Chapter 478

Olivia

“Thank you so much for your donation. Your generosity will help us improve the school.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure, dear,” Mrs. Westwood, the elderly woman who lived down the street from us said as she slid the check across the counter. “It’s the least I can do to make sure our little ones get the best education they can.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Westwood. Wow, five thousand dollars? That’s extremely generous of you.”

The old woman smiled. “Put it to good use, dear.”

I watched as the old woman walked away, hobbling on her cane. That was the last in the line, and the night was almost over.

“Well?” Nathan leaned against the doorframe, a glass of wine in hand. “Should we tally it up?”

“Doing it now.” I tapped the last few donation amounts into the calculator, and felt my eyes widen as I saw the grand total. My hand shook a bit when I held the calculator out for Nathan to see.

“Holy shit,” Nathan breathed, taking the calculator from my hand. “Thirty thousand dollars in one night. That’s amazing, Liv.”

“I know.” I stood, my heart racing as I stretched my sore limbs. “That should cover the cost of the new paint, playground equipment, and then some.”

“Not to mention the funds from the Alpha association.”

At the mention of the association, I felt my heart clench a bit. “Right,” I said softly as I took the calculator back and set it on the desk. “I almost forgot about that check.”

Nathan, noticing my hesitation, sighed and crossed over to me. “Hey. It’s just money,” he murmured. He placed his free hand under my chin and lifted my face to meet his gaze. “I know you’re not thrilled with the association right now—”

“I’m not thrilled with Dan, in particular.”

He chuckled slightly. “Alright. I know you’re not thrilled with Dan, but the money is going toward the school. A whole new cafeteria, Liv. That’s something, isn’t it?”

I let out another soft sigh. Nathan was right; even though the money from the association was hard-earned, it was going to a good cause. The cafeteria needed some serious updating.

“Maybe we could put the remainder of the donations toward a garden,” I muttered. “So the kids can learn to grow their own food.”

“That’s the spirit.” Nathan took my hand and led me away from the donation booth. Before we walked away, I grabbed the lock box containing the donations and tucked it under my arm. Had to keep an eye on it, after all.

When we reentered the gymnasium, the party had begun to wind down. The dance floor was mostly clear, save for a few kids still dancing off their sugar highs.

“I think it’s time,” I said, glancing at Nathan.

He nodded and raised his glass. “Time for that big speech of yours?”

…

I took a deep breath as I leaned into the mic. Speeches weren’t exactly my strong suit, but this was my gala, after all; and people were expecting some words from their Luna.

“Thank you all for coming tonight.” My gaze swept across the room, across my friends and pack members. “I hope you all enjoyed the party.”

My words were met with some scattered cheers and applause. I smiled, relaxing a bit. “We’ve just officially tallied up the donations for tonight, and, thanks to all of you…” I paused, pulling the numbers out of an envelope. “We’ve raised $29,415!”

This time, a huge round of applause took over the room. I couldn’t help but beam down at my pack members, feeling tears of joy begin to prick at the backs of my eyes. It was like a dream come true; I could only imagine what else we could accomplish in the future, with or without the Alpha association.

Speaking of which…

I felt my heart jolt a bit, but it had to be mentioned.

“And thanks to a generous donation of $25,000 from the Alpha association, that totals… $54,415!”

More applause. I applauded, too, in thanks to the Alpha association; but it felt… wrong. Like taking their money, even if it was for a good cause, was dirty in some way. Maybe it was Dan’s domineering attitude that made the acceptance of the money bitter.

Or maybe it was the fact that the Alpha association had concubines wandering around their parties.

But I had to put on a good show, and so I did. It’s for the kids, I told myself. It’s for the kids.

Next, I leaned back into the mic and continued. Behind me, the PR team walked up to the wall behind the podium, where a large black sheet had been hanging as a backdrop all night.

Little did the guests know what was really behind it.

“To thank all of your efforts, we have a surprise for you,” I said warmly. “Thanks to our lovely local artists: Dianna Miller, Laurie Fish, and Ashley Jones, we would like to unveil…”

The sheet fell, exposing a beautiful mural that spanned the entire wall, depicting our town center on the night of the First Snow festival; people milling around, the festive lights almost seeming to shine as if they were real, and little snowflakes drifting down.

But that wasn’t all; at the same time, tubs of paint of all different colors were wheeled out.

“To make this mural even more special, we would like you all to line up—if you would like to participate—pick a color, and place your own handprint around the borders of the mural.”

The surprise was met with an excited ripple of cheers and more applause. I watched, beaming, as people lined up and placed their hands in the paint, handprints of all sizes scattering around the beautiful mural.

“Shall we?”

I looked up to see Nathan standing there, holding his arm out. A smile spread across my face as I took it without hesitation.

“We shall.”

Together, Nathan and I walked up to a tub of blue paint. We dipped our hands in it, feeling the coolness of the liquid on our skin.

Then, carefully, Nathan led me over to a secluded corner of the mural. We crouched down, holding our hands out.

“Count of three?” Nathan whispered.

I nodded. “One, two, three…”

We pressed our hands into the mural, right next to each other. When we finally pulled away, there they were: our two handprints, one much smaller than the other, immortalized on this wall. A symbol not only of what we had accomplished, but of our love.

I didn’t realize it, but tears were in my eyes.

Nathan pulled me close with his clean hand, kissing the top of my head.

“I love you, Liv.”

I let out a soft, contented sigh as I gazed at our handprints. “I love you too, Nathan.”

…

The warm water from the shower ran over my sore skin, soothing me after a long day on my feet. All around me, steam billowed throughout the room—fogging up the glass shower door, the mirrors, the skylight.

Bliss.

I shut my eyes as I stood beneath the hot stream, thinking about the day. Despite everything, it had turned out the way I had hoped; the gala was a massive success, and my husband was home.

Suddenly, as I stood there, I heard the shower door rattle open slightly. I didn’t bother opening my eyes—not even when I felt strong, warm arms wrap around me from behind.

A muscular belly pressed into my back, and warm breath brushed across the back of my ear. Two thick fingers trailed over my belly and down over my pubic area, pressing into the soft skin. I shuddered a bit, allowing myself to relax into the sensation of his fingers rubbing in slow, erotic circles in just the right spots.

“Room for one more?”

“Always.”