Chapter 4

~Nina~

By the time I entered the great hall, the victory feast was already in full swing.

The enormous room had been transformed for the occasion. Black and silver banners bearing the Shadowveil crest hung from the stone walls, tables stretched across the polished floor beneath the glow of hundreds of candles, and the air was thick with the smell of roasted meat, spiced vegetables, freshly baked bread, and expensive wine.

It wasn’t just the Shadowveil pack who had gathered.

Several neighboring Alphas had come to celebrate Graham’s victory.

I recognized most of them immediately.

Alpha Dominic of Ironclaw sat near the center of the hall, surrounded by two of his Beta’s. Beside him was Alpha Ronan of Redridge, laughing loudly over something one of the warriors had said. There were representatives from three other packs as well, each seated beneath their respective banners.

My eyes moved across the room.

Then stopped.

I almost missed a step.

Alpha Maxwell.

He sat at a table near the far side of the hall, surrounded by several other Alphas.

For a moment, I simply stared at him.

Maxwell never attended public functions. He despised pack politics, ignored regional summits, and ran his territory on his own ruthless terms. Yet here he was, towering over the other guests in a dark tailored coat, his sharp, amber-grey eyes casually analyzing the room like a predator surveying a cattle pen.

My lips curved into a slow, cold smile.

Of all the men in the continent, Maxwell was the absolute last person Graham wanted to see under his roof.

Their rivalry had begun a while before my marriage and Graham had always insisted they were simply competitive, but I knew better.

Maxwell had hated Graham from the moment he learned that I had abandoned my royal life to become his Luna.

He had never understood why I would choose a provincial Alpha over everything I had been born to inherit.

And after I married Graham, their rivalry had become almost ridiculous.

They competed over territory disputes that barely mattered.

They competed over hunting records, warrior training, annual games, trade agreements, and even meaningless challenges that neither of them had any reason to care about.

And Graham kept losing.

Not once.

Not twice.

Repeatedly.

Every time Graham thought he had finally found something he could beat Maxwell at, Maxwell somehow managed to take first place.

I had once teased Graham about it and he hadn’t found it funny. But I had always thought it was harmless until tonight. Because Maxwell’s presence alone had changed Graham’s entire posture.

I looked toward the head table.

Graham was standing there speaking to one of the visiting Alphas, but the moment he noticed Maxwell, his conversation stopped.

His eyes narrowed, and his shoulders stiffened. Even from across the hall, I could see the question forming in his expression.

Why is he here?

And more importantly—

What does he want?

I almost laughed.

For the first time since returning from war, Graham looked genuinely uncomfortable.

I started walking toward the head table.

Then stopped.

I glanced back at Maxwell as an idea occurred to me and I changed direction. I didn’t need to sit beside Graham yet. If he wanted to parade Chloe around as though she were already his Luna, he could do that without me.

I crossed the hall toward Maxwell’s table.

The closer I came, the more heads turned. Luckily, Maxwell noticed me before I reached him and his dark eyes lifted.

For a moment, something unreadable crossed his face. Then he stood.

The other Alphas at his table followed suit.

“Alpha Maxwell.”

I smiled politely.

“Welcome to Shadowveil.”

His gaze remained on me for a moment longer than necessary.

Then he inclined his head.

“Luna Nina.”

There was something almost strange about hearing my fake name from him.

Maxwell had always been formal and respectful with me. Never overly familiar despite our history.

I turned toward the other Alphas seated at the table.

“Thank you all for coming. I know how busy everyone must be, so it means a great deal that you came to celebrate Shadowveil’s victory.”

Alpha Dominic smiled.

“It wouldn’t have been right to miss it.”

“Your hospitality has always been appreciated,” another Alpha added.

I returned their smiles.

“I hope you’re enjoying yourselves.”

“We certainly are.”

My eyes returned to Maxwell.

“And you?”

He looked at me for a long moment.

“I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t intend to.”

I almost smiled.

That sounded exactly like him.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

His mouth curved slightly.

“You should.”

Behind me, I could practically feel Graham’s stare burning into my back.

I didn’t turn around.

Instead, I continued speaking with the visiting Alphas for another few moments, thanking them for attending and exchanging the usual pleasantries. Nothing improper or provocative that Graham could reasonably object to, yet I knew exactly what was happening at the head table.

Graham was probably trying to figure out what Maxwell could possibly want from me.

I finally inclined my head.

“Please enjoy the feast.”

Maxwell’s gaze followed me as I stepped away.

“It was good to see you again, Isabelle.”

I paused, I hadn't heard my real name in a while. I looked around to make sure other alphas were lost in the celebration and probably didn't hear him before replying.

“You too, Alpha Maxwell.”

I turned and walked back toward the head table.

By the time I reached it, Chloe was no longer smiling.

Graham wasn’t either.

The two of them looked like they had spent the entire time trying to decide whether they were more irritated by my absence or by the man I had been speaking to.

I pulled out my chair.

Graham’s voice came low.

“What were you doing?”

I sat gracefully.

“Welcoming our guests.”

His eyes hardened.

“You walked past your husband to greet Maxwell.”

I looked at him.

"He is an Alpha guest in our hall, Graham," I replied, my voice completely serene as I picked up my wine glass. "Would you prefer I display the poor manners of an uneducated omega-Luna?"

Graham’s jaw cracked under the pressure of his clenched teeth.

Chloe leaned into his arm, trying to reclaim his focus, her tone laced with desperate sweetness. "Graham, darling, don't let it bother you. I'm sure Alpha Maxwell was just being polite to Nina."

I turned my head slowly, looking directly at Chloe. I didn't raise my voice or scowl. Instead, I simply offered her a look of faint, icy pity.

"Careful, Chloe," I murmured softly. "It's Luna and in a room full of foreign Alphas, a mistress who speaks out of turn reflects very poorly on the Alpha holding her leash."

Chloe’s face flushed a deep, violent red. She gasped, shrinking back as if I had slapped her across the face.

Graham’s head snapped toward me, his hand slamming onto the table, rattling the silverware. "Nina! It's okay!"

"Is something wrong, Graham?" I asked innocently, taking a slow, delicate sip of my wine. "You seem terribly jumpy tonight. Are you concerned about the war... or are you worried Maxwell might want to compete for your Luna?"

Graham froze. His eyes flicked nervously toward Maxwell’s table.

Across the hall, Maxwell was staring straight at our table, sipping his ale with a cool, calculating smirk.

But he wasn’t looking at Graham, he was looking at me. Graham noticed, and his expression darkened immediately, his knuckles turning white around his goblet.

I lowered my eyes to my plate to hide the smile threatening to appear. For three years, Graham had never cared who looked at me. He had been so certain of my devotion that he had never imagined another man could matter.

Now, after spending the afternoon replacing me with another woman, he suddenly seemed very interested in where I went, who I spoke to, and why his oldest rival had chosen tonight of all nights to appear.