Chapter 15 The Shadow of the Mating Moon
Chapter Fifteen
The Shadow of the Mating Moon
AVRIELLE'S POV
"I’m sorry, Alpha Xavier, but I have to draw a line. A very thick one."
My voice felt like it was coming from someone else, someone much braver and much more foolish than I actually was. I pulled back, the heat of his touch still lingering on my skin like a brand.
"This is... it’s forbidden. You’re his uncle. I was his wife forty-eight hours ago. I can’t. I’m sorry."
Xavier didn't roar. He didn't growl. He simply stood there, his hand dropping from my cheek as if the fire between us had suddenly turned to ash. He stared at me for a long, agonizing moment, his expression unreadable, before he gave a single, curt nod.
"I understand," he said, his voice devoid of the warmth it had held just seconds ago. "We won't be going to the bursar. We’re heading directly to the Silver Moon pack for the ceremony. Get in the car."
The drive was the longest of my life.
The silence in the SUV was so thick I felt like I could reach out and snap it. Xavier focused entirely on the road, his jaw set, his eyes fixed forward. He didn't look at me once. He didn't show anger, or hurt, or even frustration. He was just... the Alpha again. Cold. Precise. Distant.
My mind was a chaotic mess.
A confession.
I had just received a confession from the most powerful man in the territory. The "Devil" had asked me to be his Luna, and I had turned him down. Part of me felt like a martyr for propriety, but another part of me—a louder, more desperate part—felt like I had just thrown away the only real anchor I’d ever found.
I tried my best to look out the side window, watching the trees blur into a green smear, doing everything in my power to avoid the gravitational pull of his presence.
When we finally crossed the border into the neighboring pack’s territory, I expected us to head straight for their manor. Instead, Xavier pulled into the parking lot of a high-end boutique in the pack’s village center.
"Out," he commanded.
I followed him inside, confused. He walked straight to the manager and gestured toward me.
"The dress is torn," he said simply, his eyes briefly flicking to the jagged rip in the velvet skirt from my fall earlier. I hadn't even realized he'd noticed. "Replace it. Fix her makeup. We have twenty minutes."
The staff descended upon me like a whirlwind.
They whisked me into a dressing room and pulled out a stunning, floor-length gown in a shimmering champagne silk that felt like water against my skin. It was modest yet breathtakingly elegant. They retouched the rose on my cheeks and the bronze on my eyes until the evidence of my tears was completely vanished.
Xavier paid the astronomical bill without a word.
I opened my mouth to protest, to tell him I could fix the tear myself, but the words died in my throat. I felt a crushing weight of guilt. I had rejected his heart, yet he was still tending to my every need.
As we returned to the car, I caught him stealing glances at me in the rearview mirror, but every time I looked up, he snapped his gaze away.
He opened my door for me when we arrived at the rival manor—a sprawling, white-stone estate that rivaled his own—and as I stepped out, he did something that made my heart stop.
He reached out and intertwined his fingers with mine, his grip firm and undeniable.
"Xavier, wait," I whispered, trying to pull back. "What are you doing? People will see."
"You are my date for the evening, Avrielle," he said, his voice low and brookng no argument.
"I'm your assistant," I hissed. "The scandal—"
"It is your duty as my assistant to change identities when the situation requires it," he countered, his thumb grazing the back of my hand. "Tonight, you are the woman by my side. Now, walk."
I nodded, my protests dying out as the massive double doors were pushed open.
We walked into a ballroom that was a sea of power. I could feel the weight of a hundred gazes instantly shifting toward us. Some people bowed low, recognizing the Alpha of the North, while others—Lycans and Alphas of other territories—held their heads high, their eyes narrowed in curiosity as they took in the woman on Xavier's arm.
An Alpha walked up to us, a tall man with a boisterous energy, his hand tucked into the arm of a stunning, golden-haired Luna.
"Oh, look! The Big Devil finally decided to show his face after missing the main ceremony!" the Alpha laughed, reaching out to shake Xavier’s hand.
Xavier gave a bored, half-hearted squeeze. "At least I'm here, Julian."
"Anyone seeing you talk like that would think we’re enemies instead of friends," Julian giggled, his gaze immediately sliding to me. "And who is this, Xavier? You’ve never brought a guest to a mating feast."
Xavier didn't hesitate.
He pulled me closer until my shoulder was tucked firmly against his chest.
"My woman."
Julian’s eyebrows shot up. "The Devil has a woman? That’s new! The last time we spoke, you swore you’d never take a Luna because the one you wanted was already taken."
I felt the air leave my lungs.
The one he wanted was already taken.
My mind flashed back to five years ago, to the wedding... to every moment Xavier had been in the background of my life.
The conversation between the two Alphas continued, Julian being far more talkative than I ever expected an Alpha to be. I was starting to feel the exhaustion of the day settling in when Julian’s smile suddenly faltered.
He leaned in, his nose wrinkling slightly as he looked at me.
"Wait a minute," Julian said, his voice dropping as the humor vanished. "Why can’t I smell a wolf on her?"
The ballroom seemed to go silent.
I froze, my hand trembling in Xavier’s grip. The surrounding guests turned their heads, their predatory instincts sharp and focused.
The secret was out.
I was a wolfless omega in a room full of apex predators, and the silence was deafening.