Crush on her

Eleanor was in her room preparing to go to bed when the door opened without a knock. Thomas walked into the room, his expression showing that he was about to start a fight.

Eleanor stood from her seat at the vanity and faced him. "What do you want?"

He had not shown up in their bedroom since that day he announced he would be taking Mia to the party.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, giving her a disgusted look. "Why can't you just leave Mia alone? Why do you insist on causing trouble for her?"

Eleanor crossed her arms over her chest and paced. So it was about what happened at the store. Of course, the rogue had gone crying to her mate and now he was here to scold her.

"What do you mean? What have I done?"

Thomas moved to stand in her way. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Mia ran into you at the store today, and you humiliated her in front of everybody."

Eleanor arched an eyebrow. "I gave her the dress I'd chosen for myself because she liked it so much. How does that count as humiliating her?"

"Your friend were mocking her," he insisted.

Eleanor exhaled heavily, communicating her impatience with the entire scenario. "Sorry to break it to you, but not everybody likes your little mate, and I cannot force them to. I gave up the dress I wanted and took it to her in case she felt offended by what Sophia said. Wasn't that enough?"

He pointed a finger at her. "Listen and listen well..."

She swatted his hand away from her face. "No, you listen, Thomas. I don't care what you do with your so-called mate, but leave me out of it. Okay? If she has inferiority issues, tell her to deal with it instead of dragging everybody to her pity party."

"She wouldn't have inferiority issues if you didn't treat her like trash!"

Eleanor gave a mocking laugh. "I treat her like what she is. A conniving, lying, manipulating bitch."

"Don't you dare talk about her like that!"

"You better get used to it." She turned away and walked to the window. "What do you think people will say when you show up at the Alpha party with her? Blackstorm's Alpha, accompanied by a rogue dance partner." She looked at him over her shoulder. "I'm afraid you'll only tarnish your Alpha image."

"I'll worry about my Alpha image," he told her. "Worry about yours. Nobody likes a cruel, cold Luna, and you are turning into one."

She turned around to face him again. "But I suppose a cruel and cold Alpha who turns his back on people who have been by his side all along is just to their taste, right?"

Thomas's jaw tightened. She waited for him to defend himself, to pull the ‘I just want my mate beside me' card, but all he said was, "Miller will be taking you to the party."

She touched a palm to her chest, as if touched. "Why, thank you. I was afraid I would be a pitiful wallflower all evening while everybody talked about me because my husband took another she-wolf to the dance."

"Don't make any trouble at the party," he warned.

She retorted, "Better remind you lowly mate that."

Thomas turned away and left, slamming the door shut after him.

***

The next day, Eleanor abandoned her usual makeup look and went for something bolder.

She focused on her eyes, highlighting them with dark purple eyeliner and lighter lilac eyeshadow. It made the green of her eyes pop even more than they already did naturally.

Her nude lipstick went well with her eye makeup and gave her a sexy look that didn't appear over the top.

She wore her hair high, exposing her long neck and the dangling diamond earrings that she wore. Finally, she slipped her feet into a pair of platinum strappy heels and left her bedroom.

Miller was waiting outside the house by the car when Eleanor walked through the front door. He did a double take, at first not believing that it was really her. He was not used to seeing her glammed up like that. She exuded a sexy appeal that she never went for.

Miller hesitated, "Luna, you look gorgeous today. You... deserve to be someone's one and only."

Eleanor heard Miller's words, and her mind flashed back to the awkward scene from the day before. But she knew she had to dispel Miller's dangerous thoughts about her.

Taking the initiative, she stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Miller's elbow, avoiding a direct response to his words. "Miller, let's go. The party is about to start."

Eleanor felt Miller's body stiffen, but she knew she had to do this.

When they entered the party venue and the steward announced their arrival, every eye turned to them. Shock rippled across faces and patrons leaned towards each other, asking whether it was really Eleanor Lim, the Luna of Blackstorm.

Ethan was one of those who stared with their mouths slightly agape, unable to stop themselves. He already knew Eleanor was an incredibly beautiful woman, but damn. She looked stunning.

All other males around him also seemed to have lost their breaths upon seeing her.

He made his way past the crowd and to where she stood with the Beta of her pack, talking to a third party.

"Eleanor, so good to see you," he greeted.

"Good to see you too, Ethan," she returned his greeting.

She held out her hand, and he took it and pressed a kiss to the back of it. He looked up at her, and her green eyes went straight to his soul, making him forget for a second what he had intended to do. He straightened, still holding her hand. "Would you like to dance?"

"Of course," she said, and then looked at Miller. She gave him a smile. "Sorry to ditch you so soon."

Her purpose for attending the party was to network and gain support for the upcoming Alpha Council meeting, so while Miller was her partner, she couldn't stay by his side all night long. She was grateful to Ethan for intervening on her behalf.

"I understand, Luna." Miller reluctantly let go of Eleanor's arm."I've got you," she said, and then turned to Ethan. "I'm all yours."

It was just a bunch of innocent words that didn't mean anything, but they still caused his heart to speed up. He would do anything to call her his.

As they stepped onto the dance floor, Ethan placed his hands on her waist while she rested hers on his shoulders. "You look stunning," he told her.

"Thank you," she replied. She patted her hand on his shirt collar. "You look quite handsome yourself."

He felt his face heat up and fervently wished she couldn't see how much her words and closeness affected him.

"Happy to please," he joked. He wished there was anything funny about his heart going wild because she called him handsome. "How are you? How are...things?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "As for things...nothing has changed. I'm hoping to talk to a few Alphas tonight, get their support at the upcoming Council meeting."

"I'm sure many will be willing to support you. Over the years, you've shown that you are more than capable of leading a pack. You are more involved in your pack affairs than most Lunas get to be."

Eleanor was glad she hadn't been like most Lunas. If she had left everything up to Thomas, she would have nowhere to turn to when he betrayed her.

"I hope they think that too," she told Ethan. Sure, most Alphas were familiar with her because she often engaged them in matters concerning their packs.

But what would they think about her wanting to become an Alpha like them? Most packs frowned upon female Alphas.

As the song ended, a tall dark-haired man walked up to them. "Hello Eleanor, hello Ethan," he greeted them.

Eleanor held out her hand for a handshake. "Hello, Travis. So good to see you."

Travis was the Alpha of Bloodstone, the pack that neighboured Stormblack to the west. "It's always a pleasure to see you too," he said, taking his hand. "I was wondering whether Ethan here would care to share or whether I would need to fight him off for a dance with you."

Ethan chuckled and lifted his arms. "No violence necessary." He gave Eleanor a nod. "I'll look for you later."

She nodded and turned to Travis. "Good of you to show up, I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Glad to hear," he said. "What is it?"

Travis was only the first of several Alphas who Eleanor danced with. Their conversations ranged from friendly banter to current affairs, and somewhere in between, Eleanor expressed her request for support in the upcoming Alpha Council meeting.

Most of them promised to back her up, noting she had been a good partner so far. The rest promised to think about it.

Ethan stood near the bar and watched as Eleanor danced. There was a line of Alphas waiting to dance with her—they didn't need to get in an orderly queue to make it obvious. The glances they kept throwing her way gave it away.

He couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes as he watched her. Her resolve and courage to chart a way for herself despite how hard it seemed endeared her to him all the more. He would love nothing more than to be beside her, to help her achieve her goal.

He was still watching her when Henry established a mindlink with him.

"Who's the red-haired woman you were just dancing with?"