One Night

Chapter 170

Audrey

After Peter left, Edwin remained silent, his gaze fixed on the closed door. The room felt colder somehow, as if Peter’s visit had sucked all the warmth out of our cozy morning.

I moved to sit on Edwin’s lap and toy with his hair, something that usually drove him wild, but he barely reacted-not even when I pressed a warm kiss to his temple.

I frowned, pulling back slightly. Even when I reached out through our bond, his mind seemed a million miles away, clenched tight.

his jaw

“Edwin?” I asked, running my fingers through his hair. The silky strands slipped through my fingers, but he didn’t lean into my touch like he normally would. “What’s going on? Did that memory I mentioned bring up bad thoughts?”

He shook his head, finally meeting my eyes. The storm in those gray depths made my breath catch. “No, it’s not that,” he said gently. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You handled that perfectly.”

“Then what is it?” I pressed, worry gnawing at my stomach. “Talk to me. Please.”

Edwin sighed, his arms snaking around me. His familiar scent wrapped around me, but it did little to ease my growing anxiety.

“Audrey, there’s something I need to tell you,” he finally said after a few beats of silence. “Something I should have told you a long time ago.”

I raised my eyebrows, my heart pounding so hard I was sure he could feel it. Edwin took a deep breath before continuing. “I… I was once in search of the Silver Star, too, like so many others. That’s why I took the job at Grayspring. I’d heard rumors that the Silver Star might be near, and I needed an excuse to be there. So 1. applied to teach for a year?

My eyes widened, and I felt as if the floor had dropped out from under me. “What? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

Edwin’s jaw clenched, a muscle ticking beneath his skin. “Because I was ashamed. My pack… Crescent… we needed the strength that the Silver Star could bring. My father demanded it

“Your father?” 1 echoed, remembering the brief, violent glimpse I had caught in Peter’s memory. A shiver ran down my spine just at the thought

Edwin nodded, his eyes darkening. “I had just been named Alpha of Crescent, and my father gave me an ultimatum. Find the Silver Star and make her my Luna, or lose my position to one of my brothers.”

I jumped up from his lap. “So you intended to make me your Luna from the beginning? Just because I was the Silver Star?”

He ran a hand through his hair, “I didn’t know you were the Silver Star right away. I had some suspicions, but I didn’t dwell on them because I thought you were human. I was… confused. Torn between my duty and my growing feelings for you.”

“So, what?” I asked. “If I wasn’t the Silver Star and you found her what would have happened? Would you have left me?”

“No!” Edwin stood, reaching for me. I stepped back, and hurt flashed across his face. The pain in his eyes was almost enough to make me close the distance between us, but I held my ground.

He sighed. “Audrey, please. Yes, initially, that was my goal. But then I met you, and everything changed. I fell in love with you, Audrey. Not the Silver Star. You. I was ready to give up everything-my position as Alpha, my pack-just to be with you.

I shook my head, trying to process this new information. It felt like my whole world was tilting on its axis. “Why didn’t you

08:37 Sat, Sep

Chapter 170

tell me this as soon as we mated?” I whispered. “Why wait until now?”

Edwin’s shoulders slumped, and he suddenly looked older, as if his very bones were weighed down by the truth he’d been carrying.

“I was… afraid,” he admitted, his voice h**se. “L. I didn’t want to hurt you or make you think that I only loved you because of what you are. I was worried you would no longer love me if you knew the truth.”

I just stood there, hands clenching and unclenching at my sides, my throat working uselessly.

Part of me understood his reasoning, but another part felt betrayed.

started “I deserved to know, Edwin,” I finally croaked. “We’re supposed to trust each other with everything. When you training me, you promised that you’d share everything with me. You could have shown me in your memories if you were afraid that words would jumble it.”

“I know,” he said softly. “And I’m sorry I kept it from you. I should have told you, shown you, sooner. I was a coward”

I wrung my hands, suddenly feeling suffocated by the room, by this conversation. The walls seemed to be closing in, and I needed to breathe.

“I need some air,” I said. “I’m going for a walk.”

Edwin stood from his s chair, concern etched into his face. “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” 1 said, perhaps more sharply than I intended. I saw him flinch and immediately felt guilty, and I lowered my voice, touching his arm. “I’m not mad. I just… I need to think. Alone. If you don’t mind.”

His jaw clenched, but he nodded. “Okay, but don’t go too far. It’s not safe out there, especially now that people know about you,”

Something in his tone set me off, and I pulled back. The worry, the protectiveness-it all added to that suffocating feeling. “What, are you worried that your precious Silver Star will be taken from you?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Pain flashed in Edwin’s eyes, and I immediately regretted my words. But before I could apologize, he said, his voice tight, “Enjoy your walk, Audrey, Just… be careful.”

I grabbed my coat and headed out the door, the cold air biting at my cheeks. As I walked into the forest, further and further from my mate until I could no longer feel his presence or scent him on the wind, my wolf stirred restlessly inside of me.

“I just wish he told me,” I grumbled out loud to my wolf, kicking at a pile of snow. It exploded in a puff of white, only momentarily satisfying. “He shouldn’t have kept it from me.

My wolf whined softly. “You know he didn’t mean any harm. He was trying to protect us.”

“I know,” I sighed, my anger deflating slightly. “But that’s not the point. We’re supposed to be honest with each other, no matter what. How can I trust him if he keeps things like this from me?”

As I trudged through the snow, the trees looming around me, I realized what was really bothering me. It wasn’t just Edwin’s omission-it was everything that came with being the Silver Star

That was why I’d had that nightmare last night.

I never asked for this. I never wanted to be the ‘chosen one’ or a celebrity. I didn’t want to be fought over like some prize to be won. All I ever wanted was peace, happiness, and Edwin

I only wanted a normal life, or as normal as it could be for someone like me.

And lately, it felt like even Edwin was treating me differently. Coldling me, overprotecting me. I knew he was just trying to

keep me safe, but it felt-stifling.

Like I was some delicate flower that needed constant tending, rather than his equal partner.

Suddenly, a twig snapped nearby, jolting me from my thoughts, I stopped, looking around warily. The forest abruptly seemed to go too quiet, the silence oppressive.

“Something is wrong,” my wolf growled, hackles rising. “We should go back.”

I turned, ready to head back to the house, when a figure stepped out from behind a tree. A man I didn’t recognize, his eyes glowing a bloodshot red. His clothes were ragged, and there was a wild, desperate look on his face that made my blood run cold.

“Silver Wolf,” he breathed, a twisted smile spreading across his face. “I finally found you…’