Chapter 322: Dapper Suits and Teddy Bears

Vivian’s POV

I straightened my back on the dining room floor, swallowing down the intense hunger gnawing at my insides like some cosmic black hole. Honestly, I felt like I could easily eat an entire forest right now and still be starving. But now was definitely not the time to look weak or ravenous. Tonight, I desperately needed to be the perfect Luna the calm, charming center of everything happening in this house. So I plastered a bright smile on my face that was equal parts warm and easy-going.

Perfect timing, too, because right then, the front door swung open and Joshua stepped casually into the dining room.

He wore a dark black button-down shirt and matching tailored pants, the fabric crisp but relaxed. His thick dark hair was a bit of a mess wild and untamed which only made those striking green-blue eyes of his stand out so much more. They were intense, calculating, and oddly haunted tonight. He looked a bit like a cornered wild wolf, but the smooth calm resting in his voice was what made his presence so much more unsettling to my instincts.

"Good evening. It seems dinner is officially ready," he said smoothly, coming to a stop just a few inches away from Zahliver.

Zahliver shifted his weight instantly, stepping subtly in front of my body to act as a silent physical shield.

"It is," Zahliver answered shortly, his deep voice dropping low and razor-sharp.

I leaned my head just far enough around Zahliver’s shoulder to flash Joshua a cheeky smile, feeling the quiet mental game between us sharpen.

"Right on time. A man of his absolute word, huh?"

He gave my outfit a quick once-over, then gave me a slight nod.

"So where are the rest of our guests?" he asked, his eyes flicking casually around the room.

Before either of us could answer him, a firm knock came at the front door. I grinned brightly, the polite hostess role kicking fully in, and excused myself with a quick, reassuring tap on Zahliver’s lower back. "Don’t kill him while I am gone," I whispered into his ear, knowing full well that if both of us walked away from the room, who knew what Joshua might try to pulls.

Opening the heavy front door, my polite smile instantly melted into a genuine, happy one. Aurora and Algebra stood on the porch, their faces lit up with bright, infectious grins. Aurora still wore the gorgeous lavender and violet dress from earlier today, but she had pulled her long black hair up into a high ponytail and miracle of miracles she actually had stylish sandals on her feet. No more bare feet wandering around.

Algebra looked significantly sharper than usual too, swapping out his typical casual clothes for a tight black long-sleeve shirt, topped off with a sleek gray vest, crisp white jeans, and dark polished dress shoes. The simple black headband holding back his wild brown curls made him look like he actually cared about his outward appearance for once something entirely new for him. I couldn’t help but smile wider at his effort.

"Look who I found outside," Algebra joked in his usual twisted sense of humor, "walking around in nervous little circles on the driveway."

He spun around on his heel and clapped a heavy hand on the shoulder of someone standing right behind them.

I blinked in pure surprise to see a third figure stepping forward onto the porch light.

He was dressed like he had just stepped right out of a high-stakes corporate boardroom meeting a deep red suit that gleamed like a polished red apple in the dim light, finely embroidered with delicate patterns that made me suddenly feel remarkably underdressed in my skirt. Underneath the fancy coat, a sleek black shirt and a silver-gray silk tie completed the sharp look.

His rich brown hair, the exact color of redwood bark, was neatly slicked back, though natural waves peaked through near the roots. His long, squared face held deep brown eyes, a long nose that was surprisingly soft rather than sharp, and an overall expression so deathly serious it felt like an unspoken challenge.

"Hello there," he said quietly to me.

But beneath that polished, expensive exterior, there were tiny nervous quirks I certainly couldn’t ignore the subtle way he hunched his shoulders slightly, shuffled his feet from one side to the other, his gaze flickering far more toward my pink skirt than my eyes, the way he bit his lower lip nervously, and most disarmingly of all, the small stuffed teddy bear clutched tightly inside his large hands like a literal lifeline. A simple silver stud glinted nicely in his left earlobe. Pretty.

Algebra cleared his throat loudly. "Hogan here is third in command of the pack, right?"

The absolute muscle of a man standing next to him Hogan, I guessed nodded his head low.

"Yeah. It is very nice to meet you, L-Luna," he said softly, his deep brown eyes still actively avoiding direct eye contact with mine. Then, hesitantly, he held out the small teddy bear toward my chest.

I raised a surprised eyebrow, but smiled warmly as I took the plush toy from his grip. Well, if you didn’t actually want to part with it, maybe you shouldn’t have brought it along in your hands, I thought to myself, thoroughly amused by his strange behavior.

My inner wolf growled very softly in the back of my mind.

You have been surprisingly quiet all afternoon, I noted to her.

What? You get a full day to sit on a mountain and reflect on life, but I can’t have some quiet time?

Touché, wolf.

I stepped aside to give them room, my voice light and welcoming. "It is so wonderful to see all of you tonight. Please, come right in the food is hot and ready."

"Yes, please come inside quickly so I can start eating without feeling like the rude one," my wolf grumbled inside my head, and I barely resisted the strong urge to roll my eyes in full agreement with her.

I glanced over at Algebra, giving a little nod toward his hair. "Nice headband, by the way."

His bright green eyes lit up with pride as he grabbed the elastic band and gave it a loud snap against his forehead. "Keeps the wild curls out of my face but still lets them roam completely free. Best invention ever made."

Aurora rolled her dark eyes up at his antics, but the fond, gentle smile touching her lips told me she was secretly thoroughly amused by her mate.

Stepping into the formal dining room, Zahliver and Joshua were still standing in the exact same spots where I had left them their backs completely straight, locked in a tense, silent stare-down. Joshua looked almost entirely innocent on the surface, but that eerie, controlled calm radiating off Zahliver? That was way too calm to be a good sign for anyone in this room tonight.