Chapter 224: Riding Together
Hayley’s POV:
Johnny cleared his throat and stared at me, disbelief written all over his face. I quickly realized he had misunderstood and thought Benjamin and I were living together.
“Godfather, please don’t get the wrong idea,” Benjamin quickly explained. “Hayley is staying at my place temporarily because of her grandfather’s arrangement. We’re each in our own rooms; nothing inappropriate has happened.”
Benjamin reacted quickly and cleared up the misunderstanding. Johnny’s displeasure faded once he heard this.
He then spoke, “I hadn’t heard anything about you two being together before. Hayley never mentioned it.”
“I must have been too caught up in my business to pay enough attention to her,” Johnny admitted. “That’s my fault.”
“Hayley’s a wonderful girl—smart, hardworking, kind, and lovely. It’s truly my good fortune to be with her.” Benjamin expressed this with a tender glance towards me. That look made my heart race again. It felt as though he really was my soulmate.
For a moment, I could feel Hera stirring inside me, almost making me want to throw myself at him and mate with him right there and then. I forced myself to control it. The Moon Goddess had bound me to Benjamin as my destined mate, and it seemed that I had fallen for him. I understood that we probably looked like a couple deeply in love to the outside world.
Sure enough, I noticed that Johnny’s opinion of Benjamin seemed to improve even more.
“Ben,” Johnny said, scrutinizing him, “With your demeanor and way of speaking, you must be an Alpha, right?” His question sounded more like a statement, as if he had already guessed the answer.
Benjamin grunted and said frankly, “I’m the Alpha of the Midnight Pack.”
Johnny was clearly aware of the Midnight Pack’s reputation as one of the strongest packs. He nodded approvingly at Benjamin.
“Still, at such a young age, you’ve achieved a lot. I have high hopes for you,” Johnny said, before noticing Horace standing nearby.
He added, “You young people sure take your time to come together. How about this—why don’t you and Hayley stay overnight, and tomorrow we can all go to the stables for a ride together?”
I was surprised by Johnny’s suggestion and promptly responded, “No, Godfather, Benjamin has a lot of work tomorrow, so it’s really not convenient for him to stay. How about we do it another time?”
Johnny looked at Benjamin and asked, “Ben, is that the case?”
But to my surprise, Benjamin answered without missing a beat, “No matter how busy I am, I can always make time to ride with you.”
Johnny smiled, clearly pleased with his answer. “Alright, it’s settled then. We’ll go riding tomorrow.”
Turning to Horace, Johnny added, “Horace, you too. Let’s have a good race.”
Horace agreed, “Of course, Mr. Johnny.”
The dinner continued on with cheerful conversation.
Horace’s POV:
As the evening progressed, Johnny grew more and more pleased with Benjamin, almost treating him like a future son-in-law. I quietly kept to myself as I observed their happy conversation. Johnny seemed to have completely forgotten that he had once tried to set me up with Hayley. Though I was the Alpha of the Blizzard Pack, I still didn’t compare to Benjamin, the Alpha of the Midnight Pack. Johnny clearly valued him more.
After dinner, Johnny suggested a game of chess. I wasn’t interested, so I politely declined. I watched as Benjamin followed Johnny into the study, their backs disappearing as they began their game. A wave of disappointment washed over me.
Feeling a bit down, I stepped outside the villa and lit a cigarette. Not long after, my assistant approached and asked, “Alpha, what’s wrong?”
I replied simply, “Nothing.”
He stood there in silence for a moment, then leaned in and whispered, “Alpha, if you’re really interested in Ms. Carson and want to make her the Luna of our Blizzard Pack, I might have a way to test it.” His words caught my attention. I raised an eyebrow, thinking it over before I spoke. “Tell me more.”