MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS Chapter 37: THE GODDESS AND THE GHOST

AMARIS

I lasted about twenty minutes of that before I needed air.

"Gosh I can’t take this anymore," I mumbled to Nia who was beside .

"It is not that bad, Amaris. Just smile at the n making comnts about your body and agree with the won reducing you to just a baby factory,"

I chuckled, "Even when you try to sound so light hearted about it, it still sound so so bad,"

"Just an hour more,"

"I would die before an hour," I retorted, pulling at the flair of my garnt. "Can you just stay here and let know if The Alpha needs , I will go get so air."

"Okay, Amaris, Don’t wander too far," she called out but I was already wandering away, needing to be as far from this conformism as soon as possible.

I could feel eyes on as I moved through the crowd, could feel Rowan and Ryker tracking my movents from opposite sides of the room like predators watching prey. I ignored them both and headed toward the doors that led to the garden balcony.

"Amaris." A voice that even if I heard in the middle of a nightmare I would be able to recognize called out.

I stopped and turned to find my brother walking toward wearing the kind of smile that made my skin crawl. Darius looked older than I rembered, more polished and sohow refined, like becoming Alpha had carved away whatever brutality he might have once had and replaced it with finesse.

"My dear sister," he said, pulling into a hug I didn’t want and couldn’t avoid without making a scene. "You have grown so much. I almost didn’t recognize you,"

I stepped back as soon as he released . "Yeah, that happens when ti passes."

I wished I could say I was happy to see him but I wasn’t and lying about it felt like too much effort.

He laughed like I had made a joke. "Don’t be annoyed that I didn’t tell you father died. A lot was going on, I was being made Alpha, things were complicated and I didn’t really want to distract you from your Luna duty,"

I glanced at him, everything about the statent felt wrong but I weighed my option, I could point it out and he would dismiss it and tell that it was just trying to read aning to everything. So I decided to take the higher ground..

"It’s fine," I said, keeping my expression plain. "I don’t really care."

His smile faded slightly and his eyes went cold. "You sound bitter despite being a Luna now. I thought you would be grateful for this opportunity."

I opened my mouth to tell him exactly where he could shove his thoughts about gratitude but caught myself. This was not the place, not the ti, not worth it. Plus I was already suffocating from the people pleasing I had done earlier and this damn dress. I couldn’t add Darius to the list of things I was bothered about.

"Excuse ," I said instead, and walked away before he could say anything else.

The garden balcony was blessedly empty when I stepped outside and I leaned against the railing breathing in cool night air that tasted like freedom. The party noise faded to a dull hum behind and for the first ti all night I felt like I could actually breathe.

"Beautiful night, don’t you think."

I jumped and spun around to find a man standing in the shadows near the far end of the balcony. He stepped into the light and I got a good look at him for the first ti.

Mid thirties maybe, tall and built in the for of who spent a lot of ti making sure his body could break things if needed. Dark hair, strong jaw, eyes that caught the moonlight and held it. He was handso in that dangerous way that made smart girls turn around and walk in the opposite direction. I could tell by the way he was looking at .

I was apparently not a smart girl. Because I stayed.

"It is," I agreed, my hand going to my chest where my heart was still racing from being startled.

He smiled and it transford his face into a softer version of him, "I apologize for frightening you. I ca out here for the sa reason you did I think. Too many people, too much noise."

I relaxed slightly and returned his smile. "The party getting to you too?"

"A bit," he admitted, moving closer but stopping at a respectful distance. "Though I must say, you are handling it better than most. You look stunning by the way. The Alpha is a lucky man."

Heat rose in my cheeks. "Thank you. Are you enjoying the party otherwise?"

"I am now," he said, and there was sothing in his tone that made it sound like a complint and flattery at the sa ti. "It’s not often you et soone who looks like a goddess and acts like a person."

I laughed, the sound surprising . "Well I am trying very hard not to act like the tyrant everyone seems to think I am."

"I doubt you could be a tyrant if you tried," he countered. "You have kind eyes."

We talked for a few more minutes about nothing important, just easy conversation that felt normal in a way nothing had felt normal since I arrived at Gravemoon. He was charming without being slimy, interesting without being pretentious, and when he laughed at sothing I said it sounded genuine.

All the n I had t in the Gravemoon pack were either out to destroy, ruin or just ignore , never friendly or casual but this man sounded quite different and I scowled at the fact that I wish I had t more people like him.

"I should get back," he said eventually, glancing toward the doors. "Before people notice I have been monopolizing the Luna’s ti."

"Wait," I called as he turned to leave. "What’s your na? So I can tell the Alpha I t such a kind and noble man."

He stopped and looked back at , his expression shifting into a look that I couldn’t quite read. The smile stayed but his eyes went dark a bit.

"I am Victor," he replied in a calm voice, "Victor Hale."

My heart skipped a beat imdiately as my blood ran chills.