Chapter 42 42
There was a beat of stunned silence on the other end. He hadn’t expected this. He’d expected tears, yelling, maybe a reluctant agreement to ‘talk.’ He hadn’t expected a cold, clean severing.
I didn’t wait for a response. I hung up.
The silence in my room was profound. Sheila let out a low whistle. “Woah,” she breathed, a slow grin spreading across her face. “That was… scary. I guess the Alpha’s daughter really does have that scary aura when she wants to.” She gave a few slow, impressed claps.
I tossed my phone back onto the bed, my hands trembling slightly now that the adrenaline was fading. “I hope he backs off,” I said, the words coming out in a hiss.
“Well, that was a hot warning. He’ll have to accept it if he’s not completely pigheaded,” Sheila said, plopping down on the edge of my bed. “Which he is. But still, bet he wanted to eat his cake and still have it. Have Angel on the side and keep his sweet, forgiving Arielle in his back pocket.”
I sank down next to her, the weight of the morning pressing down on me. “I won’t let him control me,” I said, more to myself than to her. “And I will never let my mother find out. I won’t let her see how I betrayed her trust.” The shame of that secret, now layered with the fresh memory of her slap and her furious, accidental guess, was a heavier burden than any heartbreak.
I was just trying to breathe in the next minute of silence, to process the near-miss with my mother and the finality of what I’d just done, when Sheila’s scream pierced the air.
It wasn’t a scream of fear. It was a high-pitched, dramatic squeal of pure delight. I jumped, my heart lurching all over again, and turned to see her scrolling frantically on her phone, her eyes wide.
“Damn!” she cooed, holding the screen closer to her face. “Zaddy really looks hot in this one.”
I squinted at her, confused and annoyed. My nerves were still fried. “Zaddy? What are you talking about?”
She scrambled across the bed and thrust the phone right under my nose. “Check him out! Look! They say he’s in his forties, but he looks like he could be a hot older brother, not an uncle. Holy crap, right?”
The face that stared back at me from her glowing screen made my stomach do a funny little flip. It was Aeson. A candid shot, probably taken at some formal gathering he hadn’t known was being photographed. He was looking slightly away from the camera, his expression that same severe, unreadable mask, but the angle and the lighting caught the sharp line of his jaw, the intensity in his hazel eyes. He did look… striking. Impossibly so. And yes, he didn’t look his age. He looked ageless and dangerous.
I feigned utter annoyance, a scowl twisting my lips. I pushed her hand and the phone away from my face. “Stop that. You’re being ridiculous at the worst possible time.”
“Nope,” she said, pulling the phone back and sighing dreamily at the image. “See, just forget about that dickhead Logan for a hot second. And just imagine this—what if you run out of options? What if you have to fall back on Mandy’s offer?”
“What?” The idea was like a cold splash of water.
“Yes! You heard me. You have to fall back on Alpha Aeson. Swallow your pride, bat your eyelashes, and ask the big, bad, hot Alpha if you can please-please stay in his house since it’s, oh-so-conveniently, close to college.”
“No way,” I said, the refusal instant and absolute. “I won’t. I’ll find another way. I’ll rent a closet in the college if I have to.”
“I predict you won’t have any options and have to stay under one roof with hin,” she singsonged, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Stop it!” I snapped, my temper flaring. “That won't happen.”
“Well, I just think it would be lovely.”
“Ugh, I just escaped a dilemma and you're spewing something disgusting.” I rolled my eyes angrily. “Why are you even wishing for such an unfavourable circumstance for me? Are you trying to torture me?”
“Seriously? Oh my goodness,” she said, putting a dramatic hand to her chest. “I just saved you from a Luna-sized dilemma, and now you’re calling my brilliant hypothetical scenario ‘disgusting’? I’m hurt.”
I hung my head, speechless.
“Hey, chill,” she added, seeing the genuine distress on my face. Her own expression softened. “Don’t let Logan get to you. That’s what he wants—to live rent-free in your head and keep you all worked up.”
“I know,” I sighed, rubbing my temples. “But what if… what if he had actually been outside? What if my mother had answered the door, and he’d just… told her everything?” The thought was a fresh wave of nausea.
“Relax. He wasn’t. He’s a coward who plays text games.”
“I am relaxed,” I muttered, not feeling relaxed at all.
“So what will you do now? About him?”
“Nothing,” I said, the word firm. “I think my warning was clear. He’ll know I’m over him. I’m sure he’ll forget about me sooner rather than later. He’s got Angel to keep him busy.” I tried to sound convinced.
Sheila gave me a sympathetic look. “Sorry you almost had a heart attack because of that waste of space.”
\---
The next day, with the signed acceptance letter safely in a folder, I made my way to Seal College. The campus was huge and intimidating, all modern glass and ancient stone, buzzing with students who moved with a confident purpose I envied. My own purpose felt shaky, a thin shield against the enormity of it all.
I went straight to the Administration building, found the Registrar’s office, and pushed open the heavy wooden door. And there, standing by a potted plant as if she’d been waiting for me, was Mandy.
“Hey!” she chirped, her face lighting up. She rushed over and pulled me into a hug. “What are you doing here?” Her eyes dropped to the folder in my hand. “Wait… why do you have that look? And that envelope?”
I took a deep breath. “Well… I already applied. And I got in.” I pulled out the acceptance letter to show her.
“OMG! Really?” Her shriek was so loud several people in the quiet office turned to stare. She clapped a hand over her own mouth, her eyes wide with excitement, and then hugged me again, this time a tight, jumping-up-and-down squeeze. She lowered her voice to an energetic whisper. “This is amazing! We’re going to be college mates! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”