Switched Bride, True Luna - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

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 itself. That part had been real. I’d chosen it for her. I’d 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 roses. I gave a nod to the maître 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.
Not the one who’d laughed in my office last week. Not the one who’d looked at me like I might be more than my title.
I drove for fifteen minutes, until the city gave way to trees, and the pack territory opened up.
When the car finally slowed, Emily blinked out the window. “The cliffs?”
I nodded once. “No press. No waiters. No expectations.”
She turned 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.”
“I know. I didn’t want to make a scene, and it didn’t seem like it was worth it.”
The fire in her eyes flared. “You didn’t think it was worth it?”
“It benefits us in the end, doesn’t it? We need people to see us together.”
“I thought you meant our fellow packmates, not publicists!” She started to get up, and I quickly caught her wrist.
“Emily, please, let’s talk about this.”
“Why should we? You clearly don’t care.”
“Of course I care,” I sighed heavily, “I wanted tonight to be different too.”
Emily turned to me, her face lit only by moonlight.
“It wasn’t.”
I winced. Then she said, quietly, “But this is.”
That stopped me. I turned to meet her eyes.
She was watching me. She looked tired, and a little sad.
“You’re right,” I said finally. “About the cameras. About the theater. About all of it.”
She arched a brow. “So you admit it?”
I shook his head. “No. I admit you’re right to feel how you feel. I used tonight to show the pack how solid we are.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“But I didn’t plan the press,” I continued, voice lower now. “I didn’t call the press. I didn’t invite the cameras. I didn’t even tell Tony we were going.”
Emily stared at me.
“But I didn’t stop it,” I admitted. “And I’m sorry.”
She said nothing.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what we are,” I said slowly. “At first, it was strategy. It was the bigger part of my plan to achieve all of my goals.”
“And now?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“Now…” I exhaled. “I don’t know.”
“We’re a contract couple, right?”
“Yes. But sometimes…” I struggled to put it into words. Mostly because I didn’t have any. Partly because I didn’t want to say something that I’d regret.
I’d spent all of my life learning how to be an Alpha. I guess I never learned how to be a good partner.
Our relationship started with a contract, yes, but sometimes I forgot all about our deal.
“I’m sorry tonight disappointed you,” I said.
“You know, if you’d said something to me, it might have been different.”
“I didn’t think I’d need to. I’m an Alpha, so there is always a chance that I’ll get public attention.”
“You’ve never been the center of gossip like this before. I thought you were more careful, but instead, you’re dragging me into it.” She was seething. I’d never seen her so angry.
I found myself getting irritable. I thought she understood that we would have to go through things like this.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Because, Logan, I thought we were going to have a special night together! Instead, you turned it into another one of your machinations. And I was as in the dark on this plan as I have been in most of the others.”
Was she right? I hardly noticed. I worked and planned well, but I’d never had someone be as involved in the planning stage. Even Tony, as my Beta, usually took orders rather than helped with the strategy.
If Emily was truly going to be my partner, I suppose I needed to involve her more. Only, I’m not used to having someone so close to me. It felt awkward and unusual, and I’m not sure how much I liked it.
We sat there for a while and looked down at the pack territory. As it got later, the night grew quieter. The silence extended between the two of us, but neither of us wanted to be the first to speak.
So we didn’t. After a while, we stood up and began to head back to the pack.
The breeze carried the scent of pine and lake water. Something in me wouldn’t settle, and it wasn’t because of her. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up.
The cliffs were supposed to be secure. Typically, I wouldn’t worry too much about being found here.
Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling, in the hush between the gusts of wind and the rustling leaves, that we weren’t alone.