Chapter 172: A Very Polite Fuck You

With trembling hands, Nova untied the satin ribbon and opened the box.

Inside was a dress. Long-sleeved, velvet, the color of wine.

She stared at it in utter shock for a moment. Then walked to the bathing chamber because if she stayed with it any longer she was going to cry and she had one hour to get ready.

???

ONE SHOWER LATER

Whoever had packed the leather bag was the same person who had done it the first two nights. Nova’s secret super hero that was excellent. Her invisible ally strikes again.

The velvet dress settled over her like it had been cut for her. Her hair fell wavy down her back, still drying. She really, truly did not want to wrap her shoulder over the sleeve, but she was going to try, because the alternative was walking into dinner lopsided.

She was mid-attempt when the doors opened. Alpha Thunderfang came back in and walked straight into his closet without looking at her.

She heard the sounds of him changing without closing his door because apparently he did not do that. She turned away from it and continued trying to wrap her shoulder.

She still didn’t know what to make of the Alpha handing her a dress. Maybe the omega had pulled it from Derek’s chambers. Maybe Derek had ordered it for her before the fire, same as the others. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was lovely, and someone had thought of her.

A moment later she heard him come out of his closet. She glanced over her shoulder.

"I love it. Thank you so much."

His eyes moved over the dress, checking the fit, she assumed, the way someone checks a delivery against a receipt.

He grunted once. Heard. It was a lower grunt, softer than his usual. Due to the time of day most likely.

Then he crossed the room, took the wrap out of her hands, and started winding it around her shoulder himself, over the velvet.

"You’re welcome," he said after a moment, to her surprise.

His knuckles grazed her collarbone and something warm traveled down her spine. Probably the wrap compressing a nerve. Or the shower she’d taken had left her skin oversensitive.

She glanced up at him and he was closer than expected. Close enough that she could smell cedar and snow and something underneath both that her brain categorized as good.

His hands paused at the back of her neck. Adjusting the fabric, obviously. The wrap had to sit right or the compression was useless.

That’s when she noticed he had changed into a dark formal tunic that fit the width of his shoulders like it had been built around them. It did look nice.

She couldn’t help but grin.

He looked down at her.

"What?" he snapped.

"Nothing," she said quickly, removing her smile.

His finger caught her chin and tilted it up. Gentle. The kind of gentle that didn’t match the snap. "What, Nova."

"I like your tunic. It suits you, Alpha. That’s all."

His hand dropped. He turned away with a grunt. Another low sounding one, which Nova knew was his evening grunt.

They left his chambers and walked. He didn’t carry her, thankfully. He didn’t give her an explanation either outside of dinner.

He led her into a different formal dining room than the one they had used the other day. This one had a parlor attached.

At the other end, the High Luna stood waiting.

The High Luna looked up as they entered.

Nova’s stomach twisted. Alpha Thunderfang’s arm hooked around her waist, almost as if he could sense her hesitation.

The High Luna’s gaze dropped to his arm. Then back up to Alpha Thunderfang. She did not look happy.

Alpha Thunderfang guided Nova forward to greet her.

As soon as Nova stood in front of her, instinct took over and Nova dipped respectfully.

Beside her, Alpha Thunderfang made a grunt that sounded confused. A different flavor than the other ones. Under any other circumstances it would have sounded funny and maybe slightly adorable. He probably didn’t realize that Nova was supposed to dip for the High Luna because Celeste hadn’t.

The High Luna looked down at Nova and said nothing. Nova wasn’t waiting for a head nod. She stood and looked the High Luna in the eyes which was very bold for a former slave to do with a High Luna and went against every instinct Nova had. But it wasn’t technically incorrect because she had dipped.

The High Luna looked away first, which meant Nova had won that round. Alpha Thunderfang probably had zero idea the girl-on-girl war that just occurred there, but if Maria had been here, she would have appreciated it.

Ideally this was just a quick stop on the way to dinner with Maria, Maverick, and Tavian. Gods, Nova hoped that was what this was.

Maria’s voice echoed off the walls at that exact moment.

"—Tavian, I’m telling you, the pillow in our room is too firm. I need the one from last night. I’m going to ask. I’m going to find whoever is in charge of pillows in this keep and I’m going to bribe them—"

The chattering died mid-word the second she clocked the High Luna, which meant Maria was also unaware this was part of the agenda.

"Sit," the High Luna ordered, as she moved towards the half of the room with the couches and the fire.

Maria looked at Tavian. Tavian answered by kissing her on the lips, catching her off guard, defusing whatever bomb had started ticking in her that Nova could feel from clear across the room.

Nova smiled at that and shook her head.

Those two were entirely too adorable.

Alpha Thunderfang guided her towards the room. She had forgotten his arm was around her waist there for a moment. She assumed she would take an arm chair but he guided her to a couch, and to her surprise, he sat with her.

Maybe it was because the High Luna had her SWATTED and he was standing guard for her.

Maria sat on a couch next to Nova as Tavian stood and crossed to the credenza and poured two whiskeys in silence.

He handed one to Alpha Thunderfang, who grabbed it with his free hand. His other arm had migrated away from her waist.

Nova now realized it was draped along the top of the couch behind her.

He was probably so used to carrying her places and icing her against her will that this was him fighting muscle memory, and the arm along the couch back was the compromise his body had negotiated with itself. She didn’t mind it. She was learning to speak Alpha Thunderfang. Give her a week and she’d hit basic fluency.

"Nancy," the High Luna offered, her back to the room as she studied the bottles, "do you care for wine?"

Nova’s lips parted. She wasn’t sure the question was aimed at her, on account of the High Luna facing the opposite direction and the name being wrong. But it started with the same letter and was two syllables so she wasn’t sure. She looked to Maria, who leaned in and whispered, "I think that’s somebody else."

Nova gave a small nod.

"Maria, dear." The High Luna lifted a bottle to the light. "Would you like wine? Nancy seems to be struggling."

"Sure, High Luna. I’d love some. So would Nova."

"Yes, High Luna. My apologies, I missed it the first time." Nova lied smoothly, voice warm. She had not missed it the first time. She was just confused by Nancy and the lack of eye contact or indication that she was being spoken to.

The wolf under Alpha Thunderfang’s ribs, the one that sometimes purred, made a strange, confused little noise, something out of a holo-cartoon, so faint Nova wondered if she had imagined it.