Chapter 131

Kayla

The debate was set in the guild hall’s communal room that Saturday morning. The room was already filled with people by the time I peeked through the curtains. A bubble of nerves rose in my stomach at the sight of all the cameras, and I swallowed hard.

“I think you might be more nervous than I am,” Nicholas said, drawing my attention.

I turned, glancing at where he was standing by the full-length mirror at the back of the small greenroom, adjusting his tie. He looked like the perfect picture of a handsome politician with his pristine suit and his dark hair neatly gelled to one side.

“Well, one of us has to be nervous,” I replied.

Nicholas just smirked at me in the mirror and finished smoothing down the lapels of his jacket before turning to face me.

“How do I look?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Like a news anchor,” I teased, but then my smile faded. “You sure you’re prepared? You have your talking points memorized?”

He rolled his eyes and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Quit worrying, Kayla. I’m going to win.”

I bit my cheek, uncertain. I had seen the other Alpha he was going to be debating against, Alpha Denver of Ashmoon pack, and he was a formidable opponent.

But before I had a chance to complain further, the debate organizer entered the room. “You’re on in five,” she said, holding up five fingers. “Luna Kayla, if you could please take your seat…”

I made my way out to my seat, which was at the front of the audience with the wife of the other Alpha as well as some other VIPs. Ava and Henry had come to witness the debate, and I took a seat beside Ava, feeling her warm hand brush mine as I settled in.

“He’ll be fine,” she whispered, leaning close.

“I’m not worried.”

Ava scoffed lightly and gave me that look she always did when she knew I was full of shit.

Shortly, Nicholas and Denver stepped out onto the stage, eliciting a round of applause. Denver was much older but just as charismatic as Nicholas, although it was a different kind of charisma—the sort of charm that comes with age and experience, accentuated by his salt and pepper hair and elegant stubble.

The guild members took their seats at a panel beside the stage, with the two chairmen of the guild seated at the center.

The debate began easily enough, with general questions regarding economic policies, social beliefs, and pack alliances. Nicholas answered each question with ease and grace, even eliciting applause and laughter—even from me—at some points.

However, as the debate went on, the questions and conversations grew more intense. I quickly realized that the guild members’ questions and discussion prompts were specifically designed to trip Nicholas up, while Denver wasn’t given nearly as much a hard time.

When I realized this, my heart turned bitter. I had no doubt in my mind that Gray had sunk his claws in before he resigned, sowing seeds of discontent against Nicholas.

But then again, I supposed that the guild had disliked Nicholas for a long time. Not because of his reputation, but because he was young, ambitious, and he knew damn well just how corrupt they all were.

Regardless, Nicholas wasn’t fazed.

At least, not until the matter of our ‘marriage’ was brought up.

“Alpha Nicholas,” one of the chairmen, an elder named Kieran with pure silver hair, said. “Your marriage to Luna Kayla of Bluemoon pack has sparked some interest in recent months. What do you have to say about the alleged cheating scandal?”

My heart stopped. Nicholas frowned, turning to face the chairman. “I’m sorry, Chairman Kieran, but I’m not sure what this has to do with my campaign. And the so-called ‘scandal’ was debunked.”

“If I may,” Denver suddenly cut in, his eyes sharpening, “I think it holds quite a lot of weight against your campaign, actually. After all, the guild values family ties and traditional ideals. Between your reputation and your wife’s, I can see why our wonderful chairman might be… concerned.”

Nicholas turned to Denver, a muscle in his jaw ticking. Beside me, Ava shifted and wrapped her fingers around mine, giving them a squeeze. But I hardly felt it.

“My past actions are just that—in the past,” Nicholas replied easily. “Thanks to my wife, I’m a changed man.” He glanced at me, and I felt something turn warm in my belly. “And as for the alleged cheating scandal, my Luna is entirely innocent; that was a smear campaign started against her by her own cheater of an ex; my stepbrother, Liam.”

The crowd murmured. Ava’s fingers tightened even more around mine. I held Nicholas’s gaze, suddenly feeling my cheeks turn pink beneath the intensity of those amber eyes.

“Furthermore,” Nicholas said, finally dragging his gaze back to Denver, “I agree that the guild upholds traditional familial ideals; which is exactly why I think it’s in poor taste to insult such a lovely woman in a debate that has nothing to do with her.”

“I didn’t—”

“Luna Kayla is a graceful, elegant, selfless woman who I’m glad to have by my side,” Nicholas cut Denver off, addressing the crowd now with that heart-rending smile on his face. “She is an amazing Luna and a steadfast leader. In fact, sometimes I think that she should be the one up here, not me.”

My heart fluttered at his words, and I quickly averted my gaze, feeling the weight of hundreds of eyes on me—including those of the guild and Nicholas’s opponent. It was still strange, hearing Nicholas speak so well of me, so strange that a small part of me wanted to believe that he was only saying it for the positive feedback on his performance.

That had to be it, right? He couldn’t possibly mean those things.

Seemingly satisfied, the guild moved on to the next round of questions, moving away from the topic of our marriage. I felt myself relax a little, but still sat on the edge of my seat throughout the remainder of the debate, my attention focused entirely on Nicholas.

Finally, the debate came to an end and the guild members made their way into a private room to discuss the winner. Nicholas and Denver stepped off the stage, wading through the crowd of reporters and attendees, shaking hands and smiling.

By the time Nicholas made it to me, I could see the lines of weariness etched into his face. They were subtle, but they were there, straining around the perfect smile plastered across his mouth, a telltale sign that he was faking it.

For some reason, the sight of that made my stomach twist a little. Once again, I wondered if the kind things he had said about me had been just as fake as his smile.

Just as Nicholas was approaching me, Denver and his Luna, Emily, walked up to us. Emily was tall and slender, with a whip of blonde hair, bright silver eyes, and a fox-like face. She wore a silky white dress that fell to her knees, and carried a delicate clutch in one hand that matched the expensive pearl necklace around her throat. She looked to be about twenty years Denver’s junior, at least. Maybe more.

“Alpha Nicholas,” Denver said, extending his hand. “Excellent debate.”

Nicholas didn’t hesitate before shaking his opponent’s hand. “Thank you, Alpha.”

Emily glanced at me then, delicately flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder. “You must be Luna Kayla,” she said. “I must say, Nicholas spoke very well of you up there.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could, Denver cut in, “Is it true that your marriage is under investigation? I heard rumors that you had to undergo weekly interviews at one point to test whether you’re truly married for love or just for the financial benefits.”

My blood stirred at that. Although our weekly interviews had come to an end, the guild was still ‘deciding’ what to do with our marriage. And two reminders in one day didn’t exactly fill me with joy.

Suddenly, Nicholas stepped forward, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close. “I suppose it is almost unbelievable that two highly attractive, successful young people within each other’s age range—” He glanced at Emily, whose face flushed— “might find each other so quickly,” he said with that grin of his.

Denver and Emily exchanged glances. I blinked up at Nicholas, surprised by his retort.

Nicholas, for his part, seemed entirely unbothered.

Sometimes, I was beginning to wonder if our marriage even was fake anymore. We hadn’t talked about it, and yet the way he spoke about us…

The thought thrilled me more than I wanted to admit. But it also terrified me—terrified the version of me that had been burned by Liam. I decided to push the notion away for now, since we were in public. Still, I couldn’t help but glance up at Nicholas and wonder if he would burn me like Liam had.

Lately, I couldn’t picture him doing such a thing.

At that moment, the guild members re-entered the debate hall, gathering on the stage. I swallowed the lump in my throat as we all turned to face them. It was almost imperceptible, but I could almost feel Nicholas’s grip on my waist tighten.

“We have made our decision,” Chairman Kieran said. “And the newest member of the guild is…”

The room seemed to hold its breath. Nicholas pulled me closer, and my heart pounded so hard I almost couldn’t hear over it.

“Alpha Nicholas.”