Alpha Denzel stiffened, and Valerie felt it, confident that he was hiding something. Looking in Alice's direction, an idea cropped into Alpha Denzel's mind as he asked seriously,
"Are you going to leave Alice behind? She's new here."
Alice had become Valerie's weakness, and his only choice was to use her. Valerie stared at Alice apologetically.
Perhaps it was due to the mate bond, but she couldn't help feeling that Alpha Denzel was hiding something from her.
Besides, after being marked and mated, he had not even mentioned her coronation. Valerie was eager to be officially introduced to the pack communities as the Luna, just as she had endured the shame of her previous coronation.
Alice, though young, was mature enough to sense the tension between the couple. She certainly did not want to become a third wheel in this situation.