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Chapter 5
To avoid escalating things, I spoke gently, “Throwing it away? Of course not! I’m just letting professionals handle the refurbishing. Do you know how much dust that thing’s
collected?”
Seeing the calm expression on my face, Alpha Waldo visibly relaxed, his tension easing.
“Oh. Well… I’ll have someone come by and install a new set of cabinets at home to store everything properly.”
I nodded, businesslike, refusing to let my sarcasm slip out. “Great idea. Now, shouldn’t you and your sister be headed to the
Packhouse? I need some actual sleep.”
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Before he could argue, I turned and made a beeline for the bedroom, locking the door with a satisfying click.
When I woke up, sunlight was spilling through
the curtains.
I ripped another page off my countdown calendar. Five days left. Five days until I was out
of this mess.
My phone buzzed with a message from my supervisor, asking to meet about the groundbreaking paper I’d just published in Wolf Pack Training Quarterly. Oh, right. Rogers- that’s me. My pseudonym had been a great way to keep my research separate from pack politics.
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Not that Waldo or Alanna would know.
They didn’t think I was capable of anything groundbreaking, much less anything useful.
Waldo called just as I was leaving. When I told him I was headed to the Training Ground, he immediately offered to drive me.
I should’ve known better.
When I reached the car, there she was. Alanna. Perched in the front seat like a smug little
rogue.
“Valerie!” she chirped as I hesitated. “Come on, don’t be upset. Waldo’s always let me sit up front. Back when he used to drive my dad’s car, I was always in the passenger seat. They say sitting in the back makes it feel like you’re
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treating the driver like a chauffeur. It’s rude, you
know? So, I got used to it.
“9
I wasn’t upset. In fact, I smiled warmly.
“Oh, of course,” I said, sliding into the back. “Wouldn’t want to break tradition.”
The car ride was… tense. Waldo kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror like he was
expecting me to snap. Alanna, ever the instigator, filled the silence with her usual sugar–coated venom.
“So, Valerie, have you published anything groundbreaking recently?” she asked, her voice all innocence. “I mean, I saw this article by someone named Rogers in *Wolf Pack Training Quarterly*. It was so… advanced. I thought,
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‘Wow, Valerie could never pull off something like
that.“”
She gasped dramatically, clutching her chest. “Oh no! Did that sound rude? I didn’t mean it
like that.”
Waldo chuckled, the sound grating. “Valerie, you have to admit, not everyone can be a trailblazer. You’ve worked so hard for years, but maybe it’s time to focus on The Snow Moon Packhouse. After the wedding, why don’t you stay home? I can take care of everything. You won’t need to work anymore.”
Oh, the audacity. I stared out the window, mentally listing all the ways I could strangle someone and still claim self–defense.
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Two blocks from the Training Ground, Alanna asked to be dropped off. As she climbed out, she threw a sly grin over her shoulder. “Thanks for the ride, Waldo. Love you!” She turned to me, her grin widening. “See you later, Valerie.”
I raised an eyebrow at Waldo. “Isn’t this the neighborhood where our wedding house is?”
He froze for half a second, then shrugged. “She’s probably visiting a friend.”
I didn’t push further.
Sensing my silence, he added, “She’s still recovering from her injury, so I thought I’d drop her off on the way. Don’t be so petty.”
“Petty? Oh no, I’d never.” I smiled sweetly. “It’s
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perfectly normal for an older brother* to give his *sister* a ride. Isn’t it?”
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
When we arrived at the Training Ground, he surprised me by pulling a huge bouquet of
flowers from the trunk. He thrust them at me
like they were some kind of olive branch.
“I know you’ve been upset these past few days,”
he said, his voice soft and coaxing. “I’m sorry, okay? This is me trying to make it up to you.”
“And about the wedding dress—you’re right. Let’s forget it. I’ll have a custom one made for you by a top designer. How’s that?”
His face radiated with expectation, as if I should
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be grateful for his ‘effort.‘
I glanced at his phone, where he was scrolling through images of extrAlannagant wedding gowns, but the interest had long since drained from me.
None of it mattered anymore. I was leaving
soon.
I gently pushed his phone away and handed the flowers back to him. “Pick whatever you like. My supervisor is waiting for me.”
As I turned to walk away, Alpha Waldo grabbed my hand. “Valerie,” he said, his voice thick with something like panic, “what’s wrong with you? What’s really going on?”
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For the first time, his expression was filled with
confusion, even a hint of loss and desperation.
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KENT
Chapter 6
