Chapter 99

Ava

Slipping into Chris’s office, I was met with his beaming face from behind his desk. Instantly, I felt my stomach clench. Goddess, he was so handsome. I hated the thought of having to end our relationship so soon when it had barely even had a chance to blossom.

“There you are!” he exclaimed, waving his hand toward the door. “Can you close that?”

I acquiesced with a nod and shut the door, casting the room into silence now that the bustling halls of the Packhouse were shut out. Then, turning, I saw Chris rising from his desk.

“I saw you walking through the gardens with Degas,” he said absentmindedly as he crossed over to the small minibar on one side of his office and poured himself a glass of gin. He held the bottle up for me, and I paused for a moment before nodding. He poured me one as well and mixed it with tonic. “What were you talking about?”

My mouth opened of its own accord, but then shut again. No, I thought to myself. I couldn’t bear to tell him the truth at that moment. Just a few more days, at least. Just a few more days of bliss before we had to end things.

Instead, I simply shrugged and shook my head at the same time, feigning a smile as I sank down into one of the chairs opposite his desk.

“Nothing much. Just enjoying the weather.”

“It is beautiful out there. I should make sure to get outside at some point today, if only to look at the flowers. You should join me.”

He handed me my glass of gin and tonic, which he had topped with a slice of lime and a few ice cubes. Our fingers brushed as I took it, and once again, I felt my stomach twist. But I hid the redness in my cheeks by taking a sip of my glass.

I couldn’t help, however, the way that my eyes wandered his desk. There, on top of the pile of pictures and names of eligible bachelorettes, was one in particular who I didn’t recognize: a beauty with long, jet black hair that was parted in the middle, caramel-colored skin, and striking gray eyes that were so big you could see nearly half an inch of white beneath her irises.

“She’s pretty,” I managed, gesturing toward the picture. “Beautiful, actually.”

Chris snorted and picked the picture up, turning it over in his hand. “She is beautiful. Lady Trisha from New Moon pack. Elder Elise said that she would be an excellent candidate because she would help unify our packs, so long as Moonrise doesn’t take offense.”

I swallowed against the sudden lump in my throat and looked away. “It could be something to consider.”

“Something to consider?” Chris echoed with a scoff. He circled around his desk and dropped down to the seat next to me, taking my hand in his before I had a chance to pull away. “How many times do I have to tell you, Ava? You’re the only one for me. I’m not going any further than making this damn list just to appease the Elders until we find the moonstone.”

My mouth worked uselessly for a few moments, the words that I wanted—no, needed—to say dying at the back of my throat before they even made it to my tongue. All the while, Elder Degas’s speech echoed relentlessly in my mind, bouncing off of the walls of my skull until it was enough to drive me mad.

“You know what needs to be done, don’t you, Ava?”

Degas was right; Chris and I couldn’t be together. He needed someone younger, someone with more prospects, someone whose alliance would provide Moonstone with the strength we needed.

And besides, my own biological clock was ticking. I was in the second half of my thirties now and not really any closer to having a child. Chris needed a Luna who would provide him with heirs.

But still, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. Not when those green eyes were staring at me, not when those cool hands were gripping mine so tightly.

Instead, I simply smiled and sipped my gin and tonic. “I know. I was only teasing you.”

Chris seemed to let out a breath that neither of us realized he had been holding and released his grip on my hands. He stood, crossing to the window, and looked out over the gardens below. I watched his broad back for a few moments before I rose from my chair and went to stand beside him.

Degas was no longer sitting on the bench.

“I have to go to the human continent again this weekend,” Chris said, casually sipping his gin and tonic with one hand while he slipped the other into his neat trouser pocket.

I quirked an eyebrow at him. “What for? You were there just last weekend.”

He shrugged one shoulder and let out a soft sigh. “The next racing season always comes up sooner than you realize. I don’t really get much more than a couple of months off before I’m back at it again, going on press tours and showing my face at events in the name of PR.”

Turning, I leveled him with a stern gaze. “Chris, I know that NASCAR is your biggest passion in he human world. But with Moonstone in turmoil right now…”

Sighing, he waved me off with the hand that was holding his glass and shook his head. “It’ll only be overnight. I promise, this will be the last event for the next month. We’ll find Olivia and the moonstone by then, and everything will be fine.”

“And if it’s not?” I asked, turning to face him fully now.

For a moment, Chris opened his mouth to respond—no doubt to bite out a sarcastic retort—but then he quickly shut it again as though thinking better of it.

“I’m not saying you should give up driving, you know,” I explained gently. “But you’ve decided to take on the role of Alpha here full-time. And with the blight, the moonstone missing, and… everything else, I just don’t want to see you burn yourself out. That’s all.”

Chris turned to me, shooting me that warm smile of his as he reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. His hand lingered on my cheek, and I leaned into its warmth even though it made my chest ache.

Just a few more days of bliss, I kept reminding myself. I wanted to enjoy what time we had left without pulling away from his touch.

“I won’t burn myself out, Ava,” he said softly. “Not with you by my side. Which is why I’m bringing you with me.”

My eyes widened ever so slightly, and I jerked my head back a bit. “You’re bringing me with you?” I echoed incredulously. “Chris, I can’t come. I should stay here in Moonstone in case I’m needed, and besides, we can’t—”

Before I could finish, I quickly cut myself off. No. Not yet.

Chris shot me a bemused glance before turning and striding back to his desk to shuffle papers around. “It’s just overnight,” he said casually, setting his glass down on the desk’s surface so that the condensation rather quickly created a ring of water. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning. I’ve already booked a hotel room for tomorrow night. And then we’ll be back first thing on Sunday.”

He turned then before I could answer, those green eyes of his dancing with mischief. “This hotel is even better than the last. It has a huge jacuzzi, and even a private sauna—”

“If I go, I need my own hotel room.”

As soon as I blurted out those words, I felt myself wince. Chris’s mouth hung open, shock covering his face.