The Luna You Betrayed Is No Longer Yours

_Author’s POV_

Brielle finished the treatment a little after nine in the evening, she worked through the final stage of the protocol carefully because Alaric was in sever pains but didn’t show her.

But she knew him well enough, so she knew he was hiding his pain.

When she was done she checked Alaric’s arm one more time, made a small adjustment to the dressing, and stepped back.

“All done! Phillip should start responding within the hour,” she said. “By morning the silver will be neutralized completely. The arm will need another day or two but the dangerous part is over.”

Alaric nodded and said nothing to her. There was no need thanking her when he would pay for her services.

The treatments had caused him to look so tired in a way he hadn’t let himself look before, he fought sleep deeply because he needed to stay awake for Rowena.

What she had done earlier had left him in shock. He wasn’t expecting that bold move from her.

“Sleep,” Brielle said the moment she saw he was resisting. “That’s the most useful thing you can do right now.”

“I know how recovery works, and I think you should leave now. I’ll have Gabriel wire you the money.” he said.

“And yet you’re still talking instead of sleeping,” she said. “Consistent, as I said.” She ignored the money part and the part where he asked her to leave.

She gathered her equipment anyways, packed everything back into her bag with speed, and picked up her phone from the side table where she had left it.

There was three missed calls when she glanced at the screen.

She looked at the screen and then at Alaric, who had closed his eyes. She watched him for a moment to make sure he was stable and then she turned to leave the room.

The calls were from her mother, she dialed back the moment she was alone.

The conversation was brief because her mother’s conversations were always brief when she had already decided what she wanted to say and just needed to say it.

Her parents had known she was coming back even before the news had picked it up, because she had told them, and her mother had immediately begun organizing things for her return.

They were organizing a welcome party for her and the preparation had been in motion for a week.

Brielle listened and said the things that needed to be said and ended the call, then she went back inside to let Alaric know her mother was coming.

Her mother had said she would come invite Alaric personally for the party and it would be held in a week’s time.

He was nearly asleep when she walked in, she knew he wouldn’t be able to fight it off entirely.

She had wanted to leave it until morning but then decided that telling him while he was half asleep was actually more better because he was less likely to have a complicated reaction to anything in this state.

“My mother is coming,” she said from near the door.

One of Alaric’s eye opened at her words. “When?”

“Shortly,” she said. “She was already in the city. She’s been staying at the hotel near the eastern gate since yesterday.”

His both eyes opened now. “She came before you did?”

“She organizes things,” Brielle chuckled. “It’s what she does. She’s been planning a welcome party since I told her I was coming back. Your being shot just gave me a reason to arrive sooner.” She paused and continued. “She wants to invite you personally, she won’t send a card, she’ll want to say it herself. You know how she is.”

Alaric looked at the ceiling for a moment, he did know how she was. Brielle’s father was one of the most significant figures in werewolf society, a man whose influence reached across pack lines in a way that very few people’s did, and whose respect Alaric held genuinely.

Her mother too ran a charity home and an orphanage. She earned alot of respect because of her kind heart, so Alaric had respect for her as well.

When that family extended an invitation, declining was a complicated thing.

There was a knock at the door twenty minutes later.

Rowena had left to get food while Brielle was just seated and going through her phone.

Alaric slept for approximately ten minutes before waking up to the person who walked into the room.

The woman who came through the door was elegantly dressed with a warm presence. She was older than Brielle by the right number of years, but blonde in the same way Brielle was blonde.

She had a smile on her face when she caught Alaric’s eyes. “Alaric,” she greeted, warmly, like he was someone she was always glad to see, which was probably true.

“Mrs. Logan,” he said, and managed to make it sound respectful rather than tired.

She pulled the chair close without being invited, sat down, and looked at his arm with the brief look. “You look better than the news made it sound,” she said. “That’s a relief.”

“Brielle’s protocol is effective,” he said plainly.

She smiled at that. “It is. She worked on it for two years before she was satisfied with it.” She folded her hands in her lap. “We’ve missed having her here. Her father especially, though he won’t say so directly.”

“He never does,” Alaric said with a little emotion on his face .

She looked at him steadily. “We’re having a small welcome gathering for her, at the house, it’s nothing formal, just people who matter.” She paused and continued. “We would like you to come. Her father would like to see you. It’s been too long.”

Alaric looked at her for a moment and began preparing a line to decline.

The gathering was a reasonable thing to do for their heiress, the Logan family welcomed their daughter home, invited people who were connected to them, there was nothing unusual about any of it. And his respect for her father was genuine and longstanding.

But he was also aware of what the gathering would look like from certain angles.

He sighed inwards, knowing he couldn’t say no. He should be on his feet again in a week’s time anyways.

“I’ll attend,” he finally said.

Mrs. Logan beamed at the expected answer. “Wonderful. Next week friday evening, at the house and not the hotel, we’ll be home by then.” She stood and squeezed his hand briefly. “Rest now. Brielle will be furious if you undo her work by staying awake.”

Once Alaric gave her a firm nod, she turned and left.

Brielle who was standing near the window looked at him and before she could utter a word, Alaric said, “I’m bringing someone. A plus one.”

Something moved across her face because she already knew who it was. But that wasn’t a big deal, was it?

“Of course,” she said pleasantly and without missing a beat.

Neither of them said anything else about it.

He would tell Rowena when she comes back about the party and that she also had to be his plus one.