Chapter 34

Arthur

Arthur smirked as he looked at his phone. Almara was on her way back to the house. She was listening to his instructions so nicely. So nicely, in fact, that he was going to reward her later that night. But first he wanted to see the person most important to him.

His grandmother ran a flower shop in the next town over. Even though she had once been the Luna of the pack, she had wanted a quiet life away from the politics and drama. Which Arthur could understand.

But the rest of the family didn’t. As soon as his grandmother told everyone that she was doing her own thing, there had been a lot of protest. His father had been Alpha at the time and had given his own mother an ultimatum. Either she could stay with the pack or be disowned.

Obviously Arthur’s grandmother had picked the latter. The entire pack was under strict orders not to interact with her. However, Arthur absolutely was not going to follow that rule. The woman had raised him for a time. He owed her so much of who he was.

He smiled as the driver pulled into the parking lot. The flower shop looked exactly the same as it had when she first opened it. His grandmother had named it after her favorite flower, ‘The Wild Peony.’ It was a quaint little shop and did very well from what his grandmother had told him.

Arthur walked in, the bell he’d gotten her as a grand opening present ringing merrily in the silence. His grandmother looked up from behind the desk, her green eyes that were so close to his own lighting up.

“Arthur! I didn’t know you were coming! This is such a wonderful surprise! I can’t believe how lucky I am today!” She cried, coming around the desk to fling her arms around Arthur’s neck. He wrapped her in a tight embrace, sighing as he felt the weight on his shoulders lift for the first time in weeks.

“Come on. Let’s go to the back room and catch up. There’s a lot that you need to tell me,” she said, punching him playfully in the arm before leading him into the other room. The armchairs that he had set up for her looked well used and it made him smile.

As he sat down, a scent wafted up that he was intimately familiar with. Jasmine and moonlight. If he didn’t know any better, he would have sworn that Almara had been here.

She was here, Caleb insisted and Arthur scoffed. There was no way she had been here. Nobody knew where his grandmother was, least of all the woman he had basically just met. It just wasn’t possible.

As his grandmother put together some tea, Arthur let his eyes wander around the room. Nothing much had changed. Except for the flowers. The flowers were constantly changing depending on the season.

Then his eyes fell onto a painting that was hanging on the opposite wall. That was new. Something about it drew him in and he got up to see it better. His eyes widened as he saw the name scrawled in the corner.

I told you, Caleb muttered and Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed. How was this possible? How had Almara been here?

“I see you are still as sharp as ever. I wondered how long it would take you to notice that,” Dorothea said, putting the teacups on the side table between the two chairs. She gave him a mischievous smile.

“How do you know Almara?” Arthur asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice. He trusted his grandmother completely, but there were so many plots against him since he became alpha. Suspicion had become second nature.

“Oh, we’ve been good friends for a while now. I’m pretty sure I’ve talked to you about her. You know, the pretty painter with the bad boyfriend,” she explained and Arthur’s eyes widened. He did remember the numerous conversations that they’d had about his grandmother’s friend. She’d even said how much she thought Almara was a better match for him than Sofia.

“Why didn’t you say something when you heard the news?”

Dorothea chuckled. “I knew you’d come see me eventually. And I think I should tell you, I gave her the bracelet.”

Arthur froze, staring at his grandmother in shock. That bracelet was only supposed to be worn by the lunas of the pack. The real lunas. Even his mother hadn’t worn the bracelet because his grandmother had refused to give it to her. And now Almaa had it.

“Don’t look at me like that. I saw the mark on her neck. Maybe you don’t want to admit it to yourself, but I know you. You’re in love with her,” she said, taking a sip of tea as if she was talking about the weather. Arthur pressed his lips together.

She’s right, you know? You are in love with her, Caleb added and Arthur growled at him. He didn’t want to talk about this right now and he didn’t appreciate them ganging up on him.

“You know how I feel about Sofia. I can’t be in love with Almara,” Arthur argued. Even though he was lying to every other member of his pack, he couldn't lie to his grandmother. She knew him too well.

Dorothea narrowed her eyes at him. “You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. You’re in love with her. I knew you would fall for her. She’s a much better match for you than Sofia ever will be.”

Arthur cocked his head. There was something about the way she said it that was making hairs on his neck stand up. “What did you do?”

She gave him a secretive smile. “I don’t know what you mean. How could I have done anything?”

Arthur gritted his teeth. Despite the fact that his grandmother was on the outs with the pack, it didn’t mean she didn’t still have contacts. She was still a very respected woman and there were a lot of people who would be willing to do anything for her.

But she had also never messed with his life before. There was no reason to start thinking that she had orchestrated the whole thing. Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. He must be more tired than he thought he was.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Thank you for being supportive. I’m sure Almara appreciated the bracelet.”

Dorothea laughed. “She actually tried to say no to it. That’s how I know she’ll be a good luna. Sofia probably would have snatched it out of my hands.”

The corners of Arthur’s mouth turned up slowly. His grandmother had never been shy about her dislike for Sofia. She’d even gone so far as to suggest that the mate bond had been fabricated for political reasons. But that was impossible. She just hated Sofia that much.

“Do your grandmother a favor. Treat her right. She deserves the world after all the crap that she’s had to put up with. And I want you to be happy as well. Almara will give you everything you’ve ever wanted, if you just open your heart to her,” Dorothea said and Arthur just nodded.

He would give his grandmother what she wanted for as long as he could. But eventually his relationship with Almara would come to an end. He was fine with that. So why did his chest ache when he thought about that it?