Chapter 246
ELENA
I had really looked forward to tonight.
I’d picked out my dress earlier in the week–something, soft, not too formal. Light blue, with flutter sleeves and a cinched waist. I even dabbed on perfume, something floral and subtle–nothing would’ve dared wear back when I was a rogue, when every scent had to be masked, not noticed.
It felt good to have something to celebrate, something personal. Semmething that wasn’t a crisis or a press event or another late- night strategy meeting. And after everything with the Foundation finally coming together, after weeks of feeling like I was drowning in logistics and scrutiny, this felt… different. A break. Abreath.
I’d also let go of some of my resentment.
Not all of it—but enough.
Derek had said things that cut deeply when I was with Silverclaw. About rogues. About what they were and what they weren’t. But I understood where it came from now.
He was raised in a pack that taught him rogues were monsters, and he’d been attacked by them when he was still a boy. He hadn’t lived among them the way I had. Hadn’t seen what I saw.
But maybe now… maybe with the work I was doing, he’d begin to understand.
Maybe I could help shift the story. Help people see that most rogues weren’t feral or violent. They were just wolves–like the rest of us—trying to survive in a world that had cast them out.
And Derek… I knew his heart, even if his words sometimes failed him.
Tonight, I wanted to believe we could find each other again. Not the version of us from before—too much had happened for that –but something new. Something real.
Something worth trying for.
Derek met me just outside the Moonstone gates, freshly shaved and dressed in a dark shirt that brought out the storm–gray of his eyes. He looked handsome, even nervous. His eyes lit up when he saw me, and when he reached for my hand, I let him take it.
I wanted to be here.
I wanted this to work.
Dinner was at a little candlelit place on the edge of town. A stone patio. Twinkling lights. Quiet enough for conversation, but busy enough not to feel exposed.
It was nice.
For the first twenty minutes.
We ordered wine. Talked about Aiden. He told me about his mother’s garden finally blooming, and I told him about the latest city council delay with the Foundation permits. It was easy, surface–level conversation. I laughed a few times. He smiled more than he had in weeks.
And for a while, I thought: Maybe we’re okay.
But then the waiter brought out our food, and Derek asked, “So. Are you and Jacob celebrating your building launch next week?”
His tone was casual. Too casual.
I set my fork down. “I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.
“Seems like the kind of thing he’d plan.”
1/2
Chapter 246
I studied him across the table. “You’ve got something to say, Derek. Just say it.”
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I just didn’t realize you two were spending that much time together.”
“It’s a joint project. Of course we’re spending time together.”
“You said his position with the foundation would just be advisory,
“No, you assumed that. I never said that.”
He looked away, jaw tight.
+25 BONUS
I let the silence stretch, swallowing the hurt that flared in my chest “You know,” I said softly, “I was excited about tonight.”
His eyes came back to mine.
“I wanted this. A night with you. No pack drama. No press. No politics. Just us. But if you’re going to sit across from me all night feeling threatened by a man I work with, then maybe we’re not as okay as I thought.”
“That’s not fair.”
