Revenge served in a black dress (Nora and Jace) novel Chapter 45

CH 45

Jace

“You will be stepping down as of right this moment. You Gloria, are no longer the acting Luna to my pack. Clear out your personal belongings, I’ll find something else for you to do within this pack.” He told her, and she stared at him wide–eyed as if she couldn’t believe he was doing this to her. “Your being here in this office and those in this pack calling you Luna is now detrimental to my Mate Bond. Which I am desperately trying to salvage.”

“May I ask who is going to be attending Luna duties until your Mate decides she wants to be in this office. I don’t think after her losing her pup she’s in the right frame of mind to come and sit here.” She shook her head. “But if that’s what you want… I’ll clear out my things,” she told him.

“You’ve got four pups due this week alone, Alpha, that will need Luna blessings given.” She turned and walked to her desk and started tidying up her belongings, “I hope Nora can handle doing that in her current state.” She sighed and shook her head as she looked at him, “You’re putting too much pressure on her Jace, I think having Nora attending to Luna Blessings right now, when she just lost a pup herself, is a bit much, don’t

you?”

Oh, he could see it now that his eyes were open to her. Gloria was actively looking like she was going to give him what he wanted. She was over there at her desk casually but slowly, packing her things neatly into a pile on her desk; looking like she was happy to leave the office, was going to even.

All the while telling him something he knew would actively be hard and maybe detrimental to his Mate’s own health right this second. She was actually right as well, about having Nora doing those Luna Blessings, when she’d just lost her own pup. It would likely cause her emotional pain, if she could do it at all.

Gloria was watching him; the woman he’d once loved had turned vindictive because he’d opted to choose his Goddess–Gifted over her, even when all those years ago their agreement stated she’d step aside. Gloria he now realized didn’t want to step aside. He corrected his own thoughts; she wasn’t going to step aside.

He was willing to bet that conversation about what he’d originally thought when he was still in love with Gloria, and was conflicted about the Mate Bond and Love. Were they the same or different? Gloria had taken that conversation to Nora in order to alienate her from him so she wouldn’t take him back. He was going to have to kneel before Nora and tell her everything to gain her trust.

Jace understood as he stood watching Gloria right now, that she was waiting for him to change his mind, and ask her to stay on and do those Luna Blessings. So that Nora wouldn’t have to do them and feel the pain of seeing she–wolves with their happy healthy little babies. Something she’d just lost. She was expecting him. to tell her to just stay put and do the job.

It was likely she’d done this to him all the time, when he’d been thinking about removing her from the seat as acting Luna, when he showed confusion in his decision between them. Likely she’d never ever gone and talked to Nora at all about anything he’d asked her to do. But had come back hours later with an answer that

sounded completely plausible to him.

She was so calm and rational, appeared understanding and thoughtful to him all the time where Nora was concerned, that he’d not realized she was actively going out of her way to harm their relationship, even more than he’d done himself. Nora had seen it though, him always going to Gloria.

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This was what Nora had always seen, why she’d always challenged him about Gloria, that he had no need of

her and didn’t want her to be involved in the pack, why she couldn’t believe his intentions now. Til attend the blessings myself.” he finally stated after thinking about it “Pack up, and I’ll announce it to the pack that you’re no longer the acting Luna. I think that is the best thing for Nora’s well–being.”

“Alright, if that is what you want Jace, but…” she shook her head and sighed a little, “I don’t think it’s going to work out like you want it to. Removing me as the acting Luna isn’t going to solve the issue, because I don’t think that is the actual issue.” He saw the corner of her mouth quirk up.

“It also isn’t going to get Nora back into your bed,” she commented casually. “I’ll be gone within the hour, I’ll print out a list of babies due to be born coming up to the full moon and put it on your desk… There are quite a few,” she told him.

“Good.” He nodded and turned to leave.

“If you think it’s too much, I’ll be happy to help attend those Luna Blessings. You don’t have to tell Nora about it. Just tell her you did them.” She called out to him.

“It won’t be,” he stated, and walked from the office. Even with him leaving, she was trying to appear as though she was helping him when, in fact, she wasn’t. She was trying. He now realized to put distance between him

and Nora, something she’d likely been putting between them without him even knowing. She was actively

widening the gap between him and Nora.

Something he’d missed due to how caring she always portrayed herself, the way she actively defended Nora

at times, even. “She’s just young, give her more time… how many 20–year–olds have you seen are Lunas?” just

little things, but he’d agreed with them all, and it had kept Gloria right there in the Luna’s office.

Removing her from the office, but still having her do Luna duties, that was her agenda right this minute, that

would just show Nora that he’d lied to her if she found out. And if he tried to cover it up that he was still

having Gloria attend Luna Duties, that would be even worse. He was also willing to bet that right this very

minute Gloria would tell Nora herself, that he was still having her attend those things.

He walked to his office and slammed the door shut, startling his entire unit. “Gloria is a manipulative

she–wolf.” He muttered, “I just removed her from her seat as acting Luna, and she’s all calm about it, but also

in there stating things like having Nora attend Luna Blessings will be detrimental to her, acting all concerned

about Nora.

“In an effort to get me to keep her in the position of acting Luna. If I’d not thought anything of it, I’d likely have just rescinded my order and allowed her to stay in the seat.”

He saw Matt frown and heard Mark huff, “What do you want to do about Gloria?”

“There is nothing I can do at this point. I put her in that position. We were a couple for a long time, and now we’re not. She’s just acting out. I likely broke her heart,” he muttered. “She’s not committed any crimes or none that she can be punished for, due to my own actions and allowing things to fall apart inside this pack.”

He muttered.

“She’s been in that seat for so very long,” Matt murmured “She’d likely know how to get around the pack la I dare say.”

“Agreed.” He nodded. “I’ll have to be careful with her, she–wolves are vicious and possessive, she’s not adjusting at all to my wanting to sort things out and be with Nora.”

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“More than careful.” John stated thoughtfully. “If you accuse her of a crime before the pack, she demand proof of it, want a full pack vote. You can’t lie about it, she’ll want to have one of the elders order the truth from you, to prove her innocence and that she was only doing what you wanted.”

He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. His Delta was right about that, and she could ask for any of them, or all of them, to be ordered about specific things and cut off any other questions, and imply they were off–topic and trying to deceive the entire pack to show her in a bad light.

“This is probably why other Alphas don’t instate acting Lunas and do the job themselves,” Mark murmured. Difficult it is to have her removed and punished when they do something like this.”

He could only nod his head, “I have, however, taken a dozen dresses up to Nora to choose her Luna dress

from for her Luna Ceremony. Though we argued.”

“About?” Matt muttered. “And was she upset or angry?”

“Angry and put me in my place quite easily. Because I got mad at her,” he sagged down on to the couch in his office. “She stared at me and asked if I was going to roll my aura at her again.” He closed his eyes. “I can’t do anything right,” he sighed heavily. “Matt, she’s been getting hit with pains of betrayal, and for likely months. What you felt here in this very office that day: Gloria has actively been touching me with loving intent, and it’s likely when I brush her hair back and little things like that, Nora has felt it all.”

He could feel them all staring at him now, though he didn’t open his eyes. “I didn’t realize all that time I was hurting her. I thought the pains of betrayal were only about s*x, one having an actual s**** affair. It’s why Rosa is gone,” he muttered. “Matt, I’m going to need you more now than ever.” He finally opened his eyes and

looked at his Gamma.

“I don’t think it’s wise for me to go up there and try to sway her into anything, not after the last time I touched her. My charm didn’t work on her.” Matt shook his head.

“Why not, you were actively touching her? I just need her to be settled long enough to get her to listen to me, explain everything to her that I never intentionally meant to cause her pains of betrayal.” Jace looked right at

his Gamma.

“Because as a Gamma, it’s the wolf that reacts to my charm first, submits to it and that influences the human counterpart. Without Rosa at all, it’s unlikely to work. It also helps if there are other emotions to feel out. If she’s all just anger, no sadness or confusion, distress for me to latch on to and pull from her, to comfort her,” he shook his head, “just plain anger that is harder to control without her wolf submitting first.”

“So, what you’re saying is?”

“She’s gotten past the point of being sad about the two of you falling apart. There is no confusion for her as to why this happened. She fully believes it’s your fault.” Matt told him simply “Her wolf has cut herself off completely from you, from her wolfen Mate as well. Rosa is done. You and Hydro have lost her.”

“Rosa is still there inside her, not dead, like Nora told me in the hospital. There has to be a way to fix this.” Jace sighed as he felt Hydro turn away inside his mind. He’d been quiet for days now and hearing this from their Gamma did not bode well for him and his wolfen Mate. “She’s still here inside the pack. There could some small vessel of hope right. Maybe it’s just that I need to show her. Prove to her, I can be better, will her as I should always have.”

“Anything is possible, but all I got from her that day in the hospital was her wanting to cause you pains of betrayal.” Matt sighed. “Guess I can understand that now. She also tried and actively touched me in a manner

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that would see you feel it.”

“I felt nothing.” Jace frowned.

“Mm, likely because although she wanted to hurt you, she wasn’t actually in the right frame of mind to touch me with loving intent. Was full of anger, so it didn’t actually work.” His Gamma sighed.

“All I need, Matt, is for you to get her to listen to me, nothing more.” Jace murmured “I’ll own it, I have to. It is my fault that this has happened. None of it is hers.”

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