CHAPTER 145: Two Down, One to Go

CHAPTER 145: Two Down, One to Go
Violet’s POV

I had been watching her all night.

Alora.

Her smile was perfect, her posture steady, but I could see the cracks. 

I had always been good at reading people, their tells, their fidgets, their hidden weaknesses, and I could see her clearer than anyone else here. 

She was pale beneath the shimmer of her dress, the glass in her hand never empty and her ignorant mate had been drowning her in wine.  

She was straining to stay present in her own party while her body begged her to retreat.

I knew what that meant.

The nausea she tried to hide. The way her hand kept drifting to her stomach. The faint sweat in her hairline even when the hall was cool.

It was laughable that she didn’t even know she was pregnant.

She was supposed to be a doctor. I scoffed.

The one thing that should have been mine, the Luna crown, the Luna’s bed, the Luna’s heir, was now wrapped up in her fragile little body. I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. The Moon Goddess had once chosen Harry for me, then Carrick, my terrible father, forced Xavier on me, and now this hybrid girl carried the pup that would seal everything I lost.

I was at the bar when she stood up and left for the bathroom. I swirled the wine in my glass, and got in before her. 

I must have lost my pup, but I swore that Morgan and his mate would suffer the same fate and somehow the opportunity had fallen in my lap on a platter of gold.

When I followed her into the bathroom, when I pressed just a little closer, when I watched her body betray her as the stench of ammonia filled her lungs. 

The way she gagged, the way she couldn’t breathe, the way her instincts curled protectively around her stomach even as she fell. That was the reaction of a pregnant woman.

And when Morgan carried her out, fury radiating from every line of his body, and Selene hovered close like a shield, I didn’t feel fear. I felt triumph. Because now I knew her secret.

She was pregnant. And now the real game began.

I smoothed my gown, fixed my face into something soft and solemn, and returned to the banquet hall.

The moment I slid back into the glow of chandeliers and hushed conversations, I caught the thread of another drama unraveling nearby. 

Sweet little Chloe, with her glowing skin and quiet smile, had drifted close to Jones and Mike.

She looked… breathtaking. I’ll give her that. The kind of beauty that sneaks up on you, not blinding like mine, but the kind men linger on once they notice. And Harry had noticed.

She had grown into herself, subtle curves, a tiny waist, a round, striking face. 

She had finally gotten the man of her dreams. Only this time it seemed something was going on between them that wasn’t pleasant. 

Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her. 

Chloe, clever girl, was pretending not to notice him either. She kept herself anchored to Jones’s side, her hand lightly brushing his arm, her laugh spilling a little too freely when he bent close to whisper in his ears, then raised her face to check if he was looking. 

She was trying to get him jealous and agitated. 

And the beautiful sweet boy… I didn’t catch his name hovering like a buffer, clearly hung up on Jones, who is torn between clingy Chloe trying to ignore the sexy eyes the beautiful boy is throwing at him and the sexual tension brewing between them. 

I had always known something was different about Morgan’s little brother. But today was not a day for that kind of scandal. 

Focus Violet

I heard a sigh and turned to Harry, who sat stiffly beside me, his jaw working a storm.

Perfect.

I leaned closer, pitching my voice, so others could hear. “Oh, don’t worry about the Alpha and his Luna,” I said sweetly to Chloe, Jones, and anyone who cared to listen. They went upstairs together. Couldn’t keep their hands off each other, I imagine.”

I winked, and a ripple of laughter spread down the table. 

A few guests raised their brows, others whispered behind their napkins. Some smirked knowingly, others shook their heads at the audacity of the Alpha. 

And just as I wanted, Harry flinched. He hated the idea of anyone mocking the Alpha and his mate, even indirectly. But he hated something else more…the sight of Chloe leaning into Jones’s arm like she belonged there.

He poured a shot of whiskey into the glass he was holding and gulped it all in one fell swoop, slammed down the glass hard enough to turn heads and walked away in a huff of anger.

Excitement bubbled up inside of me. 

I waited for a few seconds before I slipped away after him, my heels soft against the carpet.

This was it. This was my moment.

I met him on the balcony pacing like a caged animal, one hand inside his pants pocket and the other buried in his hair. 

“Harry,” I called softly.

He turned, his face hardening the instant he saw me. “What do you want, Violet?”

Okay, that was unexpected. I guess I’ll just have to say my kind, so I went for it.

I let my lips tremble, just enough. “You. Just you. Please, Harry, I know I hurt you a lot, but I can’t…”

“Stop.” His voice came out strained and barely contained. “Don’t start this again.”

But I stepped closer, tilting my chin up, letting my eyes do the talking. “She doesn’t deserve you. Chloe. She’s nothing but a wolf-less little parasite clinging to the skirt if anyone shows her even a little care.  She’s using you, Harry. Can’t you see that?”

His fists clenched. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

“She was always jealous of me,” I pressed, making sure I maintained eye contact. He didn’t look away. “ She had always been jealous of me, of our bond, my position in your life and wished you could see her just a little. She has an unhealthy obsession with you. She doesn’t love you. She loves what you give her… attention, protection, a place she could never earn on her own.”

“That’s not true,” he ground out, but his eyes flickered, just briefly, toward the hall.

I seized it. “Look at her, Harry. Look at her right now.”

And as if fate had scripted it for me, we watched theories the glass. Jones had leaned close to Chloe, his arm draped across her waist, whispering something that made her giggle and kick her foot like a girl half her age.

The sound of her laughter was muffled, but the action was all it took for Harry’s face to crumple. He looked like he was about to commit murder as his hands clenched and unclenched.

“See?” I whispered. “She’s playing you. She’s always played you.”

His eyes darted between Chloe and me, torn, confused, and desperate. My words had the desired effect. 

I decided to push further. “Kiss me. Right now. I swear she won’t even care. Show her she can’t play with you. Show her who you belong to.”

He turned to me, his eyes scanning my face. He moved closer as if he couldn’t stop himself and then locked his lips. 

He tilted my chin up, searching my face and, for a hot second, I thought he would. 

But then he took a step back, shaking his head. “No. I won’t do that. I love Chloe. Not you.”

I smiled, “Then let me do it for you.”

Before he could move, I surged forward, pressing my mouth against his. His body went rigid, his hands rising not to pull me close but to push me away and that was when I heard it.

The sharp intake of breath behind me.

I broke the kiss just in time to see Chloe standing there.

She had the audacity to look hurt. 

She looked genuinely hurt by our action.

She looked between us, at my lips still glistening, at Harry’s stunned expression, and her face shattered.

“Chloe…” Harry started, his voice breaking.

But she was already turning, already running, her gown shimmering in the moonlight as she disappeared into the cold night. 

Harry cursed, shoving me aside so hard I stumbled. “What the hell have you done, Violet?!” he shouted, before sprinting after her.

I lifted my fingers to my lips, tasting triumph, and my landslide victory. 

Two down, one to go.