Chapter 74

Dana

The baby announcement and gender reveal had been nauseating. She swore that the new luna didn’t have a creative bone in her body. Under the Sea? Seriously? It was so freaking basic. There was literally nothing special about her.

What’s worse is that she had to put it all together. Dana had fought so hard not to vomit over everything. If she were luna, she would have done something unique, something that had never been done before. Not some high school prom bullshit.

And the fact that Arthur had seemed to enjoy all of it was completely unimaginable. So what if they were fated mates? He had thought Sofia was his mate but clearly she hadn’t been. How was this any different?

Dana knew she had to get rid of Almara, but she didn’t know how to at this point. Arthur had beefed up the security since the hit and run. Kaylee was always by her side. And even Roman was throwing off scary vibes at anyone who looked at her weird.

Dana could always expose Almara and let everyone know her real background. They all thought she was some hotshot artist. What would happen if they knew she was just some nobody? But then it would be her word against Arthur’s. Who would believe the beta over the alpha?

For once in her life, Dana was at a loss. And it was due to this reason that she had snuck out of the party and gone back to Arthur’s estate. There had to be something in his office that could tell her something.

Except when she got to his office, it was already preoccupied. It seems like she wasn’t the only one who had left the party early.

Roman sat perched on Arthur’s desk like he owned it. And on top of Roman…well, it wasn’t Arthur’s mother, that was for sure. Dana’s eyebrows rose. She knew that Roman and his wife weren’t fated mates, but she had thought him better than these types of frivolous affairs.

Roman eyed her with contempt, his lips pulled back in a sneer. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Dana bit back the smart alec retort on the tip of her tongue. She knew better than to mess with Roman Covington.

She bowed. “I’m so sorry, Alpha Roman. My apologies. I was just here to get something for Alpha Arthur. I’ll just tell him that I couldn’t find it.”

He stared at her for so long that Dan was beginning to wonder if he had somehow scented her lie, but then he gave her a lazy grin as he tightened his grip on the naked ass of the woman on top of him. “See that you do. Oh, and beta? If you tell anyone, just remember that there are worse things than death. And I am one of them.”Dana bowed again before leaving, leaning against the wall outside of the office in order to calm her racing heart. She wasn’t stupid. Having Roman as an enemy was literally the worst thing that could happen.

And she honestly didn’t care whether he was having an affair or not. That tidbit of information would do nothing for her. Roman was no longer alpha. He couldn’t help her achieve what she really wanted, which was Arthur. Not when he was so infatuated with Almara as well.

Dana was about to push off of the wall when the woman’s voice reached her ears. “Have you heard anything from our son lately?”

Dana froze. Their son? Roman Covington had an illegitimate son? A slow smile formed on Dana’s face. She could definitely use this to her advantage.

“Can we not talk about that right now? I thought we were having fun?” Roman groaned and did something to make the woman moan, effectively ending the conversation. No matter. Dana had everything that she needed.

If there was an illegitimate son out there, he’d be able to challenge Arthur. If he won and Arthur was no longer alpha, that would mean Almara wouldn’t have any protection left. Without the luna powers, Almara was just another weak she-wolf. Dana would have no issues in challenging her and winning. By wolf law, Arthur would be hers.

First thing she had to do was confirm there was an actual son. Knowing Roman, he would have covered his tracks fairly well. She had worked with him long before she worked for Arthur. She knew all of his usual tricks. It shouldn’t be too hard for her.

The tricky part would be not tipping Roman off. He had spies everywhere. There were plenty of wolves still loyal to him. There were plenty of wolves still afraid of him. One wrong move and she would definitely be caught.

She tiptoed away from the door as quietly as she could. She had lingered here for far too long. Roman would not be as nice the second time around. Besides, Dana had a lot of work to do if she was going to pull this off.

Almara

It didn’t escape my notice that Dana had disappeared during the party. Or that Roman was gone as well. As much as I hated to think it, I hoped it meant that Roman was taking care of her. That, maybe, he had noticed something his son had not.

Guilt washed over me. Was I really hoping for someone’s death? That wasn’t like me at all. I wasn’t sure I liked the new me that I was becoming.

You’ll need to embrace it. You’re a luna now. Not only that, but you’re a pregnant luna. And now that the entire pack knows, that means you might have to make some hard decisions. You will need to be a little ruthless, Lily said and I frowned. I hadn’t really thought of all the ramifications of becoming luna.

But it was a little late to back out of it now. I took a deep breath and put my hand on my stomach. Arthur and the baby were worth it. My future happiness was worth it. If I had to put a few threats down along the way, then so be it.

Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! And if you don’t have the heart to do it, I can take over. I can make it so you won’t remember any of it, Lily said, brushing up against me in her usual way.

I smiled at her thoughtfulness, but…The blood will still be on my hands. If I’m going to kill someone, I want to remember it. I want to have to live with it. I want to know that it was worth it.

Lily grinned, but it was more a baring of her teeth. Believe me. If it protects you and your family, it will always be worth it.

A few minutes later, Dana came in through the front door with a cat-got-the-canary grin on her face. I let myself feel disappointed for a second that she wasn’t dead, but it was immediately overshadowed by worry. Nothing good could come out of that look on Dana’s face.

Why don’t you just challenge her? You’re luna now. It’s well within your right, Lily suggested, but I shook my head. I had zero evidence against Dana. If I challenged Arthur’s beta out of nowhere, it wouldn’t look good. It might even paint me as a jealous wife. And luna’s who were jealous usually didn’t last very long. They were seen as unstable.

Then I guess you’ll just have to wait to see what she does…and pray to the Moon Goddess that you can handle it, Lily said and I sighed. She was right. If I wasn’t willing to nip it in the bud now, then I would just have to see what happens. Come what may.