That evening, Damien took Chloe to a banquet hosted by their allies, the Greystone Pack.

He hadn't seen Ilara all day. Holding his drink, Damien felt distracted.

Had he gone too far this time?

The thought appeared in his mind unbidden.

Damien pursed his lips and drained his glass.

He pulled out his phone, about to text me, but was interrupted by the Alpha of the Greystone Pack.

"Damien, about that border demarcation we were discussing..."

Damien snapped back to the present, pushing all other thoughts aside and slipping into his Alpha persona.

Just as the conversation was getting good, a jarring voice cut in.

"Alpha, this dessert is so delicious!"

Chloe held up a chocolate cupcake, her eyes wide with a manufactured innocence.

The conversation ground to a halt. The other Alphas looked annoyed.

But Chloe, completely oblivious, squeezed in front of Damien and held the cupcake up to his mouth.

Caught off guard, Damien ended up with chocolate and frosting smeared on his face.

Chloe gasped, reaching out to wipe it off.

Damien recoiled as if she were carrying a plague.

"Enough!"

Chloe froze, tears immediately welling in her eyes.

"Alpha, what's wrong? You weren't like this before."

Damien took a deep breath, about to lash out, but then he caught the strange looks from the other Alphas.

Seeing him look over, the Greystone Alpha gave an awkward laugh.

"Damien, you seem busy. We can talk about the borders another time."

The others quickly agreed.

"Yes, yes, you're busy."

"We'll talk later."

And with that, they all made a hasty retreat.

Damien had no reason to stop them, and frankly, he was too embarrassed to.

A perfectly good negotiation with his allies had been turned into a public humiliation by Chloe.

Damien couldn't even imagine the kind of jokes that would be spreading through the region's packs after this.

And he was right.

After leaving him, the Greystone Alpha and the others found a corner to gossip.

"Seriously, do you think Blackwood has some kind of weird fetish?" the old, experienced Greystone Alpha grumbled.

Another Alpha scoffed.

"Maybe that's just what the younger generation is into these days."

The old Alpha shook his head, still confused.

"His old assistant, Ilara, was so much better. Smart, capable, and most importantly, she knew how to read a room. A natural-born Luna."

"I never understood why she wouldn't leave the Blackwood Pack. I tried to poach her a few times myself, but she never budged."

The other Alpha just smiled, saying nothing.

He had tried to recruit her, too.

Meanwhile, Damien glared at Chloe, his chest heaving with rage.

"Chloe, look what you've done!"

Chloe's eyes were red, as if she were the victim of a great injustice.

"What did I do? I was just trying to share something with you! What was so wrong with that?"

The more she spoke, the more upset she became, her words dissolving into sobs.

The commotion was drawing stares from the other guests.

Damien was trapped. No matter how furious he was, he couldn't make a scene. He had to grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

"You're right. It was my mistake."

Damien closed his eyes, his grip on his wine glass so tight it threatened to shatter.

Chloe blinked, thinking he wasn't angry anymore. She quickly wiped her tears and threw herself into his arms.

"Oh, Alpha, you're the best."

Damien's gaze went distant. For the thousandth time, he regretted choosing a fool like Chloe just to spite a bond he never wanted.