"I think you are right," said Selene.
"Of course, I am." Inez smiled at the woman, who reached out and hugged her around the waist. Sensing that the woman needed it, Inez hugged her back. "You will be fine; you know that, right? There is no way those people can bring the great Selene Sokolov down."
Selene pulled her away and beamed up at Inez. "I know."
Inez noticed that Selene’s wheelchair was stuck in the mud as she pulled away from her. She helped her a little by pushing her wheelchair out of the sloppy, wet mud and then crouched down to wipe the stains that were clinging to the hem of Selene’s dress.
Though Selene didn’t say anything, for the first time, she realised what it meant to have friends.
When she wasn’t poisoned, many stood next to her and called themselves her friends, but only now did she realise that they were not her friends and nor were the ones who came to look for her after her poisoning, only to mock and show her false sympathy. Friends were like Inez, who would look her in the eyes and tell her that everything was alright even when it wasn’t.
Inez didn’t notice the changes in Selene’s expression. She straightened up and then pushed Selene to the ballroom. When the two of them returned, a submissive lycan, who had been waiting for Selene and Inez, came hurrying over. She heaved a sigh of relief and then turned to look behind her.
Soon, Laxus came striding into their view. His eyes flashed beast as he took in Selene’s appearance. Only when he was sure that everything was fine did he calm down, and the rumbling in his chest eased.
Inez waited for the man to calm down before asking, "What’s the matter?"
"Edira and Morrineth are about to cut the cake," replied Laxus as he looked away from Selene and glanced at Inez with a hint of annoyance on his face. "They are asking for her." A pause. "Nyx suggested it."
Inez exchanged a look with Selene, whose face was set. Even though she didn’t say anything, anyone with eyes could see how little Selene thought of the suggestion that Nyx had given to her grandmother or Morrineth. Given how much Morrineth loved to pretend that she was BFF with Edira, the two of them knew that it was probably the two of them.
"You will be fine," Inez told Selene as the two of them stepped back inside the ballroom.
"I will be; what’s the worst that could happen?" Selene fired back as she allowed Laxus to push her to the centre of the ballroom, where Morrineth stood with a beaming smile on her face like she was the life of the party and next to her stood Edira, who seemed close to a breakdown.
Inez watched Selene leave and turned to walk around the ballroom. She didn’t step forward and went to stand by Killian’s side because that would be equivalent to telling everyone that she was going to be the next Luna of this pack. Something Inez was not even prepared for.
Was she even willing to become the Luna? There was a time when she wished to be, but not anymore.
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