Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 234 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 234

Chapter 234 The Blind Date

Lady Flourish’s POV

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AG (23

Finished

My phone stayed hidden beneath the table, but the message on the screen felt louder than every conversation around me.

Do not let Marvolo Fischer leave that room.

I looked up slowly, my wolf reacting to the unfamiliar scent beneath his cologne. Faint, but I knew it now. I’d smelled it beneath Stonehedge.

Eugene pointed toward the empty chair beside me, completely unaware my whole body had gone tense. “Marvolo, sit here.”

He glanced at me again before crossing to the chair, and I forced my wolf quiet as he pulled it back. The scent grew stronger. My fingers tightened around my phone.

“So this is the person you mentioned,” he said, taking the seat beside me. “Mr. Beaumont, you didn’t tell me she was this beautiful.”

My face stayed still. Eugene looked pleased. “I only mentioned her once, and you remembered.”

Of course he remembered.

Someone across the table laughed. “Mr. Fischer, do you only remember the beautiful ones?”

Marvolo smiled easily. “That’s unfair, Mr. Fawnder.” He turned to the older man. “At our last dinner, your daughter spent the entire evening asking for that ridiculous yellow wolf toy from the children’s store. I passed one earlier today and bought it for her.”

Mr. Fawnder blinked, then laughed. “Fine. You win.” The table joined in, and the conversation moved on naturally.

I watched him from the corner of my eye. He looked completely human, heartbeat steady, breathing calm, nothing obvious about him to explain why his scent had been in the tunnels beneath Stonehedge. That frightened me more than if he’d openly been a wolf.

He seemed to notice my silence. “Don’t mind them,” he said quietly. “They enjoy embarrassing people.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

His smile softened. Something about him was too calm. My wolf moved uneasily beneath my skin, not growling, not submitting, just watching.

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Chapter 234 The Blind Date

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I kept my phone under the table and opened Damian’s chat. Marvolo Fischer is here. Delivered. I added another. His scent matches the tunnels.

Before I could send it, Marvolo shifted closer. “You practice criminal law too?”

I locked my phone and set it face down beside my glass. “No. Civil law. Sometimes corporate work, mostly non-litigation.”

“That’s impressive.”

I gave him a polite smile.

“I’m only a few years older than you,” he went on. “You can call me Marvolo. Or Marvie.” My smile weakened. “My cousin calls me that.”

Before I had to answer, every instinct in me sharpened. The scent around us changed, stronger, Alpha, coming from the hallway outside. The door opened, and the whole room turned.

Damian stood there. For one second nobody spoke. He wore dark trousers and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the bandage around his injured shoulder impossible for me to forget under the fabric. His eyes found mine, then moved to Marvolo.

My mate bond tightened. His wolf rose immediately, Alpha pressure spreading through the room fast enough that two younger wolves at another table lowered their gazes before they seemed to notice they’d done it.

Julian stepped in behind him, his expression changing when he saw me. “Oh.”

Damian’s eyes stayed on Marvolo. “Interesting company event.”

“You weren’t invited,” I said.

“No. Neither was I.”

Eugene looked confused. “Do you two know each other?”

“We’re familiar,” Damian said.

I almost sighed. Marvolo stood politely. “Mr. Virel.”

My body went still. He knew Damian.

“Mr. Fischer,” Damian said, expression unreadable.

Julian’s eyes moved between them. “Wait. You two know each other?”

“Not personally,” Marvolo said, his scent still too controlled. “I’ve heard of Alpha Damian.”

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Chapter 234 The Blind Date

Finished

“Most people have,” Damian said, stepping further into the room.

The atmosphere shifted. Eugene looked between us. “Flourish?”

I opened my mouth, but Damian’s phone rang. Every muscle in him tightened at the screen. “Rhys.”

My wolf reacted before he said another word. Rhys’s voice was too low for anyone else to catch, but Damian’s expression changed within seconds. “Where?”

My heart started pounding. He looked straight at me. “Don’t move.” Then he ended the call.

Marvolo’s gaze shifted to him. “Something wrong?”

Damian didn’t answer, walking toward my chair instead. I stood before he reached me. “What happened?”

His eyes softened briefly, then hardened again. “Rhys found another scent trail.”

My stomach dropped. “Elara?”

“No.” Somehow that was worse. He looked at Marvolo. “It starts outside this restaurant.”

Silence filled the room. Marvolo’s expression stayed polite. Too polite.

Damian stepped closer, the bond tightening sharply as his wolf pressed forward. “We’re leaving.”

Eugene stood. “Flourish, is everything alright?”

I wanted to tell him everything, that my mother was missing, that Stonehedge had been breached, that the man beside me might be tied to wolves moving beneath an ancient estate. Instead I forced a breath. “I’ll explain later.”

He looked unconvinced. Damian’s hand settled lightly against my back. “She has somewhere to be.”

I almost rolled my eyes. Marvolo looked at me again. “Are you leaving already?” His voice was gentle, and my wolf finally growled, low and quiet. He heard it. For the first time, something shifted behind his eyes. Recognition.

Damian noticed. So did I.

My phone vibrated. Everyone was watching me now. I picked it up slowly. Another unknown message, and my blood went cold at what opened.

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Chapter 234 The Blind Date

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Finished

A photograph. Elara, alive, sitting against a stone wall, hands bound behind her back. Not alone. Beside her stood a man whose face was hidden from the camera, only his hand visible. On his finger sat a ring marked with the same symbol carved into the tunnel beneath Stonehedge.

My eyes moved slowly to Marvolo. Still standing beside my chair. Still smiling.

The phone vibrated again. A final message appeared beneath the photograph.

If Alpha Damian takes you out of that room, your mother dies. Damian’s wolf surged beside

And Marvolo Fischer quietly locked the private dining room door.

68

B

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