Chapter 19

DEREK

The child barely came up to my waist, his wild curls bouncing as he tilted his head up at me. His amber eyes sparkled with mischief as he studied me. He didn’t look afraid—if anything, he was curious.

“I’ve never seen you before,” he said, matter-of-factly.

I smirked. “Maybe because I haven’t been here before.”

He nodded as if that answer satisfied him. He had a strong aura—rare for a child his age—and I knew I was looking at a future Alpha. For reasons I couldn’t explain, a strange warmth spread through my chest.

“You seem to be in a bit of a hurry,” I pointed out.

He grinned, completely unfazed. “Not really. Just finished something important.”

I crouched down to his level, intrigued. “Yeah? What was so important?”

He looked around conspiratorially—his eyes landing on Joe and my men a little warily—and then leaned in toward me, whispering, “I pulled off a prank. A good one.”

“How good?”

“There’s flour all over the kitchen,” he said, his gap-toothed rapscallion smile grinning from ear to ear.

“And how did that happen?” I couldn’t help but smile back.

“I put flour in the chef’s toke,” he giggled. “When he put it on his head…poof!”

I chuckled despite myself. There was something oddly familiar about his energy. “Sounds like you’re going to be in big trouble when they catch you.”

He scrunched up his nose. “Maybe. But my mom always says if you’re going to do something, do it properly.”

I laughed. “Smart advice. Your dad say the same?”

The boy’s expression flickered for a moment before he shook his head. “Don’t have one. Just me and my mom.”

A strange pang hit me in the chest at his words, but before I could say anything else, a voice echoed down the hall.

He inhaled in surprise and whipped his head toward the sound. There were footsteps coming down the hallway. He turned to me, looking up at me with pleading eyes. “Don’t tell!”

I raised myself to standing and made a zipping-my-lips-and-turning-the-key gesture. He grinned and without another word, he turned and bolted away, disappearing behind a pillar just as voices approached.

Elena’s voice rang out. “Ai—”

She froze mid-syllable when she spotted me.

It was an awkward moment, but it only took her a moment to regain her composure. She straightened her spine. “Alpha Derek,” she said, nodding respectfully. Her eyes flitted to where Joe and some of my warriors stood.

Mason stepped forward. “Welcome to our home,” he said without any real warmth behind his words. “As my parents are currently abroad, Elena will be taking over the duties of Luna in their absence.”

Joe snorted derisively. I would have corrected his rude behavior, but the moment Mason had said ‘our home,’ Erebus snarled so viciously at the words ‘our home” that I couldn’t focus on anything else.

“We’ve been waiting, Luna,” Joe said, inflecting the word with as much disrespect as possible, as usual not missing any chance to be an ass. “Did you and Mason get lost on your way to flaunting your little power grab? Or were you too busy playing house?”

Blood still roaring in my ears, I watched Elena’s face. It remained unreadable, but there was a flicker of something dangerous in her gaze. Before she could respond, I stepped forward, my eyes fixing on her.

“All these years,” I said, keeping my voice as low and even as I could. “You were here. While I was searching for you. While I had a funeral for you. While I mourned you…”

Something flashed in her eyes—anger, regret, maybe even pain. But she masked it quickly. “You think you were the only one who lost something?” she countered. “You were quick to believe I was dead. Maybe you just wanted me gone.”

I stepped forward, closing the space between us. “You have no idea what I wanted.”

Mason moved slightly, as if ready to interfere, but Elena lifted a hand, stopping him. Her gaze never wavered from mine. “And you have no idea what I went through.”

Before I could push further, Mason stepped in, locking eyes with Elena. I knew that look—mindlinking. And whatever he said to her, it made her sigh before shifting her focus back to me.

“We should move on to the meeting,” she said evenly.

The meeting itself was tense, the room crackling with friction. Mason and Elena sat across from me and my men, both projecting confidence and authority. This was a far cry from the rogue I had found living wild, the girl I had once—

I shut down that thought immediately.

“Let’s discuss the Alpha Ball location,” Mason said, voice clipped. “Moonstone pack will benefit more from hosting.”

I smirked. “And yet, Silverclaw Pack as the better venue.”

Elena rested her chin on her hand, studying me. “You mean the amphitheater near your western border?”

I tried not to show my surprise. She really had taken all of my mother’s tutoring and lessons to heart. She knew my packlands almost better than I did myself.

“Not far from where I found you,” I reminded her, hoping to regain the upper hand. “Amongst that ratty pack of rogues.”

Her nostrils flared at my insult, but she held her tongue, turning to Mason. “There’s a playhouse nearby that we could use in case of foul weather.”

Mason looked at her blankly, clearly unimpressed.

“Do you have something better?” I asked.

Mason sat forward. “As a matter of fact—”

“We consent to your venue,” Elena interrupted.

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to her in surprise.

“I assume that’s acceptable?” Her eyebrows went up. “Or did you want a tour of the various Moonstone properties that we have on—”

“No,” I interrupted her before we lost any more ground. “That won’t be necessary. We’ll hold the event at the Silverclaw Western Amphitheatre and Playhouse.”

Mason looked displeased, but Elena nodded curtly and grabbed the papers on the table in front her, shuffling them efficiently into order.

“I think that wraps up our initial negotiations,” she said breezily. She turned to the Alpha beside her. “Mason?”

Mason sighed neutrally and rose to his feet. “Yes,” he said. “That’s enough for today.”

Everyone rose, my men no longer grumbling now that Moonstone had at last capitulated on a major point.

“We’ll see you out,” Mason said, and without another word, he and Elena made for the entrance, my men and I in their wake.

Just before we got to the door, there was a voice coming from the other side of the palatial entrance hall.

“Sir!”

We all turned en masse as man in a white chef’s uniform came striding angrily toward us, his face caked in white flour. I barely held in a snort of laughter.

“Sir,” he marched up to Mason with his eyes boring into the Alpha. “I cannot work like this! It’s Aiden, he—”

At that moment he seemed to notice the rest of us and lowered his voice, murmuring intently to Mason, and gesticulating wildly. Mason put a conciliatory hand on the chef’s flour-covered shoulder.

Elena, at almost the same moment, heaved an aggrieved sigh and called over the Gamma that waited at attention by the door.

The chef flounced off angrily after a few moments and Mason turned back to us. There was a streak of flour across his own jaw.

“Real crack team you’ve got here at Moonstone,” Joe snorted, just loudly enough for everyone to hear.

To their credit, both Mason and Elena ignored him.

I was about to do my best to make a polite goodbye when I watched Elena reach up and tenderly wipe the flour off of Mason’s face. The Alpha smiled at her warmly and turned on his heel to leave.

“MINE!” Erebus snarled within me, and I could only hold my rage in for a moment before I took two enormous strides up to my mate and grabbed her arm, pulling her bodily through the enormous doorway and out onto the grand front steps of the Moonstone pack mansion.

I heard a vicious growl rip through the air, bouncing off the marble walls of the estate and echoing into the outside air. My instinct was to look around who for the wolf who was causing such a scene.

But the growl had come from me.