8. Touch Him Casually

Jessamine.

He gave her flowers.

She's been mooning about it all morning, telling everyone who cares to listen that the Alpha handpicked the roses himself.

Why am I mad? I know he hates flowers. They make him sneeze. But if he'd gone as far as handpicking the flowers himself, then he must really like Moira.

And that makes competing against her even more difficult than it already is.

"The first test," Luna Renae starts, unrolling a scroll, and her expression is stern as she says, "Wisdom and Leadership."

Alpha Kier enters the hall and I make a point to stare only at his mother. The others are swooning, whispering, rising from their chairs and bowing.

My heart's beating hard and fast, but he can't know that. I keep my expression neutral, uncaring, even if I watch him in my peripheral vision.

He's staring in my general direction, but I can tell his gaze is fixed on me, the only woman who isn't fussing about his presence.

Settling