Chapter 25 Chapter 25
Chapter 25
DEREK
The quarterly reports blurred together on my computer screen, endless columns of numbers that should have held my attention but didn't. I signed off on another acquisition proposal, barely reading the details. My wolf was restless beneath my skin, pacing and agitated in a way I couldn't explain.
It had been like this since last night. Since the gala. Since that moment in the garden when I'd looked up to find Selene watching me from the bedroom window, her face pale and shocked in the moonlight.
She'd seen. I didn't know how much, but she'd seen something. My eyes had been glowing—I'd felt the shift, the pull of the full moon making it harder to maintain my human appearance. And she'd been right there, witnessing it.
Fuck.
A knock at my office door pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. "Come in," I called, straightening in my chair.
Marcus, my second-in-command and the pack's lead enforcer, entered with a tablet in hand. "The Henderson contract is ready for your signature. And we have reports from the western territory—some rogues were spotted near the border last night."
I took the tablet, scanning the information. The western border had been a problem for months now, ever since a rival pack had started testing our boundaries. As Alpha of the Sterling Pack—the largest and most powerful werewolf pack in the region—it was my responsibility to maintain order, protect our territory, keep both the human and wolf aspects of our world running smoothly.
Most humans had no idea that werewolves existed, that we lived among them, ran their companies, sat on their boards, controlled significant portions of their economy. It was better that way. Safer. The hunters who did know about our existence were few and far between, and we worked hard to keep it that way.
Which was exactly why Grandmother's insistence on bringing Selene into our family had been so problematic from the start.
"Increase patrols along the western border," I said, signing off on the Henderson contract. "And I want surveillance on those rogues. If they cross into our territory, take them down."
"Understood, Alpha." Marcus hesitated. "There's one more thing. Some of the pack members are asking questions about the Luna."
I tensed. Luna—the Alpha's mate, the female leader of the pack. A position Selene would never fill because she didn't know what we were, could never know. It was the condition Grandmother had agreed to when she'd arranged our marriage: Selene would remain ignorant of our true nature, protected from the dangers that came with that knowledge.
"What kind of questions?" I asked, my voice going cold.
"When you'll properly claim her. When she'll be presented to the pack. The usual concerns." Marcus shifted uncomfortably. "It's been two years, Derek. They're getting restless."
"They can stay restless," I said sharply. "Selene is human. She stays human. That was the agreement."
"I know, but—"
"That's final, Marcus. Dismissed."
He nodded and left, but his words lingered in the air like smoke. The pack wanted their Luna. They needed her, needed the stability that came from having a complete Alpha pair. But how could I give them what they wanted when Selene didn't even know what I was?
When I'd married her out of obligation rather than choice?
My phone buzzed with another email—this one from the acquisitions team about a property development deal. I pulled it up, trying to focus, but my mind kept drifting back to Selene.
To the way she'd looked at me on the dance floor last night, anger and hurt warring in her eyes. How long are we going to keep doing this? Pretending. Lying.
She wasn't wrong. Our marriage was a lie, a carefully constructed façade. But what choice did I have? Grandmother had arranged it to honor a debt—Selene's parents had died saving my life when I was younger. Taking Selene in, marrying her, giving her security—it was supposed to be payment for that sacrifice.
But it had trapped us both.
The door opened again without a knock this time. I looked up, ready to snap at whoever had interrupted, but the words died when I saw who it was.
Jasmine.
She stood in the doorway looking effortlessly beautiful in a cream-colored dress that hugged her curves, her dark hair falling in waves over her shoulders. My wolf perked up at the sight of her, responding to her presence in a way it never responded to Selene.
"Hey," she said softly, closing the door behind her. "I know you're busy, but I thought maybe we could grab lunch? There's that new restaurant downtown I've been wanting to try."
I glanced at my watch—twelve fifteen. I should say no. Should keep the distance I'd been trying to maintain since Grandmother had forced me into marriage. But looking at Jasmine, remembering how easy things had been between us before duty and obligation had torn us apart...
"Yeah," I heard myself say. "Yeah, lunch sounds good. Just let me finish up this—"
My phone rang, cutting me off. I glanced at the screen, and my eyebrows rose in surprise.
Selene.
Selene never called me. Not during the day, not during the night, not ever. In two years of marriage, I could count on one hand the number of times she'd initiated contact. For her to be calling now...
"Don't answer it," Jasmine said quickly, moving closer to my desk. "She probably knows we were planning to meet. She's trying to interfere, make you feel guilty, come up with some excuse to keep you from spending time with me."
I hesitated, my finger hovering over the answer button. Jasmine wasn't wrong—Selene had been increasingly hostile lately, especially after she'd seen Jasmine and me together. But something in my gut twisted uncomfortably.
"She never calls," I said. "Even when she's sick, even when she needs something, she never calls. For her to call now..."
"Derek—" Jasmine started.
I answered the call. "Selene?"
The sound that came through the phone made my blood run cold.