Chapter 69 An Escape Offered
LISA'S POV
I stared at Dante Moretti and tried to understand what I was seeing. This human had no idea what he had walked into. He was handsome in his tailored suit and salt and pepper hair and warm brown eyes. He looked like he belonged in a museum or an art gallery, not a pack ground about to erupt in war. There was something calming about his presence and the flowers he held like this was just a normal afternoon visit.
Adrian stepped forward and his voice was careful like he was choosing each word with precision. "I called Dante yesterday before everything went to hell. Thought you might appreciate a human perspective. Someone outside pack politics who could offer you an actual escape."
His eyes held apology and something else I could not quite read. Something that looked almost like hope or maybe desperation. "You are always saying you want space to think. Here is space. Dante does not know anything about wolves. Mates or prophecies. He just knows art, coffee, and normal conversation. The kind of life you used to dream about before all of this."
Dante looked uncomfortable and I could tell he noticed the tension even if he could not identify its source. "I can leave if this is a bad time. Adrian mentioned you were under stress but I did not realize it was quite this serious. I do not want to intrude on something important."
"It is not that serious" I heard myself say. The words came out before I could think them through. Everyone stared at me like I had lost my mind or maybe finally snapped under all the pressure. Ryan's face darkened with something between anger and betrayal. Nathan looked confused and worried. Daniel raised an eyebrow but said nothing and I could see him calculating what this meant for pack politics.
I needed a break from all of this.
I felt something myself wanting more. A desperate need to be someone other than Alpha for just a few hours. Someone other than silver wolf or prophecy fulfillment or the answer to everyone's problems. Other than the center of everyone's expectations, fears, and plans. Just Lisa. Just a woman who needed to breathe and think and exist without the load of an entire pack on her shoulders.
"Please, give me ten minutes to change," I said to Dante. My voice was stronger now and more certain. "I would love to see your gallery. Art sounds perfect right now." I didn't care what anybody bad to say.
Dante's smile brightened and it was such a normal human reaction that I almost cried right there in front of everyone. "Wonderful. I will wait by the car. Take your time." He walked away toward the front gate and I could see him taking in the pack grounds with curious eyes. The training areas and the guard posts and all the things that must seem strange to someone who did not know our world.
The moment Dante was out of earshot Ryan grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise. "You are pregnant with my child and you are going on a date with a human? Have you completely lost your mind?"
I pulled free and my voice was cold as ice. "It is not a date. It is an escape. From you, from all of this, from decisions I am not ready to make. From being trapped in a life I never chose."
Adrian was watching with an unreadable expression. Something calculating behind his eyes that made me wonder what game he was really playing. Why he had called Dante now of all times. What he hoped to achieve with this human who knew nothing about our world.
Nathan said quietly, "Lisa, Marcus Krane's son is challenging you in an hour. You cannot just leave. The council is already gathering. If you do not show up they will declare you forfeit and strip your title."
"Then postpone it," I said. My voice was firm and I refused to back down. "Tell him the Alpha needs a day to prepare. Invoke my right to medical recovery from the last challenge. Buy me time, I know you can."
I looked at all three men standing there trying to control my choices and decide my future. "I have been fighting nonstop for months. One afternoon. That is all I am asking. One afternoon where I am just Lisa, not everyone's problem to solve. Not the rejected mate or the pregnant alpha or the silver wolf everyone wants to use for their own agenda."
I walked away before anyone could argue. My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding but I felt lighter than I had in weeks. One afternoon of normal. One afternoon of not being the center of pack drama and supernatural prophecies and mate bonds that refused to break. One afternoon where someone looked at me and just saw a woman instead of a weapon or a prize or a problem. That was all I was asking for.
But as I reached my quarters Emma was standing there with tears streaming down her face. She looked terrified and guilty. Her whole body was trembling and she kept glancing back toward where Dante waited by his car.
"Do not go with him, Lisa," she said. Her voice was shaking so badly I could barely understand her. "Please. There is something about Dante Moretti you need to know. Something Adrian did not tell you. Something important."
My hand froze on the doorknob. Cold dread settled in my stomach because of course there was more to this. Of course, Adrian had not just called a friend out of kindness. Nothing in my life was ever that simple anymore. "What?"
Emma's voice shook and she could barely look at me when she spoke. "Dante Moretti is not just some random human friend. He is a supernatural artifacts dealer. Black market. He specializes in werewolf relics. Things tied to prophecies and ancient bloodlines. Adrian introduced you to him for a reason."