Chapter 90

Hannah

I was so stunned that I nearly dropped my plate and mug. Somehow, I managed to keep a hold on it—maybe only because of the way that my knuckles instinctively tightened until they turned white.

“You’re kidding me,” I hissed, taking a trembling step forward.

Noah popped his spoonful of cereal into his mouth and shook his head. “No. I want to be there for her, and you should come with me.”

“Why?” I let out a wry laugh. “Why should I come with you?”

“Because it would be nice, Hannah.” Noah, having finished his cereal, stood and walked over to the sink to rinse out his bowl. I watched the broad expanse of his back as he worked, very much feeling the desire to hurl my coffee cup at him.

Nice. I didn’t want to be ‘nice’. I was tired of being the nice wife who got walked all over.

“I’m not going.”

I carefully set my plate and mug down on the counter, suddenly feeling as though what little appetite I had regained had swiftly left. Goddess, all I wanted was to recover from this damn eating disorder for my baby’s sake—why did Noah always have to go around making it so hard?

Noah set his bowl in the drying rack and turned to face me again, placing his hands on his hips. “I’d like you to be there, Hannah,” he said.

“Why?” I threw my hands up in the air incredulously. “So you can humiliate me again?”

“No,” he said slowly, crossing the room to stop a few paces in front of me. “I just think it would be nice for both of us to be there. To show our support.”

My mouth worked uselessly for a few moments as I stared up at him, my mind caught somewhere between kicking him in the groin and biting his head off. Ultimately, though, I chose neither of those options.

“Fine,” I said.

Noah raised an eyebrow at me. “Just like that?”

“First you want me to accept, then when I accept you act surprised,” I laughed, turning away. “I’m only doing this because it looks good for me. No other reasons. Does Zoe like casseroles?”

“I—I don’t—”

“It doesn’t matter,” I interrupted with a wave of my hand. “I’ll make one anyway. What time are we leaving?”

Noah paused for a moment before replying, “She’s supposed to be sent home from the hospital tonight around seven.”

“Perfect. We’ll leave at six.” With that, without waiting for a response, I strode out of the kitchen.

I left my breakfast untouched on the counter.

…

“He’s just making a fool of you, Hannah. You know you don’t need to do this.”

I sighed as I pinned my hair up in front of the bathroom mirror, shooting Viona a glance through my phone screen. I had her propped up on the bathroom counter on FaceTime, and she was sipping wine on the other end.

“I do need to do it. If word gets out, I need to be the Luna who graciously brought Zoe a casserole,” I said with a derisive chuckle.

Viona snorted. “You’re sneaky.”

“Not any sneakier than my husband, who likely crawled into the hospital bed with her last night,” I bit out, sticking another bobby pin in place.

Taking a step back, I turned my head this way and that to admire my work. I had gone for a simple yet attractive look tonight—subtle yet smokey eye makeup, hair carefully curled and put up into a 90s updo, a simple red sweater and low rise jeans with heeled boots underneath.

“Well…” Viona paused, sipping her wine on the other end. “You look hot as hell, at least.”

I blushed a bit and shot her a grin. “Is it bad that I still try to look sexy around him?” I asked. “Just to make him jealous?”

Viona shrugged. “It’s not the most emotionally healthy thing to do, if I’m being honest. But it’s also satisfying to see him squirm, knowing that you’re not going to give it to him.”

“Exactly.”

Pausing, I grabbed my phone and carried it to the bedroom. There was still time before we needed to leave, so I flopped down on my bed. “I have to tell you something,” I said, keeping my voice low so as not to be overheard. “But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Amber and Emma.”

Raising an eyebrow, Viona said, “Go on.”

I took a deep breath to steel my nerves before I spoke. “At that last reception, I… had an interesting discussion with the Luna Queen,” I said slowly. “She… She said that I have a chance of being on the Luna Council. If I keep up the good work.”

Viona’s eyes widened to saucers. “Hannah, that’s amazing!” she breathed. But then, lowering her voice: “Would that offer still stand if you and Noah… You know…”

Swallowing, I shook my head. “I don’t know. But I think it could be possible to stay on the Luna Council if I get divorced.”

Maybe even more so when I take my place as Alpha of my own pack, I thought to myself. The Luna Queen was a tough woman—perhaps she would commend those actions. Ah, to be a female Alpha and to be on the Luna Queen’s private council; it would be making history.

That was why I was going to Zoe’s house tonight. I wanted to keep my reputation on the rise, show grace and poise even when I really wanted to scream.

Viona nodded hastily and grinned. “Well, I’m happy for you. This is an amazing opportunity.”

“Thank you, Viona,” I said. “I just hope—”

Suddenly, the sound of a knock on the door caused my words to cut off. “Luna Hannah?” a servant’s voice came through the wood. “Alpha Noah is waiting for you.”

I let out a deep sigh. “I’ll talk to you later, Viona.”

“You’d better. I expect a full run-down.”

As I made my way downstairs to meet Noah, I stopped in the kitchen to grab the casserole that I had made out of the fridge. Eventually, I strode up to Noah in the foyer with the dish in hand.

“What’s that?” he asked as we walked out to the car.

“The casserole,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “I told you about it earlier.”

He clenched his jaw and furrowed his brow. “Oh. I didn’t expect you to actually cook.”

“Yeah, well… I figured I should be nice by cooking something,” I said, sliding into the passenger seat while Noah got into the driver’s seat. “She is the second woman in our relationship, after all; I thought I should be welcoming.”

Noah didn’t respond, although I saw the way his jaw clenched and his fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

A little while later, after a tense and silent car ride, we were pulling up to the sleek, modern little house that Zoe called her home now. The house was fully dark, only the front path lined with dim solar lights. As we approached the front door, Noah pulled out a set of keys.

So familiar, I thought to myself as I watched him quickly find the right key and insert it into the lock. I wondered if he had been here before—and how many times.

But as we stepped into the house and flicked on the lights, those thoughts went to the wayside. Because I was met with…

A mess.