Chapter 7
940 Words
Jack’s words nearly made me laugh, but I bit it back with effort.
Had my year of patience convinced him I was hopelessly in love? The irony stung, but I couldn’t spit that mocking truth at him—not yet. I needed to preserve the façade of our relationship, keeping Henry and Grace at ease, ensuring Owen’s safety—and mine.
I shook my head. “No, I’m here picking out a gift.”
“A gift?” Jack soothed Seraphina with a pat on her hand, then dragged me by the arm into the shadowed alley nearby. He couldn’t risk our trio being seen—not now, not before he was ready. His reputation couldn’t take the hit.
He bared his fangs at me, voice low and threatening. “Don’t try pulling anything on my birthday. And if I catch you trailing me or Seraphina again, we’re done. I thought I made that clear last time.”
His birthday—right. I’d almost forgotten it was a week away. Forcing a bitter smile, I glanced at Seraphina, playing the part he expected. “I know,” I murmured. “She’s your true love. I’m just a tool to you.”
Something in that jab struck a nerve. Maybe it was the hypocrisy—he, a man who thrived on using others, couldn’t stand hearing it laid bare. His grip tightened, wrenching my arm until a sharp cry escaped me. “Seraphina’s not someone you get to judge,” he growled. “She’s nothing like you. I see through your obsession with the Luna title—Seraphina doesn’t care about that. Try any more pointless stunts to win me back, and I’ll tell you now: it’s a waste of time.”
“No—” Pain throbbed in my arm, tears brimming in my eyes. “It’s for Owen. He’s lying in that hospital, helpless. Every year on his birthday, I put my heart into a gift for him…”
“Is that so?”
Jack’s brow furrowed, suspicion lingering as he released me. Where his hand had been, purplish bruises bloomed across my skin. His gaze flickered between my teary eyes and the marks, wavering, before he waved me off with a dismissive flick.
......
Jack let me go, but trust wasn’t in the gesture.
As my figure receded, he tracked my scent back to the jewelry shop I’d visited. With Seraphina waiting outside—lured by the promise of a surprise gift—he stepped in alone. The warmth he’d shown her vanished, replaced by the cold edge of an Alpha. His presence pressed down on the clerk, who shrank under it.
“What did the Luna pick out?” he demanded.
The clerk knew exactly who he meant—I was the pack’s would-be Luna, the last customer of the day, impossible to forget. Trembling, she retrieved the unfinished moonstone from the counter and handed it to Jack. “Layla wanted it split in two,” she explained. “One for her brother, and the other—well, she didn’t say, but it’s definitely for you, Alpha.”
Jack’s silence spurred her on. “She really thinks of you,” she rushed. “You can tell she treasures this stone. When she asked to divide it for pendants, her face was full of reluctance, but she still wanted its blessings shared with the people she holds dearest…”
Jack’s fingers grazed the moonstone, a strange feeling curling in his chest.
He’d always known he mattered to Layla, but this—ranking alongside her brother Owen? For the first time, a flicker of doubt pierced him. Was plotting her death after childbirth too far?
“What else did she say?” he pressed.
“Not much…” The clerk frowned, then brightened. “Oh! She mentioned it’s her birthday today. She said if she could wish to the Moon Goddess, it’d be for this stone to bring her loved one's protection. No wonder you’re here, Alpha—you must’ve come to give her a gift! You’re both so thoughtful.”
If I’d been there, my face would’ve twisted in a tangle of disbelief.
Those were my words, sure, scattered in casual chatter with the clerk. But strung together like this, out of order, they painted a picture I hadn’t meant. I’d only been thinking of Owen when I’d voiced that birthday hope.
Yet it struck Jack. Facing the clerk’s eager, misty-eyed stare, he tapped the counter twice. Under the shop’s glow, a pair of ruby earrings and a silver bracelet etched with vines emerged, presented with care.
The clerk gushed, “The Alpha’s so good to Layla. Two gifts—she’ll be thrilled.”
Jack didn’t reply.
At the door, he paused. Shielded by his frame, he slipped one gift into his suit’s inner pocket, then handed the bag with the remaining one to Seraphina outside.
She stood there, cupping her hands, breath fogging in the chilly night air. Her childhood heart injury had left her frail—unlike other wolves, she felt the cold deep in her bones come winter.
The shop bell chimed as Jack emerged, and her face lit up. He offered her the box. Inside gleamed the ruby earrings.
Her eyes sparkled like stars as she cooed, pressing Jack to put them on her. Obliging with his usual smile, he fastened them, but a stray thought flickered through his mind: the vine-etched bracelet might suit Layla better. The Moon Goddess must still favor him, guiding him to balance both women.
What Jack didn’t know was that the moonstone had nothing to do with him.
- Writer
