Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 23 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 23

Chapter 23 The Night She Forgot

Lady Flourish’s POV

The first drink was excellent, the second was better.

By the third, I had completely forgotten why I came here in the first place.

It didn’t help that the glasses were comically large cups too.

Finished

I sat comfortably against the bar stool, staring at the city lights beyond the glass windows while warmth spread through my body.

The alcohol settled pleasantly in my veins, dulling the sharp edges of my thoughts until everything felt softer and easier to tolerate.

For the first time in days, my mind wasn’t racing.

I wasn’t thinking about Harold or my father or Luna Rites or Phina or embarrassing confrontations in expensive restaurants.

I was simply existing.

The realization made me laugh, the sound escaping before I could stop it. The bartender glanced over, and I laughed again.

“Everything alright, Lady Flourish?” he asked carefully.

I rested my chin on my palm and smiled at him. “No.”

Then I laughed even harder.

The poor man looked completely confused, and my wolf wasn’t even helping matters.

She had become increasingly restless over the last hour, pacing circles inside my head and occasionally nudging against my consciousness.

Alcohol never sat particularly well with wolves, especially powerful wolves.

My mother used to tell me that getting drunk was essentially inviting your wolf to participate in every bad decision you made.

At the time, I’d thought she was exaggerating, but now, I wasn’t so sure.

My wolf was practically vibrating, but I still ordered another drink.

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Chapter 23 The Night She Forgot

The bartender hesitated. “Lady Flourish…”

Finished

“Oh, don’t start.” I pointed at him dramatically. “You work here. Your entire purpose is giving me drinks. So, don’t make me repeat myself.”

He sighed, and a few minutes later another glass appeared.

I grinned triumphantly. “See? Teamwork.”

The bartender pinched the bridge of his nose.

Somewhere behind me, someone laughed.

I turned around to find a handsome wolf with dark hair raising his glass toward me. “That was actually funny.”

I stared at him, then at his group of friends, then back at him.

The alcohol made the entire process take longer than it should have.

Eventually, I pointed at him. “You seem suspicious.”

His smile faltered. “What?”

“You have the face of a man who makes bad decisions. I don’t like it.” Of course, it was the alcohol talking, but what could I do?

His friends immediately burst into laughter, but the wolf himself looked offended. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“Neither do I.” I nodded solemnly. “That’s what makes it suspicious.”

More laughter erupted.

The man looked as though he wanted to continue the conversation, but my wolf suddenly growled.

A low, possessive warning. I frowned. “Actually never mind. Go away.”

The poor man blinked. “What?”

“Go away.” I waved him off. “I’m having a crisis.”

His friends laughed even harder while he retreated with his dignity hanging by a thread.

I smiled to myself, then ordered another drink.

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Chapter 23 The Night She Forgot

At some point, the atmosphere in the bar began to change. I noticed it slowly.

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A shift in scent, a shift in the way people’s tones were as they spoke. The laughter around me became louder, and the conversations became easier to listen to.

Several Alphas had entered the building, and their dominance lingered heavily in the air.

My wolf immediately became agitated. I rubbed my temple. The alcohol wasn’t helping anymore, if anything, it was making everything worse.

A growl echoed from somewhere near the back of the room, then another.

My stomach tightened.

Wolves and alcohol were rarely a good combination, and powerful wolves and alcohol were significantly worse.

I glanced toward the source of the noise to find that two men were arguing.

Several others had begun gathering around them, and the tension in the room thickened.

My wolf stood immediately, screaming danger, and the instinct was impossible to ignore.

Before I knew it, the first punch landed, then another, then more. Tables scraped violently against the floor, glasses shattered, someone even roared above all the chaos.

The entire bar erupted.

“Oh, for goddess sake.” I slid off the stool, and my head immediately spun.

The room tilted slightly.

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

I grabbed the edge of the counter until the dizziness passed.

When I looked up, I saw that the bartender looked equally horrified. “You should leave, Lady Flourish.”

“Brilliant suggestion.”

Another crash echoed behind us.

Several wolves had already shifted partially, claws extending as dominance flooded the room.

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Chapter 23 The Night She Forgot

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Finished

My wolf hated the entire scene. The combination of alcohol, aggression and Alpha energy was becoming unbearable.

I pushed through the crowd and headed toward the exit. At least, I tried to. The moment I reached the center of the room, another fight broke out nearby.

A chair flew across the floor, and someone slammed into me.

I stumbled backward.

My wolf snarled furiously. For one dangerous second, I considered shifting.

The thought disappeared almost immediately, because I was drunk. My wolf was drunk.

Shifting would be a terrible idea, probably a catastrophic one. “Nope.”

I pointed a finger at myself. “We are not doing that.” My wolf disagreed strongly.

The argument continued inside my head as I fought through the crowd.

By the time I finally reached the entrance, I was sweating. The cool night air hit my face immediately, and I nearly cried from relief.

My car. I just needed to reach my car. The parking lot wasn’t particularly far away, but unfortunately, my legs seemed determined to make the journey as difficult as possible.

I stumbled twice before reaching the first row of vehicles. The cliffside residence suddenly felt a thousand miles away.

“Come on, Flourish.” I pointed at my car. “We are successful businesswomen.”

My car remained silent. “Wonderful contribution, car.”

I kept walking while the world swayed around me. My wolf whimpered, and the alcohol was beginning to hit harder now that I was moving.

My vision blurred slightly. The cold air wasn’t even helping.

Neither was the fact that my stomach had decided this was an excellent time to remind me that I hadn’t eaten properly all day.

I reached the final row of vehicles, seeing as my car sat only a short distance away. Victory, sweet sweet victory.

I smiled, then immediately regretted it when the ground tilted beneath me.

My hand reached for the nearest vehicle to steady myself.

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