Chapter 80
ELODIE’S POV~
Elodie was mid-sentence, saying something about encryption layers, her finger tracing the screen of the tablet, when she paused.
Just for a second. Half a second, maybe.
Simon noticed. “You okay p>
“Yeah, I just—” Elodie shook her head, refocusing on the screen. “Sorry. The biometric integration works in three phases p>
But something had shifted. Some instinct, some awareness.
Across the hall, Levi’s elbow connected with Dante’s ribs.
“Ow—what p>
“Over there.” Levi nodded toward the far corner, where a small group huddled around exhibition displays. “Your wife’s here too p>
Dante’s head turned. Followed the direction Levi indicated.
There. There stood… Elodie. A Tablet in hand, explaining something with those animated gestures she did when she got absorbed in tech. Two investors from the European delegations leaned in, listening. Simon stood beside her, arms crossed, looking pleased.
“Mmh,” Dante said.
Nothing else. Just that.
Levi waited, but when no other response came, he looked between Dante and Elodie again. “Who are those people she’s with? Is she—” He squinted. “Is she explaining the core technology? Damn. Your wife’s impressive p>
Dante didn’t answer.
His eyes stayed fixed on that corner. On the way Elodie tilted the tablet, pointing to something on screen. The way her mouth moved, forming words he couldn’t hear from this distance. The older wolf from the German packs nodded, and asked something. Elodie’s hands moved again, shaping invisible concepts in the air.
She looked… competent. So Professional.
Completely in her element.
Then she looked up.
Her gaze swept the room, casually, just checking the space and then landed on him.
That moment seemed even stretched.
Elodie’s expression didn’t change. Didn’t even flicker. Just that same calm, neutral look she might give anyone. Might give Any stranger. A look she could give to any face in a crowd.
Recognition was sure in her eyes. She wasn’t even surprised. She knew he was there.
But nothing else. Nothing underneath her gaze.
Dante’s mouth did something. A twitch. Maybe a smile, maybe not. Even he wasn’t sure what his face was doing.
Was he smiling at her?
Elodie’s brow furrowed. Just slightly. Like she was trying to figure out what that expression meant, if it meant anything at all.
Then she looked away. Focusing her gaze back to the tablet. Back to Simon. Back to the investors who were actually interested in what she had to say. Just like that.
“What’s so funny?” Levi was staring at Dante now.
“Nothing.” Dante’s voice came out lighter than it should have.
Levi’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t push. Instead, he looked back across the room, watching as Elodie gestured toward another display, the investors following her lead.
Something shifted in Levi’s expression. Understanding, maybe. Or maybe calculation.
“She’s good at this,” he said quietly. More to himself than to Dante. “Keeping distance. Not making it obvious p>
Across the hall, Elodie laughed at something Simon said. A Polite and professional laughter.
“She knows you don’t want the marriage public,” Levi continued, still watching her. “So she’s being… what’s the word? Considerate. Yeah. Considerate about it p>
Dante said nothing.
“Whether it’s at events like this or that banquet last month, she never approaches you. Never tries to—” Levi shrugged. “It’s smart. Respectful, even p>
The word ‘respectful’ just hung there.
Elodie had moved to another exhibit now, with different investors, and different explanations. Her hand came up, tucking hair behind her ear. The gesture was so familiar it hurt to look at.
But her face… her face was calm, focused and fine.
Completely fine.
“Dante p>
Sienna’s voice cut through whatever thought was forming in their heads.
She appeared at his other side. Her hand found his arm, fingers wrapping around his elbow like they belonged there.
“What are you two talking about?” Her eyes moved between them, curiously.
“Nothing,” Levi said smoothly, his smile already in place. His Professional mask sliding on just like they always did, like a second skin. “Finished with your discussions p>
Before Sienna could answer, someone approached with Professor Liam in tow.
“This is Professor Liam, the algorithm genius I mentioned.” The man gestured between them. “Miss Brown p>
Sienna’s smile was polite. Practiced. The kind she’d perfected at a hundred different networking events.
Professor Liam looked… ordinary. Unremarkable, really. The kind of face that blended into crowds. Wire-rimmed glasses, slightly rumpled shirt despite the formal setting. He offered his hand.
“Hello, Miss Brown p>
“Hello.” Sienna’s handshake was immediate as she shook him firmly.
She didn’t recognize him.
Why would she? He’d been at that banquet weeks ago, the one where she’d tracked down Johnny, where things had gotten… tense. But Professor Liam had been deep in conversation with someone else that night, oblivious to the small drama unfolding across the room. Just like another face among dozens.
And Sienna hadn’t come to that banquet to meet tech people anyway.
Professor Liam, for his part, didn’t bring up that night. Didn’t mention seeing her there, didn’t reference anything that might make this awkward. Just smiled, and adjusted his glasses, and waited.
The Brown family’s tech division needed talent. Desperately. And Professor Liam’s background, his algorithms, encryption, the kind of specialized knowledge that couldn’t be bought, made him valuable.
Very, very valuable.
Logan stepped forward, his hand extended. “Professor. Good to finally meet you properly p>
“Likewise p>
The pleasantries began to flow.
Within minutes, Sienna and Professor Liam had drifted into conversation. Things about Technical stuff, data structures, algorithmic efficiency, the exhibits surrounding them providing endless fodder for discussion. Professor Liam’s whole demeanor changed when he talked about his work. Turned awkward and More alive.
Sienna nodded at the appropriate moments, asked the right questions, played the role she’d been groomed for since childhood.
But Logan and Lauren, standing slightly to the side, understood maybe one word in five. Their eyes glazed over when Professor Liam started explaining neural network architectures.
Their purpose here wasn’t the tech anyway.
It was the connections. The visibility. The chance to be seen with the right people.
And, if they were being honest, it was to watch.
Logan’s gaze kept drifting across the exhibition hall. Toward where Dante stood with Levi. Toward where Elodie had been earlier, though she’d moved now, and shifted to a different cluster of investors.
“Do you think he’s noticed her?” Lauren murmured, low enough that only Logan could hear.
“Oh, he’s noticed p>
“But he hasn’t p>
“No.” Logan’s mouth curved. Not quite a smile. “He hasn’t done anything. Hasn’t approached her. Hasn’t even looked at her twice p>
It was fascinating, really.
There were rumors, of course. There were always rumors about the Bellini Pack’s alpha and his… wife. That word always came with a pause, like people weren’t quite sure it applied.
The stories varied depending on who was telling them. Some said Elodie had trapped him. Used underhanded tactics, maybe even manipulation of the mate bond itself, to force a marriage he’d never wanted. That she’d gotten pregnant deliberately, and left him no choice but to marry her.
Others said Dante had married her in a moment of weakness and regretted it ever since.
Either way, the conclusion was the same: Dante felt nothing for her. Only Disdain, maybe. Or obligation if they were to say.
He barely went home. Everyone knew that. He kept her tucked away, never brought her to pack events, never acknowledged her publicly.
And now, watching him stand there with Sienna’s hand on his arm, watching him not even glance in Elodie’s direction p>
Yeah. The rumors seemed pretty accurate.
“He looks right through her,” Lauren said in a whisper. “Like she’s not even there p>
“Maybe to him, she isn’t p>
Across the hall, Elodie was laughing at something Simon said. The sound didn’t carry, but her expression was clear enough. It was just light and Unbothered.
If she cared that her husband was standing fifty feet away with another woman attached to his side, she didn’t show it.
The exhibition was winding down. Staff members began moving through the crowd, quietly notifying key personnel about the conference hall. The summary meeting. The networking opportunity everyone had actually come for.
Johnny appeared at Elodie’s side, and said something to her. She nodded, and collected her tablet.
They walked toward the conference hall entrance together.
Johnny was first, Elodie half a step behind. They were at a professional distance, but there was an ease between them.
Logan noticed. Of course he noticed.
“Does Johnny really value her that much?” He directed the question at Sienna, though his eyes stayed on Elodie’s retreating figure.
Sienna glanced up from her conversation with Professor Liam. “Hm p>
“Johnny. And Elodie.” Logan gestured vaguely. “He brought her to the exhibition, sure, but letting her into the conference hall? That’s… that’s not nothing p>
The conference hall was for primary representatives only. Limited seating. Only the key players from each company.
And Johnny had chosen Elodie.
Lauren frowned. “It’s surprising, isn’t it? I mean, she’s already married. Has a child. And while she’s pretty, Johnny could have—” She stopped herself, reconsidered her words. “He could find someone less… complicated p>
Someone who wasn’t about to be divorced, she meant. Someone who didn’t come with the baggage of a failed bond to one of the most powerful alphas in Europe.
Why invest so much attention in Elodie specifically?
Sienna didn’t answer. Her jaw was tight, eyes tracking Elodie’s path to the conference hall.
The doors closed behind Johnny and Elodie.
“Well,” Logan said, breaking the silence. “We should head in too p>
Their company wasn’t presenting anything. They weren’t showcasing exhibits. Which meant they’d normally be relegated to the back rows, if they got seats at all.
But Dante had extended an invitation.
Specifically to Sienna, To sit in the front.
Logan’s smile widened. “Did you hear Mr. Nolan’s giving a speech later? From the front row, you’d have a much better chance of catching his attention. Maybe even exchanging a few words after p>
Mr. Nolan. Head of the European pack coalition’s tech initiative. Connections to him were worth their weight in gold.
And Dante had given Sienna a direct path.
While his wife sat… where? Somewhere in the middle with Johnny?
The optics weren’t lost on anyone.
Sienna smoothed her dress, checked her reflection in a nearby glass panel. “I suppose we shouldn’t waste the opportunity p>
“No,” Logan agreed. “We shouldn’t p>