I sighed, staying there for a few moments topose myself before I slipped into the party.

The banquet was exactly what I expected: grand and opulent, filled with finely dressed guests. The smell of decadent food made my mouth water, and waiters passed by with trays of champagne.

I reached out to take a flute of champagne without thinking, and the server pped my hand away.

“What are you doing?” he hissed. “Drinks are for guests only.”

Right. “Sorry,” I muttered. The waiter was already gone.

I stood there briefly, unsure of what to do now that I couldn’t eat, drink, or even mingle at the party. It was strange, having gone from being the Luna–the center of attention–to invisible like this.

It was oddly calming, though, knowing that there wasn’t really any pressure for me to behave a certain way. I

didn’t have to pretend tough at people’s jokes or y the perfect host or participate in games of social

maniption.

For a little while, I just wandered, listening in on conversations. No one noticed me, so I heard some juicy

gossip–whose husband was cheating on who, who was secretly pregnant (and, shocker, it wasn’t her mate’s pup), who was going to throw the best winter solstice celebration.

My ears pricked, however, when I overheard a familiar female voice whispering near the bar.

“He’ll announce it soon,” Sophia was saying. “It shoulde out any day now. Maybe even tonight.”

I froze upon hearing that. An announcement? What kind? And was she talking about Alexander? fn5bd0 ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? find?novel/fn5bd0

Curious, I moved a little closer.

“Omega,” Sophia said, holding out her ss, “refill my cup.”

I blinked, face flushing at her tone. Who the hell did she think she was, bossing me around like–oh. Right.

Despite every instinct in my body screaming at me not to, I picked up a nearby pitcher of wine and filled

Sophia’s cup. She didn’t even look at me. Just kept talking to her friend.

“I think he’ll keep the trial open to the public to boost his image,” she went on. “But really, only the best of the best will make it to the final round. And between you and me… He really ns to pick me.”

3:58 PM Thu 2 Oct

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b+35 /bBONUS

I didn’t know what Sophia was talking about, but it definitely seemed to be about Alexander. I finished filling her cup and rushed off before she could boss me around even more.

She didn’t notice me slipping away. Just like everyone else.

Eventually, I found myself standing by the windows, looking out over the estate grounds. The sun had nearly finished setting, casting the gardens in the final shades of gold and purple of the day. My favorite cherry tree sat proudly at the center. From here, I could see that the cobblestones had weeds poking up through them.

“There you are. Can you take him for a bit? I think he’s hungry and I have some matters to handle.”

I turned to see Alexander approaching with Lucien squirming in his arms, little face scrunched up in difort. The moment I took him, he calmed down. Alexander thanked me and walked away without another word, leaving me standing there alone again.

Smiling now, I looked down at my son and bounced him in my arms. “Hungry, little guy?” I cooed as I began making my way toward the exit. “It’s past your dinnertime, isn’t it-”

“E?”

I froze. My head whipped up at the sound of the familiar voice, and it was then that I saw another face I’d been dreading to see heading my way. Not forck of wanting to see him, no, but because I knew…

I knew that if we saw each other, it would make it that much harder to keep my secret.

Liam.