Chapter 21 Chapter 21
Zane
The car ride back to the packhouse was silent.
Tiana sat in the passenger seat, her hands folded carefully in her lap, while her gaze remained fixed on the window. She hadn’t spoken since we left the atelier. Or asked why I’d waited.
I could feel the tension radiating off her—brittle and guarded, like she was holding something back. Her shoulders were stiff, her breathing too controlled. She was thinking too hard, processing something she didn’t want to say out loud.
I kept my eyes on the road, but my awareness of her never wavered.
The way her fingers twisted together occasionally. The slight tremor in her hands she was trying to hide. The flush that still hadn’t completely left her cheeks.
She had recognized that woman. I had seen it in her eyes, the recognition and discomfort she had tried to mask.
And I had recognized the woman too. Her voice had been enough. That airy, venomous sweetness certain noblewomen carried like a weapon.
I remembered her laugh. The way she used to assume proximity to my body meant proximity to my life. The entitlement that had eventually made me lose interest faster than usual.
Seeing her again had done nothing. No interest. No nostalgia. Not even guilt.
We pulled through the gates, the packhouse looming ahead. Tiana gathered her things before the car even stopped, ready to bolt the moment we arrived.
I let her.
As soon as the car came to a halt, she stepped out, holding her gown carefully, her head lowered as she walked toward the entrance. I followed a few paces behind, giving her space but not letting her disappear entirely.
When we entered the main hall, she turned toward the corridor that led to our chambers when I called out.
“Tiana.”
She paused but didn’t turn fully.
I stepped closer, keeping my voice low. “Is there anything you want to ask me?”
I wasn’t trying to give explanations she hadn’t requested.
But I asked because I knew what she had seen. And was aware that the lady had said things designed to hurt. I knew Tiana well enough by now to recognize when she was holding back from voicing her thoughts, even as we had barely been together for a long time.
Most of the time, she blurted out things without thinking. So holding back did not seem good.
She finally turned halfway toward me. Her eyes were searching my face blankly. Her throat worked once, like she was trying to form words that wouldn’t come.
Then she shook her head.
“No.”
“Okay,” I muttered softly.
Before I could add anything further, she turned and slipped out of the passageway.
The silence she left behind felt heavier than it should have.
I stood there for a moment, her “no” settling inside me in a way I didn’t like. Then I turned away, heading toward my office, trying to focus on anything but the unfamiliar tightness in my chest.
I hadn’t planned on going to Moonweave today.
It should have been a simple approval task, the kind Ezra or any competent attendant could handle. The seamstress knew her craft. The fabrics had been pre-selected. There was no reason for me to be there personally.
Except the ceremonial attire of the Luna wasn’t something I was willing to leave to delegation.
The Luna represented the Alpha as much as the Alpha represented the pack. If anything was remotely wrong with her attire, it if the fit was poor and the fabric didn’t drape correctly, if she looked anything less than flawless, it would reflect on me. On my leadership. My attention to detail and my control over my pack.
That was the official reason.
The one I could justify to anyone who asked.
The other reason was harder to ignore.
I didn’t like the idea of Tiana leaving the pack house alone. Not for something as public as a ceremonial fitting where any wolf with an agenda could approach her. Where she could be exposed, vulnerable, and away from pack protection.
The easier it is for them to reach her, the easier it becomes for them to reach me.
It was all about security. Protocol. Propriety.
Except, I didn’t fully believe that either.
When I’d arrived at the atelier, I had heard voices before I even opened the door.
I had recognized the other woman’s tone immediately. That particular brand of cruelty disguised as concern. The kind of insult delivered with a smile that made it harder to defend against.
Women like her didn’t ‘insult’ the Luna out of heartbreak or genuine emotion. They did it to feel powerful. To reassert dominance. To take some control back that was never theirs to begin with.
Letting her speak that way in public wouldn’t just humiliate Tiana, it would humiliate me. It would imply the Alpha had chosen a Luna so weak and insignificant, that an old sex mate could belittle her without consequence.
That was unacceptable.
So I had done the only thing I believed an Alpha should do in that situation.
I had ignored her entirely, going straight to Tiana, delivering a single directive about the gown, and shutting down the entire interaction in one stroke.
“This… she wears this tomorrow.” That was all it took.
The sight of Tiana in that gown had hit me harder than expected.
The moon-silk draped over her curves in a way that made my jaw clench. The color brought out warmth in her skin I hadn’t noticed before. And the way she’d stood there—uncertain but holding her ground despite that woman’s cruelty—was the confidence boost that confirmed that outfit was the one for her, even as I had not seen other choices.
Now, walking through the corridor toward my office, I tried to reorder my day. My thoughts and myself.
But my routine had already been broken.
Halfway there, Ezra caught up to me.
“Alpha.”
I didn’t slow down. He matched my pace easily.
“I received confirmation,” he said. “Alpha Marcos will be attending the Lunar Convergence.”
I stopped.
“Marcos,” I mentioned.
Marcos was territorial. Ambitious. One of the Alphas who saw every gathering as an opportunity to test boundaries and assert dominance through subtle political maneuvering.
Having him at the Convergence meant extra security about my pack happenings, and careful positioning. Making sure he understood exactly where the lines were drawn.
“Fine,” I said. “We’ll prepare accordingly.”
Ezra nodded, but I could see he had something else.
“And the assignment I asked you to handle?” I prompted.
He hesitated, just briefly, but enough that I knew the answer before he spoke.
“Fenrir District completed its security rotation last moon. There’s no opening to assign your nephew, Kaius without raising questions.”
My jaw shifted by a fraction.
“Could you pull strings?”
“I could, Alpha. But it would look suspicious. There’s no justifiable reason for him to be stationed there now.”
“Leave it,” I said sharply.
Ezra inclined his head and stepped away without another word.
I turned toward the training grounds instead of my office. Paperwork and Council preparations could wait.
Right now, I need something that doesn’t require thought. Because if I allowed myself to think, I might lose my mind.
Training was the part of my day that helped me get back in rhythm.
The sweating, the focus that did not allow my mind to drift into crazy terrain.
I dove into drills with single-minded intensity. Sparring. Strikes. Footwork that required every ounce of concentration.
My body was sharp. My strikes controlled. My breathing measured.
But even here, my thoughts kept circling back to Moonweave.
To the image of Tiana in the ceremonial gown. The naked image of her when I had come into her room.
I drove myself harder. Faster. Until sweat soaked through my shirt and my muscles burned with exertion.
Until the last threads of my control were pressed tight around me like armor.
Then a voice cut through the rhythm of my breathing.
“Daddy!”
I turned.
A small figure was running across the training grounds, dark hair flying and face lit with excitement.
The tension in my shoulders eased immediately and I dropped into a crouch, arms open.
“Come here.”
He crashed into me with the fearless abandon only children possessed, wrapping his small arms around my neck.
And for the first time all day, I genuinely felt happiness.