Chapter 34
Logan
I swirled the last of the wine in my glass, watching the deep red liquid catch the light like spilled blood.
Across from me, Emily had gone quiet again.
Something about her had closed tonight. As soon as she saw the flash of a camera, she shut down. And she shut me out.
I knew it was my fault.
The theater had been a mistake.
Not the show itselt. That part had been real. I’d chosen it for her chosen the soft music and the romantic hush of the Moonview Theater because it reminded me of her. It was quiet, rich, and layered. It was something beautiful not everyone took the time to see.
The rest of it, including the attention, the flashing cameras, and the whispers in the foyer, wasn’t part of the plan.
Yet, I hadn’t stopped it. Now I was paying the price.
I’d watched her light dim inch by inch all night.
I could barely taste the food.
When the last course arrived, a delicate pear tart dusted with lavender sugar, Emily offered me a soft, practiced smile that nearly gutted me. It wasn’t fake, exactly. It was worse than that.
It was polite.
It was the same smile she gave other people. People who didn’t matter.
I couldn’t take another minute of it.
I set down my fork. “Let’s get out of here.”
Emily looked up, surprised. “What?”
“I don’t want to be here anymore,” I said, standing. “Come on.”
Her brow furrowed slightly, but she rose without argument. “But dessert-
“I’ll get you a better one,” I said, reaching for her hand.
She gave me a look, something caught between suspicion and curiosity, but placed her hand in mine.
We slipped out the side entrance, past velvet curtains and down a narrow hallway scented faintly with puses. I gave a nod to the maitre d‘, tossed some cash on the counter, and led Emily into the cool night air without waiting for change.
The city lights gleamed below us like a thousand watching eyes, but I didn’t stop. I led her down the winding sidewalk to where my car was parked in the private guest lot, the silence between us stretching taut
Inside the car, I didn’t turn on the music. I didn’t even tell her where we were going
And Emily didn’t ask.
She sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap, her hair catching glints from the streetlamps as they passed.
I kept glancing over at her, jaw tight.
She was angry. Her eyebrows had furrowed more and more over the drive like she was caught up in the tide of her thoughts. She didn’t feel like the same Emily.
12
+26 BONUS!
Not the one who’d laughed in my office last week. Not the one whad looked at me like I might be more than my title.
I drove for fifteen minutes, until the city pave way to trees, and the pack territory opened up.
When the car finally slowed, Emily blinked out the window. “The Hffs?”
I nodded once. “No press. No waiters. No expectations.”
She tumed to me, something softening slightly in her eyes. “You brought me here?”
“I needed to think,” I said. “And I think better with a view.”
The cliffs were one of the highest points in the territory. They overlooked the lake and the faint shimmer of distant rooftops. No one but wolves could get up here. Especially not without permission from Titanfang.
I climbed out of the car and opened her door without a word. She kicked off her heels in the car and padded barefoot up the grassy incline beside me, her dress fluttering around her knees.
I swallowed the knot in my throat.
I’d never seen anyone look so free and guarded at the same time.
We reached the overlook where the wind cooled with the lake air. I sat down on the flat stone slab that jutted out over the trees below, I waited.
Emily stood behind me for a moment. Then, with a quiet sigh, she lowered herself beside me.
“It’s hard to believe you didn’t plan the entire night, all the way down to the press.”
“I didn’t invite the press,” I said.
“You didn’t stop them either,”
