Chapter 91: Becoming

SELENE’S POV

The first thing I did when I woke up that morning was go look at myself in the mirror.

I needed to see what I was becoming.

The truth was ... I hadn’t become it yet. The woman staring back at me was there but not fully there. A ghost standing in the body of someone who hadn’t arrived yet. I wanted to be that lady wolf they all respected. Not the one that had been trampled underfoot like she was nothing.

That was exactly why I put a price on my services. Not because I needed the money ... part of me had even wanted to reject it. But I made myself take it anyway. Because that woman in the mirror deserved to be paid.

Now I had another job. One that wasn’t a hundred percent built on love or loyalty for the wolf I used to love. But I was making myself believe that. Day by day.

Aiden’s message was waiting for me when I checked my phone that morning. He wanted us to have dinner at a restaurant up the hill by seven. He’d dropped the full address and everything. I found that surprisingly sweet ... the fact that he’d sent it early enough, with all the details accounted for. It meant he was organized. Accountable. The kind of man you could actually talk to without second-guessing every word.

But I had a job to do first, so I pushed the dinner to the back of my mind.

I got myself together and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Not to cook ... that wasn’t what I was there for.

"Hey chef," I said, stepping in and handing over a folded sheet of paper. "This is the food menu I prepared for this week."

I’d drafted it first thing that morning.

I planned to rotate the menu weekly. This one was built around the nutrients the body needed given the current weather ... but I’d also factored in Lucian’s system specifically. Even though admitting that stung somewhere I didn’t want to name, I couldn’t just ignore it. He had a body that reacted badly to certain foods. So I’d removed the ones that would set it off.

I was mid-discussion with the chef when Tessa walked into the kitchen.

I turned. Took her in. Kept my face still.

"Hello, Luna," I said.

The rest of the staff bowed and squatted around me.

"What’s going on here?" she asked, looking around like she hadn’t already been told exactly why I was in this house.

Fuck. She knew why I was here. She just wanted to open her mouth and make a show of it.

"We’re going over the food menu," the chef said.

"So what are we having today?"

"Cornmeal with hot herbal tea ... suits the weather," the chef replied.

Tessa nodded slowly, like she was doing us a favor by listening.

Then she looked at me.

"Selene, please be careful with the food menu going forward," she said. "We’ll be having an additional family member soon."

I held her gaze.

Additional family member. I decoded that in under a second. She was pregnant.

Why the hell are you telling me? Oh goddess.

"Al ... alright," I managed. The stutter slipped out before I could stop it.

She turned and walked out. That was the only reason she’d come in. Just to make sure I knew. Just to make sure it landed.

Of course you’re pregnant. You’re married to the Alpha and the Alpha is a fucker. Once upon a time he was fucking half the territory, so it was only a matter of time.

I tried to shake it off. I really did. But it clung to me as I climbed back upstairs ... the image of Lucian and Tessa’s bond sealed into something permanent now. A child meant there was no tearing that apart. No matter what happened. No matter what anyone felt.

I went back to my room, put on light makeup, changed into another dress, and grabbed my bag ... my dinner wear was tucked inside. I was planning to go straight from the library to the restaurant. Private plans stayed private.

I stepped out into the corridor and nearly walked straight into Lucian.

We were coming from opposite ends, closing in on each other. I didn’t want to talk to him. But he was still my Alpha. Ignoring him wasn’t an option.

"Good morning, Alpha," I said, keeping my eyes off his face.

"Selene ... are you headed to the library?" He’d noticed the bag.

"Yes. Any issues?"

"No," he said. "I just wanted you to know my drivers can drop you off whenever you need."

"I don’t need your driver. Thank you," I said, already moving past him.

I didn’t look back. I just kept walking before Tessa could appear from somewhere and find me standing too close to her husband.

I took public transport to the library.

The moment I saw Ms. Ashlyn, some of the tension in my chest loosened.

"How’s the work going at the Alpha’s estate?" she asked.

"It’s going," I said. "I just have to endure a lot of things to be able to do my job properly."

She didn’t push for names. She wouldn’t have understood anyway. But I meant Tessa. Even though she carried the title of Luna, she was not my Luna ... and bearing her presence every day required a level of patience I hadn’t known I had.

"Of course you’ll have to bear people, Selene," Ms. Ashlyn said with that calm certainty she always had. "But I trust you’ll do a good job."

"Thank you," I said, and meant it more than she probably knew.

"I’m going on a dinner date this evening," I added, almost shyly.

Her whole face lit up like I’d just told her she was the one going.

"With Aiden? Oh, Selene, that’s wonderful!"

I nodded, smiling before I could stop myself.

She insisted on helping me get ready. Turned out Ms. Ashlyn had real skill with hair ... she braided the left side and let the rest fall loose, then pinned small jeweled flowers along the braid. It looked delicate and effortless in the best way.

I made sure to pre-book a cab.

I slipped into the dress I’d brought, and Ms. Ashlyn stepped back and just looked at me with this slow, satisfied smile.

"You are stunning," she said simply.

I was almost out the door when she grabbed my arm.

"Selene ... don’t go having sex too quickly."

"Yuck!" I turned around. "I didn’t even think about that!"

She laughed. So did I.

---

The restaurant was already warm and glowing when I arrived. Aiden was seated at the table, waiting.

"I thought you said seven," I said.

"I did," he replied, standing as I approached. "But I always arrive before the time I set. For you."

He pulled out my chair before I could reach for it.

Everything this man had done from the very first day had been a quiet, consistent proof that he was different. And not once had he let me down.

The menus came. He waited for me to order first without being asked. I chose, then he chose.

"I’m really glad you made it tonight," he said, settling his glass down.

We ate, and somewhere in the rhythm of conversation he asked, "Do you have any family?"

"A sister and my parents," I answered. "But they’re not here."

"What about you?"

"Mom and dad. Two younger brothers. I’m the eldest," he said.

Something quiet clicked in my chest. He was like me in that way. Maybe that was why the chemistry had come so naturally from the start.

"You still look beautiful without your glasses," he said, his lips curving. "I was teasing you that night, by the way."

I let out a small laugh. "I know."

"I’m really glad I got to meet someone like you," he said.

I smiled and glanced away for a second. "I don’t get told that often."

"Really?" He sounded genuinely surprised.

I studied him for a moment. He was talking like he had no idea who I was. Like my history in Winterwood meant nothing to him ... or worse, like he didn’t know it at all.

"You don’t know who I am?" I asked.

He met my eyes without flinching.

"I do," he said. "But I choose not to lead with that. You are my focus."