NORA’S POV
The rest of the dinner passed in a blur of silverware clinking against plates and voices drifting in and out of my consciousness, but I could not focus on any of it because anytime I lifted my eyes, he was there, watching me wirh that calm, knowing smile that made my stomach drop and my heart beat faster all at once.
My hands were trembling under the table, so I pressed them flat against my thighs to steady them, but it did not help because my mind was spinning out of control, replaying every moment from the night before, every whisper, every touch, and every word he had said to me in the dark.
He had known.
He had known exactly who he was, and he had let me believe he was just a stranger, just a handsome young man who had happened to notice me in a crowded club, and now I was sitting at his mother’s dinner table, pretending I wasn’t falling apart.
I picked up my fork without thinking and stabbed at the food on my plate, but I could not bring my self to eat because my stomach was twisted into tight knots and my throat was so tight I could barely swallow.
Across the table, Lucian was eating a piece of fruit on a slow and deliberate manner, and I watched as his tongue darted out to catch a drop of juice, with his silver gray eyes fixed on mine with that same fire that had burned in them the night before, the same hunger, the same intensity that had made me forget my own name.
I could not breathe and my face burned, and I looked away quickly, staring down at my plate like it held all the answers I was deliberately searching for.
Then Lily leaned over and whispered, “Mom, is the Alpha staring at you?”
My heart slammed against my ribs, but I forced a smile on my face and shook my head.
“No he is not.
Eat your food.”
It was a lie, and I knew it, and from the way Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously, I knew she didn’t believe me either, but she was smart enough to let it go.
“You have barely touched your food,” Greta said, in a warm voice full of concern.
“Is everything alright, Nora?”
I looked up and forced a smile that felt so stiff and wrong on my face and said quickly, “I am fine, Greta.
Just tired from the journey.”
Greta’s expression softened instantly and she reached across the table to pat my hand.
“Ofcourse, my dear.
You must be exhausted.
We will have an early night tonight.”
Before I could respond, Lucian’s voice cut through the air smoothly and casually like he was asking about the weather.
“So, Nora,” he said, “Why did you not come with your mate?”
I froze.
My throat became tight and my hands started shaking again as I could feel every pair of eyes at the table turning towards me.
Before I could find my voice, Greta spoke up in a sharp and dismissive tone.
“She does not have a mate, Lucian.
They broke the bond.
The man is utterly useless.”
Lucian’s kept his eyes pinned on my face as he said softly, “Is that so?” Then his lips curved up into a slow and deliberate smile.
“That is good to know.”
Greta turned to him and narrowed her brows.
“Sorry?”
Lucian smiled widely, but his gaze was still fixed on me, bunting into me like he could see straight through every wall I had ever built. This chapter was copied from nоvelping.com without permission.
“If he is indeed useless,” he said smoothly.
“Then she deserves to be free to be with whoever she wants.”
Greta laughed warmly, clearly dismissing the meaning behind his words.
“True.
Very true.”
But I did not laugh.
I could not because my heart was pounding so hard in could barely breathe, and my mind was racing with all the reasons this could not be real.
Why would an Alpha want his mother’s friend?
Why would he want someone like me?
I was thirty four, older than him, thick and soft in all the places where young she wolves were slim and toned.
I had stretch marks and tired eyes and a daughter from a failed marriage, and he was the most eligible bachelor in the nation, the Alpha of the Nightcrest Pack, a man who could have any woman he wanted.
And yet he was looking at me like I was the only woman in the room.
I did not make sense.
It had to be a game.
It just had to be.
He wanted to use me, to play with me to keep me as his secret thrill while he went back to the beautiful, young she wolfs who actually belonged in his world.
He would take what he wanted from me and then discard me, just like Trevor had done, just like everyone had done.
I was nothing to him except a challenge.
Something to conquer and leave behind.
I looked around the table at Lady Elara, who was elegant and slim and perfectly composed, and I thought about all the beautiful young she wolfs in Nightcrest Pack, the ones who would throw themselves at an Alpha like Lucian without a second thought.
And then I looked at myself, soft and broken and carrying more baggage than any man should have to carry.
He did not want me.
Not really.
He just wanted the thrill of the chase, and once he had it, he would move on to something more interesting.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest, but I forced myself to believe it because believing anything else wiuld be too dangerous.
I pushed back my chair and stood up abruptly, the stool’s legs scraping against the floor and drawing everyone’s attention.
“Nora?” Greta asked, her voice full of concern.
“Is something wrong?”
I forced another smile, but it felt hollow and fake.
Then I said quickly, “I am just tired.
I think I should retire for the night.”
“I will have someone show you to your room.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said, already walking away.
“I can find my way.”
I did not run.
I refused to run.
But every step I took felt like I was fleeing for my life, and I could feel Lucian’s eyes on my back, burning into me with that same intensity that had made me forget my own name.
I made it to the hallway before the tears came.
I pressed my back against the cold stone wall and slid down slowly until I was sitting on the floor, with my knees drawn up to my chest and my hands shaking so badly I could barely keep them still.
I thought about everything.
The club, the night, the note, the dinner, and the reveal.
I thought about how stupid I had been to trust a stranger, how foolish I had been to believe that someone like him could actually want someone like me.
I thought about Greta, my best friend, who had welcomed me into her home, who had trusted me with her son, and she had no idea what hat I had done, no idea that I had slept with him in a hotel room while he whispered that I was beautiful.
If she every found out the truth, she would be devastated.
She would feel betrayed by both of us — by me, her closest friend, and by him, her own son.
The thought of seeing the disappointment in her eyes, the hurt, the anger, made my stomach turn and my tight with so much fear I could not shake.
Then I thought about the way Lucian had looked at me from across the table, like I was something precious, like he had been waiting his whole life to find me, and I hated that a part of me still wished it was true.
But it was not.
It couldn’t be.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and inhaled shakily.
I had to leave.
I had to get out if this place before everything fell apart completely.
Before Greta found out what I had done.
Before Lucian decided to turn me into his secret plaything, or worse, before I let myself believe that he actually wanted me for real.
Tomorrow morning, I would find a way to tell Greta that we had to go home, that something had come up, and that I could not stay any longer.
I would make up an excuse.
A very good one strong enough to get out here.
I would run.
I would take Lily and I would run as fast and as far as I could.
Because staying here, staying near him, would only end in disaster.
And if Greta ever discovered the truth, I would lose her forever.
I pushed myself to my feet, straightened my dress, and walked toward my guest room in quick and steady steps even though my heart was still racing.
I had walked into a fire I never saw coming, and I knew with absolute certainty that I wanted to escape it.
The only problem was, I had a feeling Lucian wasn’t going to let me go that easily.