<b>Chapter </b><b>30 </b>


    Alexander


    “You’re all over the inte,” Gabriel said, sliding his phone across my desk. “The happy couple out for lunch.”


    I didn’t need to look at the photos. I’d lived through it just hours ago. E had fed me a pickle off her fork–a pickle and I had to eat it just to <b>appease </b>the fucking paparazzi, because if I didn’t, they would never believe our farce.


    I didn’t even like pickles.


    Instead of answering right away, I took another sip of bourbon, letting it burn a hot path down my throat. Gabriel and I were sitting in my office with <b>only </b>the fire to light the room and a half–empty bottle between us. It had been a long day.


    “At least the stunt worked,” I said, refilling my ss. “The press seems to be buying it. And the people around us were giggling like a bunch of schoolchildren.”


    Gabriel snorted. “It seems to be working a little too well, if you ask me. #AlphaLove Birds is trending.” He scrolled through more photos. “You do look… convincing, though.”


    “That’s the point.”


    Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied me. “Just remember it’s all for show, Alex. You can’t afford to get caught up in this performanc


    My jaw clenched. “I know what I’m doing.”


    “I’m just saying, I’ve known you for a long time, and I’ve never seen you look at that Stormhollow bitch the way you did in these photos.”


    My wolf surged forward so violently I nearly dropped my ss.


    “Don’t call her that,” I blurted out, my teeth clenched so tight I thought I might shatter them.


    Gabriel blinked, clearly taken aback. “What?”


    “Don’t call her that,” I repeated. I didn’t use my Alpha voice, not yet<b>, </b>but the urge was buzzing in my throat like a swarm of yellowjackets. “She’s still your


    Luna, at least for now.”


    “Her pack was likely involved in your parents‘ death. Since when do you care what I call her?”


    “Just watch yourself.”


    Gabriel stared at me for a long moment. Then, shaking his head, he mused, “I see. You’re getting too attached. This is exactly what I was afraid of.”


    “I’m not getting attached,” I growled. “I’m just saying you should show some respect to your Luna. Don’t forget your ce, Gabriel.”


    “Fine.” Gabriel held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry for disrespecting Luna E. It won’t happen again.”


    I nodded and took another sip of bourbon to calm myself. The tension in the room slowly eased as we drank in silence for <b>a </b>while, but could feet Gabriel’s eyes on me every so often, watching, assessing, waiting to find a crack in my facade.


    He was my Beta, but also my friend. And we had known each other long enough that he’d unfortunately developed an uncanny ability to see right through me sometimes. It was a blessing and a curse.


    My wolf growled at me to put my Beta in his ce, but I calmed him. Gabriel was just drunk, and besides, he was partially right.


    E’s pack may have been behind my parents‘ deaths. I really couldn’t afford to fall for her, and the act we were putting on was getting <b>a </b>little too <b>cozy</b><b>. </b><b>It </b>was bad enough that we were sharing a room, and now all I could think about was the sight of her hiking beside me earlier<b>, </b><b>the </b>sheen on <b>her </b><b>brow</b><b>, </b><b>the </b>tears shimmering in her eyes as she watched those bear cubs y…


    <b>1/3 </b>


    <b>08:37 </b>Tue<b>, </b><b>19 </b><b>Aug </b>


    “Look,” I finally said, shoving aside those images before they could take root, “I have no intention of falling for E. This is all for show, just like agreed. In nine months, we’ll go our separate ways.”


    “Good.” Gabriel seemed to rx slightly. “Because if Stormhollow was behind your parents‘ murder, and you end up falling for their daughter.


    “I won’t,” I said firmly. “I made a vow all those years ago. I don’t intend to break it now.”


    Gabriel studied me for another moment, then nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Alright.” He downed the rest of his drink and stood. “It’s been a long day. should head to bed.”


    Once I was alone, I poured myself another ss of bourbon and held it up, turning it in my fingers in the firelight.


    I hated that I saw her face there, smiling at me in the amber liquid as it caught the light.


    It was just the mate bond that was making me see her everywhere, I reminded myself, setting aside the ss without taking a sip. It was merely a biological reaction and nothing more. I’d sessfully resisted it for five years; I could manage another nine months.


    I pushed the thoughts away and stood, my head slightly fuzzy from the bourbon. It waste, and I needed sleep. I’d spent the afternoon patrolling the eastern border, then been dragged to that cafe for lunch<b>, </b>then spent hours catching up on paperwork.


    Exhaustion was making me overthink things, and alcohol was making me stupid and vulnerable.


    Shaking my head, I quietly made my way through the dark halls. E would already be asleep by now, just like everyone else in this house. And indeed, when I reached the door, there was no sliver of light spilling out from beneath. A blessing, to not have to talk to her when I entered.


    But then E’s scent hit me like a brick wall the moment I stepped inside my bedroom<b>. </b>Cherry blossoms and vani, sweet and intoxicating, filling every corner of the room.


    It was getting stronger by the day.


    My wolf surged forward, wing at the inside of my skin like he’d gone feral. He wanted me to mark her. To im her. The force of it was so sudden and intense that I had to grip the doorframe to hold myself back.


    After a few moments of deep breathing, I managed to force my wolf back down and quietly moved toward the bed, my eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. E was indeed already asleep, curled up on her side facing away from my half of the bed. She had been stuffing one of the pillows between us.tely like a barrier, and it was there now.


    As I approached, I could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the peaceful expression on her face. Without her usual guard up, she looked younger, softer.


    Beautiful.


    The sight made <i>me </i>soften more than I wanted to.


    She didn’t look like that around me. Now now, and not before. If she had loved me once, then it was gone now, reced with a deep and weary sadness that I noticed every time I looked at her.


    Little did she know just how badly I wanted to find the source of her sadness and crush it.


    But I couldn’t. Because for all I knew, she was a spy for her father.


    After quickly getting ready for bed, I slid onto my side, and the pillow between us blocked out the sight of her slender form. But even with that wall of feathers and fabric in the middle of us, I could feel the warmth radiating from her body, could hear the soft sound of her breathing.


    And that damn scent was overwhelming.


    The urge to reach out and pull her against me was almost unbearable. All I wanted to do was bury my face in her hair, feel her heartbeat <b>against </b><b>mine</b>, finally im what had been mine all along.


    <b>08:37 </b><b>Tue</b><b>, </b>19 Aug


    Mate.


    But I gritted my teeth and pulled the nket up, covering my nose with it to block out some of her scent. It didn’t help much <b>the </b>sheets themselves smelled like her now–but it was better than nothing.


    This was going to be a long nine months.


    AD