Chapter 281 The Perfect Couple Act
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The next day, the production crew set up at Alpha Dominic ’s converted apartment floor. They’d brought in a celebrity nutritionist to run a prenatal wellness workshop for the four pregnant participants.
Elara lived closest but arrived last.
The other three moms were already settled in the plush seating area when she walked in, designer maternity wear and all.
She gave them her camera-ready smile. “Sorry, ladies. Traffic was brutal.”
Two of them beamed back at her like she was their new best friend.
The cast was an interesting mix.
Dr. Rachel Martinez was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Mount Sinai, basically a walking medical encyclopedia.
Jessica Smith was a corporate lawyer at one of those white-shoe Manhattan firms.
And then there was Susan Walsh, a stay-at-home mom from a prominent pure-blood werewolf family whose husband was some hotshot executive chef with his own Food Network show.
Susan had signed up for this reality gig thinking she’d be the perfect example of werewolf motherhood. Pure-blooded, traditional, everything the pack valued.
She definitely hadn’t counted on being completely overshadowed by some half-breed who’d somehow lucked into becoming Luna Queen.
So when Elara flashed that perfect smile her way, Susan managed a polite nod.
Elara caught the cold shoulder immediately. She could practically smell the jealousy rolling off Susan in waves. Fine by her. She wasn’t about to kiss ass for the cameras.
The nutritionist was still fiddling with her PowerPoint setup, so the four women made small talk in that awkward reality TV way.
Rachel turned to Elara with genuine warmth. “You know, you look even younger in person than you do on the livestreams. I can’t believe you’re already showing. It took David and me two years of trying before this little one stuck.”
Elara softened slightly. “Thank you. And congratulations to you both.”
Honestly, she’d barely watched the other women’s streams. Hannah had given her a crash course this morning over coffee, complete with PowerPoint slides and personality profiles. Because apparently showing up to a group prenatal class without knowing everyone’s backstory made you “antisocial as hell.”
“Seriously though, you’re tiny,” Jessica added with a laugh. “And your husband is like, disgustingly devoted. Mine barely remembers to take out the trash. I’m literally using your marriage as ammunition in couples therapy.”
Elara nearly choked on her water. “Trust me, the cameras catch his good angles. He’s not nearly as romantic when there’s leftover pizza involved.”
Complete and utter bullshit, but whatever.
Susan’s smile was all sweetness and poison. “I’m dying to know how you two actually met. Coming from different… backgrounds, it must have been quite the adjustment for both your families.”
The moment those words left Susan’s mouth, you could practically hear a pin drop.
Different backgrounds. The subtext was crystal clear—Elara had landed way above her league.
Rachel , being the diplomatic one, jumped in to defuse the tension. “Hey, love finds a way, right? When you know, you know. Doesn’t matter if one person’s from Park Avenue and the other’s from Queens.”
Susan wasn’t backing down. “I mean, sure, but there’s something to be said for… compatibility. Don’t get me wrong, Elara—I’m not saying you don’t deserve him. I’m just curious how that conversation went with the families.”
Jessica and Rachel exchanged uncomfortable glances. This was getting messy.
“Just one of those serendipitous moments,” Elara said with a casual shrug. “Wrong room, right guy.”
“Honestly, half the great love stories start with some kind of mix-up,” Jessica added quickly.
Thankfully, the nutritionist finally got her act together and called for everyone’s attention.
The “workshop” was basically Prenatal Nutrition 101, but Elara was taking it seriously. She’d pulled out a leather-bound notebook and was scribbling away like she was cramming for the MCAT. Ever since she’d started cooking for herself, this stuff actually mattered.
Hannah sat at a corner table with her laptop open, watching the livestream comments carefully. She was head of security for the show and made sure all filming went smoothly.
The chat was mostly nice today, thank God.
Only during that awkward moment between Susan and Elara did she need to work with her team to ban some mean comments.
Nobody was going to attack her best friend while she was watching.