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Chapter 23
“Brother, don’t regret this later!”
With that, Alpha Zach’s little sister, Yolanda, stormed off the wedding stage in dramatic fury.
She had been bold and fierce at the
ceremony-
But the second we got back home, she crumpled into tears.
“Juliet, you were amazing out there!” she sobbed. “My brother’s an idiot. If it weren’t for you all these years…”
Yolanda wasn’t just Alpha Zach’s sister.
She was my best friend–my bridesmaid-
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and the only one who knew just how much I’d invested in that relationship.
“You did the right thing,” she said,
sniffing. “No man is worth more than your self–respect. Money? Sure. But not him.”
I didn’t say anything.
Just leaned against the window in silence.
When she finally walked up to me, she froze.
Tears were already streaming down my face.
“Juliet…”
I broke.
Collapsed into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
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She hugged me tighter, gently wiping away my tears with shaking fingers while whispering curses at Alpha Zach and Callie through clenched teeth.
I’d known today would end in disaster.
But still–I had gambled.
I bet he wouldn’t humiliate me like this.
That he wouldn’t turn our wedding into a public joke.
Clearly, I lost.
Thankfully, ever since I found out about his plan, I’d started to cut him out of my heart-
Piece by piece.
I wiped away the tears and grabbed my
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laptop.
“Juliet, are you seriously still working for him after this?” Yolanda asked, incredulous.
I didn’t answer right away.
Instead, I spun the screen around so she could read what I was typing.
She blinked.
“Are you submitting your resume to the Blue Moon Packhouse?”
I nodded. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do. To be honest, I can no longer work with Zach.”
She was quiet for a long moment.
“I was going to wait until you calmed down
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to talk you out of it… but forget it.
My brother doesn’t deserve you.”
I hit “Submit,” then stood and opened my cabinet.
Pulled out a bottle of red wine.
Then poured glass after glass–until the edges of my pain started to blur.
Alcohol dulled the ache.
And somehow, it made the memories come flooding back.
The day I first met Alpha Zach.
We’d both attended the same Werewolf University, but I’d only ever heard his name- never seen him in person.
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He was the golden boy, the pride of our generation.
He even found his fated mate at the university’s traditional Eighteenth Birthday Ceremony.
Typical Alpha dream life.
Me?
I was just a nerd. A brawler. A nobody.
No one paid attention to a rogue–born she–wolf with a temper and a permanent seat in the library.
The whole “fated mate” thing? That was a fantasy for girls with prettier bloodlines.
I never thought our paths would cross.
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Until one evening, on my way home from class-
That filthy old pervert showed up again.
He didn’t dare mess with noble–born girls.
But he had no problem harassing low–class she–wolves like me.
That night, I’d had enough.
I shifted into wolf form–snarling, eyes blazing–and faced him down.
I was ready to kill him.
Even if it meant losing my chance to stay in the Silver Claw Pack.
Even if it meant being thrown out like
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garbage.
But just as I lunged, Alpha Zach appeared.
He kicked the creep across the alley like he weighed nothing.
Beat him senseless, then dragged him to the local pack station.
That night, he planted something in my chest.
A tiny seed of hope. Of… admiration.
But that brave boy who once stood between me and danger-
He’s long gone now.
I don’t recognize the man he’s become.
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My phone buzzed nonstop–some were messages of concern, others laced with curiosity, a few filled with venom.
One in particular made my stomach turn.
Blossom. My birth mother.
“You gave him your body for years and still couldn’t win his heart. Pathetic.”
I shouldn’t even have a mother, not really.
Until I was twenty–four, I didn’t.
My parents had been rogues.
They dumped me at the edge of Silver Claw territory when I was just a pup.
The border patrol found me and sent me to an orphanage.
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Then one night, Zach took me to a banquet.
And there she was–Blossom.
Now married to a second–rate rich man, playing the part of a dutiful wife.
The moment she saw me on Zach’s arm, she changed.
Suddenly, I was “her darling daughter.”
She clung to me, doted on me.
I knew it was fake.
But… I let her.
Maybe it was loneliness.
Or some desperate need to feel loved.
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Over the years, she and her husband milked my name for every favor they could squeeze out of the Silver Claw Pack.
Now, I turned the speaker on and let her tirade play out.
“Now that the wedding’s off, you’d better get off your high horse and win Zach back! There’s still time!”
I took a long sip of wine.
“I’m not you, Blossom,” I said. “I was never good at manipulating men.”
And I hung up.
I looked down at my phone and laughed bitterly.
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Without my so–called “manipulation,” this wedding wouldn’t even have happened.
Let me say this one more time:
Never get close to a man at his lowest point.
Because once he rises again,
He’ll throw away everything that reminds him of his weakness.
Including you.
Especially you-
if you left him during that low.
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