Page 36 of Moonlit Fate

She nodded, her lips pursed as she studied the chessboard, dissecting her defeat.

“Aria, you’re next,” Joren said, the playful lilt of his tone and mischievous twinkle in his eyes softening his challenge.

Aria hesitated, looking at me before she moved forward. Her reluctance vanished as she claimed the seat opposite Joren.

“Never played much chess.” She traced the lip of her glass, still half-full of the ruby wine, as she stared at the board with narrowed eyes.

“Then this will be a short game,” Joren boasted, but his smile was warm, devoid of any true arrogance.

“Or a surprising one,” Aria said. She moved her pawn forward, the simplest of beginnings to what I had a feeling would be anything but a simple game.

“Where’d you learn to play?” Joren asked as he mirrored her action on the board.

“From my father.” Aria’s bishop carved a diagonal path across the board. “He said it teaches patience and strategy, that both skills are needed for leadership.”

“Seems he taught you well,” Joren said, then laughed as Aria captured his knight. The tide of the game was turning, the undercurrents shifting, and I had a burgeoning respect for the depth of her hidden talents.

“Checkmate,” Aria announced. Joren’s king was cornered, his army dismantled. Disbelief and respect mingled in Joren’s expression as he leaned back once more, defeated but delighted.

He grinned at her. “Seems I underestimated you.”

From my vantage point, I caught Aria’s eye and the gleam of pride in it. “You’ll have to come and beat Joren more often,” I said playfully. The invitation, however, was sincere. “No one ever beats him.”

“Perhaps we all need a reminder,” she said softly, “that the expected can be upended.”

“Indeed,” I said. In the game of chess, as in life, every move mattered, and Aria was proving herself a player to be reckoned with.

Resting against the cool stone wall, I watched as Aria’s victory over Joren dissolved into the backdrop of wary glances and cautious conversations with my chosen family. The pride in her strategic triumph was still warm in my veins, but it did little to ease the new discomfort that unfurled like thorns among us.

Lyza observed Aria intently. She wasn’t known for her subtlety or patience, especially when it came to potential threats encroaching on our tight-knit circle.

“Never thought I’d see the day,” Lyza said, her tone edged with steel, “when we’d host future alphas into our home.” Challenge laced her words.

I clenched my jaw. “Lyza,” I said in a growl, “remember who stands with us.”

She met me head-on, unflinching. “Of course,” she said with a deliberate pause. “Just making conversation.”

The atmosphere thickened, but sudden laughter across the room drew my attention.

Seren’s musical giggles floated through the room as she draped her arm over Hale’s broad shoulders. He tried to fend off her advances with a sheepish grin, but his eyes betrayed him, lingering on the curve of her waist, the playful flick of her hair. I had warned him earlier to keep his focus, yet now they were teetering on the edge of distraction.

“Hale,” I said sharply. “Remember what we discussed.”

He straightened up, Seren sliding off him with a lopsided pout. Our homebrew had clearly gone straight to her head. “Yeah, I know. It’s just...” He trailed off and gave me a one-shouldered shrug.

“Keep it in your pants,” I said. The last thing we needed was more complications, especially with all that hung over us. “And maybe serve up some strong black coffee.”

He nodded.

Seren stood and swayed over to me. “Oh, come on,” she slurred. “Don’t be such a killjoy.”

“Tonight’s not about joy,” I said. “We’re here to plan. You know that.”

I didn’t know Seren, but the transformation from the serious young woman we encountered earlier at the battlegrounds to the person the alcohol was fueling was glaringly apparent. I had a sinking feeling that if I didn’t intervene, there would be profound regret come morning.

Her lips curled upward, and she attempted a dramatic wink that lost some of its potency when she closed both eyelids before twirling away, her floral scent wafting over me.

I glanced back at Aria, who had quietly trailed behind us, observing the entire exchange. In the dim light, her countenance was impossible to decipher, a mask of calm contemplation. But it was just that. A mask.

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