From Rejected Mate to Luna Chapter 124

Eric's POV

I found myself staring at Grace Bennett.

Nathan's fiancée. The woman who would become his Luna tomorrow.

She stood frozen at the elevator doors, her perfectly manicured hand still clutching a hotel key card. Her hair, which I'd seen meticulously styled at pack meetings, now fell in slightly mussed waves. The pristine white wedding dress she carried in a garment bag was wrinkled at the edges. But what caught my attention most was the slight redness around her lips and the faint mark on her neck that she'd tried to cover with makeup.

Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before her face smoothed into practiced calm. "Eric! What a surprise." Her voice was steady, impressive considering the circumstances. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone from the pack here."

Maddox bristled beneath my skin, growling at the obvious deceit. Nathan was my best friend. My Alpha. And this woman had just betrayed him hours before their mating ceremony.

"Clearly," I said, keeping my voice deliberately neutral. "What brings you to the Hotel the night before your wedding? I thought you were doing final dress fittings with your bridesmaids."

Grace laughed lightly, the sound artificial. "I was. We decided to use one of the suites here to try on the dress with the proper lighting. The bridal shop's fluorescents are terrible." She lifted the garment bag slightly. "Just finished."

I inhaled deeply, letting my enhanced senses tell me the truth her words wouldn't. The scent of another male clung to her skin beneath her expensive perfume. Not Nathan's familiar pine and leather, but something earthier, wilder.

"Strange place to try on a wedding dress," I said, gesturing to the hotel around us. "Most brides stick to bridal shops or their homes."

Her smile tightened. "The lighting is perfect here. The photographer recommended it specifically."

"And the photographer?" I glanced past her, making a show of looking for someone else. "They left already?"

A hint of irritation flashed across her face. "Yes. She had another appointment."

Lies. Every single word.

My wolf snarled inside me, demanding justice for our Alpha, for our friend. I could call Nathan right now through our mindlink. I could tell him everything. It would take seconds.

But the consequences would be catastrophic.

"Let's sit," I said abruptly, gesturing to a secluded corner of the lobby with plush armchairs. Not a request.

Grace hesitated, her perfectly shaped eyebrows drawing together. "Eric, I really should—"

"Sit." I infused the word with just enough of my Beta authority to make it clear this wasn't optional.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she followed me to the corner. We settled into the chairs, a small table between us like a demilitarized zone. The hotel lobby buzzed with activity around us, oblivious to the tension radiating between a Beta and his Alpha's soon-to-be Luna.

"You're not trying on wedding dresses in hotel rooms," I said flatly once we were seated. "And that scent on you isn't from any female photographer."

Grace's expression hardened, the pleasant facade slipping away like water off glass. "My personal life is none of your business, Eric."

"It becomes my business when it affects my Alpha."

"You mean your friend." Her voice turned knowing, almost taunting. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? Your loyalty to Nathan?"

"My loyalty is to both Nathan and the pack," I countered. "And you're putting both at risk with whatever game you're playing."

Grace leaned forward slightly. "Let me explain something to you, Eric. Nathan isn't as stable as the pack believes." Her voice dropped low enough that even with my enhanced hearing, I had to strain to catch her words. "His episodes are getting worse. More frequent. More intense."

I stiffened. There was truth in her words—I had noticed Nathan's increasing volatility over recent months. The random outbursts of anger. The paranoia. The way his eyes sometimes flashed amber without provocation.

"What does that have to do with you cheating on him?" I demanded.

"I'm the only one who can calm him when it gets bad," she continued as if I hadn't spoken. "He calls me in the middle of the night, raging, barely holding his wolf in check. I talk him down. I keep him centered." Her eyes bored into mine. "What do you think would happen if he found out about this? If he lost that center?"

The implication hung in the air between us. Nathan losing control completely. An unstable Alpha was a danger not just to himself but to the entire pack.

"You're manipulating me," I said, but doubt had already crept into my voice.

"I'm telling you the truth." Grace adjusted the garment bag on her lap. "Nathan needs stability right now. The transition to full Alpha is putting enormous pressure on him. If you tell him what you think you saw tonight, you won't just hurt him—you'll endanger everyone in the pack."

Maddox paced restlessly inside me, torn between rage at her betrayal and acknowledgment of the potential consequences. I'd seen the signs myself: Nathan's fist through a wall after a minor disagreement with a council member. The way he'd snapped at a young pack member last week, his eyes fully amber, fangs partially extended. The barely contained fury when anyone questioned his decisions.

"This is wrong," I said finally, the words tasting bitter. "He deserves to know."

"Does he?" Grace asked softly. "Or does the pack deserve safety and stability? You're the Beta, Eric. Your duty is to the pack first. Always."

She was right, and we both knew it. The first duty of a Beta was to protect the pack, even from its Alpha if necessary. And right now, that might mean protecting Nathan from a truth that could destroy him—and by extension, everyone who depended on him.

I studied Grace's face, noting the calculated calm, the absence of any real remorse. This wasn't a woman caught in a mistake. This was someone who had made choices and was now maneuvering to protect herself.

"If I keep quiet," I said slowly, "this ends. Tonight. No more hotel rooms, no more other men. You commit to Nathan completely. One hint that this is continuing, and I go straight to him—consequences be damned."

Grace nodded immediately. "Of course. This was..." She hesitated, then offered what looked like a practiced expression of regret. "It was a mistake. Jack—my ex—he slipped something in my drink. I wasn't thinking clearly."

Another lie. I could see it in the too-steady gaze that met mine without flinching. But I said nothing, just held her eyes with mine, letting her know I wasn't fooled.

After a long moment, I leaned forward, closing the distance between us. When I spoke, my voice was quiet but laced with the authority of my position.

"Understand this, Grace. I'm keeping quiet for the pack's sake, not yours. If Nathan is ever hurt because of you—if he ever finds out from someone else what you've done—there won't be anywhere you can hide from me." I let my eyes shift slightly, feeling the amber glow reflecting in her widening pupils. "I will hunt you down personally."

Grace nodded, her expression appropriately solemn. But there was something else in her eyes—calculation, assessment. She was already thinking ahead, planning how to manage me along with everything else in her life.

"I understand," she said softly. "Thank you, Eric."

I stood up, signaling the end of our conversation. "Don't thank me. Just do right by Nathan and the pack."