Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Lily frowns and glances at me. After all, the ad’s being projected by the Stevens family. My family. From the roof of this Pack Stevens-owned hotel.

I don’t own the projector company that’s running the ads, and I had to pay the gallery next store to feature it. But it should be working.

I passed the ad only a few hours ago when I came into the hotel today.

I stay calm, "Let me ask about the situation..."

I’ve barely finished speaking when my phone rings suddenly. “Excuse me for a moment,” I say to no one in particular.

They’re wolves. They all heard me though.

I stroll out of the dining area and pick up the call.

It’s my beta. I bring him up to speed on the projector that isn’t working.

He cuts me off. “Sir, it isn’t a technical problem. And it isn’t isolated.”

”What? What do you mean?”

“They’ve been taken down. They were all taken down?”

If this is some bureaucratic bullshit… I got the permits. We have permissions for the ads to run throughout the city—“

“There was a mandated order,” I’m told. "The order stated that even if they have to pay the penalty fees in full, the ads must be removed.”

“Who the hell authorized this? Fine. Replace the ad agency, and get them back up. Immediately.”

My beta makes a garbled sound. “Alpha, I’ve already tried that… we rushed to contact other companies but none of them are willing to project these ads."

"Who is it that's trying to go against our Pack?” I ask in a deadly calm voice, although I’m feeling anything but calm. My wolf is on the verge of breaking free.

"It's the Reed Pack," my man whispers. "This issue was personally handled by the Reed Pack’s beta, Terrence Klein. I know him personally. ”

Terrence ... That's Jason's beta! Jason Reed wanted to take down these projection ads?

What does that mean?

I’m hit with anger and a heightened sense of dread.

Did Jason object to the Stevens and Atkinson wedding? Mating to Lily has ramifications for both our packs… and it’s going to shift the power dynamic in this city.

And how far would he go to stop it?

We’ve not had problems with Pack Reed for over a century.

But if Jason was moving to block this marriage…it was tantamount to a declaration of way. And if the old packs and the new were to battle… blood would pour into these streets.

* * * * * * * * *

The projection ads placed by Pack Stevens in ninety-nine spots around the city had been taken down in a single day, generating heated discussions within the city—and huge gossip in the supernatural community. There were plenty of people debating online about whether the relationship between Sean and Lily had changed.

If they broke up.

It was a bad omen, others said.

One gossip column ran with the rumor that Lily had called off the engagement.

That night, Sean and Lily made a joint statement affirming the solidity of their relationship. The projection ads had been taken down due to the time limit, but their love would never expire.

This statement was upheld by Lily's many fans.

Back at the apartment, Grace scrolled through the webpage and came across this news. She could not help being taken aback. She had just mentioned the projection ads to Jay yesterday and they had all been unexpectedly taken down today.

"The ads have been taken down. Sister, are you happy?" Jay's voice suddenly rings through the room.

I snap out of my trance. I don’t know when Jay had walked over to stand by my side and it seems as if he has noticed the article on my phone. He looks at me, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Something about that smile…is a little too smug.

“Well, it was a bit of a surprise to see their publicity campaign end so abruptly,” I say. I shrug. It’s not like I’m sorry about it.

The whole campaign was pretentious.

“But…?” Jay presses.

I shrug again. ”There isn't actually anything to be happy or sad about. What happened between Sean and me is in the past. I have no feelings for him anymore, so whoever he marries or loves has nothing to do with me.”

“Really, sister, you don’t care about him at all?"

I’m caught in his dark gaze and held captive. Jay makes the question sound simple enough, but I sense there’s more to what he’s asking.

Not that it matters. The past is in the past.

"Would you care about a person who abandoned you?” I retort.

The smile around the corner of his lips deepens, but it’s self-deprecating. "You're right, that was a dumb question. Who would care about a person who abandoned them?"

I pause.

Jay’s default is to not care about something. At first I thought he lacked feeling. That he just didn’t care.

But spending as much time with him as I do, I’m beginning to better understand his moods and feelings. If I’d not spent so much time with him, laughing with him over a cup of coffee in the morning, listening to him talk about his day, and then tucking into bed with him sleeping beside me each night…I might have missed it.

But I saw it, the flicker in his gaze.

He’d been hurt. Abandoned.

I recall him saying he had no family.

Jay turns his attention back to my phone and scrolls to another article like we’ve discussed something as trivial as the weather.

But I caught the barest glimpse of his pain and I realize now that it is always with him.

He’s just really good at hiding it.

As the thought occurs to me, I can’t stop the instinct that sweeps over me. I raise my arm and wrap it around his neck, pulling him toward me…