Chapter 4 Unbroken Stare

Luna Lorraine's kindness hurt more than Eugene's cruelty.

Even after everything her son had done, she still looked at Irene like a daughter.

That made it harder to leave.

“Look,” Luna Lorraine said, lifting the dress from the box. “You'll look beautiful in this.”

Irene stared at it.

The dress was soft, elegant, and carefully chosen.

“I picked it just for you.”

For a moment, Irene couldn't speak.

There had been a time when she dreamed of becoming Luna Lorraine's daughter for real.

She had imagined a home with Eugene. A family. A place where she finally belonged.

Now that future was gone.

Ruby would have the place Irene once thought was hers.

The thought still hurt, but Irene forced it aside.

Luna Lorraine hadn't done anything wrong.

She was only trying to help.

“Come on,” Luna Lorraine said gently. “Try it on.”

Irene took the dress.

“All right.”

She didn't want to go to the party.

She didn't want to see Eugene.

But she couldn't stay locked in her room forever.

So she changed.

By the time she entered the pack house that evening, music and laughter filled the air.

The celebration was supposed to welcome the lycan pack.

Irene couldn't help noticing the strange choice of guests.

These were the same people they had once fought at the borders.

Some of their warriors had killed people Irene knew.

Some of hers had never returned home.

Yet tonight, everyone was drinking together as if the past had disappeared.

It hadn't.

Irene could see it in the way people watched the lycans.

The forced smiles.

The careful conversations.

The tension that never completely left the room.

“You look beautiful.”

Skylar stepped in front of Irene with a proud smile.

She had finished Irene's makeup herself.

Irene glanced at her reflection.

The dress fit perfectly.

Her hair was neatly done.

She looked like the Luna everyone expected to see at a celebration.

Only her eyes gave her away.

“You've been hiding for a week,” Skylar said quietly. “You can't keep doing that.”

Irene looked away.

“I don't know how to act like nothing happened.”

“You don't have to.”

Skylar squeezed her hand.

“But you also don't have to let Eugene decide how the rest of your life goes.”

Irene gave her a small smile.

It wasn't real, but Skylar seemed relieved to see it.

“That's better.”

They walked into the main hall together.

Immediately, Irene felt eyes following her.

She knew what people were wondering.

Why had she disappeared?

Why wasn't she standing beside Eugene?

Why had the two of them stopped appearing together?

The rumors had already started.

Skylar leaned closer.

“Don't worry. There are too many people tonight. You probably won't even see Eugene or Ruby.”

Irene's steps slowed.

She hated hearing their names.

“Let's go outside,” she said.

They slipped into the garden.

The noise from the party faded behind them.

Cool air touched Irene's face as she took a slow breath.

For the first time that night, she could think clearly.

Lanterns hung between the trees, and music drifted across the garden.

The lycans were everywhere.

They moved among the pack members with quiet confidence, but the tension between the two groups was impossible to miss.

People were watching.

Waiting.

Peace had been declared, but trust had not followed.

Irene looked across the garden.

Something about the night felt wrong.

Maybe it was the strange alliance.

Maybe it was the way everyone seemed to be waiting for something.

Or maybe it was simply the fact that Eugene was somewhere inside that house with Ruby.

She didn't know.

But she knew one thing.

Coming here had been a mistake.

She had thought the hardest part would be seeing Eugene.

She was wrong.

Because the moment Irene turned back toward the house, the music suddenly stopped.

Every conversation died with it.

The garden fell silent.

Irene looked toward the entrance.

Someone had arrived.

And from the way every lycan suddenly stepped aside...

It was someone important.

Irene could see the tension whenever a lycan walked by.

This was her first time seeing them up close.

The stories hadn't been exaggerated.

The male lycans were enormous, towering over almost everyone around them. Even while walking casually through the celebration, they looked like warriors ready for battle.

The women surprised Irene even more.

They were just as strong and confident, and there was something about the way they carried themselves that made the ordinary werewolves around them seem smaller.

Irene had heard stories about female lycan warriors. There were fewer of them, but they fought beside the men without hesitation.

Seeing them now, she believed every story.

“I can't believe people can actually be that tall,” Skylar whispered as a male lycan passed them.

Irene barely reached his shoulder.

She glanced at him, then looked away.

She wasn't in the mood to be curious tonight.

They continued through the crowded streets around the pack house. Stalls lined the paths, selling food, drinks, jewelry, weapons, and other goods.

The crowd was getting too much for Irene.

Too many voices.

Too many people.

Too many eyes following her.

“I’m tired,” she said quietly. “I want to sit down for a while. You can keep walking.”

Skylar immediately looked concerned.

“Are you sure?”

Irene nodded and pointed toward a drinks stall nearby.

“Go. I'll wait here.”

Skylar hesitated.

Irene gave her a small smile.

“You'll miss everything if you stay with me.”

Skylar studied her face, clearly unconvinced.

Then she gave Irene a playful look.

“Fine. But don't disappear.”

“I won't.”

Skylar finally disappeared into the crowd.

The moment she was gone, Irene's smile faded.

She walked toward the drinks stall and sat down.

An old man behind the counter smiled when he saw her.

“Oh, Irene!”

His warm greeting caught her off guard.

“Do you have anything sweet?” she asked.

“Of course.”

He quickly prepared a large glass of bright red drink and placed it in front of her.

“Thank you.”

Irene took a sip.

Then she lowered the glass and stared at it.

The sounds around her faded into the background.

She tried not to think about Eugene.

She failed.

His smile came back to her.

His promises.

The way he used to look at her as if she were the only woman in his world.

Her fingers tightened around the glass.

That was what hurt most.

Some part of her still remembered the man she had loved.

And that made letting him go even harder.

Then she felt it.

Someone was watching her.

Irene slowly lifted her head.

Across the stall, a man was staring directly at her.

She froze.

Maybe she was imagining it.

Maybe exhaustion was making her paranoid.

She looked away for a moment, then glanced back.

He was still there.

Still watching.

He hadn't even looked away.

Irene's fingers tightened around the glass.

She didn't know who he was.

She didn't know why he was watching her.

But the longer their eyes remained locked...

The stronger the feeling became that this stranger had not noticed her by accident.

He had been watching her on purpose.

And he still wasn't looking away.