Chapter 195: Chapter 195 The Night Before
Author
When Elara got back to the office, Nancy was already at her desk.
With only one day left before her honeymoon leave, Elara pulled Nancy aside.
"How’s your dad holding up?"
Nancy shook her head. "He’s okay. Thanks for asking."
"Nancy, outside these walls, we’re friends. I’m not asking as your boss. I’m asking because I give a damn."
Nancy’s smile was genuine this time. "Thank you. That means a lot."
Elara hesitated. "Did you meet with Freya yet?"
Nancy nodded. "Yeah. She’s really good at her job."
Too good. Freya had called her out on every excuse she’d been making. Now Nancy was drowning in confusion with nowhere to turn.
Could she dump this on Elara? Hell no. Elara was getting married in two days.
Nancy wasn’t about to rain on her parade with personal drama.
"Elara, congrats on the wedding. I don’t think I can make it to the ceremony."
Elara raised an eyebrow. As Yardley ’s girlfriend, Nancy should definitely be there.
But she didn’t push. "No worries. Take all the time you need. You came back too early anyway. Anything important comes up, we can handle it over the phone."
"Thanks. Really, I’m fine." Nancy’s voice was rock steady.
She just needed to stay busy. Downtime meant thinking, and thinking was a one-way ticket to crazy town.
Elara didn’t push it and let her get back to work.
--
The night before the wedding, Elara was having the ultimate spa night at home. Hannah was next to her on the couch. Both of them had thick green face masks on.
"I can’t believe tomorrow is your wedding day," Hannah said. She tried not to move her mouth too much. "You and your Alpha King, finally getting married."
Elara smiled. "I know. It feels like yesterday I wanted to kill Zack."
Hannah’s eyes lit up with evil joy. "Speaking of that loser, I heard he’s been smoking like crazy. The guy is totally losing it. Makes me so happy."
Elizabeth laughed from her wheelchair. The nurse just shook her head at their gossip.
"Hannah," Elara said suddenly. "I told Dominic I love him."
Hannah sat up so fast her face mask cracked. "WHAT? When? How? Why didn’t you tell me?" She grabbed a pillow and hit Elara with it. "Tell me everything. Now."
Elara ducked, laughing. "Remember when I found out about the wish wall? That it really was my name he’d been writing there."
"Wow, and?" Hannah urged.
"I flew to Colombia..."
"Holy shit! You just flew to another country and confessed?" Hannah was practically bouncing.
"Pretty much. Couldn’t let him think I didn’t care." Elara grinned. "Best impulsive decision I ever made."
Hannah flopped back down, carefully preserving what was left of her face mask. "Jesus Christ. The big bad Alpha King’s been pining after you for at least three years and you finally put him out of his misery. That’s actually hilarious."
"He was so patient," Elara said. "Really patient. Most guys would have given up."
"Or tried to force you," Elizabeth said quietly. "That boy has more control than most alphas."
Hannah raised her eyebrows. "So on a scale of one to ten, how ready are you for tomorrow night?"
"HANNAH!" Elara threw a pillow back at her.
"What? I’m asking important questions here! You’ve been taking things slow for months. A girl has needs."
Elara’s face turned red under her face mask. "We’re figuring things out."
"That means it’s amazing but you won’t share details," Hannah said. "Fine. But tomorrow night, don’t think about work or stress. Just enjoy yourself."
--
Meanwhile, across town at The Blackwater Club, Alpha Dominic sneezed.
"Bless you, man," Marcus said, raising his whiskey. The amber liquid caught the low lighting as cigar smoke curled between them.
"Tomorrow’s the big day! Last night as a single wolf and you’re sitting there looking like someone stole your favorite hunt."
The club was packed with alphas from allied packs, all here to celebrate the most powerful wolf on the East Coast finally settling down.
But Alpha Dominic looked about as excited as a man facing a root canal.
"Seriously, what’s eating you?" Vincent leaned back in his chair, swirling his scotch. "Most guys would be living it up right now."
"I don’t do bachelor parties," Alpha Dominic muttered.
Vincent raised an eyebrow. "What, afraid Elara won’t approve of a little harmless fun?"
"Watch it," Alpha Dominic ’s voice dropped to a warning growl.
Vincent held up his hands, grinning. "Easy there, big guy. Just saying, one night out with the boys never killed anyone."
"Yeah? Well, I’m not ’the boys.’ And I sure as hell don’t need dating advice from someone who changes boyfriends like underwear."
Vincent nearly spit out his drink. "Excuse me? Did you just—"
"You heard me." Alpha Dominic stood up, checking his watch. "Some of us know what loyalty looks like."
"Oh, that’s rich coming from Mr. ’I-had-a-different-blonde-every-week’ before he got whipped," Vincent shot back.
The room went quiet. A few wolves shifted uncomfortably.
Alpha Dominic’s smile was all teeth. "Careful, Vincent. That mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble one day."
"Where the hell are you going?" Marcus called out as Alpha Dominic headed for the door. "We just started!"
Alpha Dominic checked his watch. Still early enough.
"Going to get my goodnight kiss from my little wolf. You guys have fun."
