Chapter 75

Hannah

“Why don’t you sit down, Hannah? Relax a little.”

The sound of Amber’s voice was just barely enough to pull me halfway out of my reverie, but not completely. I shook my head and waved my hand, resuming my pacing.

“No. I can’t sit.”

Viona sighed from the armchair, taking a sip of her wine as she drew her knees to her chest and curled up like a cat. “You’re going to burn off all the calories from those crackers you ate earlier,” she teased.

I rolled my eyes and finally stopped my pacing. Worrying my lower lip between my teeth, I placed my hands on my hips and turned to face my friends—although my gaze really was headed straight for my phone, which was still sitting dark and silent in the center of the coffee table.

“She didn’t even say ‘thank you’, or ‘goodbye’, or anything,” I complained. “And now we’re just supposed to sit here and wait to find out if we were selected?”

Viona and Amber exchanged glances. Emma, who was walking back into the room with a fresh tray of cheese and crackers, set it down next to my phone and shot me a wary glance.

“You know how the Luna Queen is,” she said softly. “No one—not even her beloved nephew, from what I gather—has ever heard her compliment anyone or anything.”

“She’s a bitter old bat,” Amber added, taking a cracker with a piece of cheese. “Ever since her daughter died all those years ago, it’s like she’s taken it upon herself to make it everyone else’s problem.”

I felt a pang in my chest at the mention of that, as well as an undeniable urge to touch my belly—which I didn’t.

“I don’t blame her,” I said with a shrug. “Losing a child must be the most horrible feeling in the world.”

“Still.” Emma settled onto a cushion by the coffee table and shrugged. “It’s not fair to treat others poorly because of it.”

Emma had a point.

Just as I was opening my mouth to complain again, there was a sudden knock on the front door. My eyes widened, and without hesitating for so much as a second, I was whirling around and practically sprinting across the marble floors of the foyer, flinging the door open…

To find Noah and Scott standing on the front steps.

“Oh. It’s you.” I stepped aside to let them in, not taking much care to hide the disappointment in my voice.

Noah smirked as he brushed past and briskly stepped into the foyer. “Don’t sound so disappointed. I have good news.”

My eyes widened. “Did we get it?” I blurted out. “Will we be—”

“Not quite that good,” he interrupted. “She hasn’t made a decision yet. But… we’ll get another chance to shine.”

I frowned, folding my arms across my chest, and glanced back and forth between Noah and Scott. “What’s that supposed to mean? I thought she was supposed to make a decision tonight.”

“She was.” Scott clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair. “But the Luna Queen has decided that she wasn’t satisfied with only testing the competitors based on their homes.”

“And…?” I asked, suddenly becoming acutely aware of all three of my friends materializing behind me.

Noah paused, glancing around at everyone, before he replied. “We’ll be competing in a game show this weekend hosted by the Luna Queen. A… couples’ game show.”

Before I could even answer, I heard an incredulous snort behind me. “Well, then you’re both screwed.”

Noah, Scott and I turned to see Viona standing at the forefront of my trio of friends, one arm folded across her chest while the other elbow was perched at an angle, lifting her wine glass to her lips.

Noah’s face darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean, Viona?” he hissed, placing his hands on his hips.

Viona’s eyes flashed, and I felt my stomach sink just a bit. Viona and Noah had never been the closest of friends, and she knew everything about what had happened at that little party he had thrown recently—when he had mixed me and Zoe up in front of that journalist. She wasn’t happy with him.

“What does this ‘game show’ even entail?” she asked, but then held up a slender hand to stop him before he could speak. “Hold on, let me guess… Trivia? Charades? Egg-carrying? That sort of thing?”

There was a long silence after she was finished. Noah’s jaw clenched and he quickly looked away, the tips of his ears reddening a fraction and giving us all the answer we were waiting for. I couldn’t help but let out a low groan as I tugged on my hair and paced over to the window.

“Oh, Goddess, that’s even worse,” I muttered. “Why does the Luna Queen want to do all of this, anyway? It seems ridiculous.”

Scott cleared his throat and spoke while Noah was still in the middle of a silent staring contest with Viona.

“Luna Alanna has made it clear that she felt as though it’s more important for a strong couple to be chosen to host the Lunar Festival this year,” he said, then paused, shooting me a sheepish glance. “She mentioned that there have been… too many divorces and rumors lately.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but then shut it again. She was right, I supposed; between Drake and Zoe, me and Noah, and soon to be Emma and her husband, the sanctity of the Alpha/Luna bond was certainly being questioned lately.

It was genius, really: a televised game show to drum up excitement over all of the famous Alpha and Luna couples. It would make the people happy, and would potentially assuage all of the recent rumors.

“Well. Viona, I can’t deny that you’re right,” I said, turning around to face everyone once more before shooting Noah a reproachful look. “Noah, it’s not as if you and I have the best rapport. A couples’ game show won’t be our strong suit.”

Noah pursed his lips and finally tore his gaze away from Viona. “Is this still about what happened at the party?” he growled. “You know I didn’t mean anything by mixing up the dates. I—”

“It’s about everything,” I retorted before he could finish. “Hell, we’re arguing right now. What makes you think we can win a game show where working together will likely be the entire premise?”

Noah was silent for some time. Honestly, I thought he might pull his usual stunt of turning on his heel and leaving, telling me to be ready at a specific time and date ‘or else’. But he didn’t do any of that.

Instead, much to my surprise, he let his hands fall back to his sides and nodded.

“I understand. But we need to win,” he said, his green eyes meeting mine with a hint of sincerity buried in their depths. “So… I guess we’ll need to train.”

Train? I thought to myself, nearly bursting out into laughter at the very notion. How could we possibly ‘train’ to get along better, to work better together without wanting to kill each other at every turn?

But just as I was about to grind out that very retort, I thought better of it. Instead, I simply nodded and folded my arms across my chest, tilting my chin up at him.

“Very well. We’ll train.”