Chapter 298
Chapter 298
FAYE
+25 Points
I found Cole by the car just as he was finishing up, the hood still lifted, steam curling faintly as the engine warmed. He had one hand braced against the frame, the other adjusting something I didn’t pretend to understand.
He looked comfortable there, in that quiet, capable way he always carried–like the world made sense when things were mechanical and predictable.
“Morning,” I said, my voice cutting gently through the low sound.
He glanced up and smiled. “Morning, Luna.”
I acknowledged it with a nod and stepped closer, folding my arms loosely as I watched him work.
“You’re heading out?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“Yeah. Alpha Alexander wanted the car ready early. The meeting’s a bit outside town.”
Of course it was. Lately, everything important seemed to happen just far enough away to require preparation.
I hesitated for half a breath, then said, “Cole… I wanted to ask you something.”
He straightened slightly, his attention shifting fully to me now. “Sure.”
“Could you invite Anna over for dinner tonight?”
His eyebrows lifted a fraction. Not surprise exactly–more curiosity. “Dinner?”
“Yes. Tonight.” I paused, then added, “I’d like to officially meet her. Properly.”
He closed the hood and wiped his hands on a cloth, studying me in that quiet, observant way that made it very hard to lie convincingly. “You’ve already met her.”
“I have,” I said easily. “At the library. But that wasn’t… this.” I gestured vaguely, meaning the house, the pack, the weight of intention that came with an invitation like that. “Alexander hasn’t met her yet. And Anna matters to you. That makes her family, whether she’s from our pack or not.”
That part was true. Entirely true. And it mattered that it be said out loud.
Cole smiled at that, soft and genuine. “She’ll like hearing that.”
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“I hope so.”
+25 Points
He was still watching me, though–something thoughtful settling behind his eyes. He knew me too well to miss the pause, the way my fingers flexed once against my arm as if I were steadying myself.
“Is that all?” he asked mildly,
I exhaled through my nose, half a laugh that didn’t quite form. “You’re not going to let it be just that, are you?”
“Probably not,” he admitted.
There it was. The unspoken understanding between us.
I leaned back against the edge of the car, considering how much to say. The truth, as always, was complicated. Not dangerous, not yet–but sharp around the edges if handled carelessly.
“There is another reason,” I said finally.
Cole waited.
“It’s… connected to something I’m trying to understand,” I continued. “And Anna might be able to help. Or at least point me in the right direction.”
His expression shifted subtly now. Alert. “Something pack–related?”
“Yes. And no.” I gave a small, wry smile. “It’s complicated.”
“That usually means it is. Is this about the boy? Roman?” he asked.
I paused.
“You know his name.”
“Well, you’re not the only one interested in his case, Luna. The entire pack is,” Cole said.
I met his gaze. “I don’t want to involve Helen.”
That got a reaction. Just a stillness, like a door quietly closing in his mind.
Cole nodded slowly. “I figured.”
“I know she has the knowledge,” I went on. “More than anyone else I know. But I don’t know how much I trust her right now. And if Alexander finds out I went to her behind his back-”
“He’d lose his mind,” Cole finished.
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“Exactly.”
+25 Points
I pushed off the car, pacing my words carefully even as my thoughts pressed in. “This isn’t something I can afford to mishandle. And until I know more, I’d rather not pull in someone who could… complicate things.”
Cole was quiet for a moment, then said, “So you’re hoping Anna’s books might have something.”
“Yes. Or that she’s come across something similar. Or that she knows where to look.” I shrugged lightly, not wanting to make it sound like desperation, even though it felt uncomfortably close to that. “She has access to texts most of us don’t. And I think she’s observant. Thoughtful.”
“And discreet,” Cole added.
I smiled faintly. “That too.”
He studied me for another second, then nodded once. “I’ll ask her. She’ll come.”
“Thank you.”
“She was going to be part of the family either way,” he said, echoing my earlier words back to
but with his own quiet conviction layered into them. “This just makes it official.”
me,
Then footsteps approached.
“What are you two talking about?” Alexander asked.
His voice cut in smoothly, curious, with a glint in his eyes as he looked between us, already cataloguing expressions, tone, posture.
I turned to face him just as he came to a stop beside the car, his coat already on, keys in hand, gaze flicking briefly to the engine before returning to us.
ALEXANDER
She turned to me easily, like she’d been expecting the question.
“I was just asking Cole to invite Anna over for dinner tonight.”
I glanced at Cole, who gave a small nod in confirmation, then back at Faye.
Cole had been seeing Anna for a while now, according to him; it made sense that Faye would want to formally welcome her into the house. Into the pack. I had no objection to that.
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“Alright,” I said, and meant it. “It’s probably time I meet this Anna properly.”
I smiled as I said it.
But my eyes stayed on Faye a moment longer.
$25 Points
There was something measured about her–calm in a way that didn’t match the timing. Today, of all days, I’d expected her to be restless. The boy was being discharged from the clinic before nightfall, and so far she had nothing concrete to place in my hands. No proof. No undeniable sign that he was a wolf. By tomorrow, he would have to leave.
I’d assumed she’d try to bargain for more time. Push and argue. Faye never let go of a lead she believed in without a fight.
Yet here she was, composed, focused on dinner plans, as though everything was already accounted for.
It made me curious.
It told me she was working through something in her own way.
So I didn’t ask.
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