Chapter 136: Deer in Headlights
Edrick
As soon as I saw the look on Moana’s face as the paparazzi swarmed us, I knew that I should have prepared her more for an event of this magnitude. It wasn’t just any old event; it was a huge networking event for some of the most affluent people in the city. The majority of people in attendance were other CEOs, celebrities, and extremely wealthy werewolf socialites. It really was no place for a girl like Moana, who had very little experience with events of this caliber, and I should have given her more time to get used to all of the media attention before I suddenly sprung this on her. But I had completely forgotten that the event was this weekend, and had mistaken the date as being the following weekend.
I could tell that Moana was trying her best to smile for the cameras and stay close to me, but when the paparazzi noticed her holding her belly and began to swarm her even more, it became too much.
Instinctively, I put my arm around her… But that only sent the paparazzi into even more of a frenzy.
“When is the wedding?” the paparazzi shouted. “Will you wait until after the baby is born? When is the baby due?”
Of course, I wasn’t going to answer any of these questions; not only because there would be no wedding, but also because I needed to get Moana inside before she had a full-blown panic attack out here. The paparazzi, thankfully, were being held behind a barrier and couldn’t get too close to us, but it still felt suffocating with all of the flashing lights and shouting. I was used to this by now, and even this was too much. I could only imagine the terror that Moana felt right now.
“Come on,” I said, guiding her toward the door with my arm still wrapped firmly around her shoulder as I used my body to block the view that the paparazzi had of her. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of getting any more photos of Moana in such a vulnerable state. They already had too many. “We’re almost there.”
Finally, we made it up the steps and to the front door. The bouncer ushered us in, and once the door was shut firmly behind us, the din of the paparazzi outside became muffled and it finally felt as though we could breathe. But that was only the beginning of the night; the paparazzi were abrasive and annoying, but wealthy werewolf socialites and CEOs were just as bad, if not worse… Just in a different way.
I stopped Moana in the entryway before we went inside to give us some time to regroup, and held her by both shoulders as my eyes frantically searched her face. She had gone completely pale as a sheet, and her eyes were wide and blinking slowly. I could tell that she was not only blinded by all of the flashing lights, but she was also out of it mentally from all of the noise and attention.
“Are you okay?” I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear without even thinking about it. “Do you need water?”
Moana only nodded. She still seemed too stunned to speak, so I decided to get her seated at our table and get her something cold to drink. There would be meals provided later, as well as live entertainment, but for now people were socializing before the show and our only option was the open bar.
I led Moana over to our table, which was marked with a placard that read “Mr. Morgan & Guest”, which made me a little annoyed; I knew that my “engagement” with Moana was fake, but it still felt a little insulting that her name wasn’t even on the placard. Instead, she was just a “guest”. But I decided not to let it get to me.
“I’ll get you some water and I’ll be right back,” I said, squeezing her shoulder as she sat down.
Moana nodded and offered me a weak smile, which was a relief. She seemed to be a bit more relaxed now that we were inside where it was cooler and quieter; I just hoped that no one would bother her tonight. I knew that some of these people could be nasty, especially to humans, and none of them knew yet that she was a werewolf.
As I stood at the bar and waited for the bartender to pour Moana’s water and prepare my own drink, I immediately got a taste of the nastiness from some of the other nearby socialites.
“Oh, look at that,” one woman said to another as though I wasn’t even standing right there. “It’s the human plaything.”
Immediately, I felt my blood boil. The event had barely even begun, and already these gossips were beginning to dig in their claws. I cast a glance over my shoulder at Moana, who was still sitting by herself. I was just glad that no one decided to bother her while I was gone.
“Well, I guess she is somewhat pretty,” the second woman replied with a snicker. “Although, I wonder how pretty she’d be without all of that expensive makeup and that fancy dress.”
The first woman giggled. “Maybe she’s not as dumb as they say,” she whispered. “Kudos to her for swindling a billionaire into spoiling her.”
The bartender handed me my drinks. As I gripped the glasses and began to walk away, all I could do was keep willing myself not to spin around and yell at these two women. I recognized them easily, too; the first one was the much younger trophy wife of one of my business partners, and the second was a B-list actress who ended her prime years ago. I could have said both of those things to those nasty women, but I decided not to for Moana’s sake, as I knew it would only make things worse for her — and right now, my priority was to get her some water.
But when I heard what the women said next, I froze.
“I suppose we’ve all had the occasional interest in humans,” the trophy wife said. “But it never lasts. They’re simply lesser than us. Their little brains simply can’t comprehend the power of a mate bond, and that’s why they’re only good for experimenting… Sexually, if you know what I mean.”
The second woman — the actress — giggled, but I was fuming. I spun around then and strode up to the two women, whose eyes widened as I stopped in front of them.
“If you have something to say about my fiancee, then you can say it to me,” I said, my anger rising so quickly that it took all of my strength to not say more.
The women’s faces went red. They both began to stammer out excuses, but I didn’t care to hear them. Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked back to my table to give Moana her water, and as I did, I made the decision to not leave her side again that night.
I realized something, though, as I sat back down with Moana.
When I referred to her as my fiancee to those two women, I didn’t even think about it. In fact, calling Moana my fiancee felt more natural than anything.
