Chapter 20

Killian

The room erupted into chaos, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. Someone—no, several—people had shifted and were attacking innocent civilians, and I didn’t have time to react—

“Stop the attackers!”

Elena rushed forward, her command carrying over the din. In an instant, several bystanders emerged from the crowd and subdued the attackers with a kind of precision that could only come from one source.

The relentless training of Captain Ciel.

My first instinct was to look to the captain to see if he had known about this, but his face was just as ashen as everyone else’s as he commanded his guards to escort the attackers out. The crowd was still in unrest, people shouting and shoving toward the exit.

So it was only Elena who knew; and it was by Elena’s swift orders that the attackers were immediately stopped, and no one was hurt. Ciel’s guards escorted the assailants out, their shouts fading into the distance.

By the time the attackers were gone, the crowd had calmed somewhat, their murmurs dropping to a low hum. I turned to look at Elena, and was surprised to find her standing beside me with a look of utter calm on her face.

Elena slowly looked at me, and I knew right away that she had known after all. But before I could say a word, someone in the front row called out, “Luna! Luna Elena saved us!”

The crowd’s murmurs rose, and Elena lifted her chin.

“Luna Elena, were those your personal officers who followed your command? How did you know to intersperse your guards in the crowd before the attack?” a reporter shouted. “Did someone give you prior information?”

Elena looked out over the crowd and said firmly, “I was looking through the pack security reports and realized that we don’t follow the proper safety protocols. There should always be plainclothes officers in a crowd in case of emergency—so I ordered my personal guard unit to perform that duty for everyone’s safety.”

The murmurs turned into a din again, drowning out almost all sound. I just stared mutely at Elena, trying but failing to hide the utter and complete shock and disbelief on my face.

This was Elena. Elena, the timid young woman who could barely look me in the eye two weeks ago. The woman who only lived for whatever scraps of affection I threw her way.

Elena, who never stood up for herself to anyone’s bullying. Not even mine. Until recently.

I wasn’t sure what had happened to change her so much in the past two weeks, but all I knew was that she was no longer the woman I once knew.

She had truly grown into a woman who could take on the responsibilities of a Luna. And she had proven that as a fact today.

Elena glanced at me, her red eyes meeting mine, and it pulled me out of my daze. I took her hand and pulled her close to my side, whispering, “Thank you.”

She didn’t respond, just nodded once, but she didn’t pull away either.

“I think it’s safe to say that my Luna has just protected us from a disaster,” I said into the microphone, holding our joined hands high over our heads. “And that’s precisely why you should vote for us—for an Alpha and Luna who care!”

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, and I couldn’t help but smile. When I looked over at Elena, I swore I saw her briefly smiling, too.

By the time the speech portion of the event ended, I had gotten separated from Elena in the hubbub. I wanted to speak to her in private after that earlier display, so I searched for her in the back rooms while the event staff prepared the tables and food for the banquet.

I didn’t expect Jaxon to be here today, though. Not at my opening campaign event—he was my rival in this election, after all.

When I saw him, a surge of anger shot through me, even more so when I saw that infuriating smile plastered across his face.

“Killian, how nice to—”

“Did you have anything to do with the attack earlier?” I bit out, storming up to him and coming to a stop a few feet away.

Jaxon blinked with confusion. “Did I have anything to do with the attack? What would I have to do with it?”

I shrugged and folded my arms. “You and I are going to be the top runners in this election. You’re telling me an attack at my first campaign event would be too low for you?”

He frowned. “I am saying that, actually,” he sighed. “Killian, putting our… differences aside, I’d never stoop so low as to harm innocent civilians.”

“Then why are you here?”

“To see Elena.”

Somehow, hearing that made me more angry than if he had openly admitted to staging the attack. My wolf surged forward, pushing right beneath the surface of my skin, but I controlled myself and moved to brush past him.

But Jaxon, it seemed, wasn’t finished. “She’s a good Luna, you know,” he called after me. “Protecting your pack like that at a campaign event that you should have been in charge of the security for. She’s too good for you, but I guess you don’t realize that because you’re still too busy thinking about her dead sister.”

My footsteps faltered, my wolf pressing closer to the surface than ever before. I turned slowly, eyes flashing, and snarled, “If I see you near Elena again, you’ll be sorry. I don’t care if it causes a scandal, either. She’s my mate. Not yours.”

Jaxon looked unfazed. “Is that so? Because from my viewpoint, she seems rather unhappy with you.” His eyes then flicked to the pen in my pocket, and he laughed. “How did you wind up with my pen?”

I frowned, some of my anger momentarily replaced with confusion. “What?”

Jaxon strode forward and plucked the pen out of my suit jacket pocket before I could react. He uncapped it and held it up so I could see inside. “It’s mine, see? It has my initials in the cap.”

My heart stopped in my chest as I saw the undeniable letters: J.A.

Jaxon Adler.

He must have seen my face fall, because he laughed again, recapped it, and stuck it back in my pocket. “I gave it to her when I took her out for dinner last night. Don’t tell me she regifted it so soon.” He snapped his fingers. “Ah, that’s right! Your anniversary is today, isn’t it? Perhaps it’ll be your last.”

“Punch the bastard.”

My wolf’s words were harsh and full of jealous rage, and I didn’t hesitate. This man had not only taken my mate out to dinner the night before our anniversary, but had given her a gift that she had given to me as an afterthought?

I couldn’t contain it anymore. Without a word, I grabbed the front of Jaxon’s shirt with one hand and punched him square in the mouth with the other. When I released him, he stumbled back against the wall, hand flying up to touch his already-bloody nose.

I didn’t wait to see his reaction before I turned and stormed off, although his laughter followed me the whole way.

I found Elena in the dressing room, sitting in front of the mirror while two stylists fawned over her white hair. When I burst in and they saw my glowing eyes and thunderous expression, they gasped and scurried off, leaving us alone.

Elena turned in her chair to look at me, her eyes widening slightly when she saw my face.

“What’s gotten into you?” she asked, rising.

I pulled the pen out of my pocket and threw it at her feet. “That pen belongs to Jaxon Adler. It has his initials engraved on the inside. How could you give me a gift that belonged to another man?”

I expected Elena to panic, maybe to admit that she’d been having an affair and had been plotting my downfall with my rival. At the very least, I expected her to cry like she always did when confronted and apologize.

But instead, she calmly pulled off her wedding ring and tossed it at my feet, just as I had the pen.

“So?” she asked. “And the wedding ring you gave me is engraved with my sister’s initials.”