E
It happened again.
I was walking toward Alexander when my knees suddenly buckled beneath me for a second time. This time, Thad nothing to catch myself on, and I felt myself pitching forward toward the marble floor.
But strong arms caught me before I could hit the ground. Alexander’s hands moved across my waist, gently tugging me up and into his embrace.
“Are you alright?”
I blinked, trying to clear the dark spots that had appeared in my vision. When my sight returned, I saw green eyes staring down at me with concern, and then it hit me–I was pressed firmly against Alexander’s sturdy chest, palms syed across the firm muscles, the scent of bourbon and woodfire smoke so strong it blotted out all else.
My heart pounded. Stupid, traitorous little thing.
“1-1, um…1’m not feeling so well…” I started to respond, but then, over Alexander’s shoulder, I saw Gabriel watching from across the room. His mouth was set in that familiar disapproving line.
Immediately, I snapped my mouth shut, biting my tongue. Gabriel was waiting for me to show weakness.
Waiting for me to prove that I was the weak, pathetic excuse for a Luna that he thought I was.
Maybe it was juvenile of me, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“I’m fine,” I recovered quickly, stepping back. “My shoes are just killing me. These heels are way too high.”
It was a believable excuse. Every woman at this event was wearing ridiculously tall heels, and I’d certainlyined about sore feet before. Alexander’s eyes searched my face for a moment, and it seemed like he
wasn’t entirely convinced, but he didn’t push it.
“Actually,” he said, reaching into his jacket pocket, “I have something that might cheer you up.”
I frowned, watching as he pulled out a small velvet jewelry box. “What’s that?”
“I saw it at one of the auction tables and thought of you.” He opened the box to reveal a delicate silver bracelet with a tiny cherry blossom charm dangling from it. “I know it can’t rece what you lost tonight,
but…”
My breath caught. The bracelet was beautiful–simple and elegant, perfectly feminine and understated while having enough shine to it to catch the eye. The cherry blossom charm was perfectly detailed, each tiny petal etched painstakingly into the silver.
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“Alexander, you didn’t have to-”
“I wanted to.” He lifted the bracelet from the box and gently took my wrist, fastening the sp with careful fingers. The metal was cool against my skin, contrasting sharply with the heat of his hand, and the charm caught the light from the chandeliers above us.
For a moment, I just stared down at it. Alexander had bought this for me. He’d seen it and thought of me,
thought it might make me feel better after what happened with Lilith’s locket. Maybe he did care about me, at least a little bit. Maybe-
Before I could finish that thought, a camera sh went off nearby, followed by another, and reality crashed
back down around me.
Of course. Of course this wasn’t a genuine gesture. Alexander had spotted the photographers circling us like vultures and decided this would make a perfect photo op. The devoted husbandforting his wife after an
unfortunate ident, buying her jewelry to rece what was lost. It was exactly the kind of image his campaign needed.
I felt my face go nk as I looked up at him. “Thank you. It’s lovely.”
“You’re wee,” Alexander said, and if he noticed the change in my tone, he didn’t mention it.
I forced a smile as more cameras shed, lifting my wrist so the bracelet was clearly visible. The
photographers ate it up, snapping picture after picture of Alexander’s romantic gesture. I wondered how long it would take for the photos to hit social media,plete with captions about what a perfect couple
we were.
“Should we head back inside?” Alexander asked. “I think they’re about to start the live auction.”
I nodded stiffly and let him guide me back toward the main ballroom with his hand on my lower back. The
bracelet felt heavier now, less delicate. It was beautiful, but suddenly, I wasn’t sure if I even wanted it.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Alexander and I bid on a few items–nothing too expensive, but
enough <i>to </i>show that we were participating. I made small talk with other Lunas about charitable causes and
pack politics.
All the while, the exhaustion grew more and more intense by the minute.
I didn’t copse again, but I certainly felt like I might. My knees were weak, my back sore, my head always spinning slightly even when I avoided alcohol.
Somehow, though, I managed to stay upright–if only to spite Gabriel.
By the time we made it to the dessert course of the meal portion of the night, I was struggling to keep my
eyes open. My fork felt impossibly heavy as I picked at the chocte mousse on my te.
11:31 Sat, 23 Aug
“You look like hell.”
I nced up to find Sophia standing beside our table with a champagne flute in her hand and that familiar smirk on her face. Alexander was nowhere to be found–likely rubbing elbows with pack officials
somewhere.
“Excuse me?” I said.
“You look sick,” Sophia said bluntly, taking a seat beside me. “Pale, tired, and honestly…” She leaned in, dropping her voice to a whisper. “…Bloated. Are you feeling alright? You’re not… expecting, are you?”
My fingers tightened around my fork. Was she seriously asking if I was pregnant? As if she hadn’t stirred up enough trouble already tonight by destroying the one thing that meant the most to me?
“I’m perfectly fine, thanks for asking,” I said, mming my fork down so hard it rattled the table and made nearby guests jump. “And maybe next time you insult another woman’s appearance, you should look in the mirror. That dress isn’t doing you any favors.”
The table around me went silent. Sophia’s face went red, and for a moment I thought she might throw her champagne at me. But we were surrounded by too many important people for her to cause a scene. Instead, she pushed her chair back with a loud scrape, stood, and stalked away without another word.
Ignoring the stares, I grit my teeth and picked up my fork, shoveling a big bite of mousse into my mouth.
The auction finally ended around eleven o’clock, and I’d never been so grateful to see an event conclude. My feet were screaming in these heels, my head was pounding, and all I wanted was to go home and copse into bed.
When we finally pulled into our driveway, I was practically holding my eyes open with toothpicks. But as we made our way up the grand staircase, Liam stepped out from the parlor.
“Alexander,” he called out. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”
Alexander nced at me, then back at Liam. “Of course. E, you go ahead. I’ll be up shortly.”
As if I was going to wait for him.
With a nod, I trudged upstairs to our bedroom, my feet aching with every step. The first thing I did was kick off those torturous heels, then I scrubbed off the fake mark in the bathroom mirror until my skin was red
and raw again.
The face staring back at me indeed looked haggard. I hated to admit it, but Sophia hadn’t been wrong about the pale, sickly look. I looked like I was wasting away, which I supposed I was.
I sighed, pushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. The cherry blossom bracelet glinted on my wrist as I
moved, and I felt my stupid fucking heart do that thing again.
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For a moment, just a moment, I wanted to believe that Alexander had purchased the gift for me because he cared. Not because he had an outside agenda.
But I quickly mmed that thought out of my mind, because it was bullshit. Alexander would never go that far. He didn’t truly care about anything except his image and his campaign.
“No,” I hissed, almost scolding myself as I hastily reached for the sp. “He doesn’t care-”
Before I could unsp the bracelet, it happened again.
Only this time, there was no one to catch me.
The room tilted sideways, then upside down, then rightside up again. Spinning, spinning, spinning. Nausea roiled through me like a riptide, and before I even had a chance to gasp, I was crashing against the floor.
The cold tiles mmed into my head, and in that moment of blinding white pain, the cherry blossom bracelet glinted past my vision.