Unexpected Reservations

Vance

Valerie offers a polite smile across the host counter toward Stella, who sits completely motionless in her chair. My gaze shifts back and forth between the two women for a brief second, and it takes zero effort to guess the exact assumptions Stella is making right now about what Valerie and I mean to one another.

My only reason for traveling to the capital was the upcoming Alpha party. Since I don't have a Luna at my side, bringing my cousin Valerie along seemed like the smartest move. She just got back home after spending the last eight years studying overseas, and I thought the trip would give us a solid chance to catch up on lost time.

Free hours are hard to come by in my schedule, and showing up to a formal gathering like that without a proper female companion simply wasn't an option. Inviting her felt like a practical way to handle two obligations at once.

Right now, though, I am seriously regretting letting her twist my arm into coming on this little errand. Eight years on different continents made me forget just how stubborn my cousin really is. Once Valerie sets her sights on a goal, she does not back down until she gets her way. Earlier today, I tried making it clear that my schedule was far too packed to go wandering around the city checking out different dining spots, yet she refused to hear a word of it.

“We have to lock down a restaurant reservation right now,” she had insisted, propping her hip against the edge of my desk and folding her arms over her chest. “And it’s pretty obvious that sending an assistant to handle it for you was a total bust.”

“I have too much work on my plate.”

A deep frown pulled at her lips. “If you still want me showing up at this party with you, you’d better get out of that chair and walk into this restaurant with me.”

“I don’t even care about attending this damn thing,” I muttered under my breath. It wasn't as if I had spare evenings lying around to waste on social mingling when those hours belonged to pack business.

Valerie just rolled her eyes at me. “Vance, you are required to put in an appearance, and you need me holding your arm because you flat-out refuse to look for a new Luna. Now stand up. I have no intention of getting over there too late.”

That conversation is the sole reason we are standing in this lobby tonight, hoping my title will be enough to secure a decent venue for the event. All I want is to wrap this business up quickly so I can head back to my office and finish my work, because I have zero desire to stretch this evening out a minute longer than necessary.

Ever since the divorce went through, I have stayed away from high-end dining altogether. Fine cuisine was always Stella’s passion, never mine. Left to my own devices, I am completely satisfied getting by on basic nutritional supplements. Aside from the occasional business banquet where basic courtesy forces me to take a few polite bites, I never bother sitting down for an elaborate meal. I simply lack the time, and the whole drawn-out ritual of dining out means nothing to me.

So when Valerie decided that I needed to show up in person to book the space, I didn't have the energy left to fight her on it. She is completely fixated on reserving the finest dining room in the city for the Alpha gathering, and this establishment sits right at the top of her list. Knowing nothing about the local food scene, I only agreed to tag along and play the part of the Alpha, just like she asked. Walking through the front doors and coming face-to-face with Stella was the last thing on earth I anticipated.

My cousin and my ex-wife have never crossed paths before, and it is obvious neither woman has a clue who the other is. Three full years have passed since our marriage ended, and Stella looks nothing like the woman I remember from the day she walked out. For starters, her hair is back to that bright shade of blonde, and her figure has filled out in all the right places. Standing here, my mind immediately flashes back to the other night at the bar and just how incredible her curves looked wrapped in that tight black dress.

The second her wide blue eyes lock onto mine, my wolf starts tearing into me inside my head. He still wants our mate, and he remains furious with me for letting her go. We have had this exact same fight plenty of times over the years, yet standing in the same room with her again drags all that raw tension straight back to the surface for both of us.

While Valerie takes a step closer to the counter to speak with Stella, I use the brief distraction to push back against my wolf. It makes no sense to me why he stays so dead set on winning her back when he knows damn well what she did behind my back. I didn't blow up our marriage over nothing.

She slept with Declan, the guy who worked as my gardener, and the proof laid out in front of me was undeniable.

*I’ve told you a million times already,* I snap back at my wolf silently. *Infidelity is the one line you don't cross with me, and the proof was stacked a mile high. There is no chance of us ever getting back together.*

*She looked you in the eye and swore she hasn't spoken a word to Declan,* the beast shoots back. *What if she’s telling the truth and you pinned the blame on the wrong person?*

*While I was busting my ass day and night for our pack, my own wife was screwing the gardener!* I snarl into our mental link. Maybe some men turn a blind eye to that kind of thing, but I will never forgive it. My hands curl into tight fists at my sides to hold back the sudden surge of his temper, stunned that after three whole years, he still refuses to accept the facts when the proof was right there in black and white.

*You never caught them in the act with your own two eyes,* my wolf growls in defiance. *And you never heard a confession come out of her mouth.*

*So all those photographs showing them feeding each other like lovers, the snapshot catching a kiss, the pair of lace panties I bought for her turning up discarded in a pile of weeds, and Declan vanishing into thin air the exact day Stella packed her bags—none of that counts as solid proof to you?*

Merely running through that list in my head drags all the old bitterness and rage right back up into my throat. I had a hell of a lot more than vague doubts to go on, and he knows it just as well as I do.

*Nothing is settled until the words come straight from her,* my wolf snarls, refusing to back down an inch. *I want to hear her admit to it!*

I pause for a second, struggling to keep a lid on the storm churning inside my chest while I keep my eyes fixed on Stella. Three years have come and gone, yet I haven't touched another woman since the day we split. The truth is, I have never been ready to put someone else in her place. Even without my wolf constantly hounding me to go after her, the mere idea of being intimate with someone new turns my stomach, and dealing with the mental war it would trigger simply isn't worth the trouble.

She looks every bit as stunning as the day we met—so damn gorgeous that a tight ache pulls at the center of my chest. Running into her at that bar the other night surrounded by all those men nearly tore me apart on the spot. Walking into that place and stumbling across my ex-wife was bad enough, let alone being forced to stand there and watch her cycle through dates with one guy after another.

Just then, a passing waiter catches Stella's eye, and the warm smile she gives him pulls an instant frown onto my face. The guy grins right back at her before continuing across the dining room, and my gaze follows his path until he stops beside a table of men to take their requests.

Why the hell do the two of them look so comfortable around each other? Have her finances gotten so tight that she is forced to clock in at a restaurant just to make ends meet? Is waiting tables and working a reception counter really how she has spent the last three years getting by?

That single thought makes the hard edge inside my chest give way just a fraction. No matter how badly she broke my trust, I never wished for her to struggle or fall on hard times. I still want her to be safe and taken care of, even after everything that went down between us.

Across the space, Stella lifts her head, and her gaze crashes straight into mine. A sharp breath catches in my throat, leaving me rattled by the fact that after all this time apart, a single look from her can still hit me this hard.

To me, she was always the most breathtaking woman alive, yet somehow the last three years have only made her more striking. Inside my head, my wolf rumbles in complete agreement as I stand there staring at her.

Maybe my wolf isn't the only one who still wants her back after all.