“BY the way, I’ll be there tomorrow to watch the premiere of your new movie.”

Casey’s voice pulled Astrid’s attention away from Wulfric’s name flashing at the top of his terminal screen. It took a second for what Casey said to fully register, and then he quickly responded, “Please wear a disguise.”

He didn’t want some gossip site snapping a photo of Casey at the premiere and starting rumors they were secretly dating. They had already dealt with enough of that after he became an ambassador for EMMA. If not for Casey’s influence, those rumors would have spread much further than they did. Every time Astrid came across a post implying a romantic connection between them, he felt like gagging. The man was his uncle, for crying out loud.

But since no one actually knew about their family connection, it was easy to see why people would jump to conclusions. Astrid was a rising young actor, and Casey was a wealthy aristocrat with his own business empire. It was basically a recipe for gossip. It didn’t help that Casey was young and handsome. Well, based on how aging worked in this era, Casey was definitely considered young. From what Astrid remembered, his uncle wasn’t that far off from Wulfric’s age.

He winced a little at that thought. Maybe that was part of why Casey had been against his relationship with Wulfric. His uncle probably found it strange and awkward, knowing one of his nephews was romantically involved with someone close to his own age.

But that was neither here nor there. The age gap between him and Wulfric had never really bothered him. Probably because, in his own head, he felt older than Wulfric, anyway. At least mentally and emotionally. And maybe soulfully, if that was even a real word. Still, he could understand why it might seem strange to his family. He just hoped they would come around, eventually.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a little jealous of how smoothly things had gone for Reas with Lauren. Meeting their parents, even the Duke, without all the drama. It made sense, considering who Wulfric was and all the complications that came with him. Still, he couldn’t help but feel envious.

“Don’t worry, I’ll wear my best disguise,” Casey said.

Casey’s voice pulled Astrid out of his thoughts once more. He smiled at his uncle. “Just message me when you get there.”

They talked a bit longer before finally ending the call. As soon as they did, Astrid answered Wulfric’s incoming call. Wulfric’s face appeared on the screen, and he looked like he was… sulking?

“Wulf,” he called in amusement. “Why are you pouting?”

Wulfric’s pout deepened. “You didn’t answer my call.”

Astrid blinked, then laughed out loud. Wulfric had his arms crossed over his chest and his lips pushed out in an exaggerated pout. He looked so ridiculous, so utterly adorable, that Astrid actually found himself wanting to reach through the screen and pinch his cheek.

“I was on a call with Casey,” he explained.

That seemed to calm Wulfric down a bit, his pout slowly fading. But then it returned just as quickly, like he had just thought of something. “You didn’t tell me about your livestream.”

“It was a last-minute thing. And besides, I figured you were probably busy,” Astrid said with a helpless smile.

“I’m always free for you,” Wulfric said, his tone completely serious. “Because I didn’t know about it, I missed the first forty-five minutes of your stream.”

Astrid raised an eyebrow as a thought crossed his mind. A playful smile spread across his lips. “That’s funny,” he said slowly. “My number one fan said the exact same thing. He also missed the first forty-five minutes of my stream.”

Panic immediately flooded Wulfric’s handsome face. Astrid was almost tempted to tell him he knew he was White Wolf, but he held back. For one thing, he genuinely enjoyed reading all of White Wolf’s posts and comments. And he had a feeling that if Wulfric found out he knew, he might stop being so freely unhinged online. Or worse, he might go completely in the opposite direction and become so over the top that people would start connecting the dots. That was the last thing Astrid wished to happen right now. Especially since they still had that Lancaster problem around.

“O-oh, really?” Wulfric looked away, unable to meet his eyes. “What a coincidence.”

“Yeah,” Astrid said, drawing the word out slowly. “Such a big coincidence.”

“Anyway, tomorrow’s the premiere,” Wulfric said, clearly eager to change the subject. “Are you excited?”

Astrid chuckled, deciding to let Wulfric off the hook for now. “Yeah, I am. I’m really proud of this one. We didn’t have much of a budget for anything, but we still made a damn good movie.”

“Now you’re making me excited too,” Wulfric said. “I’ll be watching it tomorrow as well. I just wish I could see it with you in the capital.”

Astrid caught the genuine disappointment on Wulfric’s face and smiled. “It’s okay. If you want, we can watch something together next time we meet up in VirtualNet.”

Wulfric’s golden eyes immediately brightened. “We will? You promise?”

For some reason, the look on Wulfric’s face reminded him of Nicol earlier, when the boy had asked if he really meant his promise to visit their house next weekend. The similarity made him laugh. “Yes.”

They talked for a while longer, the conversation flowing easily between them. Just like how it always did. Before either of them realized it, the hour had crept close to midnight.

***

The next day, just after lunch, a red carpet premiere was being held at a modest theater in the capital. A long crimson carpet stretched from the entrance to the street, lined on both sides by barriers holding back a growing crowd of fans and curious onlookers.

Staff members in IndieFlix shirts moved about, checking equipment and directing people to their designated spots. Banners displaying the poster of [The Shadow Within] hung on either side of the theater’s grand doors.

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