Chapter 169 Lights, Camera, Action
908words
"I knew you were full of shit. I knew you were faking this entire time," Bailey said with an all-knowing smirk playing across her face. Busted. I knew I should have waited a little longer before making my move, but I wasn't sure how long Alpha Christian would be gone, or how much time I really had.
"And?" I said, crossing my arms across my chest.
"You know he owns you, right? The more you fight, the harder this is going to be for you," she explained.
I shook my head. "No one owns me, especially not your jackass mate."
She heaved a sigh and shook her head. "Why must you be so damn difficult? Don't you see you're the key to this entire mess? Alpha Christian is ready to rule; he's going to become the Alpha King. It's only a matter of time. Give in already. I know Alpha Jaxon is your mate, but we have him cornered—it's over."
The thought of my mate being in trouble made my wolf howl inside. I couldn't imagine anything happening to him. I wouldn't be able to go on in this thing called life—not without him. Then I remembered those dreaded words that haunted me like a ghost under the full moon: "protect the Alpha." I stared blankly at Bailey, my mind racing to figure out how this happened. When this happened.
"There's one thing I don't understand. When did you and Alpha Christian find each other? I could have sworn your birthday..." I said, cutting myself off.
Fuck, I thought as my lips pressed together into a tight line. "I'm sorry, Bailey. I don't know how I—" I began before Bailey cut me off.
"It's fine. You were busy being your fancy Luna self, right? Save it, Adeline. I don't care to hear it. You've made it clear where you and I stand, haven't you?" she scolded.
Guilt flooded my chest. I had forgotten my best friend's birthday. No wonder she'd been acting weird, no wonder why she hated me.
Just then, both Bailey and I went silent as rumblings echoed through the hallway. A deep voice with a thick accent argued, "Show me she's safe. You're making this more difficult than it needs to be. This wasn't part of the fucking plan, Christian."
Alpha Christian scoffed. "The plan? I've decided to keep her. Do you know how powerful she'll make me when I take over every fucking pack in the US? You better watch how you speak to me if you want my support. I won't tolerate your disrespect."
The door opened, and there stood Alpha Christian with Alpha Blake by his side. The two of them were massive as they walked toward me. A wave of dread and guilt hit me. I should have figured that Alpha Blake was involved in this charade too. He was a slimy son of a bitch who would do anything to increase his own power, regardless of whom he had to take down in the process.
"Luna," Alpha Blake said. I moved to cover my body, placing my hands across my breasts and my knees up to my chest to be less exposed in front of him.
"I hope they've been treating you well?" he asked, cocking his head as he waited for a response. It was no use. What was I supposed to say? "Yeah, Alpha, I've been used and abused, injected with shit that could kill me. Oh, and I just found out I'm pregnant too." I nodded slowly, casting my gaze downward.
Alpha Christian nodded at me in approval. He shrugged a shoulder and gave me one last lingering glance. I shivered at the way his eyes slowly danced up my body, like he was getting excited about the ideas bouncing around in his mind that involved me.
"I want her moved," Alpha Blake announced. I tried to rip my gaze from his, but I couldn't. It was like I was trapped, staring him dead in the eyes as he threw around demands. Alpha Christian grunted before dramatically throwing his arms into the air.
"You don't think I would've if I didn't have every corner of this house surrounded?"
"You don't think we want to go home already and play with our prize?" Bailey added, shooting me a smile that made me contemplate lunging toward her.
"Then move faster. Jaxon has every shifter in Midnight Moon searching for any sign of Adeline. We're going to need to show him a picture or something; otherwise, he will find her. He's holding his sanity together by a thread," Alpha Blake said.
That's when I saw my opening. I knew what to do. I knew how to keep Jaxon safe.
"Live stream me. Show him a video to prove I'm alive and well. You know the seconds are ticking down, and if he does find you, he'll take both your packs without a second thought," I said confidently enough to convince them that Jaxon was on their tails.
The two looked at each other for a second before Bailey piped up, "No. She's planning something. I know her."
I had to stop my eyes from rolling to the back of my head. Now she knew me so well? If she did, she would know this whole Luna thing meant nothing to me. It wasn't something I chose for myself. It was my fate—just like being Alpha Christian's Luna was hers.
