One Night

Chapter 181

Audrey

Peter choked on his drink.

Beside me, Eliza stiffened, her eyes wide with shock, her fingers tightening around her fork. Edwin’s parents remained unnaturally still, but his father’s eyes flashed dangerously, like storm clouds gathering on the h**n. Across the table, Malakai and Axel exchanged smirks, clearly reveling in my discomfort.

Meanwhile, beside me, I could feel Edwin’s rage roiling off of our bond.

Not at me, but at his father.

Despite the urge to look away, to shrink into myself, I kept my gaze locked with Edwin’s father. I wouldn’t let him see me cower, not even as I felt my palms grow clammy and my stomach tie itself into knots.

Edwin’s hand finally found my leg under the table, his touch warm and reassuring against my skin. “Her wolf emerged only recently,” he explained slowly. “She’s not ready yet.”

His father’s eyes narrowed, the lines around them deepening. “Not ready?”

“Yes,” Edwin said calmly. “She needs more time.”

His father sputtered, if that was even possible for a man so icy and collected. “The Silver Star should be ready to shift at any time,” he growled, locking eyes with Edwin. “No Silver Star in history has waited until they were ‘ready’ to shift. They did what they needed to do, when they were needed to do it.”

His gaze snapped back to me, cold and calculating. I felt like a bug under a microscope. “Is she weak, or merely a child. playing at being something she’s not?”

I felt my checks burn with humiliation, but I kept my chin up. Edwin started to speak, his chest rumbling with a growl: “How dare you speak to the heir of Silverbite-

But his father cut him off. “To hell with heirs. Don’t get me wrong, Edwin, Silverbite may be our allied pack, but that doesn’t mean we must sit around lying and coddling one another!

Edwin’s

jaw clenched so hard I could practically hear his teeth grinding.

“You,” Erik said, pointing at me, “Try to shift. Now.”

“Father,” Edwin snarled, standing so abruptly the chair scraped against the floor, making Eliza flinch beside me. “This is ridiculous-

Joy our dinner?” Peter asked airily, spearing a golden potato on his fork and waving it in the airwitha

“Dad, can’t we just toothy grin. “I’d hate to see the food go cold.”

But Erik ignored his son. His eyes were fixed on mine,

Edwin loosed another growl, but I cut him off before he could say anything more.

It’s alright, Edwin,” I said softly, placing my hand over his. I could feel his anger and frustration pulsing through our bond, hot and fierce like a wildfire. But I didn’t want to cause any more trouble. “I’ll try to shift. I’ve never really tried before.”

His father’s lips curled into a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. It was really just a thinly-veiled sneer.

FA

13:14 Sun, Sep 22

四

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Chamer 181

“Do you hear that, Edwin?” he hissed. “She wants to try. Let her

With a deep breath that did little to calm my nerves, I stood and followed Edwin’s father out of the dining room. The rest of the family trailed behind us, a procession of curious and judgmental eyes, I could hear their whispers, feel their stares boring into my back, but somehow I managed to keep my spine straight.

“You don’t need to do this,” Edwin’s voice echoed through our Mindlink. “We can leave. Right now.”

“No. L. I want to try.” I replied. Although if I was being honest, I knew I was just setting myself up for embarrassment. I didn’t even know how to begin to shift. Even if I could shift, would I even be able to control my wolf?

As we stepped outside, the cold air bit at my skin, making me shiver in my thin blouse and skirt. Goosebumps rose along my arms, and I wrapped them around myself in a futile attempt to ward off the chill.

“Audrey.” I startled at the sound of Peter’s voice, and looked up to see him brushing past me, hands in his trouser pockets, that easy smile of his still plastered on his face. But this close, I could see the lines around his mouth, at the corners of his eyes.

Tension. Worry.

That smile, that easy demeanor.. For the second time tonight, I realized that it was nothing more than a facade.

“Take three deep breaths and ground yourself into the earth,” he whispered without so much as bending to meet my gaze or slow his pace, as if he weren’t speaking to me at all-his lips hardly even moved. “Close your eyes and picture your wolf as if you were looking directly into her eyes.”

I swallowed hard, taken aback by his offer of help. I gave him a small nod of thanks, but he was already gone, joining Eliza by the porch steps.

I shivered again.

“This is ridiculous,” Edwin snarled, his arm wrapping protectively around my shoulders. His body heat was a welcome respite from the cold. “It’s freezing out here. She’s not dressed for this.”

His father turned, his expression hard as granite. “If she’s truly the Silver Star, she should be able to overcome a little discomfort.” He nodded to me. “Remove your shoes.”

Edwin’s eyes widened. “Remove her-There are three inches of snow on the ground!”

“Everyone knows that you have to ground yourself with the earth the first time you shift,” Malakai, who had been silent this entire time, finally said. “It’s just a little snow, brother.”

Axel smirked. “If I could carry my hiking partner down Everest, then she can stand in the snow for thirty seconds. It’s quite invigorating, actually

Edwin growled deeply, but I gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s okay. I can do it.”

“Audrey, I don’t want you to-

“I can do it,” I repeated, more firmly this time.

A muscle in Edwin’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t stop me.

Taking a deep breath that burned my lungs with cold air, I slipped my shoes off, then stepped away from Edwin and into the snow. The cold bit at my bare feet, sharp and painful. I tried to focus on the connection to the earth, just as Peter had suggested. I closed my eyes, reaching out to my wolf,

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13:14 Sun, Sep 22

Chapter 181

I imagined silver eyes, a long silver snout….

Wait. Was she silver? I supposed I had always assumed that, but perhaps she wasn’t..

“What color are you?”

My wolf hummed thoughtfully for a moment before replying. “Tin… I’m not sure yet.”

Shaking my head, I squeezed my eyes shut tighter and instead focused on breathing three times, just as Peter said. Instead of trying to conjure up an image of her, I waited for the image to come.

But it never did. All I saw was the blackness behind my own eyes, All I felt was the snow seeping into my feet and the wind whipping at my blouse.

I wasn’t sure how long I was standing there like that, shivering in the cold. But at the same time as a gust of wind nearly knocked me over where I stood, a cold female chuckle ripped through the air.

“Is this truly the Silver Star you’ve brought us, Edwin? A girl who can’t even manage a simple shift?”

His mother.

A tear slipped down my cheek, quickly followed by another. The icy wind made them feel like they were freezing on my skin. I opened my eyes to see the disappointed and disgusted faces of Edwin’s family.

All except for Peter and Eliza, who looked more concerned than anything else.

“That’s enough.” Edwin’s voice was low and dangerous. Before I could react, he had scooped me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest.

“You’ve made your point, Father,” he said, turning. “But let me remind you of something. I am the Alpha of Crescent now, not you. And you have no right to treat my mate, the future Luna of this pack, with such disrespect.”

His father’s face contorted with rage, but Edwin was already turning away, carrying me back toward the house. “We’re leaving.” he announced to no one in particular, his voice ringing out in the still night air. “Happy f**g New Year.”

As we passed Peter and Eliza, I saw a flash of concern in their eyes. Peter’s smile had faded, the lines around his mouth remaining as the wind blew his dark hair across his forehead. Eliza reached out, touching Edwin’s arm. “Eddie-”

But Edwin shrugged her off, his jaw set in a hard line as he strode toward the car. I buried my face in his chest, too embarrassed to look at anyone. The tears wouldn’t stop now, and I couldn’t bear to let Erik see me cry,

“I’m sorry.” I choked out as he gently set me in the passenger seat, throwing a spare blanket he kept in the back over my freezing, wet feet. “I tried, I really did.”

Edwin’s

eyes were burning yellow, but his expression softened as he looked at me, his thumb gently wiping away a tear. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Audrey. My father was out of line. This isn’t your fault.”

With that, he shut my door and walked around to the driver’s side. As he started the engine, the car rumbling to life, 1 glanced over my shoulder.

They had all gone back inside.

All except for two figures running through the snow.

Just as Edwin was about to put the car in drive, the back doors flew open. Peter and Eliza clambered in, both slightly out of breath, bringing with them a gust of cold air,

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13:15 Sun, Sep 22 OG

Chapter 181

“What the hell are you doing?” Edwin demanded, twisting in his seat to look at them.

Eliza and Peter buckled their seatbelts.

“We’re coming with you.”