Chapter 86

Elijah & Agnes

Elijah

I stared blankly at the conference table, the smooth, polished wood blurring in and out of focus with each breath. The voices of the council members droned relentlessly around me, their words flowing into one long, indistinguishable hum.

There was no way in hell I could get myself to focus during this meeting, because my mind was far, far away from here. Away from this table, away from this office, away from this entire building.

It was still stuck in that hallway. Pressed up against the wall.

With her.

It had been over a week since Agnes and I had kissed and, frankly, nearly made love in that hallway—maybe we would have done it had Thea not appeared and pulled us back to reality. Over a week, and I still couldn’t get the taste of her lips off of mine.

But it was more than that.

I had… heard her later that night.

It started off as the creak of her bed and her exasperated sighs as she tossed and turned. The house had been particularly quiet that night, not even the wind whistling around the eaves like it normally did. I chalked it up to that, to my keen werewolf hearing making everything sound amplified in the silence.

But truthfully, looking back, I had intentionally strained my ears so I could hear her moving around her room; if only so I could feel connected to her in some way. But that’s beside the point.

After hearing her toss and turn for a while, I had decided to make her a cup of tea—I wanted one for myself, anyway. But by the time I had returned to her room with the cup in hand, I had found her bed empty, and I could hear the sound of the water lapping against the tub in the other room.

I almost left. I should have left.

But I decided to quietly leave the tea for her, along with a quickly-scrawled note on a sticky paper that I found on her desk.

And that was when I heard it.

“Elijah…”

It had been barely audible, almost tentative. But Goddess, it had ignited something deep and primal in me. She wasn’t calling out to me, but rather inward.

She was… murmuring my name in the bath.

Not because she knew I was there; no, I was certain she had no idea I was in her room.

She was saying my name for an entirely different purpose, and I had a feeling I knew what that purpose was.

I gripped the edge of the table, the memory slicing through my focus. The faint sound of water lapping, her voice quiet and urgent. It had taken every ounce of self-control to turn away, to walk back down the hall and pretend like I hadn’t heard it.

I wanted her. Desperately.

Even now, more than a week later, I couldn’t stop wanting her. I couldn’t focus, could barely eat, and sleep was almost entirely off the table. I felt like she had cast a spell on me when she had uttered my name like that.

Suddenly, the clink of a glass jarred me back to the present. My Beta, James, was pouring himself a cup of coffee at the side of the room, his sharp eyes flicking toward me. Across the table, a councilman had paused mid-sentence, his brow raised in question.

“Alpha Elijah?”

I blinked, forcing myself to straighten in my chair. “Apologies. What were you saying?”

The man frowned but repeated his point, something about reallocating resources to the western border. I nodded absently, making a note in my ledger even though I barely registered his words.

When the meeting finally adjourned, I exhaled a long breath, letting the tension drain from my shoulders.

James lingered behind as the others filed out. I didn’t bother looking at him.

“You’re distracted,” he said plainly, leaning back against the doorframe. “You’ve been distracted all week.”

“I’m fine,” I replied curtly, gathering the scattered notes in front of me.

“Sure, Alpha.” He crossed his arms. “You’ve been fine ever since Luna Agnes came into your life, haven’t you?”

I shot him a warning glance, but he only smirked.

“It’s written all over your face,” he continued, utterly unbothered by my glare. “You’ve been brooding all week. Something’s on your mind, and I’d bet my life it has to do with her.”

“It’s not like that,” I muttered, although my tone lacked conviction.

James tilted his head. “Then what’s stopping you? You’re an Alpha. If you want her, take her.”

I slammed my ledger shut so hard that the sound echoed through the room. “It’s complicated, James. Olivia is still marked. If I—”

“If you act on your feelings, Olivia might retaliate,” he finished, his voice losing its teasing edge. He straightened, his expression turning serious. “I get it, Elijah. I do. But let me ask you this: when has Olivia not retaliated? You tiptoe around her like she’s holding all the cards, but she doesn’t have as much power as you think she does.”

“She’s dangerous,” I snapped.

“Only because you allow her to be,” James shot back. “If you want Agnes—and don’t try to tell me you don’t—you need to stop letting fear dictate your actions. Olivia doesn’t need to know.”

His words lingered in the air, leaving my mouth hanging open. I stared at him incredulously for a moment, struggling to wrap my head around the words he had just dared utter to me.

Was he implying…?

“Get out,” I finally growled, my voice low.

James didn’t argue. But as he turned to leave, he added over his shoulder, “I just want you to be happy, Alpha.”

Once I was alone, I sank back into my chair, pressing my palms against my face. I let out a groan, the sound muffled against my hands.

“Elijah…”

The memory of Agnes’s whisper floated back to me, unbidden, followed by the image of her lips parting as she said my name. My wolf stirred restlessly, his presence humming just beneath the surface.

“You’re being awfully quiet all of a sudden,” I muttered, addressing him out loud.

He responded with a smirk—a feeling more than a sound—and drew my attention to the open newspaper on the table. My eyes landed on an advertisement: a comedy show at a romantic restaurant downtown.

I groaned again. “You cheeky bastard...”

…

Agnes

The day had been productive, to say the least.

With Ava gone, the office had finally settled into a steady rhythm, and the looming deadline of the fashion show felt more exhilarating than stressful. Every meeting had been efficient, every design tweak purposeful. By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow through the office windows, I felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

As I packed up my sketches, humming softly to myself, a shadow filled the doorway.

I stiffened, the air in the room growing heavier.

“Elijah,” I said, my voice catching slightly. We hadn’t spoken much since that day we had kissed, other than out of necessity. Looking at him, knowing he might have heard me pleasuring myself in the tub, still made my cheeks heat—even though he hadn’t indicated that he had heard me. Not yet, anyway.

He stepped into the room, his broad frame eclipsing the soft light from the hallway. His eyes locked onto mine, and to my surprise, there was a flicker of hesitation in their stormy depths.

I swallowed hard, forcing a smile onto my face as I continued to pack my bag. “What’s up?”

He hesitated, reaching into his pocket. When his hand emerged, he was holding two tickets.

“There’s a comedy show at that new restaurant downtown,” he said, his voice softer now. “James is going to watch Thea tonight, if you’d like to go...”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “With you?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I immediately kicked myself inwardly. Of course he means together, you bloody fool. But does this mean…?

Elijah nodded. “Yes. With me.”