Free Web NovelChapter 315: Chapter 315 Too Many Women, Too Little Peace
Christina’s POV
Five weeks later, I was finally getting my life back on track.
Hudson had been discharged from the hospital, and things were looking up. We were engaged—for real this time—and planning our official ceremony.
"Come to a party with me," Hudson said, interrupting my peaceful slumber.
I rolled over in bed, still half-asleep. "Nope."
I’d neglected my jewelry designs at Christina Joie long enough. Ever since Hudson left the hospital, he’d been glued to my side.
When I woke up, he was there.
When I went to bed, he was there.
When I went to the bathroom, he was practically standing guard outside.
Yes, the sex was amazing and I enjoyed every second, but I wasn’t a supernatural being with endless stamina. I needed actual rest.
Hudson prodded me again.
"You go." I rolled to the other side. I’d never liked those stuffy parties anyway—champagne that cost more than my first car, shallow small talk about stock portfolios, and absolutely nothing meaningful.
"You’re my mate now," Hudson reminded me. "If you don’t come with me, should I find another woman to go with? It’s an important gathering tonight, and bringing a date is basically mandatory. Do you want me to be the only Alpha there standing alone like some rejected pup?"
I rolled my eyes. Who in Highrise City would dare laugh at Alpha Hudson Laurent of The Sabreridge pack?
Still, he had a point. I was his future Luna, and the title came with certain responsibilities I couldn’t ignore.
Reluctantly, I rolled back to face him. "Fine. But no sex tonight."
He hesitated.
In the end, he nodded, though his face made it crystal clear he thought it was a monumental sacrifice worthy of epic poems.
"He’s acting like you’ve sentenced him to death," Akira commented in my head.
"He’ll survive," I replied silently.
I was practically dragged downstairs, fed a breakfast that Geoffrey had prepared, then carted off to a place where a team of stylists attacked my face and hair, spraying me with so many products I nearly dozed off again.
After that, I was shuffled into another dressing room and asked to try on what felt like every designer dress in Highrise City, all of which looked equally elegant and equally expensive to my untrained eye.
By the time I was finally deemed presentable, it was past five.
"All this trouble," I grumbled as I climbed into the car. "This party better feature literal wolves dancing on tables or something."
My dress was midnight blue and Hudson’s tuxedo matched perfectly.
"I’m starving," I muttered, rubbing my stomach.
"There’ll be plenty of food at the party," he assured me. "You don’t need to mingle much. A few glasses of wine, I’ll talk to some business contacts, then we go home."
"Good plan," I agreed, already counting down the minutes until I could kick off these heels.
The car took us to a venue about twenty minutes outside Highrise City, in the wealthy suburb where many pack elites kept second homes.
The banquet hall was already teeming with people dressed to the nines. I spotted industry leaders, several politicians, and someone I was pretty sure worked directly for the mayor. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Who’s that with Alpha Hudson?"
"His date? Girlfriend? Some random escort?"
"Wife?"
"No way."
The whispers started the moment we stepped inside, carried easily to my enhanced wolf hearing.
I was used to it by now. Wherever Hudson went, eyes followed like he was the moon and they were all tides.
Me? I was the small fry swimming in his ocean. Despite his public announcement, plenty of people still didn’t know he was engaged, or that I was the lucky woman in question.
Or perhaps, for some, the fact he was taken wasn’t a deterrent at all.
As Hudson passed, women checked their compacts, reapplied lipstick, and I counted at least four who fluffed their hair not-so-subtly.
One woman, though, stood out from the pack.
She was about my age, tall, statuesque, with striking blue eyes that practically glowed. She wore very little makeup, but her bone structure did all the work for her.
She hadn’t stopped staring at Hudson since we walked in, and when his gaze finally landed on her, surprise flickered across his face.
"Trouble incoming," Akira warned, instantly alert.
The moment their eyes met, the woman broke into a radiant smile and glided over with the kind of grace you normally saw on professional models.
"Hudson! It’s really you!" Her voice was honey-sweet, smooth, overjoyed.
In a few long strides, she was right in front of him, arms flung around his neck, her elbow conveniently shoving me out of the way like I was an inconvenient potted plant.
I stood there, momentarily stunned.
I knew Hudson had admirers—hell, half the female population of Highrise City would probably donate a kidney just for his phone number—but I hadn’t expected to meet one quite so... brazen.
Didn’t she see me standing right here? Had I suddenly become invisible?
Hudson quickly removed her arms from around his neck and stepped back, his face hardening.
The woman frowned, glanced at me as if I were furniture, then turned back to him. "Don’t you remember me? I’m Genevieve! Genevieve Crawford! We used to hide in the treehouse all day. Remember the treehouse? Our secret fort?"
"I remember you," Hudson said.
I studied her more carefully. So this was Hudson’s childhood friend? From the way she was practically vibrating with excitement, more like childhood sweetheart with current aspirations.
But childhood was a long time ago, and Hudson wasn’t a fort-building pup anymore. He was mine.
I hooked my arm through Hudson’s, a silent declaration of ownership .
Genevieve noticed. "Oops, sorry, didn’t realize you had a date."
She didn’t sound remotely sorry.
"Hudson and I go way back," she added, though no one had asked. "We grew up together in the pack, we were inseparable."
"Yes, I gathered," I said drily.
"We even used to share a bed for naptime." She winked at Hudson, though the jab was aimed squarely at me. "I haven’t seen him in ages. That hug was pure instinct. We were close like that. Hope you don’t mind."
I made a vague sound in my throat that even I couldn’t interpret, but Akira was snarling inside me.
"Anyway, Hudson," she turned back to him, apparently done with me, "I didn’t know you’d be here. What a lovely surprise. What’re you doing now? I heard you’re running the pack business operations. That’s impressive. I also heard—"
"That he’s engaged," I cut in. "Surely you’ve heard that. He put out an announcement and everything."
Genevieve’s smile tightened. "Really? I didn’t know."
"That’s fine. You know now." I smiled sweetly. "Back then, Hudson was just a pup, and however close you were, I wouldn’t hold it against you. But from now on, things are different. Hudson is my mate. There are boundaries. I don’t care how long you two have known each other, or how close you were, but from this moment, he belongs to me. You’ll need to keep your distance. After all, if you had a mate, you wouldn’t want some she-wolf throwing herself at him, friend or not, would you?"
I delivered every word with a pleasant smile and perfect poise, though Akira was practically doing a victory dance inside me. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Harsh? Yes.
Rude? Definitely.
Necessary? Absolutely.
I’d rather lay things out clearly.
Genevieve’s smile vanished. "You and he are... engaged? You’re his mate?"
"I thought my meaning was clear." I lifted my hand, fingers entwined with Hudson’s, making sure my engagement ring caught the light perfectly. "Here are our rings. If I’d brought the mating certificate, I’d have shown you that too."
