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CHAPTER 2:
“You’re a lifesaver, Micah!” Den, the local contractor, told me. “It would have taken me months to get a hold of your father to get these permits approved.”
I handed him the newly signed permits for his construction project, glad to be of help. “We can’t have that. The hospital needs that new wing.”
The large, burly Lycan patted my head. “You’re good people, Micah. Stick around and have a drink with some of my men.”
“I’d love to, Den, but i’m already expected at the hospital. I’m helping out with some of the-“
“Always so busy.” Den cut me off. “Always another good deed for you, huh Micah?”
“If my pack needs me, how could I not rise to the occasion?” I chuckled, waving at one of our passing pack members.
“Yes, damn good people.” Den said again, smacking me on my back in parting. “The pack would crumble without good men like you.”
—————-
I rushed into the hospital wing, slipping on the sterile brown vest. “I’m here, Nadi!” I called out, grabbing a sterile tray full of medications off the counter.
“Wonderful!” Nadi peeked her head out from a doorway. “When you’re done distributing, come find me. I would love a bit of help organizing the release of patients before the festival.” One of the super moon festivals was fast approaching and it was always stressful for the hospital. Most patients were desperate to be discharged in time to celebrate, creating an overflowing pile of paperwork for Nadi on the days leading up to the event.
“Of course.” I assured the pack doctor, bowing slightly in respect. “Anything to help out.”
“You’re Goddess sent, micah.” Nadi blew me a kiss before disappearing again.
I was still smiling when I knocked on the first patient’s door. “Hello? May I come in?”
“Is that our special Micah?” I heard the sweet voice call out. “Come in, come in.” I pushed the door open, balancing the tray on one hand and holding the door open with the other. The sweet elderly lycaness smiled at me from her bed, crochet needles resting in her lap. “Such a good boy, here everyday like clockwork.”
“Where else would I be? You’re here Deka. I can’t pass a day without seeing you.” I handed her, her small cup of pills.
“Always the charmer, just like your father.” Deka chuckled, nodding in thanks. “Or perhaps i’m just easily charmed.”
“No, you’re fairly hard to win over.” i assured her with a kiss to the forehead. “The perfect lady.”
“Off you go, shoo!” Deka ignored my flattery, waving me toward the door. “An old woman my age can’t survive this kind of thrill.”
“Nonsense,” I insisted as i walked to her door, “you’re as young and lively as ever.”
Deka laughed, waving me away again. “Just like your father,” she repeated, “so sweet to humor an old lady like me.”
I tsked, running into Nadi who was coming to check on Deka, who had been admitted for some time now due to fainting spells. “Please Nadi, tell that young woman to stop teasing me. She’s so sweet i might just marry her one day.”
“Wow, Deka, you must be feeling well.” Nadi chuckled as she walked past me.”Already stealing hearts again?”
I laughed as I heard deka’s flustered voice accuse me of sweet talking her too much. I stepped into the open door of the next room, the loud conversation making me laugh a bit longer. “How are we feeling boys?” I asked Jonah and Monah, thirteen year old twin boys admitted with matching injuries. Both boys had managed to shatter both of their wrists, rendering their hands practically useless. Fortunately, their personality hadn’t been harmed.
“Monah dropped the remote again!” jonah jumped right into explaining their argument. “He said he could turn the channel with his toes but he kicked it off the bed. I told him to let me do it!”
“I did it on purpose! Jonah won’t decide what to watch! He has me changing the channel every second. My toes started to cramp!”
“That’s why i said let me change it!” jonah snapped at his brother.
“With your toes? They’d have to burn the remote once you were done!” Monah teased. “Just like Ma had to burn your shoes.”
“Shut up, monah or i’ll shut you up myself!”
“Oh yeah, how do you suppose you’ll do that?” Monah countered, eyeing his brothers casts that were being held up by straps suspended from the ceiling. “You’re an idiot and we both have broken wrists to show for it.”
“Well, you’re an idiot for listening to an idiot then!” Jonah shot back.
“Hey, that’s enough.” I chuckled, calming the situation. “Now shake hands and make up.” I laughed louder, ignoring their glares at my attempt at a joke. “Come on, that’s funny. Now, time for your pain meds.”
I held a little cup full of red liquid to Jonah’s mouth first, letting him drink before repeating the same action with Monah. “Wait, Micah!” Jonah called before I could walk out. “Before you go-“
“I know.” i chuckled, reaching down to pick up the remote. “Quick, decide on a channel.”
“Sports.” Monah cried.
“No, a documentary!” Jonah cried.
“I already have to share a room with you! I can’t listen to anything else boring!” Monah groaned.
“Stand up comedy it is.” I announced, ending their argument and changing the channel. “Now be good boys and stop fighting.”
“Thank you, Micah!” They called as I left the room.
I went through every room, greeting and having a small conversation with each patient before handing over their medication and continuing on with a promise to see them again. By the time I was done, an hour had passed and Nadi was waiting outside the last room as I said my goodbyes.
“You’re a lifesaver, Micah.” Nadi said as soon as i exited the room, taking the now empty metal tray from me. “I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to do my rounds and finish processing the discharge papers for the patients who want to leave before the festival.”
“I’m always here to help, Nadi. I know it’s a lot for you to do on your own.” I told her, following her back to her office.
“You know…” Nadi trailed off, sitting down at her computer. “I’m getting to an age now where it’s important for me to start training someone to replace me and I know you’ll have your pick of pack duties, but… just know that the position here is yours if you’d like it.”
The unspoken implication weighed heavy on both of us. I was supposed to be Alpha. That had been the plan since I was born, but now that things appeared to have changed, the question remained as to where I would go. Because my father had made it a priority for his children to be involved in the pack, it wouldn’t be hard to find someone to offer me a purpose, just as Nadi had done.
The problem was, I wasn’t in search of a new purpose. I was going to be Alpha.
“Nadi! Micah! Jonah knocked my cast against his cast!” Monah cried loud enough for us to hear from down the hall.
“Nu-uh! Monah knocked my cast with his cast!” Jonah countered.
“I’m going to separate you two if you don’t get along!” Nadi yelled into the hall.
“No!” they both cried in unison, causing a chorus of laughter to erupt all across the floor.
——————–
“Wow, deep throat that popsicle any further and you’ll swallow it.” Nico mused, making me choke. I tossed the popsicle I had been eating at his head, frowning when he effectively dodged it and continued to eat his own. “What is it that Ama and Apa always say? A man quick to anger is a man quick to destruction? Well, you just destroyed yourself.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, scooting closer to him on our porch. “Share with me.”
“Ha! No.”
“It’s your fault i threw mine!” I whined.
“Then go inside and get another one.” He countered.
“Ama will ask what happened to the first one and then lecture me.” I told him, knowing he knew that already. “Come on, don’t be stingy!”
“Fine.” He sighed, biting a chunk off and handing it to me. I smiled, taking a small bite as well, feeling the cold sink into my teeth and tongue and cooling off the rest of my body. “Oh no, the legion of doom approaches.”
I looked up from the popsicle, making eye contact with my least favorite person. I pulled the popsicle from my mouth, frowning as Noah and his friends approached the house, each glaring at us like we were pests. “Why are they here?” I asked Nico, smiling when Noah was the first one to break eye contact.
“Apa said something about a communal bonfire in the backyard tonight. They’re probably here to help set up.” Nico explained, grabbing his popsicle back from me and taking another bite.
I narrowed my eyes the closer Noah got, his scent making my inner wolf antsy. It was a relatively hot day and despite Noah’s white tank top and Khaki shorts, sweat had begun to trickle down his chest, causing a weird sensation to pool in my stomach. I cleared my throat, focusing my attention on the popsicle Nico handed back to me.
“Gross. They’re sharing an ice cream.” One of Noah’s friends, Jon, pointed out. “Swapping spit with a boy is disgusting.”
“We’re brothers.” I spoke up, rolling my eyes at the implication that Nico and I were doing anything ‘gross’. We were family and we trusted one another’s germs far more than anyone else’s. What was the big deal?
“That makes it worse.” Jon scoffed. “Incest fags.”
That statement went so far over my head I barely had time to react when Nico growled in warning and stood to his feet. I jumped up, my wolf sensing his brother’s distress. “How dare you.” Nico snarled, his chest pressing against my hand that desperately attempted to hold him back. After all, strength wasn’t my strong suit and Nico had over 100 pounds on my petite 5’2″, 115 pound frame.
“Move out of the way. We’re going inside.” Noah warned my brother. “Unless you’re looking for a fight.”
“Nico.” I whispered into his ear. “You can’t.”
I wasn’t entirely sure Nico would lose against Noah, but I didn’t want to chance it. Either he lost and had to deal with the humiliation I was going through, or he’d win and then he and I would have to fight. “Listen to your boyfriend.” Noah sneered, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My wolf was raging, waiting for the last thread to snap.
“Just back up.” I told Noah. “His wolf can’t calm down if you approach him this aggressively.” I was trying to remain calm, knowing that I was the only thing standing in between my brother attacking our idiot future alpha. I had to be the voice of reason. “Can you just-“
“How about you spend less time pretending to be alpha and more time blowing your little brother. Maybe then he wouldn’t be so testy.” Jon jumped back in, grabbing my shoulder.
“Don’t touch him!” Nico snarled, pushing Jon’s hand away.
“Wow! You really are incest fa-“
Nico launched himself at the burly teen, his fangs lengthening as his wolf fought its way to the surface to force Jon to submit. When Noah made a move to help his friend I stepped in front of him, growling in warning. “Don’t.” I snarled, my fangs pushing forward as my wolf desperately attempted to take over and protect Nico from harm.
“I told you already, runt. If you get in my way, it’s a fight to the death.” Noah warned me again, but I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. He wasn’t so sure he’d win that battle. I could tell.
“You started this. You and your friend insulted my brother and I.” I tried to explain, forcing my wolf back. “What kind of alpha are you?”
Noah growled in warning just as I heard Nico growl from behind me. I spun around, completely forgetting about the pissed off wolf and seeking out my brother. He was being pushed back by Jon who had two equally tall boys flanking him. Nico did the smart thing and allowed himself to be pushed back instead of provoking the other two into attacking as well.
I grabbed my little brothers arm, pulling him to my side and stepping in front of him. “My father will sense you fighting and come outside. This is a disgraceful display to show your alpha.” I warned the lycans before me.
Noah scoffed. “Come on, guys.” He pushed me aside, walking up the porch steps flanked by his friends. “What a bunch of pussies.”
I swallowed my anger, spinning to check on Nico as soon as the front door closed behind him. Aside from a small cut to his lip that could be played off as a bite, he looked relatively unharmed, but my wolf was not at ease.
I nuzzled into Nico’s neck, calming my wolf with closeness. Nicos wolf nuzzled me in return, making sure I was okay as well. Wolves like ours, with such strong alpha blood, shared an increasingly strong bond of loyalty. My little brother, who at one point would have been my Beta, was the closest person to me. We loved each other dearly and purely. I could understand Nico’s anger at Jon insinuating something incestuous between us.
If it weren’t for Nico, i might have lashed out as well. Our wolves were highly protective of one another, almost to the point that my wolf had been protective of Noah. In fact, if it weren’t for Nico, I would still feel that way.
“Shit. Shit. Shit!” I cried, feeling my bones shift back into place, my wolf form breaking down into my human form. I crumbled, falling to my knees and pressing my forehead to a random tree. Images of the fight I had lost yesterday was flooding my mind and making me dizzy. It was becoming harder and harder not to dwell on the awful memory.
I stood up, coming face to face with a blown up picture of Noah’s face I had printed out last night. I had taped it to the tree in front of me and was currently trying to attack it. Perhaps I was still in denial. I was almost sure that my wolf had been mistaken when I shifted into a wolf and attempted to claw at the picture, my paw refusing to lift from the ground.
Now here I was, salty tears sliding down my cheeks in stubborn indignation. I lifted my hand, trying to slash at the picture, but it remained frozen in mid air. It was as if something else was controlling my body… or someone. “Please,” i pleaded aloud to my wolf, “please don’t do this.”
My wolf huffed in my mind, ignoring me. This had never happened to me before. Since as early as I could remember, my inner wolf bowed at my command, never once protesting. Now, I was powerless to his will.
“Micah!” I jumped, hearing someone call my name. I had thought I was deep enough in the woods to not be found, but apparently I was wrong. I smelled Nico’s sent before I saw him, attempting to pull myself together before my little brother found me, which he would definitely be able to do. “Micah?”
“Yeah?” I turned around, sensing him behind me. “What’s up?”
“Its 7p.m.” Nico stated.
“Okay?”
“You’ve been gone since before the sun came up.” Nico pointed out. “I was worried.” I saw his eyes drift to the picture taped to the tree behind me.
“I can take care of myself, Nico.” i assured him.
“I know that, but-“
“But yesterday changed something?” I asked, cutting him off. “You think i’m weak now too?”
“Of course not.” Nico insisted. “Micah, yesterday was a fluke. I know that for sure. I’m not worried about you being able to take care of yourself. You’ve always been able to.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“You weren’t sick yesterday.” Nico declared as if I didn’t know. “You were fine until Noah challenged you.”
“I know, Nico.”
“So then what was it?”
“What was what?”
“Why did you lose?” Nico clarified. “I’ve seen you take down men bigger, stronger, and smarter than him. So what happened?”
“I- I just got tripped up.”
“Micah-“
“Nico.” I smacked his hand away as he reached toward me.
“Micah.” Nico repeated, scrutinizing my face. “Whatever you’re hiding, you can tell me. I’m here for you. I can help-“
“Help.” I covered his mouth with my hand, my mind already plotting away. “I got it. We can do this.”
“Huh?”
“Attack me.” I ordered, stepping away from him. “Come on, attack me!”
“What? I’m not going to-“
“I’m not asking.” i growled. “I’m telling you to attack me!”
“No!” He cried. “Why would I do something like that?”
“I need you to.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
“Because if you don’t, I won’t be able to challenge Noah again!” I cried. “So just charge me!”
“You’re not making any sense!” Nico stepped toward me, concern clear in his voice. “And even if I wanted to attack you, my wolf would never let me.”
“What if he knew it was for me? That I absolutely needed him to?” I asked, grasping at straws.
“Why would you need something like that?”
“Because I need to get my wolf to fight back.” I sighed. “Look, I have to tell you something and you can’t tell anyone, Nico. I mean it.”
“You’re scaring me Micah.”
“Just promise me I can trust you.”
“With your life, brother.” Nico was earnest.
“My wolf is under the impression that a bond cannot be broken.” I tried to explain, but I could see confusion taking over Nico’s face. “See, our wolves are just a collection of our instincts right? So they can be trained.”
“Right?”
“I need to train my wolf to fight back when Noah attacks me.”
“Shouldn’t protecting you be his strongest instinct?” Nico wouldn’t understand if I didn’t tell him everything. I sighed, taking a deep breath.
“Unless it were someone I shared a soul connection with, like you.”
“Yeah, but I would never challenge you. Your wolf knows that, right?”
“My wolf knows that.” I sighed. “Listen, okay. You’re my brother and thats already a strong connection, but you were also destined to be my beta. That takes it to a level almost as strong as, well… an actual mate.”
“I guess thats true.”
“You know how when you were younger and your wolf was antsy, because we both had a lot of alpha blood and one time he snapped at me?”
“I was young, Micah.” Nico defended. “I never wanted to be alpha. It was my wolf that felt the instinct to challenge you, but he no longer desires to be alpha either.”
“But he was still able to attack me, even though our bond is strong, right?” I pointed out.
“Well yeah, the instinct will always be there, but he’s submitted. He’s content being your second.”
“But hypothetically, you could still attack me right now, couldn’t you?”
“Hypothetically yes, but my wolf wouldn’t do that for no reason.”
“I need you to attack me, Nico. I need you to do it so my wolves instinct to defend themselves kicks in… even against Noah.”
“Why wouldn’t it kick in against Noah?” Nico asked. I opened my mouth to respond, but the words just wouldn’t come out. “Micah?”
“Because he’s my mate.” I spat out, hating how those words sounded out loud.
Nico was quiet for a long time. Minutes passed and we just stared at one another. “What are you planning, Micah? You can’t fight your own mate to the death!”
“I can if he doesn’t know!” I said quickly. “If i’m the only one that knows, I can beat him and have no one be the wiser!”
“He’s your mate, Micah!”
“He’ll run this pack into the ground!” I grabbed Nico’s shoulders, keeping him from running off. “He’s hot tempered and he’s weak. He only won because my wolf wouldn’t attack. Imagine what would happen if we were attacked!”
“The goddess has-“
“The goddess has made a mistake.”
“The goddess doesn’t make mistakes!”
“How many more innocent wolves have to die?” I asked him instead. “How many more lycans must be destroyed? We were going to change things, Nico. We had a plan.”
” I know, but-“
“Noah is a bastard, Nico. He’s a bully. He’ll keep this war going forever. That means your mate, one day, might die for a stupid cause we could have avoided.” Nico visibly flinched at the thought of his own mates mortality.
“But you- to kill your own mate… is that even possible to do?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” I closed my eyes. “You have to attack me. Come at me and don’t stop even if I scream. You have to hurt me, Nico.”
“I don’t want to.”
“But you could, right?”
“Micah…” His resolve was faltering.
“If you don’t… well i’ll mate with Noah… and then i’ll kill myself.”
“Micah!”
“We’ll both die and then… then you could be alpha.”
I felt the slash to my face before I registered the claws in my cheek. My wolf was frantic with confusion, trying to claw its way to the surface before realizing it was Nico attacking me. Fight back, i urged my inner wolf.
Nico was on top of me at this point, slashing at my face. I growled, frustrated that my wolf continued to lie down. He projected images of our brother into my mind, his faith in him practically unbreakable. My wolf was sure our brother wouldn’t hurt us. He was certain.
He was certain until Nico shifted, his jaw snapping in our face. He’s going to hurt us badly, I told my wolf. He ignored me. I could see Nico’s resolve wavering as he felt my fear. I knew he didn’t want to hurt me. My wolf knew he didn’t want to hurt me. I took a deep breath, holding in my scream when Nico’s fangs nipped my throat. Maybe my plan was convoluted. There was no way my wolf would attack his precious Nico.
I felt Nico shift his paw, accidentally bearing down harder on my chest. I felt the unmistakable crack of my ribs. I yelped, the sound morphing into a growl. My wolf was in shock. He snapped at Nico, allowing me to crawl away. He made no move to attack himself, but he continued to growl in Nico’s direction. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
———————
It took almost a year to get to where I was now. That meant months of Nico beating the shit out of me before my wolf would fight back. Training was brutal on both Nico and I, but bonded us together even closer.
“Ama says we have to go outside.” Nico sighed, sitting down next to me on the couch anyway. “The elders are starting.”
“How mad would she be if we ignored her?”
“Oh epically.” Nico chuckled. I sighed and stood. “Hey, that doesn’t mean we have to go out.”
“I just got suspended for attacking Noah. I can’t afford to make Ama any angrier.”
“That’s true. Well see you.”
“Nico.” I pouted.
“I’m kidding. Let’s go.” He jumped up, following me out of the house and into our backyard. The large space had been filled with dozens of chairs and benches, all surrounding a large fire pit. Almost everyone was seated already, waiting in anticipation for the main event to start.
Bonfires always consisted of tales given to our elders by the goddess. The elders sat on a bench closest to the fire, a symbol that our pack would never fear the people of the sun.My father and our family sat across from the elders, as well as the future Alpha. That used to be me. Today, Noah sat comfortably on my family’s bench, laughing at something my mother said.
I scoffed, trying not to roll my eyes as I took the seat beside Noah. Nico sat beside me, throwing his arm over my shoulder when Noah seemed to notice our presence. Noah opened his mouth to make a comment, but seemed to realize the whole pack was here and it wouldn’t be in his favor to be an ass to the alphas sons, even if he would be alpha one day.
“Today, the goddess has blessed us with a truly magnificent tale.” My father announced, standing to get everyone’s attention. “It is one many have never heard before. It come’s straight from the dreams of our most wise elder,” he motions to the lycaness Crescent, the headmaster of our schools, “Stand Crescent, and enlighten the pack.”
I could feel the annoyance rolling off of Noah in waves. Everyone in the pack knew of his long, difficult relationship with Crescent. Noah was hardly the best student, and Crescent was definitely not a forgiving teacher. Their arguments had been legendary, with their wolves even going at one another when Noah was just a pup and unrestrained. Needless to say, he lost that fight. I smirked a little, remembering the whimpering little pup dangling from Crescents chops, while her wolfish grin made all the other children laugh and shudder at thought of being in Noah’s shoes.
Crescent stood to her feet, long blonde hair tumbling down her back in thick waves. “I have had a dream.” She announced, her arms spreading out like wings ready to take flight. “I was there, that very first night that the alpha title was passed down, centuries ago. Lifetimes and lifetimes having passed since then. I saw it all. Every moment.”
This seemed to peak everyone’s interest. Even Noah, who still seemed frustrated, seemed to want to know what she was going to say. “There was the first Alpha,” She announced, lifting her arms above her head, “A wolf much taller than I. His name was Rexa and he was beloved by all. His strength exuded from his body in waves. His human form was mighty, but it paled in comparison to the monstrosity that was his wolf. Big, two of me put together at least, with a jaw that could snap a tree in half.” She clapped her hands together to illustrate the snapping of his jaw, making multiple people jump. “Wolves from all around came to challenge him as he began to turn grey. Men just a hulking and large, and yet all failed. It wasn’t until Rexa, who shared an eternal connect with our goddess, came forward to the pack and announced that he was able to step down by the grace of the goddess only when the sun was furthest from the earth, and Luna was her strongest.
“And he told his pack that Luna had spoken to him, quite clearly, and explained that the transferring of this responsibility was sacred. It had never been done before, but it would be done forever from that moment on.” She closed her eyes, as if trying to picture her dream again. “He said allowed to the pack, ‘no wolf shall ever best me. For I am the alpha of alphas and the alpha’s strength is the packs strength. An alpha shall never be chosen by combat with a current alpha, but by the combat of those who seek to take my place. Who has the strength of the pack?'” She yelled that last question, making my ears ring and my skin tingle. It felt like I was there, in her dream, hearing our original alpha of alphas shout it to his people. “And so the men of the pack stepped forward to fight. But Rexa spoke again, ‘those who are without a mate, though valiant in your desire, have yet to experience true connection and therefore cannot lead the pack. For the pack can only be connected to you once you are already connected to it. Those who have never bonded, you must step back.’ And so they did, until only a handful of men stood.” Crescent held up her hands toward us, as if she were a mime trying to escape a box. “Ten men fought and one man won. The second Alpha, Lionus, stood triumphant among the crowd. It was hardly a fight. Afterall, the Alpha has no equals, but fought he still had to.”
“And one he won the past Alpha approached him, just as the sun was at its farthest from the earth…” She paused dramatically, all listeners now on the edge of their seats. “His wolf form sized up Lionus, and Lionus stayed perfectly still. This is most important. Lionus could show no fear of Rexa, otherwise risk death at the hands of the wolf. And as Lionus showed no fear, Rexa lifted his paw, claws lengthed, and slashed Lionus across his chest. Blood shot from the wound, bathing both Alphas in blood.” Crescent opened her eyes, her hand dragging its nails across her chest in a mock example. “Rexa shifted back to a human and demanded Lionus ad the rest of the pack shift to their Lycan forms. As everyone shifted, Rexa demanded that everyone howl to the moon, to the goddess, and announce their new allegiance. As everyone turned their muzzles to the sky, howling out the name of their new alpha, the wound that had been on Lionus’s chest began to heal. That same bloody wound, slowly began to appear on Rexa’s chest, making his knees buckle and forcing him to kneel. And then, as if being set off like a drop of water might ripple the ocean, all the wolves felt the burning mark of the wound on their chest. ‘This is your new Alpha!’ Rexa shouted to the pack, fist smacking his bloodied chest. ‘His strength is our strength! Our strength is his!'” The whole crowd seemed to shiver as she said this. “And so it was done. A new alpha was chosen. And for the rest of existence, a new alpha will be chosen in the same manner, the same way…” She trailed off again, her eyes scanning the crowd. “For when this process is broken or tainted, any wolf who attempts this ritual will die.” She stared straight into Noah’s eyes at this time.
I felt the shiver of fear travel down his spine. It seemed the closer I was to Noah, the easier it was to know exactly how he felt. His fear, however, confused me. EVen when I was in line for Alpha, the thought of this ritual always excited me. To have a wound that severe heal as the goddess entered me and gave me power… what more could an alpha want? Unless of course he knew himself he would never be an alpha, that he was not meant to be an alpha, that his win had been a fluke.
I jumped when Nico touched my shoulder, probably trying to comfort me. Afterall, as someone who had the title taken from me, this story should have been painful. However, I knew better. I would be alpha. I could bet Noah’s life on it.
I know it’s been a long time. I hope you enjoy this.
-Madame
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