Moonlight Run

Ten

Thursday morning came around, and I was stressed, knowing what the day would bring. Victoria Kane’s promise on Sunday that Dimitri would be proposing to Phoebe today weighed heavily on my mind, but I tried my best to conceal it. 

Pipa and I had just finished our usual stop over at the Planet Fitness out in town. Today, we settled on a coffee shop after our workout instead of the mall. 

I was lost in thought, sipping my cold brew when Pipa spoke. “Do you know when it’s going to happen?”

I shrugged. “Nope. Honestly, I half expected to see him on one knee right here since this is where he met her…” I cringed, remembering the day Dimitri went on a run to grab us coffee and was lost to me forever. 

“Oh, shìt, Isa.” She frowned. “I didn’t think about that. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have suggested—“

“Pipa, it’s fine. It’s happening.” I sighed. “It’s been coming for a whole year now. At least we won’t have to endure that shìtshow of an engagement party for another month, with Nikolai’s ascension this weekend instead.”

“Talk about a shìtshow,” she laughed as her phone vibrated. I watched as she flipped it over on the cafe table and swiped to open her messages. Her face quickly grew into an expression of concern. 

“What is it?” I asked. 

“Holy fūck,” her hands were shaking as she held the phone, typing back. “Dahlia said she tried calling you.”

“What? Why?” I slipped my phone out of my back pocket, seeing two missed calls and texts from Dahlia waiting for me. 

Before I could even get the messages open Pipa blurted out, “Lily Rhodes… the council decided that she’s going to be the first to do a Moonlight Run… They’re doing it tomorrow night.” 

***

Pipa marched down the annex halls with determination, as I pleaded behind her to stop. 

“Give it a rest, Isa!” She elbowed me off as I tried to grab her arm. 

“Pipa! You’re already on his radar. You can’t—“

She wheeled around on her heels to me. “No! They can’t do this! None of this was Lily’s fault. She did everything by the book— visited all of the other packs, went to the fancy parties, even let the damn council play matchmaker for her. And for what?”

“Pipa,” I sighed. “I’m not arguing that, but—“

“No, Isa, you don’t argue at all. You didn’t argue when your boyfriend dips out to be with another girl. You didn’t argue when your mom married a man who has everything to do with the death of your father and your brother— Hell, he’s my dad and even I know that’s fūcked.”

I was wounded. “Pipa…”

“And now our friend is being fed to the wolves, literally. And you don’t want to argue?” She shook her head in frustration and turned back around, heading towards Alpha Blackburn’s office. 

I debated letting her go alone. But then I glimpsed through the open door, and saw Dahlia and Lily seated together in front of Alpha Blackburn’s desk. Dahlia was looking over her shoulder and locked eyes with me, pleading. So I followed Pipa into the office.

“Don’t say another word, Lily.” Pipa warned as she entered before me. 

“Miss Fournier,” Phineas Blackburn’s hardened gaze fell on my friend as he straightened up at his desk. He opened his mouth to speak, when he looked past her, to me and said quietly but severely. “Miss Petrova, is there a problem?”

“She has been put through hell!” Pipa spat. “Her mate was only just executed a week ago. You can’t show her an ounce of understanding, given the circumstances?”

“No one asked you to be here, Pipa.” Lily said quietly. 

Pipa froze, and looked down at the girl who sat in the arm chair to our right. While Dahlia generally had a more casual look of t-shirt and jeans with a ponytail, Lily was always in peak feminine form— long hair styled, flowing down her back, often with a dress and a pair of heels. But today the two were barely discernible from one another. Lily disappeared into a large grey hoodie that almost swallowed her whole. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and she was curled into a ball in the chair, her long hair covering her face. 

I couldn’t begin to imagine how she felt after the last week’s events. 

“This was my choice.” Lily added.

Dahlia put her hand over her sister’s and squeezed hard. “But you don’t have to make it, not yet.”

Lily placed her other hand over top of Dahlia’s and exhaled. She looked to Alpha Phineas and spoke, “Sir, can I have a minute to speak with my friends?”

Alpha Blackburn nodded solemnly, “I’ll leave you to it, Miss Rhodes,” and he came around the desk and stepped out behind me through the door. 

Before Lily had a chance to speak Pipa took the opportunity. “Lily, you still have time to—”

“To do what Pipa? To find a mate? Because he’s dead. I didn’t reject him when I first found him months ago, like I should have. And now he’s dead because of me.”

“Lil…” Dahlia’s voice was strained. “That’s not your fault.”

“Well, don’t you dare say it’s yours.” Lily snapped, tears threatening to spill over in her eyes. “I should have never gone to him… I just didn’t know where else to go… after…” She sighed, letting her knees fall to the floor from her chest. “Look, the council has been more than kind to me… Merciful, really. When they killed Colin… I thought for sure—”

“Colin?” I asked.

Lily wore a pained expression. “That was his name. Colin…”

She fell silent for a moment, swallowing hard as she forced the memory of her true mate from her mind, before she continued. “I thought the pack would’ve had me killed, too. I would’ve deserved it, you know… I was going to run off and go rogue with him… I know what the punishment is for that.”

Pipa spoke. “They spared you so they could make a martyr of you, Lily. This is all so they can use you to their benefit, if this goes the way they think it will then you’ll be their little success story so they can keep putting other she-wolves through this.”

Lily sighed. “Pipa… my mate is gone. What other options are there for women like me?”

“Maybe your second-chance mate is out there?” I said quietly with a shrug.

Lily audibly snorted. “Fairytales…” She shook her head in frustration, playing with the strings of her hooded sweater absentmindedly. “I know you won’t see it that way, and I probably wouldn’t either if I were on the other side of this, but for me? This is the second chance.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room and a minute or two passed before she spoke again. “I have been in pain everyday since he’s died… By Saturday morning, it’ll be forgotten. I’ll be bound to another, and this will be a bad dream.” She looked to Dahlia in desperation, and took her sister’s hand in her own. “Don’t you want that for me?”

Dahlia looked to me and then Pipa with the saddest eyes before turning them back to her sister. “Of course I do, Lily.”

Lily nodded to me and nodded to Pipa, “Please,” she said barely above a whisper. “I know you think you’re looking out for me, but I promise you that this is the best thing for me.”

I let go of a breath I didn’t even know I was holding and I nodded. “Look… I get it.” I looked over at Pipa, and I could see she was overcome with emotion for our friend and was still processing. I spoke for her, “Pipa does, too.”

I walked across to the chair where she sat, and crouched down to place my arms around her. A few moments later I felt Dahlia join us. It would be a minute more before Pipa let out a loud sigh and then her arms surrounded us, too. 

***

Shortly after leaving Alpha Blackburn’s office, while we were weaving through the annex halls on our way back to the main compound, we turned a corner and Pipa found herself bumping squarely into the Alpha himself.

“Alpha,” she gave a curt nod.

“Miss Fournier…” A smile formed in the corner of his lips. “You know, before you head out I think we’re overdue for a conversation. Could you join me upstairs in the parlor?”

I tried to disguise my surprise. I knew a confrontation was coming between the two of them sooner or later, but hearing the Alpha request her presence in his otherwise private living quarters, rather than his office, took me back.

I saw her stiffen at his command. She hesitated as she replied, “Y-yes, sir.”

He looked over Pipa’s shoulder at me. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, Miss Petrova,”

And he turned around abruptly, beckoning Pipa to follow behind him. She briefly glanced at me over her shoulder with wide eyes. I lifted my phone and mouthed ‘text me’ to her as she disappeared up the center stairwell with the Alpha.

I stood in the common area, near the bottom of the stairs, wondering to myself how I might spend my time. It had been more than ten minutes now since Pipa had disappeared with Alpha Phineas, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I should stick around and wait.

I was slipping my phone into my back pocket just as I heard footsteps coming from above me, and I looked up expecting to see the Alpha or Pipa. But my heart dropped when I met eyes with another instead.

“Isa,” he winced.

“Dimitri,” I breathed.

“I didn’t think I’d see you around today.”

“Well where else would I be? I live here.” I motioned to the upstairs floor he had just descended from. “I should ask what you’re doing here, since last I checked you don’t.”

“I uh…” He clicked his tongue nervously. I hated that he did it when we were together, now it was even more infuriating. “I came to grab this,” he held up a small navy blue box and I felt I could swallow myself whole. “My mom was holding onto it for me.”

My tongue found its way into the corner of my mouth and I bit down hard. Without any kind words to offer him I just nodded, and began to ascend the stairs, hoping to just navigate past him and to my bedroom.

“Look, Isa—” He extended his arm towards me as I tried to maneuver past him.

“Dimitri, please… don’t.” I said with exasperation.

He cringed, and for the first time he looked hurt. “You know this isn’t anyone’s fault right… Not yours, for sure… but it’s not mine either. Or Phoebe’s, for that matter.”

I knew if I tried to reply with words I would only cry, so I gripped hard on the banister and nodded with an, “Mmmhmm.”

He drew in closer to me. “And you know, if you were just even a year older, dammit…” He lingered off.

I lifted my head to meet his gaze. “What?”

“Isa,” he exhaled. “If you would’ve come of age… gone into heat… you know that it would’ve been you. True mates be damned… If I could’ve cemented myself to you, I swear I would have.”

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek, processing what he said. But I barely had the time to when I heard the audible gasp and our mutual attention was drawn to the entryway below.

Phoebe and Bianca stood agape, tears welling up in Phoebe’s eyes. Bianca muttered something incoherent under her breath and began to lead her friend away.

Dimitri turned his attention briefly back to me, wearing an angry expression unlike any other I’d seen on him. “You couldn’t have just stayed away?” 

My face drew to shock and I began to protest, but he quickly turned and chased after Phoebe as I stood, red faced and bewildered by what had just transpired.

I pulled my phone back out of my pocket after a minute and began to text Pipa.

“You wouldn’t believe what just happened,” I sent to her.

Her reply came shortly after, as I approached my bedroom in the Beta wing.

“I think I might have you beat.”

***

Nikolai’s POV

Dimitri paced back and forth in my home-office, explaining to me how he believed Isadora had just detoured his plan to propose to Phoebe just a short while earlier this evening.

“She could’ve had the consideration to at least make herself scarce today. She knew I would be proposing… My mother made sure she was at brunch on Sunday so she would know firsthand that Isadora had been given time to prepare for it.”

“The pack manor is her home, Dimitri.” For now, I thought, remembering that my father had every intention of moving her into the other half of my duplex here in town.

Dimitri scoffed. “Well, where else would one expect me to propose? Everything happens at the packhouse.”

“I can think of at least half a dozen spots around the village that are more romantic, not to mention more original, than the manor gardens.”

“Where to do it is the least of my issues now, Niko.” Dimitri groaned into his hands as he repeatedly slapped them to his cheeks. “Phoebe said not to ‘bother’ coming home tonight.”

“Isn’t your name on that mortgage?” I laughed. “And what, you want to spend the night here?” When he raised a brow at me I continued to say, “The Alpha wing has at least four empty bedrooms. Or there’s the bunk room. Go make yourself cozy at the manor.”

“And run into Isa again? Oh, that sounds like a fine idea.” Dimitri sneered.

I slipped my hands into my pockets and shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, D. I don’t even have a couch for you to crash on here.” 

I motioned through the doorway of my office into the soon-to-be living area of the home, where only a few industrial work lamps illuminated the space. Currently, I was pulling plaster off of an old fireplace and chimney that had been long since covered up, working to expose the original brick work. The room was a mess of dust and debris and the only furniture of sorts was a piece of plywood I had laid across a pair of sawhorses, where my wrappers and empty cups from yesterday’s trip to my favorite golden arches of the fast food variety sat.

He grunted. “Well, what about the space next door?”

“Ha,” I nervously scratched the back of my nape. “Yeah, well, I have a tenant going in there in the next month so I’ve got contractors lined up to get started on that half on Monday.”

“You have a tenant for the place already? I would have thought you’d get this place finished first. Why the contractors? I thought the whole point of this project was to prove to you could do all this handyman work yourself.”

“The ‘whole point’ is to have a place of my own, that I know I worked hard on— and the bonus space is a great way to make income that isn’t streamlined from my father’s pocketbook. Some of us aren’t content living that way.”

Dimitri and his mother were still living off of his late father’s money. When I make him Beta, he would be on the pack payroll. And that was fortunate, because daddy’s money wasn’t going to last forever.

I could tell my friend didn’t appreciate the dig I’d made. And I briefly felt guilty that I didn’t have even a couch to offer him. But the only two rooms in my half of the house that I’d bothered to finish yet were my master suite and this office. The unfinished rooms had yet to be furnished, and now that I had to turn my attention to fixing up the other half of the home quickly, it was likely to take even longer.

“Hey,” I said with an idea. “Why don’t you stay here? Take my bed for the night— hell, take it for the whole weekend if you have to —and I’ll go sleep in the Alpha quarters, okay?”

He eyed me skeptically. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I still have a few things in my old bedroom I’ve been putting off grabbing anyways.”

“I appreciate it, Niko. Really,” He looked relieved.

“Just do me a favor or two, please, Dimitri…” I groaned.

“Yeah?”

“Keep clear of Isadora. I know you blame her, but you rub your relationship with Phoebe in her face at every turn, and then do fūck-all backward things, like corner her at training. Enough is enough."