Ava
I lingered just outside in the hallway, peering through the cracked door into Chris’s study with a pained expression on my face. He was seated at his large oak desk, his brow furrowed in concentration as he pored over a stack of papers and photographs scattered in front of him.
The list.
I didn’t need to see the pages up close to know what he was working on—compiling detailed personal profiles on a selection of eligible bachelorettes from our neighboring packs, as per the Elders’ demand.
A knot formed in the pit of my stomach as I watched him sort through the papers. I knew in my heart that this was nothing more than an appeasement tactic for now, a way to satisfy the Elders until he found Olivia and the moonstone.
Still, seeing him like this made my heart twist in my chest. I co
