Page 97 of Her Second-Hand Mate

I just squeezed her hand and nodded because it would be really terrible for pack morale to see their Alpha tear up in a restaurant.

22 - Heather

Iwas done waiting. I’d given him enough time to notice the perfection that was in front of him. It’s been years!

Iwas the one who cooked his meals while he was mated to my whore of a cousin! After she died,Iwas the one whocame over and cleaned his house, did his laundry, and baked him muffins while he was licking his wounds in their bedroom.

Throughout it all, I thought, “Be patient, he just needs time.”

Well, guess fucking what? That frumpy hick shows up one day, and suddenly, he has a mate again.

Fuck!

I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, but the throbbing pain just wouldn’t go away.

“What are you doing, Heather? Why is Hank downstairs?”

“Shut up!” I yelled at her as I thrust the silver knife in her direction. “Just be quiet!”

The bitch still didn’t get it. She still acted like she wasHigh and Mighty Luna Penelopedealing with meek little crippled Heather. Not this time.

I tried reaching for my wolf, the instinct as strong as ever whenever I felt threatened, despite the fact that I was no longer one with her. The years after losing my mate so unexpectedly and so brutally had been dark.

Wolfsbane saved my life, but it also made it unbearable. My family knew I’d messed up my bond with my wolf by numbing her pain, and their solution was to hitch my wagon to my bitch of a cousin and get rid of me. Fuck them.

God, I’d hated her. I stayed in the pack only forhim. For the silent kindness he’d shown me since the first day I moved into his pack. The way he’d shoot me secret glances when Cassie wasn’t looking, how he’d make sure I’d eaten or rested enough. And at work, he always paid such attention to me. He took care of me, always. And soon the bond between us would become apparent to his wolf as well.

“Did you like your tea?” I asked her as she frowned, probably trying (and failing) to get her claws out.

“What?”

“The tea Dominic brought you this morning. Did you like it, Penelope?”

Her eyes widened in realization. I gave her my real smile, the predatory baring of the teeth. I no longer pretended I was well-adjusted or nice.

“Can we go say goodbye to the Luna before you drive me to the train station?” I imitated the breathy voice I'd used with Dominic that morning and then raised an eyebrow at her.

“Wolfsbane?”

“Yes. And I put some in Dom’s coffee as well, so he won’t be able to sense your anguish or properly scent the crime scene once he gets here tonight.”

“How did you even get back here?”

“I got off the train two towns over and drove back,” I told her.

Ah, it felt so good to finally be honest.

“Yes, Penelope, I can and do drive. Don’t tell me you’re so naive and kind that the idea of me lying never crossed your mind?”

She didn’t respond. The first smart thing she did today. Stupid bitch. She was so unworthy of a male like my Alpha.

At first, I was relieved because he never displayed any attachment to her after bringing her to the pack out of nowhere. Me, on the other hand? He never missed my PT appointments or any of our lunches at work.

But lately, it was like she had bewitched him. She had done something to him! My sweet, gentle male was being cold and cruel to me. It was all her fault!

I flinched when I tore off a piece of skin as I chewed on my cuticle. Penelope didn’t love Dominic like I did. She ran all over town with her little friends and spent time with everyone but him.

He went months without sex because of her frigid ass. And she spent his birthday moping because her grandma had kicked the bucket. What would she have done if she’d experienced true tragedy the way Dominic and I had?

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