The Luna he chose

Episode4

The Promise

I was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened when someone caught my wrist. "There you are." I turned to find Maya pushing through the crowd toward me. Relief flashed across her face, but it lasted less than a second before suspicion replaced it.

"What happened to you?"

I blinked. "Hello to you too."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Maya folded her arms and looked me over from head to toe. Whatever she saw clearly wasn't reassuring because her frown deepened. Then her gaze dropped. She froze. "Where's the dress?" Of course, that was the first thing she noticed. For a moment, I considered lying. Unfortunately, Maya had known me too long to be fooled by a lie, her eyes narrowed.

"Serena." I sighed, "Maya." The warning in her voice made me laugh despite myself. "Fine." She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward a quieter corner of the hall. "Start talking." I stared into my drink for a moment before speaking. The story sounded ridiculous even to my own ears, finding lyra in my room, the argument, my mother, the dress. By the time I finished, Maya looked personally offended. "Let me get this straight." She held up a finger, "You saved for months to buy a dress." I nodded, "Your sister takes it." Another nod. "Wears it to the biggest gathering of the season." "And your mother took her side?" I took a long sip of my drink. Maya stared at me, then shook her head. "No." I refuse to believe people behave like this." A laugh escaped me. "I was there. They do."

"Serena, if I speak honestly right now, I will get both of us thrown out. That only made me laugh harder. "There she is." I looked up. "What?" That laugh. Maya pointed at me. I've been looking for that laugh all evening. The smile faded slightly. Neither of us said anything for a second. Maya was smart enough to know exactly why. Finally, she bumped her shoulder lightly against mine.

"You deserved better."

The words hit harder than they should have. Before I could respond, Maya's eyes narrowed again. Immediately, I groaned. "No." Her expression turned triumphant. "There's more.” "There isn't, I replied while looking away. That was apparently all the confirmation she needed. Her eyes widened immediately, "Oh, there is definitely a story.

The look on her face said she wasn't going anywhere until she got the truth. I should have known better than to hesitate. Maya had spent years learning every expression I made, and unfortunately she was very good at using that knowledge against me.

"You're terrible at lying, Serena."

I laughed at myself. "You're annoying."

"You love me."

"Debatable."

Her grin only widened. For a moment I tried to hold out, but there was no point. Maya was relentless when she wanted answers.

"I bumped into someone,” I said. At first, she looked unimpressed, then she noticed the way I avoided her gaze. The change was immediate.

"Oh." I already hated that tone.

"That wasn't just someone."

I stared into my drink, Maya gasped. "No." I closed my eyes.

"Serena."

"Maya."

"Who was it?"

There was no escaping now.

"Alpha Ronan Blackthorne."

For a second she simply stared at me. Then she grabbed my arm so quickly I nearly spilled my drink. "You bumped into Alpha Ronan Blackthorne?" Several people turned toward us. I immediately regretted telling her. "Keep your voice down." "i am keeping my voice down." Maya looked delighted, Completely delighted,

"I leave you alone for one evening, and somehow you manage to collide with the most powerful Alpha in the territory."

"I didn’t know it was him."

"That somehow makes it better and worse at the same time."

Before I could answer, a familiar voice drifted toward us. "There you are." The amusement vanished from Maya's face, mine too. We turned together to find my mother approaching through the crowd. What caught my attention wasn't the fact that she was looking for us, it was the expression on her face.

She looked pleased, genuinely pleased, the sight alone made me suspicious.

"The evening has gone wonderfully," she announced.

Maya and I exchanged a look, none of us needed an explanation. The answer arrived a few moments later. Lyra.

She crossed the ballroom with effortless confidence, the midnight blue fabric of my dress shimmering beneath the chandeliers. My mother's smile widened the moment she saw her, there it was, the reason for her good mood.

"Well?" Eleanor asked. As soon as Lyra reached us, Lyra laughed. "You've been waiting to ask that all night, haven't you?" "Obviously, my mother replied. “

The smile on Lyra's face deepened. "It went well." That single sentence seemed to delight my mother more than it should have. "What happened?"

"We talked."

"That's all?"

"For now."

Something in her voice made Maya roll her eyes. I kept mine fixed on my drink, then lyra smoothed a hand over the dress. My dress. The movement was small, but the effect wasn’t. "He complimented it, actually." My mother's eyes lit up. "The dress?" Lyra nodded. "He said it looked beautiful." For a moment, I wished she hadn't said that. Not because of Ronan, or Lyra, but because the dress wasn’t even hers to begin with.

The gathering was beginning to wind down. Guests drifted toward the exits in small groups, exchanging final farewells while servants moved quietly through the ballroom collecting empty glasses. The music had softened, the energy of the evening settling into something calmer.

I was more than ready for it to be over, Then the atmosphere shifted, at first, it was subtle, a few conversations faltered, several heads turned toward the entrance, people began stepping aside, creating a path through the crowd without being asked. My mother's smile brightened immediately. Beside her, Lyra straightened. I followed their gaze, and there he was. Alpha Ronan Blackthorne. For a moment, the noise of the ballroom seemed to fade into the background as he moved through the crowd with the quiet confidence that came from never having to demand attention, he simply received it. My stomach tightened. Across from me, Lyra's expression softened into something almost triumphant, as though she had already decided why he was coming.

Maybe she was right, after all she had spent the evening talking with him, maybe he was coming to continue that conversation, maybe he was coming to say goodbye, maybe.

My breath caught.

A memory surfaced without warning. Golden eyes, a low laugh, and a deep voice saying, "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

My heart stumbled, surely he didn't mean that. Men like Ronan Blackthorne didn't make promises to girls like me, did they? I watched him draw closer, my pulse quickening with every step.

Was he coming to see Lyra? Or was he coming back for me?