Chapter 25

I spent the next couple of days scouring the markets and running thorough checks on all of the producers I could find. I ensured none of them had any connections either to Lucas or his supporters, and made absolutely certain that their ingredients and chefs were the best in the business.

I went home full every night from taste-testing, but it was worth it, and by the end of the week I had put together a fool-proof proposal for the catering at the Alpha Ball. My picks had been carefully vetted, and I was confident nothing could go wrong.

I had to make a final pastry selection, and for that I went to the open air market in the center of the city. It was held in the main park, and was surrounded by a beautiful canopy of flowering trees.

There were dozens of vendors, all showing off their creations in perfect glass refrigerated domes. It was one of my favorite parts of living in the Lycan capital. But I was here on business, and I couldn’t get distracted.

“I’ll try one of the pink ones please,” I said to the man behind the counter.

He nodded, and took out a pair of tongs to retrieve a fluffy looking strawberry pastry with cream and edible glitter shimmering on top. I took a bite, mesmerized by the delicate, crisp taste. “I’d like an order for one hundred of these by next Saturday evening, can you do that?”

“Oh, of course miss. I’ll get the order form for you.” He turned to the back of the stall and shuffled through a pile of papers.

I took another bite, and was pulled out of my reverie by the sound of a hideously familiar voice snickering behind me. “You can’t expect me to keep things up with him and then also complain that I don’t spend enough time with you. You can’t have it both ways.”

There was no mistaking the high pitched whine. I dove to the group, stuffing the rest of the pastry in my mouth so I wouldn’t drop it. What was Harper doing here? And who was she talking to?

“I’m not saying I want you to give up on Lucas, all I’m saying is I don’t like feeling pushed to the side like this.”

I crept along the stalls, trying to peek over the counters to figure out where they were. I caught a glimpse of Harper’s hair being tossed in the breeze a few aisles down, so I pulled my cap over my eyes and followed.

Pretty soon, I managed to get a better look at her companion, a muscular man with a neatly trimmed beard who towered over her. Is that Lucas’s gamma?

“You don’t have to fuck him every night either. That Ruby bitch isn’t even living at the castle anymore, you don’t have to try so hard to sabotage their relationship.” His voice was surprisingly high for his height.

“It’s not just about that.” Harper whispered loudly. “I need to keep him sufficiently interested in me. I know it’s painful for you when I’m in bed with Lucas, but just remember what we’re getting out of this arrangement. I stay close to the Lycan King, and you stay close to his lover.”

The man’s head fell a bit, “I’d rather be closer to my mate.”

“Well, we can’t all have everything we want, can we?” Harper hissed at him, looking like she might slap him for insolence. “You’re just going to have to learn to live with it.”

“I have been living with it!” The man retorted, jogging to catch up with Harper as she trotted away. “I’m your mate, I’d do anything for you.”

“Then stop complaining. You’re not making it any easier for either of us.” Harper said.

I followed them through the park, deeper into a patch of gardens where the high hedges secluded them from any prying eyes. I had to get down on my knees to properly hide behind the bushes so they wouldn’t see me.

Lucas’s gamma took both of Harper’s wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head, capturing her mouth in a desperate kiss. I fumbled in my pocket for my phone and snapped a quick photo.

“He might get to fuck you, but that pussy is mine, and don’t forget it.”

Harper moaned slightly, her head falling back. “Please take me, right now, I don’t care if anyone sees.”

He groaned, resting his forehead on her shoulder. “We have to be smart, Harper. As much as I want you, we can’t jeopardize everything. Then every moment you’ve wasted on him would have been for nothing.”

Harper nodded, the disappointment on her face bleeding through her body language. The man released her wrists, and pulled away, searching her face. “We’ll meet again tonight after Lucas has gone to sleep? In the same place we usually do?”

Harper grinned, grasping his face eagerly. “Oh goddess, yes. I need your cock, Adrian.”

I crinkled my nose and pulled back, angling my phone to snap one more picture of the two of them in an embrace. It felt perverted to be photographing them here, but I knew I needed these pictures as evidence.

Lucas was obsessed with keeping a squeaky clean image, and having an adulterous lover was the perfect thing to ruin it. I didn’t have the proof when I tried to reveal her secret at the wedding, but no one could deny what was happening in these photographs. Lucas’s beta and his lover were going behind his back.

I tried to crawl back out of the hedge to make my escape, and broke a twig, cracking it loudly under my feet.

“What was that?” Harper gasped, shoving Adrian away from her.

“It was probably nothing,” he soothed, taking her face once again in his hands.

“I’m not risking it, I’ll leave first,” she said, waving him away and turning her nose up the other direction.

“I love you,” he said softly, gazing at her.

She smiled but didn’t respond, and waltzed away out of the maze.

Lucas’s gamma hung around for a few moments longer, looking over his shoulder to be sure there was no one watching them. I managed to hold my breath until he finally left, casually striding to the exit.

When he was gone I pulled out my phone and swiped through the pictures I had taken, zooming in on their faces. There was no way anyone could doubt who they were, the snooty expression on Harper alone was enough to convince you it was her.

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, and I slipped the phone back into my pocket. Harper might think she has Lucas in the palm of her hand, but I have something in mine that will give her a run for her money.

“Oh shit, the pastry!” I realized, and ran back to the market to retrieve the order forms from the vendor.