Chloe
The article should’ve had Chloe’s name in it, not Emily’s.
As Chloe scrolled through the column for the third time, her nail tapped an anxious rhythm against the side of her teacup. Emily soon–to–be–Titanfang leads fiscal reform with approval. It was a full breakdown of how Emily had caught a “minor discrepancy” and “moved swiftly to safeguard the Pack’s econom integrity.”
It should’ve been a scandal. A stain. A whisper campaign that tankel her position and made Logan toss her aside. For Chloe. Instead, it had turned into praise.
Chloe’s chest tightened. She closed the tablet with a sharp snap and stood, pacing across the polished floors of the condo she’d secured near Titanfang’s center hall.
It was sleek, minimalist, and impersonal; just like the contracts that kept her close to power without ever offering a piece of it. The soft knock came exactly when expected. Chloe’s mother never raised her voice when it would be more effective to lower it. Chloe opened the door and stepped aside. “You’re early.”
“Leome when I’m needed,” her mother replied, her voice clipped, eyes scanning the apartment like she was evaluating inventory and finding it lacking. “It seems you’ve wasted another opportunity.”
Chloe’s jaw clenched. “Emily’s just lucky, and I’m not nearly finished yet.”
Her mother ignored the comment and placed a single sheet of parchment on the table. “This is an agreement. A mating proposal. From Alpha Dorian of the Ironclad Pack.”
Chloe stared at it. “He’s sixty.”
“He’s stable. Well–positioned. And willing to overlook your…missteps.”
“He’s known for locking his first Luna in her quarters during Pack meetings.”
Her mother’s mouth tightened. “Then perhaps she should have given him fewer reasons to doubt her.”
The silence between them stretched, thick with old patterns and newer disappointments.
Chloe’s fingers curled around the edge of the table. “You think I’m a failure.”
“I think you’ve miscalculated,” her mother said, voice smooth. “Repeatedly. First with Emily. Then with Logan. Now with this little stunt at Eldrin & Vale.”
A rush of blood roared in Chloe’s ears. “I’m the one with ambition. Logan was mine. And they’re all blind to see she isn’t worthy of being Luna.”
“She was chosen for some reason,” her mother said softly. “And that is not acceptable.”
That was the wound, wasn’t it? The raw, festering truth no one ever said out loud. Emily was chosen by Logan and Chloe was stuck with the consequences.
“I’m not mating that old man,” she said, her voice flat. “Emily was supposed to be his, and I’d rather die an old spinster wolf.”
Her mother gathered her coat without argument. “Then find a way to stay relevant and fix this. Before we stop wasting you entirely.”
n
The door closed with gentle click as Chloe’s mother left. And she stood there, staring at the empty room, heart thudding behind her ribs like it didn’t know what to do with itself.
1/3
Chapter 114
+25 BONUS
She pulled open her drawer and retrieved the small velvet pouch she’d hidden amongst her collection of lip tints and expensive perfumes.
Inside was a single vial filled with a pale ainber liquid, barely a mouthful. It was designed to relax tension, lower defenses, and dissolve hesitation.
Chloe hadn’t planned to use it, not seriously. But Emily’s name was still in the headlines. And her own was nowhere.
If Chloe couldn’t be chosen honestly, then she’d make it look like she had been.
She’d stage the scene. Create the suggestion of something intimate, a reunion. She would craft something Logan couldn’t ignore and couldn’t publicly reject without losing his position.
It didn’t need to be real. It just needed to look real.
Chloe slipped the vial into her purse and cut off any sensations of doubt or guilt. Tonight, she would attend the inter–Pack dinner. And Logan would be there.
And this time, Chloe would make sure he wouldn’t walk away from her.
Chloe stepped through the threshold like she owned it. The dress was a statement. And several eyes did turn, scanning her as she passed. But only one mattered.
Logan stood near the bar, speaking to a minor Pack’s diplomat. He wasn’t smiling, but she had never seem him outwardly enjoy these events.
Still, there was a power to him that pulled at Chloe. She wanted her own power, and being Logan’s Luna would give her that in abundance.
Her eyes drank him in, handsome as ever and Chloe remembered the way he used to look at her when they were together. Now, he didn’t even glance her way.
That was unacceptable to her.
Chloe drifted closer to the refreshment table, her pulse steady, her fingers already reaching for the tray with the untouched crystal tumblers.
One of these would be his. It didn’t matter which. He always preferred bourbon, neat. She selected the glass, second from the left and slipped her hand into her clutch.
The vial’s contents poured quickly. Amber liquid into amber liquid. A moment’s cloudiness, then all traces of what she’d done
were gone.
Chloe turned to scan the room again. Logan was still talking, still out of reach. For now.
Before she could intercept the glass to bring to Logan, a familiar voice slithered up beside her.
“Well, don’t you look like temptation bottled.”
Chloe blinked and turned, plastering on a smile. Reid.
Logan’s stepbrother. Logan’s shadow. He had a drink in one hand and too much confidence in the other.
“Hello, Reid,” she said, coolly polite.
He downed his drink in one swig. Then, Reid reached past her, grabbed the exact glass she had just tampered with, in salute.
“To shitty step–siblings.”
She froze. “Wait-”
But he had already taken a sip. Then another.
fted it
Chapter 114
+25 BONUS
“Strong,” he said with a smirk. “Just how I like it.”
Panic flickered. Her eyes darted to Logan, still occupied with his conversation. And Reid, completely unaware.
Reid leaned closer. “You always stare at him like he owes you something. But I see you, Chloe. I see what you’re really after.”
“Do you?” she managed, voice tighter than she liked.
He tilted his head. “I think you’re just tired of being second. You want a headline. A legacy. A claim. Doesn’t matter who it’s on.”
He didn’t know. He couldn’t. But the words slapped her in the face.
Chloe turned to leave, but his hand wrapped around her wrist, insistent. “Come on. Don’t run off yet. We’re the leftovers, remember?”
She should have pulled away. Should have snapped at him, thrown a drink in his face or something. But the drug was already moving through him; his pupils dilated, his grin was lazy..
And in that moment, Chloe realized she had no way to undo what had been set in motion.
Reid leaned in, breath warm against her cheek. “Let’s stop pretending we aren’t the same.”
He tugged her gently down a side hallway, his steps easy, half–dazed, half–certain. And Chloe didn’t resist, even though she should have.
But something in her snapped. Some thread she’d stretched too far, chasing something that had never belonged to her. The office suite Reid pulled Chloe into was dark, the couch wide, and the doors thick enough to muffle sound.
His hands were on her hips, his mouth hot and eager against hers. It was sloppy, any technique ruined by the drink. Chloe closed her eyes and tried not to think. Not about Logan. Not about Emily. Not about what she’d planned for this night to be
It was about not losing again.
A couple hours later, Chloe’s dress was wrinkled on a nearby chair. Her heart pounded. Her mouth tasted like regret and expensive wine.
Reid was passed out asleep beside her, one arm draped carelessly across her middle. She pulled it away, quietly, carefully. And sat on the edge of the leather couch.
This wasn’t the power she had planned for, but Chloe was going to make the best of it.
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