Chapter 92

Chris

The golden morning sunlight streamed in through the open balcony doors, bathing the room in a warm light. The sound of the city waking up floated through the air, and the scent of fresh baked bread wafted through the hotel hallways.

But instead of waking up languidly with Ava beside me, I hadn’t slept at all.

No. I had spent the night rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to figure out where the hell my conniving sister had gone off to.

“I want our four best men and women to search for her in each direction,” I commanded. “No one comes home until she’s found. And when she is, I have plans for her.”

Leonard’s face scrunched up a bit on the other end of the video call. He ran a hand through his hair, looking every bit as weary as I felt. “I’ve already sent search parties out for her. She can’t have gotten far.”

I pursed my lips. “This is Olivia we’re talking about. She could be on a different planet by now for all we know.”

Leonard sighed in response. “That’s true.”

“How did she even get out in the first place? I want to speak to the guard who was on duty.”

Leonard nodded and stood, leaving the frame of the video call. A couple of minutes later, a burly guard stepped into frame and sat down with a sheepish expression on his face.

“You,” I said through gritted teeth. “You had one job. How did you let a woman slip through like that?”

The guard paused, running a hand nervously along the back of his neck, before he spoke. “I’m so sorry, Alpha,” he said. “My shift was going fine, really; but then I felt something prick the back of my neck, and… The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the clinic.”

I opened my mouth to bite out a scathing retort, but then stopped myself. Had Olivia really stooped to that level? Poisoning guards now?

“They found the same poison that knocked out Ava in his bloodwork,” Leonard explained as the guard got up and left. “Smaller amounts, and he’s a much bigger man, so it only put him to sleep. But still.”

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. “That little…” I stopped myself from saying something cruel, and instead bit the inside of the cheek to help quell my anger before regarding Leonard again. “Alright. Keep me updated. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“See you soon, Alpha. Stay safe.”

The moment I hung up the phone, my blood turned to ice in my veins. Olivia had escaped. That treacherous snake had somehow managed to slither her way out of the most secure holding cell in all of Moonstone, and now no one knew where she was.

I turned to find Ava striding in through the open balcony doors, wrapping a silk robe around herself. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a loose bun, her skin slightly flushed pink from the heated infinity pool.

She looked like a goddess.

Under normal circumstances, the sight of her like that would have been enough to set my body on fire. But at that moment, all I could focus on was the gut-wrenching sense of dread coiling tightly in the pit of my stomach.

“What did Leonard say?” she asked as she tied her robe shut.

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words seemed to catch in my throat. How could I even begin to explain this catastrophic turn of events? That the very person who had poisoned Ava was now on the loose again, and because of what?

Because I had conceded to the Elders’ demands, yet again?

“Chris?” Ava pressed softly, padding across the plush carpet toward me. “What did he say?”

Finally, I managed to unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “She’s really gone,” I said. “No one can find her. It seems she’s fled the pack.”

Ava’s eyes blew wide at my words. “Oh, Goddess,” she whispered, pressing her trembling fingers to her lips. “Oh, Goddess, this is all my fault…”

My frown deepened at her words. “Your fault?” I echoed. “How is any of this your fault?”

“I let my compassion get the better of me,” she interrupted, her gaze dropping to the floor in shame. “When the Elders were mentioning letting her stay in the pack, I should have spoken up then. Insisted on moving forward with the ceremony instead of delaying everything. But I... I didn’t say a word. I just fucking sat there.”

Her voice trailed off, her shoulders slumping as she sank down onto the edge of the bed. “I’m so sorry, Chris. I should have—”

Before she could finish, I crossed over to her and gripped her arms in my hands. “Look at me,” I said, taking one hand to tilt her chin up at me. “It’s not your fault. You have a soft heart, and that’s a good thing.”

Ava sniffled softly, blinking hard. “But I’m the Acting Luna,” she muttered. “I’m the second in command. I should have stood up for myself. For all of us.”

“No. Not the Acting Luna,” I corrected. “The Luna. And I just so happen to love my Luna’s soft heart. Although…”

I looked away, biting my lower lip before continuing. “It wouldn’t hurt for you to exercise a bit more coldness when the need arises. But I’m still not holding this against you.”

“You’re not?” she asked.

Shaking my head, I sank down onto the bed beside her. “No. I’m more to blame for listening to the Elders so blindly—and they’re just as much to blame for suggesting the notion to begin with. Olivia should have been banished, but now…”

“Now she’s running around doing Goddess-knows-what,” Ava finished for me.

I nodded, reaching up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. “But we’ll find her. And then she’ll officially be banished—publicly, to ensure that everyone knows we’re not messing around.”

Ava fell silent, her gaze falling down to her lap. For a while, neither of us spoke. Inwardly, I cursed my bitch of a sister for ruining our first weekend getaway together.

But at the same time, maybe it was just an excuse to take Ava away again. A do-over with no hitches, so we could just enjoy being together for once.

Suddenly, as though reading my mind, Ava leaned over me and straddled me on the bed. Smiling, she lowered herself to me.

So close, in fact, that I could feel the enticing swell of her breasts pressing against my chest.

“I’m not sure if I can picture myself being cold, you know,” she murmured, peppering soft kisses across my jaw and neck as the scent of her floral and honey perfume enveloped me. “I’m not sure if that’s… me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh—partially from the tickling sensation of her eyelashes against my skin and partially from the innocence of her words.

Gently, but still with a great deal of fervor, I looped one arm around her waist and flipped her so that she was flat on the bed beneath me. Her slender thighs snaked around me, her ankles crossing behind me and pulling me harder against her.

“I know,” I finally responded, flicking my tongue across the crook of her neck in a way that made her shudder beneath me. I then laced my fingers with hers and pressed her hands into the bed, effectively pinning her beneath me. “And that’s what I like so much about you.”