Chapter 18

Silver’s POV

I stared at Shirly as she continued to dazzle the room. Everybody practically fell to her feet from her charm, and I felt physically ill. Her eyes found Gavin’s and she smiled adoringly as she made her way over to us, Elliot on her heel.

“Gavin, it’s lovely to see you again,” Shirly said, kissing each of his cheeks before her eyes found mine. “Is this your girlfriend?”

Elliot’s features darkened at her question, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away from him. Shirly was standing so close to him like they were one unit. My heart was thrumming violently in my chest.

My eyes burned with unshed tears.

Gavin laughed.

“No, Shirly. You have the wrong idea,” he said, waving his hands dismissively. “Do you really think I would end up with someone like her?”

Shirly examined me carefully and I finally pulled my eyes away from Elliot to look at her. She was stunning up close and my heart ached with each passing moment.

“Oh, I see,” Shirly said, her eyes narrowing. “You are wolfless. I shouldn’t have thought so much. It’s impossible for someone like you to be part of the Alpha’s family. My apologies, Gavin.”

I pressed my lips in a thin line as I glared at Elliot who remained by Shirly’s side as if she didn’t just insult me.

“It seems your habits need reshaping, Alpha,” I spat the word ‘Alpha’ like it was a bad taste on my tongue.

My blatant disrespect caused Shirly and some others around us to gasp.

“Such a rude mouth you have, girl,” Shirly said, her eyes shining as her inner wolf came to the surface. I knew that her wolf was strong enough to tear me apart in a heartbeat and speaking anymore would sentence my death. “Do you have any idea who I am? How dare you speak to me like that.”

“Shirly, I apologize on her behalf. This is my wife Silver,” Elliot quickly stated, motioning his hands toward me.

Shirly’s eyes grew large as she snapped a look at Elliot.

“You got married?!” She gasped. “To a wolfless girl? Have you lost your mind??”

Whispers erupted around us, and my face grew hot with embarrassment. It felt like I was standing on pins and needles.

“An Alpha of your status has no business with someone like her. Do you honestly think she would make a proper Luna to your pack?”

Her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear and now I was noticing everyone’s eyes fixed on me, judging every move I made.

Elliot took hold of Shirly’s arm, which was like a punch in the gut.

“This isn’t the time or place to discuss this,” Elliot said, trying to keep his voice under control. He looked at me and something unfamiliar flashed through his eyes. I couldn’t tell what it was, but my stomach twisted in a knot. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole. “We have other business matters to discuss. If you’ll excuse us,” he continued before he pulled Shirly away from the growing crowd.

Everyone was still silent; their scrutiny still fixed on me.

“Well, that went better than I expected,” Gavin chuckled before he wandered away.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling the tears burning in my eyes. I wasn’t going to allow myself to cry here though; I wouldn’t let the pack see me like this.

I didn’t stick around much longer; I turned on my heel and quickly rushed inside. Only then, did I allow the tears that desperately wanted to escape to be released from my eyes. I wiped my eyes, hoping my makeup wasn’t ruined by the time I got into the bathroom.

The packhouse had bathrooms with multiple stalls, so I closed myself in one of them and let myself cry. I felt betrayed by my own husband; how dare he flaunt Shirly in front of me like that. How dare he invite her to an event meant to introduce me.

I knew she was an Alpha, but what gave her the right to speak to me in that way? I might be wolfless, but I was still Elliot’s wife, regardless of the circumstances.

My heart ached at the memory of them standing close to one another as if they were one unit. Then when Elliot grabbed her arm and pulled her away, it felt like he took a piece of my heart with him.

What was wrong with me? I shouldn’t be feeling this upset. I knew what this marriage was from the beginning. Nothing in the contract stated that he needed to remain faithful to me. But I assumed he would.

While I was in the bathroom, I grabbed my cell phone from my purse and saw I had a missed text from Rebecca.

Rebecca: Good luck tonight! Remember to breathe. You got this!

I smiled through my tears at the thoughtfulness of my best friend. Rebecca wasn’t a part of this pack, so she didn’t come to the gathering. She actually worked as my father’s assistant and often handled Stormwind pack affairs, which was how she met Elliot briefly that one time. Though she said he was so intimidating she could hardly look at his face.

I thought about texting her back and asking her to pick me up, but soon I would be transformed, and I couldn’t let her seem like a monster.

Once the tears stopped flowing, I left the stall and went to the sink. I sighed when I saw that I was a mess. I spent time cleaning the makeup smears off my face; thankfully I brought some makeup with me in my handbag and was able to reapply it, so it no longer looked as if I had been crying.

Just as I finished with the last of my makeup, the bathroom door opened, and I froze when I saw Shirly nearing me with a smirk on her lips.

Shirly walked casually over to the mirror beside mine and took out some lipstick from her purse. As she applied it, I tried hard not to look at her as I finished cleaning up my mess.

“I’m not sure who you are trying to fool,” Shirly said, glancing at me through the mirror. “You can put on a fancy dress and wear a little makeup, but you’re still the same wolfless girl underneath the surface. It’s pathetic that you are pretending to be someone you are not.”

“I’ve never pretended to be anyone,” I said quickly.

She froze and turned to look at me.

“Someone like you is not worthy of being married to the strongest Alpha in the world. What makes you so special? You don’t even have a wolf. You can’t be a true Luna. A Luna must be strong enough to protect her pack and support her Alpha. You can’t protect this pack or support Elliot without a wolf.”

“Elliot knew before he married me that I don’t have a wolf and he didn’t mind,” I retorted, closing my handbag as I shoved the last of my makeup inside.

“You have played some trick on him in order to get him to agree to marry you, then,” she scoffed. “The Elliot I knew would never settle for someone like you.”

“Then perhaps you don’t know him as well as you thought you did,” I shot back.

I wasn’t sure where this surge of confidence was coming from, but I was feeling irritated, and I just wanted this conversation to be over. I started to walk around her, but she grabbed my arm, halting me. She spun me around forcibly to look at her.

“I am the Alpha of the Darkwood pack and like Elliot, I’m incredibly powerful. He deserves someone as powerful as me. Everybody knows we were meant to be together and at the end of the day, Elliot knows it too. I’m the only one worthy of him. You should get used to being chosen last. He will always belong to me.”

Her words were like a slap in the face. I pulled my arm away from her, feeling scorched. Shirly was right; between a non-wolf and an Alpha, everybody in the pack knew the choice Elliot should make was obvious. I wasn’t worthy of him, and I was stupid to have fooled myself into thinking I was.

“Let me ask you something, Silver,” Shirly said, folding her arms across her busty chest. “Why hasn’t Elliot marked you yet?”

My lips thinned.

“He has,” I lied quickly. “It’s just under my clothes and can’t easily be seen.”

I’m not sure why I lied, but I didn’t want to give her any more power over me. With those words left in the air, I quickly turned and left the bathroom.

I froze when I saw Elliot walking around the packhouse, looking in all sorts of directions like he was looking for something… or someone.

He stopped a maid who was walking by and asked, “Have you seen Silver?”

My heart swelled slightly.

He was looking for me!

I began to walk towards him, but a flash of red swirled in my vision as it engulfed Elliot. I gasped as I felt the familiar presence of a headache.

Oh no!

It was almost midnight!!