Olivia didn’t know this, but over the past weeks I had been working tirelessly, pushing myself to the limits, all for the chance to gain the approval of the Alpha Council.But no matter how hard I tried, it seemed that they never took me seriously.It was late in the day on a Friday when I was supposed to attend an Alpha Council meeting. Normally, during these meetings, I spent most of the time keeping the minutes or taking notes.Today, however, I was finally permitted to sit in on the meeting and have my first trial as a “member” of the council.As I entered the council chambers, I could already feel the judgmental gazes of the other Alphas weighing heavily on me.They whispered amongst themselves, casting disparaging glances in my direction. Ignoring their obvious disdain, I took my seat.The air in the council chamber was heavy with tension as I took my seat among the other Alphas. Their disapproving glances sent a wave of unease through me, but I refused to let it deter me. I had

I sat there on the sand for a long time after Nathan left, staring out at the ocean as the light faded over the horizon.Confusion gnawed at my thoughts as I mulled over the words that had come out of my mouth and hurt my friend’s feelings.Maybe I had been too harsh with Nathan. Perhaps I should have been more understanding and empathetic. The weight of guilt settled upon my conscience, urging me to make amends and bridge the growing divide between us.Determined to apologize, I made my way back up to the house, anticipation mingled with nervousness.The house was dark when I entered, with only the lamp on in the living room. Nathan wasn’t anywhere to be found downstairs, so I headed up to his room to see if he was in there.However, as I reached his door, my hand poised to knock, I noticed that there was no light pouring out from underneath the door. A sinking feeling enveloped me as I realized he was either already asleep, or he was pretending to be asleep to avoid talking to me.R

Just as Nathan promised, we were pulling up to his family’s mansion hardly an hour later.The ride up to the mansion was just as quiet between us as the ride to the park was. However, as we pulled up and saw the sea of people flooding into the banquet hall and heard the loud, charming orchestral music, I felt my thoughts of our arguments slipping away.The grandeur of the banquet hall enveloped me as we entered the luncheon. The air buzzed with chatter and the clinking of silverware against fine china filled the atmosphere.The room was filled with influential figures, their presence a stark reminder of the power dynamics at play in this intricate social web. I immediately recognized all of the Alphas and the Elders, and their respective families, seated at an enormous table.There were other, smaller tables scattered around, which were quickly filling up with people. I looked around and noticed that there was a line of people standing by a huge buffet, upon which was laid a spread of

“Let’s dance,” he said.Nathan held his hand out to me with a smile on his face, but there was something performative about it that made my chest ache more than it already was.But I knew why he was doing it; we had to do this. We had to put on a good show, because people were doubting our relationship. Not only was Nathan’s place on the Alpha Council at risk, but so was my reputation.We were already in this too deep, and I didn’t want it to be known that I had let my childhood best friend use me for social advancement. I also didn’t want anyone to ever find out the horrible truth about my baby’s real father.“Come on, Olivia.” He held his hand out a little further, urging me to take it.And so, with an equally performative smile, I took Nathan’s hand and let him lead me over to the dancefloor.As we approached, some of the other guests moved out of our way and looked at us in shock. I felt the weight of everyone’s gaze on me, their “Luna”.Nathan put one hand around my waist, holdin

The sound of silverware being tapped loudly against the sides of glasses floated across the air to us.“Come on,” Nathan said, with an oddly relieved expression on his face. “We have to go inside now. My dad’s supposed to give a speech.”Before I could even speak, Nathan turned on his heel and headed inside. With a sigh, I followed in his footsteps, my heart aching for the words that kept going unsaid between us.Our best friend, the missing piece to our puzzle, was sitting all alone in his dark house, and Nathan seemed to have no desire to try and talk to him. He kept saying that it was dangerous, that Alvin was different… But I didn’t believe him.Surely, if we both went to Alvin’s house and tried to talk to him, he would open up to us. Maybe together we could get to the bottom of what was going on with him, and we could help him. But it wouldn’t work if Nathan kept refusing to even try to help his friend.As we walked back into the banquet hall, the clinking of silverware and the h