#Chapter 26 The Diligent Doctor

Olivia’s POV

I aim to make sense of this gala, seeing donations piling out of the boxes along with land deeds and jewelry and checks. Looking up, I feel a sea of eyes on me now, something still so unfamiliar about being seen to be; being truly seen, not as an object or a fill-in wife, but as a Queen Luna, as someone with purpose.

Part of me aches with this new found attention but I push those dwelling anxieties away.

I am greeted by Alpha’s of such rural packs; I can’t believe I’ve never even heard of their existence. I may not have had much of an interest in politics in my last life, but this life is different and the more arraignments I make with these wealthy agricultural wolves, the more I get to bring awareness and money into the charity.

Reese would be so proud of me now. He’s stable for the moment but I dread leaving the palace phones, waiting for someone to rush up, eyes in a panic with labored breathing to tell me the young, male wolf I have been looking after isn’t going to get better. If there were ever a nightmare in this life, it would be that.

I’m yanked from that catastrophe, Eugene Opal approaching me on the cusp dancefloor, his suit a beautiful white color like his physician outfit, his vest a shady gray hue with a nice black tie over his puffed-out chest. He’s not an Alpha, but he parades around dominantly like one, as though claiming the prey he so desperately desires. Me.

He dares to spin me into a waltz, my short heels a little too thin for this kind of aria, for any form of movement really, and besides the footwear, I really despise formal dancing. My wolf grumbles as he squares me to his chest, his broad hands set at my hip and my palm, turning me quick so the short flare of my aquamarine gown twirls around my knees.

“Sweet Olivia,” Eugene disguises in a hidden exhale. “Can you imagine what my dear brother would think if he knew the truth of your identity? Yet, you were out here dancing with me, the superior wolf.”

I growl, daring to pull away but he hides it in a twirl before bringing me back to his chest. “What is with this newfound claim you think you have on me, Eugene?”

I hate to admit because before I died, Eugene was a devoted friend to me, even in ways he wasn’t allowed to be. He healed me and my brother, despite Alpha Herold’s attempt to reject me, and I saw that as a favorable quality in a really close friend.

Eugene has obviously read that dynamic differently than I have. “I’m sorry, you’re right,” he huffs, breathless. “It’s just hard to watch them drool over you when it’s clear I am the only one who has ever truly loved you.”

I dread this conversation more and more by the second, looking around in a flustered manner, pleading for any excuse to break this waltz without causing a scene.

“There is no room for love in this lifetime,” I say, sure of my words.

In this second, I wish I had this determination in my last life. I wish I had it in me to speak my wants and my dislikes, maybe if I were more assertive, things would have—No. I settle my white-water rapid thoughts, cutting through the pillars in my mind that I have built for a reason. The false loves of the past, the phony attempts of affection in this life, none of it matters.

Eugene’s brows furrow as my body goes stiff, peering over my arm to see photographers at the ready, cocking their cameras like rifles, waiting for that perfect, career-ending shot. I don’t give them the pleasure, pulling myself off the dancefloor at once.

“I’m sorry if I—” Eugene starts, reaching for me.

He is cut short, a drunk she-wolf jumping into his extended arms. She’s giddy for the affection Eugene oozes out toward me and I feel relieved as he gives in and takes her for a spin around the dancefloor, creating a decent space between us at last.

Anything to get out of that conversation; I’m thankful for the break.

I spot a set of Alphas new to me tonight, only briefly introducing themselves to me when I had arrived but I know I need to pay them more attention. I have to create some more interest in my charity set up by the doors of the venue, the mere thought of the donations already easily covering the costs of other hospitals which will help so many lives, so many brothers like my own.

As I make my way to the table of chatting Alphas, I am promptly stopped, Gabriel stepping into my diligent path and offering me a thin stem glass with champagne. I take it begrudgingly, hoping he doesn’t intend to whisk me onto the dance floor while my mind is hammered on working for the rest of the night.

“My dear,” Gabriel says, tsking as he shakes his head with a slim, proud grin. “Always working, even during a party.”

“It’s all I am good at, Gabriel.”

He raises a single brow, his eyes trailing down my frame and figure, hugged by this illuminant dress. “That couldn’t possibly be the only thing you are good at, Queen Luna.”

I don’t dare snicker at his pathetic attempt to be flirtatious. “Very charming,” I groan, sarcastic. “If you set up this gala to focus on my charity, then you should have anticipated I would do some networking tonight.”

He nods, sipping on his beige bubbly alcohol. “I knew you would be surprised to see the theme, but I had at least hoped you would try the drinks first, maybe wait for the appetizers to come around, or have a dance with your mate, before making medical infrastructure deals with other Alphas.”

I crane my head at the King Alpha. “You almost sound jealous.”

He seems hardly offended by my claim. “Nonsense, my dear. Just because I vowed to win your heart doesn’t mean you have to reciprocate right away.”

Or ever.

“I was just thinking of your mental wellbeing, that is all,” he says at once, as if to cover his tracks. “If you work too much, you’ll end up burning-out far too early to do as many good deeds in this world as you seem brazen enough to achieve.”

Rolling my eyes, I almost feel jittery that I’m having this conversation. Reese is in the hospital, losing the fight against the poison that traitorous witch had given him. The longer I sit here and play nice, the worse I feel for not being there for my brother. I can’t possibly burn-out, like Gabriel speaks of, because I have the ultimate motivator.

“I can sense the restlessness in you,” he murmurs below the soft tunes of the band rushing through the ballroom. “I have felt the same rush before, the same responsibility and dedication to my duties like you are feeling now. It was horrid for my health, as you know, and it almost led to our separation, my dear.”

He looks at me expectantly, as though waiting for that twinkle in my eyes that would prove to my husband that I am who I appear to be. I don’t have those memories, though, only a few fleeting dreams of the overworked Alpha and the unhappy, scorned Luna.

A story I know too personally to admit aloud.

“At least come to the bay windows with me,” he hums, tipping his head toward the opposite side of the venue I was headed toward. “After that, you can do all the networking your generous heart can handle.”

For once, I submit to my false husband; purely out of curiosity.