Chapter 95

Agnes

My steps came to an abrupt halt the moment Olivia walked into the room.

She looked radiant as always, her sleek blonde hair gently tousled from the wind. Her long legs were prominently on display beneath her skirt, and her heels were just ever so slightly too tall, making her stand out amongst the crowd.

“Why is she here?” I found myself asking before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth. I turned and looked up at Elijah, and to my surprise, he looked almost as shocked as I felt.

Olivia wasn’t a Luna. Not anymore, at least.

But he sighed. “Olivia is an ex-Luna, which means she does technically have a right to be here. All current and former Lunas are welcome to attend these events if they so wish, so long as they haven’t been banned.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. Well, someone should have banned her when she abused your daughter, I wanted to say, but I didn’t.

Instead, somehow, I managed to hold my chin high and train my expression into one of complete and utter neutrality. “Just let me know if I need to leave with Thea,” was all I said.

Elijah stiffened, his eyes flicking down to meet mine. He looked a little surprised by my reaction, but not entirely ungrateful.

Thea was across the room, getting a snack from the refreshments table with James. She seemed oblivious to Olivia’s sudden entrance, fully absorbed by the small cup of ice cream in her tiny hands. But just looking at her sent my protective instincts into overdrive, even more so when I saw Olivia spot her through the crowd and begin to move toward her.

Before Elijah could stop me, I was moving. I stepped directly into Olivia’s path before she could reach Thea.

“Olivia,” I said, folding my arms tightly across my chest, “fancy seeing you here.”

She hesitated. For the first time in a while, a look of uncertainty crossed her face. There was no doubt in my mind that she had hoped not to see me in the midst of her little smear campaign against me.

“Agnes,” she replied coolly.

I felt a muscle feather in my jaw. Suddenly feeling uncharacteristically bold, I bit out, “You could have walked away from the fashion show if you were unhappy with it, but you took all the other models with you. Why?”

Olivia’s eyes flashed, although with glee or something else, I couldn’t be entirely sure.

Then, slowly, too slowly, she leaned down to meet my gaze. “I didn’t do anything. They just happened to agree with my sentiments. Your little ‘fashion’ line is nothing but a—”

“Olivia.” Elijah suddenly stepped between us, effectively silencing her with nothing more than a look. But I also didn’t miss the way he glanced at me from the corners of his eyes—a warning. “Let’s all be civil here, shall we? Thea is here.”

Like clockwork, Thea bounded up to me, taking me by the hand. Olivia promptly straightened, plastering a fake smile onto her face as if that would somehow change the fact that Thea nearly dropped her ice cream when she saw her.

I didn’t wait for anyone to say another word. I whisked Thea away, not wanting her to have to be near her mother. It had been months, but I hadn’t forgotten the confession Thea made that night that Olivia had shown up with the dollhouse, and I wasn’t about to put her in an uncomfortable position when she had made it clear to me that she wanted nothing to do with Olivia.

Thankfully, Olivia didn’t follow us.

A few minutes later, Elijah and all the other Alphas left for their annual meeting, leaving the Lunas in the main room together. I expected the Lunas to gather for our own meeting, but to my surprise, there was none.

It was… disappointing, to say the least. I expected more.

At that moment, I spotted Olivia across the room, perched on the edge of a table. A large group of Lunas had gathered around her, giggling while she told some story or another.

“You’re Agnes, right?”

The sound of a soft voice caught my attention, and I turned to see a petite, stunning woman with red hair that trailed all the way down to her hips and a striking set of blue eyes. Thea gasped as soon as she saw her.

“Luna Evelyn!” Thea cried out, releasing my hand and rushing forward. The woman grinned and scooped Thea up, peppering kisses across her cheeks.

Figuring that Thea must know this woman, I smiled and stepped forward, shaking her hand. Thea babbled animatedly about how she knew Evelyn from a party that Elijah had taken her to last year.

Evelyn grinned. “And you’ve grown so much, little kitty,” she cooed, pinching Thea’s cheek before setting her down. Thea beamed and ran off to play with some other kids who were in attendance, leaving me and Evelyn alone.

“It’s nice to see a friendly face,” I said, taking a step closer. I gestured around. “I was expecting more of a formal atmosphere.”

Evelyn scoffed. “Like the Alphas, you mean? Yes, well… some people here don’t seem to think that making the most of our time at these meetings is all that important.” Her eyes flicked to Olivia, and my own eyebrows shot up.

“She’s that bad, huh?”

“She shows up every year and derails the whole thing by yapping about her travels and designer clothes,” Evelyn snorted. She paused then, looking me up and down. “But you… I hear you’re Elijah’s new wife. And I hear you’ve been making waves already.”

My cheeks flushed slightly. I tried to wave it off, but Evelyn shook her head and looped her arm through mine. “We need fresh blood like you around here. I’ve been trying for years to wrangle these ladies into doing something big—a charity event, perhaps—that would benefit all the packs.”

I considered this as we approached the other Lunas. Charity and public service were all typical Luna duties, which were just as important as the lawmaking and public safety efforts that the Alphas controlled.

And of course, I was more than aware that many Lunas played a large role in their husbands’ decisions, privately swaying both the Alphas and the public to support certain political ideologies. If we weren’t our own cohesive group, then the packs might be left in shambles.

Suddenly, as I glanced around the room, I had an idea.

“Hey,” I said, looking at Evelyn, “I need models for an upcoming charity fashion show I’m running. I wonder if the Lunas might want to take part.”

Evelyn’s entire face lit up at that. She parted her lips to speak, but before she could, Olivia’s biting laughter cut through the air.

“Oh, don’t bother, Evelyn,” Olivia said from where she was still perched. “The outfits are atrocious. Trust me, I’ve already tried them on.”

The other Lunas glanced at each other, murmuring amongst themselves. My face reddened, and I wasn’t sure how to respond, if at all. But I didn’t need to, because Evelyn promptly placed her hands on her hips and laughed.

Laughed.

Right in Olivia’s face.

“You probably shouldn’t blame the outfits, Liv,” she snorted, gesturing to Olivia’s face and body. “Maybe it’s just your sour mug and bad posture ruining the way they look.”

Olivia’s mouth shot open in surprise. The other Lunas giggled. For my part, I clamped my hand over my mouth, looking away to hide my laughter—although the tremble to my shoulders betrayed me.

With a huff, Olivia hopped down from her perch and strutted away, leaving us. Once she was gone, I launched into the details of the fashion show, which seemed to intrigue the other Lunas greatly. Soon enough, I had a list of their names and contact information, and a date set for fittings.

Things seemed to be going more smoothly than I expected.

But it was close to sunset when it happened; I made my way to the restroom, a smile on my face.

My smile fell when I opened the bathroom door and heard someone sobbing in one of the stalls.