Chapter 264
Author’s pov
Georgina beamed as she led the young woman to her seat.
The whole thing felt less like a reunion and more like a setup. A carefully arranged matchmaking audition, disguised as a dinner.
Over the past week, word had spread fast through Denver’s elite werewolf circles.
Everyone had heard about the mysterious girl who helped Luna Regina escape the chaos at the masquerade.
And everyone knew what that might mean: a chance to marry into the Black family.
With two eligible sons, that was no small prize.
So when she suddenly became obsessed with “the girl in the green dress,”it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was really happening.
This wasn’t about gratitude. It was about opportunity.
And every ambitious woman knew it.
Alpha Yardley gave a subtle nod, and the butler began serving dinner.
Luna Regina, having already deduced that this wasn’t the woman she was looking for, shifted gears. She dropped the interrogation and switched to polite conversation with Georgina.
It was clear Georgina had picked up that something had changed.
The young woman, however, seemed blissfully unaware of the undercurrents at the table. Her gaze bounced between Alpha Sebastian and York like a spectator at Wimbledon, caught between two very different kinds of allure.
Alpha Sebastian stood out. He looked polished from head to toe, like every move was planned. He was the kind of man who looked like he belonged on the cover of Fortune magazine or the front row of a Milan runway.
Then there was York.
Where Alpha Sebastian exuded control and elegance, York was all disheveled magnetism.He looked bored out of his mind, like he’d rather be anywhere else. Everything about him screamed cool and untouchable. Something about the sadness in his eyes added a dangerous edge to his charm.
They couldn’t have been more different.
And the girl noticed.She glanced back and forth, clearly trying to decide which flavor of Black yogurter she preferred.
Zaria rolled her eyes at the girl’s transparency.
“Mrs. Georgina, don’t tell me this is the mysterious savior? Come on, give us a proper introduction p>
“I’m Molly,” the girl said brightly, beating Georgina to it. Her voice was warm, her tone confident. She had that sunlit, open quality that made you think she’d never had an awkward moment in her life.
Alpha Yardley and Luna Regina exchanged a look.
The girl was hard to ignore—bright, put-together, and totally at ease, even surrounded by people used to being in charge.
[Probably not a match for Sebastian,]they both thought,
[but maybe she’d be good for York.Someone like her might actually pull him out of whatever brooding hole he’d been stuck in p>
Luna Regina’s interest subtly rekindled.
So what if she wasn’t the girl? That didn’t mean she was useless.
She leaned in a little and asked Molly about her family, where she grew up, and where she went to school.
The conversation flowed without a hitch.
For a moment, it felt like the night might actually turn out fine.
Georgina, misreading the revival of interest as confirmation, beamed with pride.
“What a stroke of fate this was,” she gushed. “Yesterday you said there were no leads.
But today, I ran into Molly’s mom at the club.She said Molly twisted her knee, so I asked how.
And guess what?She was at the Dahlia masquerade that night with two friends.
It fits. Everything fits p>
She looked positively triumphant, as if she’d just solved a cold case.
What she didn’t realize was that Luna Regina had already ruled Molly out. Her polite smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I believe there’s been a misunderstanding,” Luna Regina said smoothly. “Whoever Molly encountered that night, it wasn’t me. But no matter…I’m still very pleased to meet her p>
“Oh?” Georgina’s smile froze. For a second, she looked like someone who had just realized they’d shown up at the wrong wedding.
The details had all matched. How could this be wrong?
Then she realized it.Molly’s mother had lied.It wasn’t surprising. Most of the mothers in their world did the same.Everyone wanted a seat at the Black family’s table.A clever woman would know to retreat gracefully.
“I do apologize for the mix-up,” Georgina began, backtracking with practiced poise. “I never meant to mislead p>
“It was me that night!” Molly interrupted, her voice ringing with conviction.
Luna Regina’s smile faltered. [Confidence is admirable. Delusion, less so p>
Zaria took a sip of wine, eyes glittering with amusement.
“Is that so?” she said, voice still pleasant.
“Then perhaps you wouldn’t mind sharing a few specifics. There have been several others with similar stories this week.
My mother is beginning to wonder if she imagined the whole incident p>
Georgina shifted uncomfortably in her chair, sensing the unraveling.
“If Luna Regina says it wasn’t you, then clearly there’s been some mistake,” she said quickly. “With so many people in costume that night, it’s easy to p>
“There’s no mistake,” Molly said firmly. “It was definitely me p>
Georgina fought the urge to sink under the table.This girl was going to end her social life with the Black family before it even started.
Completely oblivious to the tension rising around her, Molly launched into her version of events with unwavering enthusiasm.
“I met Luna Regina in the hallway when you were about to select a mask. I accompanied you to choose one, and then we entered the ballroom together,” she recounted with conviction.
“Since I came with friends, we separated afterward. Later, when Mrs. Dahlia asked me to assist with Madame Tarot’s fortune-telling, I wanted to leave but discovered there was no cell service and the doors were locked. Luna Regina, don’t you remember us escaping through the side entrance together p>
Luna Regina blinked. The details were strangely accurate.
The ballroom stuff wasn’t hard to find out. Most of Denver’s elite saw it firsthand, and everyone else heard about it soon after.
But the mask selection?
That took place in a private hallway, before anything happened.
You wouldn’t know that unless you were there.