PINK LINGERIE FAILED

SALOME

Two nights. Two whole, agonizing nights, and Williams hadn’t spoken a single word to me.

The silence in our house was heavier than the defeat on the ice. He didn’t yell, he didn’t curse, and in a way, that was so much worse. He simply acted like I was a ghost floating through his living space. I understood his anger. I really did. My pride had cost his club their standing, dragging them down to fourth place for the playoff qualifiers. It was all because of my desperate, stupid quest to fight Miriam, to show her I was better, and to force Williams to take my side.

Now, he was further away from me than ever.

Sitting on the edge of the bed on the third evening, my mind raced. The distance between us was killing me. I needed to bridge it, to break through the icy wall he’d built around himself. I initiated the idea of seduction. Maybe with sex, I could win his heart again. Deep down, I believed the love was still there, buried under all that disappointment and frustration. I just needed to wake it up.

I walked over to my drawer and pulled out a fresh pair of pink undies. Pink was the ultimate seduction color—soft, playful, and tempting. Red was too aggressive, but pink promised something sweet.

I put them on, glancing in the full-length mirror. The lace was practically invisible, showing my vagina as if nothing was covered at all. Barely a thin strap holding it together. I let my robe fall open, leaving my skin bare, and began to walk around our bedroom, intentionally exposing more of my a bit hairy vagina every time I passed the edge of the bed.

Williams was sitting by his desk, scrolling through documents on his tablet. His jaw was set tight. I crossed the room slowly, letting the hips sway, praying he would look up and see me.

He didn't even look my way. It was like I wasn't even there.

Desperation clawed at my chest. I decided to initiate it. I stepped right into his line of sight, leaning against the edge of his desk, letting the fabric fall away completely.

"Williams..." I whispered softly, reaching out to touch his broad shoulder. "Please..."

He froze. Slowly, he raised his head and looked at me. His deep blue eyes were completely cold, devoid of the heat that usually burned in them when he touched me. He didn't say a word. He just stood up, pushed his chair back, and walked right out of the bedroom.

"Williams, wait!"

I quickly grabbed a silk robe, wrapping it around myself as I hurried into the hallway to follow him. But as I reached the top of the stairs, the sound of his deep voice stopped me in my tracks. He was standing near the front door, holding his phone to his ear.

"I'm horny," Williams said into the receiver, his tone thick and low. "And I'm coming to you, baby."

The words struck me like a physical blow, knocking the breath straight out of my lungs. I shrank back against the wall, my hand clutching the front of my robe as the heavy oak door clicked shut behind him.

He left. He actually left me to go to someone else.

Tears sprang to my eyes, hot and furious, as I retreated back into the cold, empty bedroom. I collapsed onto the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. Was it Miriam? Had he gone straight back to her after I embarrassed him? The thought made my stomach churn with a sickening jealousy.

I lay there for hours, the house ringing with silence. Every minute felt like an eternity. By midnight, the shame had turned into a burning, restless anger. I was the Luna. I wasn't going to lie in this bed and rot while he was out with whoever 'baby' was.

Around two in the morning, the heavy front door finally opened downstairs. Heavy, slow footsteps echoed up the wooden staircase.

I sat up straight on the mattress, adjusting my robe and wiping my face clean. When the bedroom door pushed open, Williams stepped inside. He looked exhausted, his hair slightly rumpled, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He stopped when he saw me sitting up, waiting for him.

"You're still awake," he said, his voice quiet and completely flat.

"Who was she, Williams?" I demanded, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "Who did you go to?"

He threw his car keys onto the dresser with a loud clack. He didn't look at me as he unbuttoned his cuffs. "It doesn't matter, Salome."

"It does matter!" I snapped, standing up from the bed and taking a step toward him. "You walked out on me—your mate—and told another woman you were coming to her because you were horny! Do you have any idea how that felt?"

Williams finally turned to face me. The coldness in his eyes had morphed into a dark, simmering rage.

"And do you have any idea how it felt to watch you throw away months of my team's hard work just to satisfy your own petty grudge?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "I begged you not to play, Salome. I literally held you in my arms and begged you to let Annabel take over. But you didn't care about the club. You didn't care about my reputation. You only cared about Miriam."

"I was trying to fight for us!" I shouted, tears spilling over my lashes. "I wanted to show you that I could stand up to her! I wanted to make you proud!"

"You made a fool out of both of us," he said harshly.

His words felt like a dagger to the heart. "So you went and slept with someone else? To get back at me?"

Williams let out a harsh, dry laugh, tossing his jacket over a chair. "I went to a bar down the road, Salome. I called my lead scout, Marcus, to tell him I was coming over to his place to drink off my frustration because I couldn't stand being in this room with you." He paused, looking me up and down with a cold glare. "I said those words on the phone because I knew you were listening at the top of the stairs. I wanted you to feel a fraction of the anger I felt."

My breath hitched. He had lied... just to hurt me.

"You played me," I whispered, my voice breaking.

"You played yourself the moment you stepped onto that ice without being ready," Williams replied coldly. He walked over to the closet, pulled out a spare pillow and a blanket, and turned toward the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"To the guest room," he said, not even glancing back at me. "I need space, Salome. And until you realize that being a Luna means putting the pack and this relationship above your fragile ego, we don't have anything to talk about."

The door shut behind him with a soft, final thud.

I stood alone in the quiet room, the chill of the night creeping under my skin. The pink lace felt absurd and useless against my body now. I had tried to use seduction to fix a broken bridge, but all I had done was prove how far apart we truly were.

I climbed back into the cold, empty bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. As the tears finally fell unchecked, one thing became painfully clear, if I wanted Williams back, sex and petty rivalries weren't going to save me. I had to fix the mess I had made.