#Chapter 126: The Date

ELENA Was I crazy? I might’ve been. I kept asking myself that the entire walk down the Moonstone hill, the hem of my coat swishing around my knees and the crisp night air curling against my neck. I had said yes. I had agreed to go on a date—with Derek. Of all people. And now I was doing something even more dangerous. I was looking forward to it. I spotted him before he spotted me. He was waiting at the base of the path, right where the road curved into a grove of old trees strung with fairy lights. He stood beside a sleek black car, his coat collar turned up, hands in his pockets. The air around him shimmered with the glow of soft lanterns swaying in the breeze. He looked… calm. Not the tense Alpha in front of a summit. Not the protective father snarling at the world. Just Derek. Patient, watchful, quietly striking in that maddening way that made my breath catch even when I didn’t want it to. He turned when he heard my steps, and when our eyes met, his face broke into t