Chapter 20
ELENA
The tension, even outside, was suffocating. My fingers curled into my palm as Derek’s grip tightened around my wrist, his touch burning into my skin like an unspoken demand. His golden eyes, once familiar and warm, were now dark with something unreadable—anger, frustration, something else lurking beneath the surface.
I yanked my arm away, taking a step back to put distance between us.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I hissed, keeping my voice low. The last thing I needed was more eyes upon us. The Moonstone pack had already made it clear they weren’t rolling out the red carpet for him.
A spectacle right outside the packhouse doors wouldn’t help.
He exhaled sharply. “We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing left to say.” I turned to walk back inside, but he stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Elena,” he said, voice lower now, almost pleading. “Did you ever think, even for a second, how I felt?”
I froze. “You don’t get to ask me that,” I sputtered. “You said that you could never fully share your life with me. You made your choice!”
I hated feeling all the things he made me feel—the things I thought I had left behind when I rejected him all those years ago.
His jaw tensed. “You disappeared, Elena. I searched for you. I mourned you. And now—”
He cut himself off, shaking his head. “Now I find out you’ve been here all along. With Mason.”
I scoffed. “Of course. Because the only explanation for my survival must be that I ran off to be with another man. Another Alpha.”
Derek’s expression twisted, something raw crossing his face before he masked it with indifference. “That’s not what I—”
“Save it,” I snapped. “You don’t get to be the victim here, Derek. Not after everything you said. Everything you did. Not after what you put me through.”
He took a step closer, and despite myself, I inhaled the familiar scent of cedarwood and stormy air. My wolf stirred inside me, but I forced her down, refusing to let her sway me.
“I just want the truth,” he said. “Why didn’t you come back?”
A sharp laugh escaped me. “Come back to what? To a mate who would never treat me as an equal? To a pack that never wanted me?”
His eyes darkened, guilt flashing behind them. “I—”
Before he could finish, the Moonstone Gamma crossed the threshold of the mansion door and stepped up to us, his gaze flitting back and forth between myself and Derek, who still stood far too close for polite company.
“Elena?” the Gamma asked, his voice as serious as I had ever heard it. “Are you alright?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice icy and cold. “We’re done here.”
I turned and walked away, not giving Derek the chance to stop me again. My heart pounded, my chest tight with all the words I had left unsaid.
As I rounded the corner, Aiden came barreling toward me, nearly knocking me off balance.
“Mom!” he said, grinning up at me.
“Hello little pup,” I said, swallowing hard.
I glanced over my shoulder, but Derek was gone.
Relieved, I looked down at Aiden, his face all innocence and joy.
“Where were you today?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
He smiled. “The treehouse behind the garden.”
I didn’t believe that for a second. “You never went into the kitchen for a snack?”
His round eyes blinked up at me. “Nope!”
A thought occurred to me. “In all your time hanging out in the treehouse,” I said, letting my voice linger on the last word so that he knew I knew he was fibbing, “did you happen to run into any of the guests that were here today?”
“Nope!” he said again, and I decided to leave it at that.
For now.
The day of the venue visit arrived, and as usual, Mason was pulled away by urgent pack business. I didn’t mind. I assured him that I could handle Derek on my own.
Whatever unresolved emotions lay between us were irrelevant now. My only concern was making sure the Alpha Ball was a success.
I arrived at the venue early, walking through the amphitheater where the ball would be held. It was lovely, a breathtaking fusion of nature and elegance. Carved into the gentle slope of a forested hillside, it embraced the open sky and would allow the silver light of the moon to pour over the stone steps that curved around the central stage.
At the heart of the space, a grand marble platform stood. I turned, assessing the area thoughtfully. Its polished surface would look lovely at night, and we could suspend lanterns from wrought-iron posts.
The stage, framed by towering columns wrapped in ivy, felt both regal and intimate—ideal for an event as momentous as the Alpha Ball.
Not wanting to be late meeting Derek, I made my way to the hotel that would host the guests, stepping into the grand hall. It was impressive—high ceilings adorned with intricate chandeliers and polished marble floors. The scent of fresh-cut roses and crisp linen filled the air, a sign that preparations were well underway.
A staff member handed me the event planning documents, and I took a seat at one of the round tables to go over them. The floral arrangements needed adjustments, the seating chart would require modifications, and the lighting setup needed to be reworked for a more elegant ambiance. I made notes, losing myself in the details, unaware of how much time had passed until I heard the sharp click of heels against the floor.
I looked up, my pulse steady, as Cassandra, Caroline, and Joe approached. Cassandra’s expression darkened the moment she saw me, her lips curling into a sneer.
Caroline looked at me distastefully. “You just don’t give up, do you? Trying to meet Derek alone? What, is Mason not enough for you?”
I didn’t rise to the bait, instead returning my attention to the floral plans.
Caroline scoffed. “Ignoring me won’t change anything. You think just because Mason lets you play Luna over there, you can do whatever you want? You’re still just a rogue, Elena.”
I calmly adjusted my chair and made a note in the margin of my papers. “If you don’t have anything useful to say about the Alpha Ball, then I suggest you leave.”
Cassandra’s nails dug into the back of the chair opposite me as she leaned in, her voice laced with venom. “You have some nerve. I should have known you’d still be shameless enough to stick around, even after everything.”
I finally lifted my gaze, meeting hers without flinching. “Everything? You mean your little stunt at the Alpha Council?”
Her eyes flashed, a flicker of fury she barely concealed. I tilted my head slightly. “You should be careful, Cassandra. A Luna is supposed to be poised and strategic, but you—you let your emotions get the best of you. And that’s why your little plan to humiliate me failed.”
Cassandra’s face turned red as Caroline let out a snarl. “You arrogant—”
Before she could finish, Cassandra grabbed the design plans from my hands and tossed them onto the floor. “You think you can just ignore me? Disregard me like I’m nothing? You humiliated me in front of the other Alphas!”
I exhaled, shaking my head. “You humiliated yourself, Cassandra.”
That pushed her over the edge. In a flash, she grabbed a glass of champagne from the table set up for tastings and made a move to throw it at me. Instead of trying to protect myself as she probably expected me to do, I took a step toward her, and she flinched, the golden liquid splashing down the front of her expensive dress instead.
Cassandra let out a shriek, her hands flailing in a desperate attempt to salvage the silk. Joe and Caroline rushed to her side, their fury turning toward me.
“You little—” Joe started, but I cut him off with a bored look.
“Are you done?”
The embarrassment on their faces was priceless. The idea that I—a so-called rogue—had bested Cassandra again was eating away at them.
I turned on my heel, prepared to leave, but then I saw him.
Derek stood just a few feet away, his arms crossed, an unreadable expression on his face. How long had he been standing there?
Cassandra, quick to recover, let out a shaky breath before her voice softened into a pathetic whimper. “Derek… I didn’t mean to—Elena, she—”
Joe and Caroline jumped in. “She did it on purpose!” Joe insisted. “She’s still clinging to you while being Mason’s little—”
“Enough,” Derek’s voice was low, sharp. The room fell silent.
His gaze shifted to me, his expression hard. “Is what they’re saying true?”
I tilted my chin, unwavering. “I don’t have time for this.”
I bent down, picked up the discarded documents, and shoved them into Derek’s chest. His hands came up instinctively to catch them.
“All I care about is making sure the Alpha Ball is a success. You should focus on keeping your fiancée under control instead of letting her drag the rest of us into her theatrics.”
Derek’s grip on the papers tightened. “Cassandra is not my—”
“Stop,” I said forcefully. “I don’t want to hear excuses or explanations. And I don’t owe you any, either.”
I turned and walked away. Even as I left the hall, I couldn’t shake the feeling of his eyes still on me.
