Chapter 476: Dance

Chapter 476: Elara

"Thank you, Luna."

I wave off the wolf and stand and stretch. I do not mind taking on the duties of Luna of Redmoon. Honestly, I have always done so for as long as I can remember.

I probably will do so for ages too, because my brother is in love with a male wolf. At least he is happy.

"No, Gray, we will not have this conversation!"

I stop in my tracks, passing by my brother’s office.

"You have to! It is a duty," I hear Gray say.

"No, I refuse. I cannot believe you are asking me to do this!"

I walk in to dissolve the tension. They have been arguing often these days. Gray sees me and walks out. I walk further in. Eric has a scowl on his face.

"Well—"

"Can you believe this, Elara!" He cuts me off.

I keep quiet.

"I cannot believe he can ask me to do this! When our positions had been reversed, I would never have asked this of him," he says.

"Well, he is not just your lover. He is also your Beta. He has to think of the pack." I try to be the voice of reason.

"He cannot ask me to sleep with another wolf to have a pup," Eric says with a growl.

This is the cause of their recent arguments. I genuinely understand both sides. My brother cannot accept having to be with someone else, and he cannot believe the man he loves is asking him to. And for Gray, I am sure he is also swimming in guilt. Firstly, he is the reason Eric rejected Seraphina, and now he cannot sit back and watch as the Redmoon Alpha bloodline disappears because of him.

They are both valid. I cannot expect my brother to just do so, because genuinely, I think I would go insane if Daphne would ever ask me something similar.

"Does he not love me? I genuinely feel murderous at the thought of Gray with another," he says in a small voice.

"You know he does." I reach my hand forward and hold his hand.

"I do not understand why he would ask this of me. I cannot do it," he says.

"You know exactly why he would ask this of you, Eric," I say quietly.

He looks at me. I give him a small smile and squeeze his hand.

"He loves you," I say. "He loves you enough to want you to have an heir. He loves you enough to put the pack before himself. He loves you enough to sacrifice."

Eric flinches.

"He is not asking you to betray him," I continue. "He is asking you to do your duty. To secure the future of Redmoon. To ensure that the Alpha bloodline continues."

"I do not care about the bloodline," he says.

"I know."

"I just want him."

"I know."

He is quiet for a long moment.

"Should you not be helping me? Giving me advice? What should I do?" he grumbles.

I laugh.

"Because I genuinely do not know, Eric," I say.

He looks at me.

"Sure, they do not say it to your face, but the pack is talking about you two. And Gray has been raised as your Beta, meaning it is in him to think about the pack. I am sure this was not an easy decision for him to come to either."

"I do not like it," he says stubbornly.

I laugh.

"It was never going to be easy," I tell him.

He sighs.

He looks at the door where Gray left.

"I thought with Father gone, it was going to be fine," he says.

"Oh dear goddess, it sounds as if you are glad Father is gone," I say.

"You know what I mean," he says.

I know exactly what he means.

Father was the one who disapproved. Father was the one who could not accept Eric’s relationship with Gray. Father was the one who made everything harder.

But Father is gone now.

And it is still not fine.I pull my hand away and walk to hug him. Because it is all I can do.

He leans his head on my shoulder for a few moments. I pull away and hold his face in my hands.

"I do not know what decision you will come to," I say, "but I will always support you."

He smiles and closes his eyes, leaning into my touch.

"Thank you," he whispers.

I kiss his forehead.

"Always," I say.

I pull away.

"Now go talk to him," I say.

He nods and walks out.

I also search for my own mate.

*

I find Daphne... in a suit? The whole three-piece attire, with the shoes, in our room.

"What is going on?" I close the door behind me hesitantly.

"Hurry and change into this." She hands me a dress and scuttles me into the connecting room that serves as a bathroom and a dressing room.

I stand dumbfounded. I place the dress carefully and take a shower. When I come out, the dress looks fancy, so I decide to actually do my makeup this time.

Most of the products on the dresser are new and sealed. I have never had a reason to use them before. I am initially worried, but I do know how to do makeup and my hair. I wear the dress—or try to—but it is genuinely too complicated.

Then I feel hands on my shoulders.

"Let me."

I look up. Daphne is standing behind me in the mirror, her dark eyes soft, her smile gentle.

I raise my eyebrow, but she smiles cryptically and helps me into the dress. I just stand here, amused, when she decides to fix my chest—by groping my chest in a not-so-subtle way—and she ties the strings of the dress behind.

It is really pretty. Flowy. Green.

She twirls me.

"Perfect," she says.

"But something is missing." She opens drawers and comes out with a jewelry box. She places the necklace around my neck, and the earrings too. They are clip-ons—being a wolf, I tried to get pierced, but five minutes later my skin healed, so I gave up. Wolves cannot get tattoos for the same reason.

Then she helps me into some heels. They make me tall enough that I do not have to look up at her now.

"Perfect now?" I ask, amused.

"Yes." She smiles and takes my hand.

Our bedroom is empty. No bed. No table. No decorations. Just the dark tiled floor reflecting the lamps.

"What is this?" I ask as she leads me to the center of the room.

"You said you would like to dress up and dance," she says.

"It was a joke," I say, remembering the conversation. I was not serious.

"Not to me, my beloved." She pulls me closer by my waist.

"There is nothing I would not do for you," she says against my ear. "I debated having us go to an actual castle, or clearing the room downstairs, but you would not like that."

She is right. She knows me so well. I am happiest when it is just us.

She snaps her fingers, and music starts. It almost feels like a live orchestra.

"So how much can you remember from being a duchess?" she asks. "Can you still dance?"

She takes a few steps back, bows, and offers her hand.

I place my hand in hers.

"There is only one way to find out," I say.