husky tone.

Before I could answer, he was suddenly rising from his chair and looping both arms around my waist. In one fluid motion, he lifted me off the floor with his taut, muscular arms and whirled around, heading toward the stairs.

I couldn’t help but let out an excited squeal as he hastily carried me up to the bedroom.