Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Moon Dance 4
The ballroom doors slam open with enough force to silence the entire room. Nyra, Adrian, and the entire group turn at the same time to see what the commotion is about.
Standing there, seething with rage, is...
Anna.
---
She is dressed in an almost see-through sky-blue dress that clings to her skin. Of course, the gossip-hungry students all turn to stare.
But Anna isn’t looking at them. No, her eyes are pinned on them; Adrian and Nyra standing off to the side.
Then her gaze drops to the dress Nyra is wearing, and her scowl deepens. Because she knows that dress.
Not just because it’s beautiful, but because she remembers how many times Adrian came to the Blackwood mansion. She had overheard the maids talking about him pestering the royal designer to make a beautiful red dress.
She even saw him going over the designs a few times with the middle-aged man late at night.
She remembers asking him what he was working on, and Adrian had answered without looking at her.
"It’s nothing important. You should go to your room."
She also remembers how Adrian had refused all her advances the past week. From the lingerie set she left in his room, to ’accidentally’ walking into his room during shower time, claiming she was just looking for a shirt with his pheromones.
And Adrian had completely refused to give in every damn time.
Two years completely down the drain-- Now she’s the other woman, the one being cooped up in the ’Blackwood’ mansion for supervision while studying from home.
Meanwhile, this witch gets to prance around the academy with a new dress and her man.
The moment Adrian notices her, his expression hardens like he already knows this conversation is going to be ugly.
He steps away from Nyra and walks toward Anna. He looks mad and exhausted at the same time. "What are you doing here, Adrian?"
Anna smells it even before he reaches her. Nyra’s soft pheromones clinging to his clothes and skin, and she has the overwhelming urge to claw his eyes out.
"I’m still a student here, of course I can come if I want." She snaps at him.
Adrian exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. "You’re pregnant. You’re not supposed to be exerting yourself. My mother told you that."
"I’m just one month gone, Adrian. Nothing’s going to happen if I party for one night."
Several students nearby pretend not to listen, but everyone is watching them now.
Adrian is not buying that excuse one bit. His silver eyes glare daggers at her until she finally caves.
She lowers her eyes with a sigh.
"Okay... fine! I just wanted to see you. It’s been a while since you came to the mansion."
"We already talked about this..."
"No, you decided." She interrupts with glassy eyes. "You decided that after everything between us, after everything we’ve been through, you can just throw me away."
He exhales loudly. "I’m not throwing you away."
"Then what am I supposed to be?" Anna touches her stomach. "Our baby is still here. It needs its father, Adrian!"
Adrian’s jaw clenches, already tired of her emotional manipulation. It’s been two years of it...just how much more can he take?
"Don’t do that."
Her glassy eyes widen dramatically. "Do what?"
"Use the baby. You always do this when you don’t get your way!"
"What did I say wrong now?" She sniffles, "You know pregnant Omegas need the scent of their Alpha-- why are you doing this to me!?"
Adrian looks away. Because every time we’re alone, you try to throw yourself at me, he wants to say, but he doesn’t. The tension between both sisters is already high.
Across the room, Nyra watches them quietly. She doesn’t know why she feels uncomfortable seeing her sister so sad.
Maybe because despite everything, watching Anna pregnant and breaking apart makes her chest hurt.
Anna, however, doesn’t share the same sentiment. Because the moment her eyes land on Nyra’s mating mark, her entire expression changes.
Anna looks ready to make someone regret breathing the same air as her. "You marked her??"
She tears her gaze away from Nyra and turns back to Adrian, screaming like a banshee.
"You actually marked her?"
Adrian looks exhausted. "Anna..."
"No." She shakes her head, tears forming. "After everything you said? After all those promises? You marked her?"
Nyra feels every eye in the room shift between them. She almost runs out of the hall in shame.
Adrian steps even closer to her, his expression void of any familiarity they shared. "Stop acting like a child!"
The harshness of his tone shocks everyone. This is the second time he’s talked to her like this... the first was at Julian’s pool party.
"It’s over, Anna. It’s been over for two weeks now. Can’t you just fucking accept it and stop making a big deal out of everything!?"
Adrian sighs and walks over to where Nyra is watching, red from embarrassment.
"I’m sorry for this mess, baby. I’ll book her a cab and come back, okay?"
He shoots John a take care of her look, then grabs Anna and starts leading her toward the entrance. "I’m getting you home."
Anna doesn’t argue this time. She just simply follows him, silently crying.
---
Outside the ballroom, Adrian pulls out his phone, already preparing to call a cab for Anna. But then his hand slows as he catches sight of Julian across the courtyard.
He’s not alone.
His lips are pressed against a junior Omega, kissing him like he is trying to swallow him whole. Julian has one hand tangled in the boy’s hair, while the boy is clutching his jean jacket desperately.
"Umm..."
Adrian clears his throat, looking away awkwardly. He didn’t even know Julian is gay, but somehow that makes him feel more relaxed about Nyra’s living arrangements over the past three weeks.
Anna, on the other hand, looks like she couldn’t care less about Julian and whatever he does.
The moment Julian sees them however, his eyes widen in horror-- clearly not ready to come out just yet. And the other boy doesn’t even wait. He hides his face and runs off before Adrian can even say anything.
Adrian sighs, watching the Omega run off, and shoots Julian a ’sorry for ruining the moment look’ before he continues walking off with Anna.
---
A few minutes later, Julian rushes back into the ballroom. His face is still flushed, but his expression changes the moment he finds Nyra.
"Nyra! I’m sorry I’ve been-"
The words die in his throat as his gaze lands on the now exposed mark. "Wait..."
*Didn’t I just see Adrian dragging Anna away just now?* he wants to ask, but swallows the words. The tension in the hall is palpable, and from the expressions on Nyra and her friends’ faces, he knows it has something to do with Anna.
And before he can say anything else, both their phones buzz: a message from Mr. Adams.
Nyra grabs her phone from the small clutch bag first. The words make her heart stop.
Mr. Adams: This is just to inform you that the Silver Fang captain has been taken into custody.
