One Night With My Alpha Professor

Audrey

The charity gala was underway, and everything was exactly as we planned. Round tables were covered with white and silver tablecloths, glittering candles flickered on every surface, dim lighting creating an almost hazy atmosphere.

Edwin and I sat at a table near the front of the banquet, flanked by Peter and my mother. Eliza had opted out of coming so she could care for Joseph

My friends had places at the table as well, but they were nowhere to be found–last I had heard, Tina had pulled them all away for shots at the bar, so that they could “drown out all these stuffy socialites.”

I didn’t join them. My mind was still too busy being stuck on everything that had happened today, everything that I had seen in that little boy’s memories.

To think that we were here, drinking champagne and eating cake while children–children–were locked up in a factory somewhere…

“Hey.” Edwin leaned close and gently touched my hand, a gesture that a nearby photographer made sure to capture with a flash of his camera. “You know these things take time.”

I tried not to frown, because it wasn’t becoming for the Silver Star to frown at an event like this.

“I know. It just pisses me off that people do that to each other. To kids.”

Edwin’s hand tightened around mine. Without a word, he pushed his chair back and rose, leading me away from the table- away from Peter lounging back in his chair and sipping a glass of white wine as his eyes scanned the crowd for Betty, away from my mother clapping along to the music, away from our uneaten plates of food.

“Look at all this,” Edwin said as we meandered our way through the crowd. He gestured to the finely dressed attendees, many of whom were lining up outside the donation booth with their wallets in hand and grins on their faces. “This is making a difference for those kids as we speak.”

I couldn’t help but nod, no matter how badly a part of me–the same part that had stormed into Coldclaw territory to save Peter–wanted to rush off into the sunset and take down the bad guys like I was in some kind of movie.

“You’re right,” I said with a tiny sigh. “Just… promise that tomorrow, we’ll go pay a visit to Sophia in prison?”

Edwin nodded and brushed his thumb across my cheek, eliciting another camera flash from somewhere in the crowd. “Of course, my love. You know I enjoy letting you loose on those bastards.”

A smirk crossed my lips at that. More than once, the orphanage directors who I’d interrogated had referred to me as ‘Crescent’s dog. I didn’t mind the nickname, although it was meant to cut deep.

If I was like a hound guarding my people, then I considered that a good thing.

Edwin, seemingly relieved by my smile, pressed a kiss to my forehead and pulled away. “Wait here. I’ll grab us both a drink.”

I nodded and watched him go, then turned to take everything in The dance floor was practically swarming with people, skirts glittering in the candlelight with each dip and twirl,

It was funny, being at an event like this now. The last time I’d been to a charity gala had been for someone else’s cause- some other Alpha and Luna duo raising money for a good purpose,

Sometimes, it was easy to forget that I was a Luna now, since Edwin and I spent most of our time in that little apartment and things really didn’t feel all that different.

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But I was. And it still felt a little odd, but I think I was starting to settle into the role with more grace than I thought I would. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I was even… happy to be doing something good. To be in a position in life where I could genuinely help people.

“Luna Brooks?”

I turned at the sound of a somewhat familiar voice. It took me a moment, but I quickly recognized the woman standing in front of me as the realtor from the empty storefront, although I couldn’t recall her name.

“Mary Scheiffer,” she said with a grin as if reading my mind. She held out her hand for me to shake, and I took it.

“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head slightly. “My mind has been elsewhere. How are you?”

The realtor waved her hand dismissively and beamed at me. “This is a lovely event. I just donated to your cause.”

“Oh… Thank you so much. Every donation counts.”

She nodded, then leaned a little closer. “And just so you know, since you’re doing such wonderful things for our community, the price on that storefront may just have more wiggle room than we thought. I know you were worried about the cost before, so I thought I might let you know.”

I blinked, surprised. “It’s still available?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “If I’m being honest with you, that damn fast fashion company that’s been getting bigger lately— Nightfall Threads, I think it’s called–is deterring a lot of potential buyers. But you didn’t hear that from me, the lady who’s supposed to be selling the place.”

That name, Nightfall Threads, was familiar. I remembered Avis mentioning it a couple of times over the summer; not just on the night we’d discovered that the thrift shop went out of business, but after that, too.

Avis had told me that more and more small clothing businesses in the area were going belly–up due to the company since it was so cheap. Apparently, they outsourced their production overseas, where they produced insanely crappy garments for a fraction of the price.

Edwin and I had looked into it once. But unfortunately, they weren’t technically breaking any rules, so there wasn’t much we could do other than hope the free market would recover on its own.

“I see,” I finally said. “Well, that’s disappointing.”

Mary sighed. “It certainly is. But, I doubt our illustrious Luna could ever start a business that’s doomed to fail.” Grinning, she pulled her business card out of her clutch and handed it to me. “Seriously, consider calling me. We’ll work something out if you’re still interested.”

I took her card and thanked her, but really, I had no intention of calling her. Whatever the price was, I knew there was still no way I could afford it. And besides, I had way too much going on right now to think about starting my own business, especially not in the middle of a minor market crisis.

A few moments after Mary walked away, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, expecting to see Edwin standing behind me with two glasses of wine, but instead I came face–to–face with a woman with red hair and freckles dotted across her nose.

Once again, I vaguely recognized this one. But I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen her before, and she didn’t introduce herself.

“Did I just hear that right?” the woman asked, nodding toward Mary. “You’re worried about the price of a building?”

“Oh, um…” I glanced at the card in my hand and shrugged. “Yeah, it’s just out of my price range. You know how it goes.”

The redhead cocked her head and pursed her lips. “I’m afraid I don’t. Maybe you’re shy because you’re new to being a Luna, but you should just ask your Alpha to buy it for you.”

“Should I?” I asked incredulously, leaning back a little. “And who are you, may I ask?”

Q

“Luna Steele,” she said, her gaze flicking up and down my emerald green gown. “Wife to the Alpha of Evergreen pack.”

Evergreen–one of the northern packs. I’d never been there myself. But she did look familiar…

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“Anyway,” she continued before I could put my finger on it, “why don’t you ask Alpha Edwin to buy you that place? Crescent isn’t struggling financially, is it?”

I didn’t know what to say for a moment, too stunned by her blatant interrogating to speak. Finally I managed, “We’re doing fine with money. I’m just trying to make my own way. If I start a business, I don’t want it to be because my husband made it happen for me. I want to purchase it on my own.”

The Luna scoffed. “You sure are a little saint, aren’t you?”

My mouth dropped at the mocking sarcasm in her tone. And then it hit me.

“Wait,” I said, narrowing my eyes, “I know you. You’re the woman who was calling me Edwin’s human plaything at my mother’s birthday party last year.”

The Luna’s eyes widened, her face immediately going pale. I remembered that night all too well–overhearing that awful conversation, the horrible things this woman and her friends said about me.

I also remembered how she and her friends had run off as soon as my eyes had glowed silver, which I could feel them doing right now.

“–” she stammered out. “You–You must have me mistaken-”

“No, it was you,” I said, placing my hands on my hips. “Very ostentatious of you, to come to someone else’s event and try to bully them. What do you even hope to gain from that, anyway? Does it just give you some kind of sick joy to insult another woman?”

“I–I didn’t-

“I know what your deal is. You’re jealous–jealous that I’ve got the guts to try and get things done myself once in a while. You think you can walk in here and knock me around a little to make yourself feel better, but that’s not happening. So I think you should leave.”

My words seemed to hit her like a blow to the chest. By now, bystanders were watching the exchange curiously, whispering and smirking amongst themselves. The Luna, for her part, looked like she was about to be sick.

I watched, satisfied, as she turned tail and disappeared into the crowd.

Maybe once, I would have let a woman like that walk all over me–try to knock me down a peg the first chance she got.

But I wasn’t the little girl anymore who let Linda O’Malley bully her into submission. And I wasn’t about to set a precedent in which women could be catty toward me at my own events.

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand on my arm and looked up to see Edwin standing over me, a bemused expression on his face. He handed me a glass of red wine and jerked his chin toward the Luna, who had likely just run off to cry to her husband.

“What was all that about?” he asked.

I shook my head and sipped my wine, suddenly feg as if a little bit of energy had returned to me.

“Nothing” I replied. “It really was nothing at all.”