\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 10\u00a0<\/p>\n
The music was too boring for my taste-flowing violins, delicate piano, all laced with the scent of aristocracy and the rot of political alliances. The neighboring pack\u2019s banquet hall shimmered with golden lights, crystal chandeliers overhead, and wolves dressed in silk and status. I was there not to mingle or feast, but to guard Maurine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, even when I was busy with Alpha duties at Silvana Pack, I didn\u2019t even bother attending such events. We remained as mysterious as everyone claimed us to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her dress tonight was woven moon-silk, flowing like starlight over her frame. I stood two paces behind her, like a knight should. Her perfume reached me like a chain, keeping me tethered even when something deep in my chest itched to pull away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas,\u201d she said suddenly, voice sharp as a whip wrapped in velvet. \u201cYou\u2019re staring again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snapped out of it. \u201cApologies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned, fluttering her lashes. \u201cSince you\u2019re already drawing attention, at least make yourself useful. Dance with me. Just once. For appearances.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped forward, offering my hand with the deference expected of a knight. She took it, her fingers cool and feather-light. As we joined the swirling waltz of the pack elites, I caught the way other wolves looked at us-some curious, some judgmental. Maurine wasn\u2019t smiling. She never really smiled at me whenever we\u2019re in public. But she allowed me to lead, her body stiff against mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can hear your heart pounding,\u201d she muttered close to my ear, \u201cDon\u2019t be nervous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019m just alert. I want to protect you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine scoffed lightly. \u201cYou say that like I need protecting in events like this. I\u2019m safe here.\u201d No. She was wrong. Danger could come at her even at times like this. She didn\u2019t know how important she was. Especially to the vampires right now. That\u2019s why I had to stay by her side. That\u2019s why I had to keep her alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The music faded, and we stepped apart. She was already dabbing her temple with a silk cloth, as if the mere idea of being seen dancing with a knight had exhausted her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGo fetch me something cold,\u201d she said without looking at me. \u201cLemon water. No ice. You remember how I hate ice, don\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned toward the refreshment table, weaving past warriors and nobles, all locked in the same charade of smiles and small talk. I caught whispers on the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Another werewolf found poisoned\u2026 vampire venom, most likely\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Thane Pack hasn\u2019t sent envoys in weeks. Something\u2019s wrong over there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026Heard the vegetative Alpha is engaged now. To that girl from the Aethon Pack. What\u2019s her name again? Rebecca?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:36 Wed, Jan 28 MB\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The name struck me like a silver-tipped arrow. My breath caught, and for a moment, I forgot\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine\u2019s lemon water.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were talking about her. Rebecca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She moved away? Got engaged? To the Thane Pack Alpha?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grabbed the edge of the table to steady myself, the polished wood groaning under my grip. A marriage alliance-of course. It made sense politically. But the Rebecca I knew, the one with fire in her voice and steel in her spine\u2026 she wouldn\u2019t let herself be bartered like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I forced myself to move. Got the damn lemon water, no ice. Walked back to Maurine, handed it to her with my head bowed so she wouldn\u2019t see the storm in my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took the drink, sipping delicately. \u201cTook you long enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI ran into some gossip,\u201d I said. \u201cAbout poisoned wolves. Vampires.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her lips tightened around the rim of the glass. \u201cI\u2019ve heard the rumors too. Nothing we can prove. Besides, let the vampires clan deal with their own problems.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey say Rebecca moved away to marry Thane Pack\u2019s vegetative Alpha,\u201d I said softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t even blink. \u201cOh, did she? Took her long enough. You know, for someone so full of pride, she was always just a shadow trailing after me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the first time I wanted to bare my teeth at Maurine. But I didn\u2019t. I stood there, composed, loyal. Because that\u2019s what I was supposed to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you spoken to her?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine smiled, too sweetly. \u201cWhy would I? She\u2019s irrelevant now.'\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t believe that. Couldn\u2019t. There was still something between me and Rebecca that\u00a0<\/p>\n
refused to die. I didn\u2019t what it was. But it mattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later that evening, while Maurine chatted with another Alpha\u2019s daughter about moonstone jewelry and interpack festivals, I stepped away and tried to call Rebecca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each ring was like a claw dragging across my chest. I hadn\u2019t realized how loud silence could be until I heard it ringing through the bond we once shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I told myself it didn\u2019t matter. That I had chosen this path. Maurine was my purpose. My priority. She was the key and my fated mate according to the prophecy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as I watched her laugh-loud, fake, and cruel-I couldn\u2019t help but wonder\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Had I made a mistake?\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:36 Wed, Jan 28 MR\u00a0<\/p>\n
When My Alpha Ex-Husband Came Looking for Me by Mark Twain 10 \u00a0 Chapter 10\u00a0 The music was too boring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-unclaimed-luna-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}