Chapter 136: Chapter 136 The Aftermath
Elara
"Elara—"
A gentle voice called out from behind me.
I stopped in my tracks. I turned around to see "Professor Williams?"
Professor Williams took my hand warmly, her touch gentle like a mom’s. "My dear, you’ve been through so much."
With the pack gossip network buzzing around us like a small town after a scandal, she’d clearly figured out the messy relationships between me, my mother, and Selina.
Worry filled her expression. "Elara, don’t worry. I recognized some of those girls from the videos - they were my former students. I’m heading back right now to handle this properly. If you could give me their contact information—"
Her voice was firm with determination, that protective teacher instinct fully activated.
"Professor Williams, I can’t give you that information right now," I said gently. I squeezed her hand, hoping she’d understand. "I haven’t even told Dominic yet. I promised them I’d keep everything private."
"But if I can get their permission later, I’ll pass it along then."
Professor Williams let out a frustrated sigh, her shoulders drooping slightly with disappointment. "Thank God you exposed this and got them some justice!"
The praise made me squirm uncomfortably. My reasons hadn’t been totally pure - revenge against Selina had definitely been part of my motivation. "Professor Williams, I didn’t do anything special. Just what anyone would have done."
Professor Williams studied my face for a moment, her sharp academic eyes missing nothing. "My dear, standing up for victims takes real courage, regardless of what other motivations you might have had. Those girls finally got the justice they deserved because you were brave enough to act."
She paused, her expression softening into genuine warmth as she looked between us both. "Alright, I won’t keep you two lovebirds any longer. I’ll be at your mating ceremony at the end of next month, right on time."
She squeezed my hand one more time before stepping back, her whole face lighting up with genuine happiness for us.
We said our goodbyes to Professor Williams, wearing the kind of real smiles that actually reached our eyes.
Once we were alone, Dominic turned to me with that mischievous look I was getting to know so well, his eyes practically sparkling with mischief. "So? How did your mate perform today?"
My ears immediately got hot as I looked away, suddenly fascinated by the perfectly manicured gardens around us. "Not bad, I guess."
"Just ’not bad’?" Dominic’s voice carried that fake wounded tone, though I could hear the laughter underneath it.
I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips. "Fine. You were amazing. Happy now?"
Dominic looked ridiculously pleased with that answer, his grin growing even wider like a kid who’d just been told he could have ice cream for dinner. "So what’s my reward this time?"
I shook my head, torn between exasperation and affection. "You decide."
This man’s emotional maturity was probably lower than his nephew’s. But somehow, that just made him more endearing.
Dominic held out his hand, palm up, wiggling his fingers expectantly. "Phone. Let me borrow it to post something online."
I hesitated for just a second, my hand hovering over my purse. Social media had never been my thing, but something about his confident expression made me trust him. I handed it over.
"Password."
I didn’t overthink it, the numbers rolling off my tongue automatically. "1226."
My birthday.
Dominic’s fingers paused over the screen for just a moment, and when he looked up at me, there was something soft and warm in his expression that made my chest tight.
He typed in the code and opened the camera app with practiced ease. "Look at the lens."
Click. In two seconds, he’d taken a couple selfies of us, his arm wrapped around me, both of us looking ridiculously happy despite the chaos we’d just caused.
Dominic spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world, his tone completely matter-of-fact as his thumbs moved across the screen. "If it weren’t for today’s drama, I would’ve posted this weeks ago. When you’re mated, you should be public about it. I’m posting this to your social media accounts—all of them."
"And I’m posting it on mine too."
His fingers moved quickly across the screen, typing captions and selecting platforms with the efficiency of someone who’d clearly thought this through.
"Luna Wolfe, this isn’t showing off. It’s just preventing headaches for both of us. Makes sense, right?"
I raised an eyebrow, watching him work with amused disbelief. "You’ve already posted everything, and now you’re asking my opinion? Isn’t that a little backwards?"
Then I softened my tone, reaching out to touch his arm. "Whatever. Let’s get out of here."
Dominic’s lips curved up into that genuine, warm smile that made my heart skip beats. "Yeah. Let’s go home."
