The Luna Queen's Rebirth (Ellie and Dominic) novel Chapter 536

Chapter 536

Ellie’s POV

“I thought he wouldn’t be allowed here today,” I whispered, gripping Dominic’s bicep.

“I can’t exactly make the most important politician on the continent not come,” he said quietly. “Don’t worry. It’s handled.”

“It had better be,” I replied. “Because I’m not running inside to avoid him.”

Dominic smirked. “I didn’t think so. You made yourself quite clear last night, my love.”

I flushed at my mate’s words, but kept my gaze on the Alpha King.

Monroe crossed the lawn at a stroll, the crowd parting for him like the sea. His smile was firmly in place, the sort of smile that only a politician could wear without looking like a total jackass. Tight and insincere, not reaching the eyes, but shockingly handsome and charismatic. He waved at people, stopped to greet old friends, and continued beelining for us.

Dominic was tense beside me, but he was smiling, too. I didn’t bother. I wasn’t the one running for office. Monroe knew, from months of meetings and conference calls and events where we’d run into each other, just what I thought of him.

Which wasn’t highly at all. Not after he took a bribe to help my sister mark my mate-my mate-against his will. Then have the fucking nerve to try and smear my family’s reputation over his schemes coming to light.

“Alpha.” He extended a hand to Dominic. “Quite the gathering you’ve put together.”

“Alpha King.” Dominic didn’t take the hand. “I thought you weren’t planning on coming.”

“And miss the social event of the season?” Monroe chuckled, then turned to me, and I resisted the urge to step back as his eyes swept over my belly. “Looking radiant as always, my dear. When are you due?”

“Whenever the baby decides to come out,” I replied vaguely.

Monroe’s eyes flashed, but the smile remained firmly in place. “Wonderful. Children are such a blessing.” He plucked a glass of wine from a passing tray. “I do hope the food holds out tonight. I heard you had a spot of trouble with one of your suppliers this morning.”

The lawn kept buzzing around us. To anyone watching, it was a perfectly pleasant, if not a little tense, scene. It was no secret that Monroe and Dominic had a rivalry. Neither of them hid it during the campaign. But still.

“Handled before breakfast,” Dominic said pleasantly.

“Of course it was.” Monroe took a sip of his drink. “Enjoy your evening, you two. I know I will.”

With that, he drifted off toward the tables, his posse falling in behind him. A staff member nearly tripped over himself getting out of the way.

“Jerk,” I muttered.

“Breathe,” came Dominic’s voice through the mindlink, low and steady in the back of my mind. “Security has eyes on him. They won’t blink until his car is off our land.”

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Chapter 530

+15 Bonus

“He knew about the truck,” I replied.

“Of course he did.” A pause. “Stay by my side today. Please.”

I gave his arm a squeeze and glanced up at him. “I wasn’t planning otherwise.”

Dominic smiled faintly and pressed a kiss to my temple, relaxing a little.

The speech came at five o’clock, when the lawn was full and golden. Dominic took the stage without notecards, thanked everyone for coming, and had the whole crowd laughing inside a minute with a story about the florist’s van getting stuck in the ditch by the gate. Then his tone gentled, and he talked about history. About how easy it was to lose things-places, stories, people-and how rare it was to get the chance to find them again.

“Tonight, you’ll see something no one outside one small pack has seen in a thousand years,” he said. “Until then-eat, dance, and be good to each other. The bar’s open.”

The applause rolled across the field like thunder. My daughter kicked along with it.

+15 Bonus

I pulled my hand out of his. “Not right now. What’s going on with you today?”

“Hm?”

“You’ve been acting strange all day. Don’t think for a second that I haven’t noticed.”

“Monroe,” he said. Quickly. Just like the smile. “I just want tonight to go off without a hitch. That’s all.”

I studied his face. It was a good answer. It was even mostly true-I could feel the worry in him through the bond, the same tangle of nerves I’d been feeling for months. But underneath it, there was something else. Something that he was deliberately keeping locked behind a steel door whenever I tried probing it through the bond.

“Dominic.”

“Ellie.” He turned to me, laced his fingers through mine, and pulled me onto the dance floor before I could protest. I let him pull me into a dance, my hand settling on his shoulder while the other remained cupped in his palm, but I couldn’t let it go. That strange feeling was still there, making me feel uneasy by now.

I decided to let it go for now, at least until the party was over. But the pieces were starting to drift together whether I wanted them to or not. The locked drawer in his nightstand. The lapel he wouldn’t let me touch. His mother, silenced mid-sentence. The way he looked at me when I answered her, like he was trying to gauge my

reaction to the idea of marriage.

And Bastian. The missing opal.

My heart began to pick up speed. Slowly, almost against my will, I began to wonder-

“Alpha.” Dominic’s Beta appeared at his shoulder and nodded toward the stage, where Bastian was already waiting at the steps with his notecards in hand. “It’s time.”

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