Chapter 34

Silver’s POV

By the time I returned home, I was a hallow mess. I had no idea what just happened. I couldn’t believe that Elliot hung up on me after he yelled at me for taking advantage of him. Tears burned in my eyes, and I wrapped my arms around my body like I was desperately trying to hold myself together.

What was wrong with me?

How could I let things go so far last night? I should have known better than to have sex with him. Then again, he made it difficult to resist. He was in so much control, I would never be able to say no to him and his Alpha power.

Just when I thought we were going to be okay, the rug was ripped out from under my feet.

“Luna,” Beta Leo said later in the evening as he walked into the front parlor. “A notice came for you.”

I frowned and took it from him. It was addressed to both me and Elliot. I ripped open the sealing and uncovered the letter within the paper.

My mouth nearly fell open at the invitation on the paper. My heart leaped into my throat. Could this be real? Because of my success at the Pandora Bloom auction, I was invited to interview on the Merida Ryder show. That was only one of the most famous talk shows in the world; it was broadcast worldwide and only the most famous people were allowed to interview with her.

I’ve heard in the past that Elliot has interviewed with her, though I have never seen it before. The letter was addressed to both Elliot and me; Merida wanted us both to be on the show?

My heart slowly fell deep into my stomach, and I could feel my smile falter as I thought about it.

“Luna, is everything okay?” Beta Leo asked. I completely forgot that he was right there, and I jumped at the sound of his voice.

I turned to look at him and forced a smile in his direction, nodding slowly.

“Yeah,” I lied. “I just need to make a call.”

He looked unsure, but he nodded and stepped away to give me privacy. I grabbed my phone and immediately called Rebecca. She would know what to do.

“Hey, girl,” she said immediately. “What’s up?”

“I have a problem,” I started to say right away.

She went quiet for a moment.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Well, I have an interview with Merida Ryder on her talk show,” I started to explain. I was cut off by Rebeca’s shrieking. I pulled the phone away from my ear when she started shrieking and I sighed. I should have known Rebecca would react that way; she was a huge fan of Merida Ryder.

Taking in a deep breath I said, “I’m not finished, Rebecca.”

“Sorry, but this is huge. Why would say that’s a problem? It’s a huge honor, Silver!! Is it because of the auction? I knew you would wow them! Take that, Stella!”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help the smile on my lips. She was right; this was a huge honor.

“That’s not the problem,” I told her, lowering my tone. “The problem is she wants me to attend the interview with Elliot.”

Rebecca was quiet for a moment before she said, “So? I thought things were going well for you and Elliot.”

I sighed.

“They are,” I told her. “Or at least they were…”

I could practically hear her frown on the other end of the phone.

“They were?” She finally asked, catching onto what I was saying. “They aren’t anymore?”

I shook my head, but then remembered she couldn’t see me. I closed my eyes and sat on the nearby couch. I was so drained and confused after the events today, that I wasn’t even sure how to explain what had happened with Elliot. I wasn’t even sure what had happened to him. Leo was somewhere in this palace and I'm sure he probably found out what he was drugged with by now. I made a mental note to ask him about it later.

“What exactly happened, Silver? Rebecca asked after it was clear I wasn’t going to say anything more.

“Something kind of happened last night,” I confessed. She waited patiently for me to continue. “He went to an Alpha meeting at the Water Grove Hotel and Restaurant, and he was drugged.”

She sucked in a sharp breath immediately.

“What?” She gasped.

“Yeah,” I told her. “Beta Leo called me to have me help out so I went there, and we brought him to a hotel thinking it would be better than dragging him all the way home. Once I got him there, he was kind of all over me. Like he couldn’t get enough of me…”

“Oh, my goddess,” she nearly shrieked.

My face reddened even more.

“Yeah,” I murmured. “It was the best night of sex I’ve ever had,” I whispered, my voice going hoarse. “Then this morning I had to leave to go to an interview with Hope’s Gallery and afterward Elliot called me… yelling at me.”

“Yelling at you?” She asked, confused. “What could he be yelling at you for?”

“He told me I took advantage of him,” I admitted. “He yelled at me for being a typical woman and not being any different than the others. His words hurt, Rebecca. Maybe he’s right… maybe I did go too far. I should have stopped it.”

“How exactly do you stop an Alpha wolf?” Rebecca asked, sounding equally confused. “He’s an Alpha… if he was that adamant about having you, it would be almost impossible to stop him.”

“Yes, I agree,” I admitted. “But I’m not sure what else to do. He’s so mad at me… but now we have to appear on this show together. I don’t think he would want to go…”

“He would be stupid to turn it down,” Rebecca told me. “Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding.”

Before I could say anything in response, I heard the front door slamming shut. I winced at the forcefulness of the slam, knowing it was Elliot. Taking in a deep breath, I said, “Rebecca, I have to go. He’s home.”

“Good luck. Call me later and let me know how it went.”

“I will,” I assured her.

I hung up without another word.

I left the room and walked into the front foyer. Elliot was speaking to Beta Leo, and I watched Leo nodding in response to whatever he was saying before he turned and left the palace.

Elliot’s face, though it was handsome, was also stern and void of any emotions. He started to walk away as if he didn’t see me even though I was standing in the middle of the foyer. I pressed my lips together, feeling aggravated by his dismissiveness.

“Elliot,” I said, trying to catch up to him. He paused once he got to the stairs.

“What?” He asked, his voice distant and harsh; it made me flinch.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and held up the invitation.

“We were invited to appear on the Merida Ryder Talk show to interview,” I told him, keeping my gaze fixed on the ground, hating that his back was still turned to me. “I understand if you don’t want to go… I just thought that—”

“When is it?”

I was momentarily surprised by his question, and I glanced at the invitation.

“Tomorrow night at 5,” I told him, my voice dropping to a low whisper.

He was quiet for a moment, and I thought for sure he would decline the invitation but then he finally spoke and I was shocked even more.

“I’ll be there.”

Without another word, he left me alone with my thoughts.

For the next day and a half, Elliot had barely spoken to me, and I was aggravated beyond belief. I made it a point to keep a distance from him until we reached the studio a few towns away. Merida Ryder’s studio was huge, and we were greeted by a ton of security guards. We were brought into different dressing rooms where we were made to look perfect in front of the camera.

I hated not seeing or speaking to Elliot. My chest felt constricted, and I thought I was going to be sick at different times, but I swallowed it down and kept a fake smile on my lips as I allowed the makeup and hair artists to style me to perfection.

Once I was completely dressed, I took a look at myself and smiled with contentment.

“Are you ready? We will be airing soon.”

I nodded and followed one of the producers out of the room. I hadn’t met Merida yet; they wanted me to meet her once we got on air so my reaction would be genuine.

Elliot stood near the doorway that led to the stage and when he saw me, his eyes widened, and I saw the look of longing in them. It made my heart hurt. He kept his eyes on me until I was right beside him and after a moment he cleared his throat.

“While we are on the air, at least pretend you care about me, okay?”