Chapter 89
Violet's POV:
The wood-fired pit sizzled as Felix expertly sliced into the roasted lamb, the rich aroma of charred meat and rosemary filling the air. I leaned back in my chair, letting the warmth of my friends' laughter wash over me, savoring the simple pleasure of being among people who actually cared.
"Sienna, you always find the best places," Lily sighed, popping a piece of perfectly crispy skin into her mouth. "This lamb is incredible."
"Of course I do," Sienna said with mock superiority, one hand resting protectively on her rounded belly. "Pregnancy cravings have turned me into a food detective. Plus, making Lucian pay for everything means I can afford to be picky."
"Hey!" Lucian protested weakly, though his grin suggested he didn't actually mind being the designated financier for the evening.
Jade reached for another piece of meat, her amber eyes glinting with mischief. "Vi, you're awfully quiet. Not going to fight us for the best cuts like you used to?"
I was about to respond when Sienna's expression shifted dramatically, her pregnant glow replaced by something far sharper and more dangerous. Her fork clattered against her plate as she stared past my shoulder toward the parking area.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," she said flatly, her hand instinctively moving to rest on the swell of her belly. "Celeste is back in Pack territory too?"
The table fell silent. I didn't need to turn around to know what—or rather, who—had captured Sienna's attention. The prickling awareness that crawled up my spine told me everything I needed to know. I turned slowly, adopting the careful neutrality I'd perfected over years of diplomatic performances. Sure enough, emerging from a sleek black car in the gravel parking area were Daemon, Kael, and Celeste, her honey-blonde hair catching the golden hour sunlight.
My mind supplied the bitter thought immediately: They fought over fried chicken with me at the night market just days ago. Are they here to compete for roasted lamb now?
"How do they always manage this?" I muttered. "It's like they have a tracking device planted on me."
Lucian, who had been refilling drinks, froze mid-pour, guilt spreading across his face. "Oh shit," he breathed. "Vi, I'm so sorry—I posted our location on my social media story about an hour ago. I didn't think—"
"Of course you didn't," Sienna snapped before I could respond, her hormone-amplified irritation crackling through the air. "You never do, Lucian."
"It's fine," I cut in, keeping my voice level despite the uncomfortable tightness building in my chest.
Daemon's blood-red eyes found mine across the distance, and he started walking toward our table with Celeste keeping pace at his side. Lucian jumped to his feet, waving enthusiastically despite the thick tension. "Daemon! What a coincidence!"
Daemon's attention remained fixed on me, those predatory eyes tracking every micro-expression on my face. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and controlled. "Violet." Then, with slightly more warmth: "Sienna, Jade, Lily. Felix."
Celeste stepped forward, her baby-blue eyes wide with what was meant to look like pleased surprise. "Oh my gosh, Vi! I had no idea you'd be here!" Her voice had that breathy, musical quality she deployed when she wanted to sound non-threatening. "We saw Lucian's post and thought we'd try this place. I completely didn't know you'd be here too."
I kept my expression pleasantly neutral, the kind of smile I'd perfected during countless Pack diplomatic functions. "It's a popular spot," I said.
Daemon pulled out his wallet, the black metal of his premium credit card catching the light as he approached the bar. "Put everything on my tab," he told the server.
Sienna bristled beside me, her pregnancy hormones making her even more reactive than usual. "Good," she said with vicious sweetness. "Because this table doesn't accept freeloaders."
The insult landed like a physical blow. Daemon's jaw clenched so hard I could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin, his face darkening with suppressed Alpha rage.
Celeste's baby-blue eyes instantly filled with tears, glittering like tiny prisms in the fading sunlight. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice wavering with that practiced tremor. "We didn't mean to intrude—"
I couldn't watch this performance anymore. "I need to use the restroom," I announced abruptly, pushing back my chair. I didn't wait for responses, simply stood and walked toward the back of the restaurant, desperate to escape the suffocating atmosphere.
The hallway leading to the restrooms was dimly lit, amber lighting casting pools of shadow on the rustic wooden walls. I pushed through the door and leaned against the sink, gripping the cool porcelain edge as I tried to steady my breathing. When I finally emerged, I found Daemon leaning against the hallway wall opposite the door, clearly waiting for me.
"We need to talk," he said without preamble.
"Do we?" I kept my voice coolly polite. "I can't imagine what we'd have to discuss."
"I didn't know you'd be here," he said, his voice carrying an undercurrent of something I couldn't identify. "Lucian posted the location, and yes, Celeste saw it and suggested we come. But I genuinely didn't know you'd be here until we arrived."
"And yet you still came in," I said flatly. "You still walked over to our table."
His jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath his skin. "Some things I know about the situation," he said carefully, his expression complex and conflicted. "But there are truths you don't understand—"
His cryptic words ignited something in me, frustration mixing with the exhaustion of constantly trying to decode his behavior. "You're protecting her, aren't you?" I interrupted, my voice rising slightly. "You know Celeste contacted you first, that she pursued you deliberately, but you're pretending ignorance to shield her from consequences. You're taking the blame for 'actively seducing' her to protect her reputation."
His expression confirmed it even as he remained silent, and something inside me snapped. "If you care so much about her feelings, why do you keep showing up in my life after we dissolved the bond? What exactly are you trying to accomplish here, Daemon?"
He reached out as if to touch my arm, but I stepped back, avoiding the contact. His hand clenched into a fist, knuckles going white, and I could feel his Alpha pheromones filling the narrow hallway with the bitter scent of cold fir.
Before Daemon could respond, Celeste's voice floated down the hallway: "Dae? Are you back here?"
She appeared at the end of the corridor, her baby-blue eyes scanning both of us before she approached quickly. "Vi," she said softly, her voice carrying wounded determination, "what happened today was my idea to come here, it has nothing to do with Dae. I just... wanted to find a chance to talk to you properly." She bit her lower lip, eyes reddening as if she'd suffered some great injustice.
I didn't respond with even a single word. I simply walked past both of them, my heels clicking sharply against the wooden floor in a rhythm that declared my refusal to participate in this performance. The hallway fell into an eerie silence behind me—Daemon staring after my retreating figure without following.
When I returned to the table, Lucian immediately looked guilty. "I'm so sorry, Vi. I really didn't know posting the location would bring them here—"
"It's not your fault," Jade cut in firmly. "Who knew certain people's faces could be that thick?"
I looked at Lucian and Felix, deciding to ask something I'd been wondering. "You've both known Celeste for a while now. What's your honest assessment of her?"
Felix considered for a moment. "From an outside perspective, she's just a young woman who got swept up in romance and lost her sense of boundaries. Normally she's quite enthusiastic and helpful. But when it comes to emotions..." He paused, then continued, "She tends to lose her sense of proportion."
Sienna exploded instantly, her pregnant hormones making her reaction volcanic. She slammed her hand on the table. "Felix Hunt, what are you saying?! She got 'swept up in romance'? She's a manipulative snake who calculated every move!"
Lucian quickly moved to restrain the furious Sienna, trying to calm her while hastily changing his tune. "Right, right, yes! Celeste is totally calculating and manipulative. That's exactly what I think too!"
His desperate agreement happened to carry just as Celeste returned from the bathroom area. She stood several steps away from our table, her baby-blue eyes rapidly filling with tears. "I knew I shouldn't have come today," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry."
She turned and rushed out of the restaurant. Daemon immediately stood without a word and followed her, not even taking his jacket. The table fell into brief silence.
"Looking at Daemon's reaction, he must really love her..." Lily sighed.
"Love my ass," Jade snorted coldly. "He's just a typical scumbag."
Lucian hesitated, seeming to want to defend Daemon. "Daemon actually has his reasons—" But when I pressed him for specifics, he became evasive and couldn't explain clearly.
Felix, sensing the awkward atmosphere, immediately shifted topics and began carving the roasted lamb. "Forget about that drama—this lamb leg is cooked perfectly. Everyone eat up!" He expertly divided the meat, placing the most tender portions on each person's plate.
My friends consciously steered the conversation elsewhere—Sienna complained about her twin pregnancy making her feet swell like pig trotters, Lily shared stories from recent events she'd worked, Jade vented about bizarre blind dates she'd endured lately.
As night fell, the restaurant's traditional wolf totem lanterns lit up with warm yellow light, the aroma of roasted meat mingling with spices in the air. The server brought out Wildfire Pack's signature honey mead. The five or six of us ate and talked, losing track of time until it was nearly midnight.
Despite the unpleasant beginning, my friends' company still brought warmth. Close to one in the morning, we finally dispersed reluctantly, each calling rides or designated drivers to get home.
---
The next morning at six, my mother Eleanor's phone call jolted me awake. "Vi honey, get up quickly! It's Full Moon Day—we need to visit the ancestors' graves."
I dragged myself out of bed in a daze, changing into an appropriate dark dress. Shadow Crest Cemetery sat on a hill in the neutral zone between Pack territories, the region's only werewolf burial ground. Morning mist still clung to the headstones as Marcus, Eleanor, and I carried our offering basket—filled with fresh flowers, honey mead, and handmade pastries—along the stone path toward the Goldcrest family plot.
Marcus walked ahead, his spine straight, his Alpha authority undimmed even in a cemetery. After we completed the ritual and prepared to leave, we encountered Frost Pack's procession on the main path—Dominic, Victoria, and Daemon.
The two groups stopped less than five meters apart, the air instantly freezing. Marcus's amber eyes swept coldly over Daemon without any greeting, simply stepping aside to lead his wife and daughter past them. Eleanor managed an awkward, perfunctory smile toward the other party, but Marcus quickly pulled her along. I kept my head down throughout, feeling Daemon's burning gaze locked on me.
Daemon seemed about to say something but was stopped by his father Dominic's warning look. Victoria sighed, her face written with complex emotions. This encounter in the cemetery carried heavy symbolism—death and the past hovering over everyone, while the rift between the two families stood as immovable as these cold headstones.
Half an hour later, after completing all rituals, we headed to the parking lot and encountered Frost Pack again. Daemon quickened his pace to intercept us, and despite knowing he'd be rejected, forced himself to speak: "Eleanor, Marcus, it's been a while."
Marcus snorted coldly without even glancing at him, simply opening the car door to get in.
Eleanor, naturally gentle and wanting to maintain basic courtesy despite her grievances, managed an uncomfortable smile. "Daemon, you're here visiting graves too... Well, we have things to do, so we'll be going." She quickly pulled me into the car.
Marcus started the engine, and the black SUV kicked up dust as it drove away without looking back, leaving the Frost Pack members standing awkwardly in the parking lot.
As soon as we cleared the cemetery gates, Marcus exploded, his grip on the steering wheel turning his knuckles white. "That bastard still has the nerve to say hello? I showed restraint by not punching him right there!"
"Marcus, let it go," Eleanor sighed. "It was at our ancestors' graves—not appropriate for violence. As long as Vi has no more contact with him going forward, that's what matters."
Marcus looked at me through the rearview mirror, his voice carrying rare vulnerability. "Vi, listen to your father. Don't be soft-hearted. That Daemon is a liar who hurt you once and could hurt you again."
I forced down the urge to touch my abdomen, keeping my expression calm. "I understand, Dad. Don't worry." But inside, panic and guilt twisted together—if my parents discovered I was pregnant with Daemon's child, they'd either be furious enough to force an abortion or at minimum pressure me heavily to give up the baby.
I stared out the window at the rapidly retreating scenery, realizing a cruel truth: no matter how much I wanted to raise this child independently, the fact that she carried Blackwood blood couldn't be changed. The day this secret was exposed, it would trigger an even greater conflict between the two families.
---
Back at the Goldcrest estate, I'd barely changed out of my formal clothes when my phone rang with Sienna's distinctive ringtone.
"Vi! I've got breaking news!" Her voice crackled with excitement.
"What is it?"
"Celeste is in the hospital!"
My eyelid twitched involuntarily. "What? Why?"
"Don't know yet," Sienna said.
"Daemon's with her at the hospital?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice neutral.
"Yeah, he's the one who rushed her there," Sienna confirmed. Then she speculated: "What could make someone her age suddenly need hospitalization? You don't think... she's pregnant, do you?!"
My eyelid jumped again, this time more pronounced, as if my own secret had been guessed. Daemon claimed he and Celeste had never been together, so pregnancy seemed unlikely. "I don't know," I said carefully. "Whatever it is, it's their business."
"You're right," Sienna agreed. "Forget about them. We focus on being independently fabulous!"
After ending the call, I felt distracted and uneasy, my eyelid continuing to twitch. Something felt wrong, though I couldn't identify what. Tomorrow afternoon I'd fly back to Silver Ridge with Sophia—I just hoped nothing else dramatic would happen before then.
That evening, a message came through from Zane: Violet, I'm back at my hometown visiting graves. Taking the afternoon train back to the city tomorrow. Can we meet for lunch?
I typed back: Sure. Stay safe on your travels.