Chapter 29 CHAPTER 29

Chapter 29 CHAPTER 29
Chapter Twenty Nine
Andre's POV

I wake up late, the morning light cutting sharply through the heavy curtains of the private suite. My head feels heavy, but as I blink the sleep away, I see Olenna. She’s sitting at the far corner of the bed, her arms crossed tight over her chest, watching me with a look that says she hasn’t slept nearly as much as I have.

My focus is a blur at first, but then memories of last night hit me like a physical blow. My wolf stirs instantly, pacing restlessly under my skin. I remember the weight of the glass jug, the sharp scent of alcohol, and then... Henna. I remember the way she looked at me...before her lips pressed against mine. That single moment sent me into a spiral, a surge of possessive heat making me pin her against the wall just to feel the racing thrum of her heart.

"Where were you last night?"

Olenna’s voice cuts through the memory, cold and sharp. I sit up immediately, forcing my face into a mask of confusion.

"Last night?" I rub my face, trying to buy a second. "Did I... did I go anywhere?"

"Don't lie to me, Andre. When I woke up, you weren't here. You weren't anywhere in the suite."

I force a small, tired smile and reach out for her, trying to pull her into my arms to soften the tension. "I might’ve gone to the bathroom or something, Lena. I was out of it."

She pushes me away, her eyes narrowing. "You weren't in the bathroom. Ric came by looking for you, and he couldn't find you either. No one could."

I feel the heat of her gaze. I need a lie she’ll swallow without digging deeper. If she finds out I spent half the night dealing with a 'lowly' human girl, let alone what happened between us, the fallout in Gray Ridge would be catastrophic.

"I went to see my father," I say, my voice steady.

"Your father?" She furrows her brows, her posture relaxing just a fraction.

I let my legs touch the cold floor, standing up to stretch, keeping my back to her for a moment so she can't read the guilt in my eyes. "He called me late last night. He demanded to see me immediately, and I went. You know how he is when he’s in one of those moods."

"Why?" she asks, "What could be so important on my birthday that he’d pull you out of bed in the middle of the night?"

I shrug, grab a shirt, and pull it on. "Pack business. He’s obsessed with the border security lately, and he wanted my report on the East Wing. I didn't want to wake you up and ruin the mood, so I just slipped out."

She stays quiet for a moment, and I can feel her weighing the words. My father is the only person she wouldn't dare question, but I can still feel the suspicion radiating off her.

"Ric was looking for you because there was a problem at the East Wing this morning," she says suddenly.

My heart hitches. "What kind of problem?"

"The human girl and Yellow." She says waiting for my reaction and I scoff. 

"Why would he look for me because of Henna?" I ask, finally pushing myself off the edge of the bed and moving toward the bathroom. I try to make my voice sound as flat and uninterested as possible, but her next words stop me dead in my tracks.

"I hope you didn't go to see her last night? I hope you didn't leave me in bed just because you wanted to hide her from Yellow."

I turn around slowly to look at her, my heart hammering against my ribs, though my face remains a mask of cool indifference. "What do you mean?"

"Because I heard something strange," Olenna says, her eyes searching mine for any crack in the armor. "That Yellow didn't cause a fight last night because you pleaded with her not to."

"Pleaded?" I repeat the word, letting a dry, condescending chuckle escape my throat. The idea of a Lycan-blood pleading with someone like Yellow is insulting enough to be a believable defense. "That word doesn’t sit well with me. A whole me... pleading with someone? Isn't that strange? And to make it worse... to Yellow? I didn't plead with her. I simply told her to postpone any punishment for Henna because it was your birthday. You didn't hear that part?"

"Really?" she asks, stepping closer, her suspicion wavering under my gaze. I cross my arms over my chest, standing my ground.

"You know Yellow is always looking for ways to get at you," I remind her, playing on her own rivalries. "You should be aware of that by now. I just didn't want to be separating fights during your celebration. It would have ruined the night."

She looks at me for a long beat before finally softening, stepping into my personal space and resting her head against my chest. I wrap my arms around her, patting her back gently, though my mind is already miles away in the East Wing. I told Yellow to wait, but I hadn't expected her to strike so soon, or so viciously. If Ric is with Henna, she’s safe for now. I shouldn't be worrying about her. I can't worry about her.

"I believe you..." Olenna mumbles against my skin.

"Stop getting so obsessed with the East Wing," I say, my voice a low rumble. She snaps her head up to look at me, her eyes flashing.

"You said you were going to ask Mark what she's doing here in this school. Why haven't you done that yet?"

"Does she really bother you that much?" I ask, trying to sound bored by the subject.

"Well, she’s hanging around Ric way too much," she says, detaching herself from me and pacing the room.

"Are you worrying about Ric right in front of me?" I ask, furrowing my brows in mock jealousy. She scoffs, waving a hand dismissively.

"Stop being jealous, Dre. It's just that the human girl is... I don't know. Maybe we could accommodate her for a while, at least until you find out what Mark sent her here for."

I give her a small, reassuring smile before finally escaping into the bathroom. As soon as the door clicks shut and the water starts running, the mask slips. The memory of Henna’s lips against mine, the way her scent seemed to call directly to my wolf, flashes back with a vengeance.

I need to find out why a human girl is making me lose my mind and I need to do it before Olenna realizes that my "pack business" last night had nothing to do with my father.

I come out of the bathroom and she runs to me, 

"Since we couldn't do it last night because I was drunk, how about we do it now?"