a P
ave you
pitched it felt like a physical jab in my eardrum.
orn-out stool in the cramped break room. I rubbed
alled me. Hysterical! She said you assaulted
ife's work to become his personal servant," I shot back, my
ed lines in this pack! You don't have the right to be picky! You're w
ced through my chest. My hand tightened on the phone, my knuckles turning white. It wasn't just the word; it
own," I said thro
ting by the end of the month, the elders will step in. Alpha Marcus
ced, with a notorious drinking problem and hands that wandered.
g of a storage shelf, the impact rattling a stack of coffee filters. "He's a disgusting old drunk, Mom!ing cold and dismissive. "It's a good allianc
closing in. I was trapped. No matter how hard I fought, they would find a way to cage me. My gaze
etly at the corner table, nursing his coffee, a picture of calm i
ickered in my mind. A tiny spar
I pushed through the curtain and walked quickly to his tab
is is going to sound crazy, but do you know anything about the
youngest son has a gambling problem. Alpha Sterling's designated heir just got his third DUI. And the Goodwin
tion I needed. I felt a s
with newfound confidence. "You mean with the Goodwins, whose family wealth is a complete sham? Or maybe you'd prefer I
the line. I had never spoken to her like this,
regain control. "You are
ing rea
will bring home a suitable fiancé to the family dinner. Not a date. A fiancé. Or on Monday morning, I w
ne wen
y ear. A fiancé. By the weekend. It was i
ne feeling impossibly heavy. It al
expression concerned. He stood up and pulled a napkin from the dispenser, holding it o
ng his again. This time, the warmth
He wasn't from a powerful family. He was just... Derrick. And in that moment
shrewd. She'd see through it in a second. She'd
g legally binding, would stop
full-blown, terrifying blaze. It was insa
with a new, desperate intensity. He met my stare, his head tilte
asking for gossip. I pulled out the chair opposite
against my ribs like a trapped bird. This was either
an, my voice sur
propositio
en us, suspended in the thick a
is broad chest. He didn't look surprised. He looked... int
the pack elders off my back." I rushed the words out before I could lose my nerve. "I would pay you, of course. A generous amount. You'd just have to
The intensity of his gaze made me feel like a butterfly pinned to
mother strikes me as a sharp woman, Anna. Do you really think she'll
mitted, my voice barely a whisper. "It's a lo
nk, and his presence seemed to fill my entire field of vision. He smelled of sawdust
s voice dropping even lower, a conspir
at him,
et ma
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