My Dearly Beloved Luna

Chapter 7

~ Elias ~

“The projected numbers are encouraging, but I still think we should monitor another quarter before presenting them to the board.”Steven was still talking.

I glanced at the dashboard clock before cutting the engine.“I didn’t ask what you think.”

Silence.

Then he whispered a quiet, “Understood.”

“And next time, call me when there’s a problem. Not when you’re narrating your to-do list.”

A nervous laugh crackled through the Bluetooth.“I’ll remember that.”

“I expect you will.”I ended the call before he could apologise again.

The estate stood before me exactly as it always had.

Massive.Perfect.Cold enough to make a cemetery feel welcoming.

The headlights washed over the marble entrance before fading as I stepped out of the car.

Edmund was already making his way across the driveway.

He’d probably heard the engine before I’d reached the gates.

I tossed him my keys.“Mind parking it for me?”

He caught them effortlessly.“Of course, Mr Elias.”

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes flicked my lighter to life and took a slow inhale.

The first drag settled my nerves almost immediately.

Edmund watched the smoke curl into the evening air.

“Lady Helena won’t appreciate you smelling like tobacco.”

A corner of my mouth lifted.“She stopped appreciating my existence years ago.”

He sighed.“I was trying to be polite.”

“So was I.”That earned the smallest shake of his head.

“You’ve inherited your father’s stubbornness,” he said

“Unfortunately,” I replied.

He smiled despite himself.

I nodded toward the brightly lit mansion.“Has everyone gathered already?”

“Not yet.”He answered.“Dinner starts in a few minutes.”

“So has Father’s mysterious guest arrived,” I uttered jokingly.

His expression betrayed him before he said a word.Interesting.“I see you’ve been ordered not to tell me.”

“I’m afraid so sir.”

I laughed under my breath.“You’re terrible at hiding secrets, Edmund.”

“I’ve worked here thirty years and you should know by now that your father always gets his way.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Instead, another thought crossed my mind.“What about Ezra?”

The warmth disappeared from Edmund’s face.“Master Ezra had other obligations.”

I almost rolled my eyes. That was Father’s favourite excuse.

Whenever my older brother wasn’t invited somewhere…

He suddenly had other obligations.“Tell him I asked about him.”

“I will,” Edmund said as he climbed into my car and drove toward the garages while I stayed where I was, finishing my cigarette in silence.

Most wolves hated the smell. Mine never had. Maybe that was another thing wrong with me.

The thought almost brought a bitter laugh to my lips. I exhaled, watching the smoke drift up toward the second floor. Without fail, every time I set foot on this property, my gaze gravitated straight to her old window before I could stop myself.

An Old habit I’m trying to stop.

I used to wonder if she’d ever come back.

Eventually I stopped wondering, because why would she want to return to a place that tormented and caused her pain for years after she finally escaped?

At the thought, my wolf stirred and a quiet ache spread through my chest before I pushed it down.

Enough. I crushed the cigarette beneath my shoe and climbed the marble steps.

I just have to get through this dinner and the announcement. Then I could disappear back into work.

But the moment I crossed the threshold, something changed.

I stopped walking. The familiar scent of polished wood and expensive candles was still there.

But another fragrance drifted through the lobby.

Soft.Sweet.Floral.

Normally I would’ve hated it.

Instead…I breathed in again.

My wolf lifted its head.

It wanted.

More.

Then a single word echoed inside me. Find it.

I frowned. What the hell…

As I was contemplating what to do I started hearing voices coming from the dining room.

They belonged to Father. Lady Helena and someone else.A woman I hadn't heard before.

The scent grew stronger with every step I took.

It wrapped itself around my senses until everything else faded into the background.

My pulse slowed. Then accelerated without warning.

My wolf was no longer restless. He was awake. Fully awake immediately making every instinct inside me heighten all at once.

I didn’t understand why.

But somehow…

I knew something big was coming.

I reached for the dining room door and twisted the door handle and immediately the doors swung open.

I took one step inside.

Then the world stopped turning.

My wolf slammed into me so hard it stole the air from my lungs.

“Mate.”

The word wasn’t a thought. It was a command.

A certainty.A truth carved into bone.

No.No… this couldn’t be happening.

Not here.Not after all this time.

Not with her.

She sat halfway down the table, staring back at me with wide eyes that looked just as stunned as I felt.

For some time I’d tried to convince myself that I’d imagined it. Telling myself distance would bury whatever had awakened the night before she disappeared.

But I was wrong. Painfully wrong. She wasn’t the timid eighteen-year-old I remembered.

Time had changed her.

The shy girl who avoided everyone’s gaze had become a woman who carried quiet strength, even if she didn’t know it yet. The crab-colored dress she wore was simple, almost deliberately plain, but nothing about her looked ordinary.

She took my breath away.

The bond exploded between us with enough force to make my knees threaten to buckle.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t romantic. It was savage.Ancient.A force that cared nothing for reason or consequences.

Every instinct inside me demanded the same thing. Go to her. Touch her. Never let her out of your sight again.

My wolf surged forward with a growl that echoed inside my skull. Ours.

I clenched every muscle in my body.

Not now.

Not like this.

Her perfume reached me first.

It was cheap-ish with a floral scent that was too sweet for my taste.

Then, beneath it…There she was. Hidden so deeply I almost missed it.

The scent that belonged only to Sylvia.

It was faint. Unnaturally faint.

I frowned. Why? A healthy wolf couldn’t smell like this. Her natural scent should have filled the room. But instead it lingered beneath the perfume like a whisper fighting to be heard.

Something wasn’t right. My wolf grew restless. He wanted closer. He wanted to bury his face against her neck until every trace of that artificial fragrance disappeared.

But I steeled myself and locked my jaw. Not happening. Across the table, Sylvia looked just as trapped as I felt.

Her breathing had become uneven. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table so tightly I thought the wood might splinter beneath them.

She wasn’t looking at anyone else. Only me as confusion filled her eyes.

Not rejection.

Not fear.

Confusion.

She felt it but she just didn’t understand it.

The realisation hit me harder than the bond itself. She doesn’t know. Of course she doesn’t.

If her wolf couldn’t scent me properly…

If something was suppressing her…

She wouldn’t recognise what was happening.

The bond stretched tighter between us with every passing second.

It felt like standing at opposite ends of a rope that neither of us could let go.

Memories rushed through me without warning.

A girl dragging a suitcase across the front driveway.

Looking back only once before climbing into the waiting car.

I remembered standing upstairs, hidden behind the curtains, watching until the taillights disappeared beyond the gates.

I never said goodbye and I never stopped regretting it.

Years upon years of forcing my wolf into silence. Years pretending work mattered more than the ache she’d left behind. Years convincing myself I’d survive without ever seeing her again.

And now…

The gods had dropped her back into my life without so much as a warning.

Movement flickered at the edge of my vision.

Lady Helena had gone perfectly still.

Father was saying something but I couldn’t make out a single word.

The room had narrowed until only Sylvia existed.

I caught the smallest movement as her lips parted.

She looked as though she wanted to ask me a question. Or maybe breathe.

I wasn’t sure she could do either. Neither could I.

My control snapped. If I stayed another second…

I’d cross the room. I’d touch her and the consequences could be catastrophic.

Without a word, I turned on my heel.

I heard Father call my name behind me.

But I ignored it.

My footsteps pounded across the marble floor as I left the dining room.

I needed distance. Immediately.

The bond clawed at my back with every step, urging me to turn around. Go back.

That she’s waiting. She’s mine.

“No,” I muttered through clenched teeth.

I took the staircase two steps at a time.

By the time I reached the second floor, my pulse was hammering so violently it felt like my ribs might crack. I didn't slow down until I hit my old room, throwing the door open and heading straight for the bathroom.

My hands shook as I twisted the shower handle.

Water thundered from the showerhead—ice-cold and punishing. Perfect. I didn’t even bother taking off my clothes; I just stepped straight beneath the downpour. The freezing spray hit like a physical blow to the chest, knocking the air right out of my lungs and for a few seconds, I welcomed it.

Anything was better than the fire raging beneath my skin.

I braced both hands against the tiled wall and lowered my head.

Water soaked through my clothes, dripping from my hair onto the floor.

Still…

It wasn’t enough.

Because no amount of water could wash away the single truth my wolf kept repeating.

You found her.

And this time… she’s not leaving.