Chapter 330
Chapter 330
Gideon’s POV
The invitation had been sitting on my desk for a week before Tegan finally said something about it.
I had been using it as a coaster. It seemed like the only reasonable thing to do.
“You should go to this,” my Beta said, picking it up and grimacing at the coffee stains on it. “If you can still read the time and date, of course p>
I shrugged. “I’m not going anyway. Sebastian is already looking for a reason to challenge me in front of witnesses. Walking into his territory and attending his event is basically handing him one p>
“Maybe.” Tegan set the invitation back down. “But I heard that the CEO of Lycan Botanicals is going to be there p>
I looked up from the report I was reading and arched a brow.
“From what I hear, Sebastian has been trying to get a meeting with her for months,” he said. “If you go, you could speak to her directly. Get ahead of it before he locks her into an exclusive arrangement p>
I looked back down at the report. Then I picked up the invitation.
Dammit. I hated it when Tegan was right.
We arrived at Evergreen pack on the evening of the event. The pack was bigger than the last time I had had a good reason to take stock of it, which irritated me more than I wanted to admit.
Sebastian had clearly been busy since he became Alpha. The grounds were well- kept, the wolves we passed looked healthy and well fed, and the whole place had a strange, hippie sort of energy. Everyone was smiling and carrying baskets of produce and wearing bespoke clothing.
“Is this some kind of cult?” I asked Tegan, leaning close,
My Beta snorted. “Doubt it, but it does kind of give off that feeling, doesn’t it p>
The event itself was held in the banquet hall of the Alpha house, There, the guests seemed more “normal”, males and females milling around in fine gowns and tuxedos. The place was completely packed, which meant that most of the people he had invited had decided to show up for whatever reason.
1/4
Chapter 330
+25 Bonus
It was a good thing, though. It meant I could move around without having to run into Sebastian if I didn’t want to. Which I didn’t.
Tegan and I grabbed a drink from the bar and found a position near the far wall where we could see the room without being the center of it.
That lasted about ten minutes before Sebastian’s Beta found me.
His name was Colt, and he was young, perhaps in his mid-twenties at most. I had only met him once before and I thought he was a completely insufferable rake of a man. He seemed utterly full of himself and always had his nose up in the air.
He stopped in front of me with a drink in his hand and a malicious smile curving his lips.
“Alpha Gideon,” he said. “Didn’t expect to see you here p>
“Yes, well, here I am,” I said.
“Bold move, coming to Evergreen.” He glanced around the room. “Especially given everything. How’s the pack holding up p>
“Fine p>
“Really.” It wasn’t a question. “Because I’ve been hearing things. That Nightwolf’s been losing wolves. That the Alpha’s been spending more time chasing ghosts in the forest than actually leading.” He tilted his head. “That true p>
I glared at him.
Most wolves, when an Alpha looked at them like that, found somewhere else to be. Colt just looked back, still smiling, completely unbothered. Which told me everything I needed to know about how Sebastian had been talking about me behind closed doors.
mivi
“You should be careful,” I said quietly, “about how you speak to your superiors p>
He shrugged. “You’re not my Alpha. Therefore, not my superior.” With that, he drifted off into the crowd, still smiling. I growled, but Tegan put his hand on my arm and shook his head, indicating that it wasn’t worth it,
Inhaling deeply to settle my wolf, I turned back to the room and took a long drink. The evening was already going exactly as I’d expected, which was to say badly, and the one person I’d come here specifically to speak to hadn’t shown up yet.
“What did you say that CEO looks like?” I asked.
2/4
Chapter 330
+25 Bonus
Tegan scratched his head. “I’m not entirely sure. She keeps an impressively low profile. I couldn’t even find a picture of her.
“Well, that’s not very helpful p>
I was twenty minutes away from calling it a night when the doors at the far end of the hall opened.
Sebastian came in, the crowd parting to make way for him. And hanging on his arm
was a woman.
She was on the shorter side, dressed in human clothes that stood out in this crowd, dark hair cut short. From across the room, I couldn’t make out her features clearly. But something made me look twice.
There was something familiar about her. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but…
She reminded me of Avery. Like an older Avery with different hair, different clothes, and a much more tired look on her face p>
I watched her cross the room on Sebastian’s arm and told myself I was being an idiot. I’d been doing this for ten years. Seeing her in strangers. It was a bad habit that I’d never managed to break, and it meant nothing.
“Is that her?” I asked, nudging Tegan. “The CEO of Lycan Botanicals p>
He looked toward the woman, then nodded. ‘It has to be. She arrived with Sebastian and she’s clearly not part of his pack.” He wrinkled his nose. “She’s definitely a werewolf, but she dresses and acts like a human p>
“Must be, then.” I pushed away from the wall. “I’ll find a moment to talk to her when she’s not with him p>
W
I watched her for the rest of the evening, but I couldn’t seem to find a moment to get her alone, Sebastian was practically glued to her hip. Every time I thought I might be able to get close enough to introduce myself he was there, talking to her, steering her somewhere else, or inserting himself into her line of sight.
I didn’t know if he was doing it deliberately or not, but I chose to assume he was.
Finally, well into the evening, Sebastian got pulled away by someone near the far end of the room. The woman was left standing near the edge of the dance floor, alone for the first time all night.
I set my drink down and crossed the room.
I was maybe fifteen feet away when she turned slightly and saw me coming.
3/4
Chapter 336
+25 Bonus
Something crossed her face. Her eyes went wide for just a fraction of a second, and then she turned and moved away quickly, slipping into the crowd. But I could still see her dark head of hair moving, and so I followed.
I had almost reached her when someone stepped directly into my path.
Sebastian.
“Alpha Gideon,” he said, grinning. “I’m so glad you came. There’s something I’ve been hoping to do p>
“Not now, Sebastian p>
“Yes, now.” Sebastian pulled his shoulders back. “Alpha Gideon, I am formally challenging you for control of Nightwolf pack p>
BIG SALE: 3500 bonus free fou you
D
Comments
Support
Editorial Board
Editorial Board Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.