Chapter 160
What the hell?
+25 BONUS
A rustle of silk signaled my mother’s approach. She held a fute of sparkling wine and wore an amused expression.
“He’s taken to Aiden, hasn’t he?” my mother asked, her tone deceptively casual as she sipped from her glass. She nodded discreetly toward Derek.
We stood slightly apart from the crowd, beneath a tree strung with glass lanterns that swayed in the breeze. Firelight flickered along the edges of the path, casting amber and rose shadows across the lawn. Somewhere behind us, a fiddle started up, the tune light and playful.
“Yes,” I said slowly, watching the way Derek leaned down so Alden could whisper something in his ear. “He’s in love with him.”
She made a small, pleased sound in the back of her throat. And is he in love with you?”
That question landed like a stone dropped into still water.
I turned to look at her, startled. “What?”
But she wasn’t looking at me. Her gaze was fixed across the lawn where Derek was now standing beside my father my father–listening intently as Aiden launched into what looked like a very animated explanation involving sweeping hand gestures and some kind of pretend sword fight.
Then Derek looked over.
Our eyes met.
And he smiled.
Not the smirk I used to know, not the restrained nod he wore at press conferences or strategy meetings. This was warm. Soft. Open.
The kind of smile that reached all the way to his eyes. And gods help me, I felt it in my ribs.
1 didn’t answer my mother.
She didn’t need me to.
She kept her voice low, almost thoughtful. “Even your father has softened his stance on the Silverclaw Alpha And that’s not a sentence I ever expected to say.”
I followed her gaze, stunned all over again. My father wasn’t just tolerating Derek–he was speaking to him like an equal. They stood close, not guarded. And Aiden kept nudging between them, clearly delighted to have them both in the same orbit.
“You seem surprised,” my mother said.
“I am,” I admitted. “I never thought this would be possible”
She tilted her head, her earrings catching the firelight. “Even the deepest rivers shift course eventually.”
Before I could unpack that cryptic remark, her eyes flicked toward the dessert table. “Speaking of the impossible -your brother and his scandalous rogue are canoodling behind the éclairs.”
1 turned.
Chapter 160
+25 BONUS
Sure enough, in a quiet corner behind the food tent, Mason had Erin tucked close against his side. She was laughing at something he whispered in her car, and he looked at her like she was the only star in the sky.
It’s nice to see him happy,” I said.
“It is, ““my mother agreed after a beat.
I glanced at her. “I wasn’t sure you and Dad would accept Erin.”
She sighed softly, her eyes never leaving the couple in the corner. “You standing up for the girl made a tremendous impact.”
I blinked, caught off guard. “I didn’t think anyone noticed.”
“Oh, we noticed.” Her voice dropped to something more private. “You didn’t defend her with anger, or defiance. You did it with grace. With patience. You offered us the chance to see her through your eyes instead of forcing us to see her your way. That carries weight, Elena.”
wa
My throat tightened. I didn’t know what to say.
She turned toward me fully now, her expression soft. “You have all the skills you need now as a Luna.”
Those words knocked the breath from my lungs
The music shifted again–slower now, more ceremonial. The drummers had begun warming up at the edge of the fire circle. Wolves started to gather on the outer ring of the lawn where the torches had been staked in the grass, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to stretch toward the trees.
My mother stepped closer, lowering her voice even more.
“Now,” she said, eyes glinting, “all you need is a pack to lead.”
And then she looked–unmistakably, deliberately–at Derek.
Not a glance. A full, lingering look.
Then she turned back to me, expression unreadable but knowing, and locked eyes with mine.
Something hot and wild stirred in my chest.
“Mom-“I started, but she was already moving toward the fire circle, regal as ever.
And I was left there alone beneath the lanterns, heart pounding like the drums that were signaling the start of the Moonbinding festivities.
Chapter 15
