Lib Novel Page 69
A few minutes later, I hear the scraping of the chair opposite me, and when I look up, the bar owner is joining me, a lukewarm mug of beer in her hand, as well.
Her tone is dark. “Misery loves company.”
That’s all she says. I raise my glass to her in a toast, too mentally drained to speak.
We drink in silence, each stewing in our own worries.
Eventually, she glares at me and says, “Even if you are engaged, that’s no reason to hurt Sophia. You’ve pushed her into the arms of an incredibly dangerous man. I just hope you don’t live to regret it.”
Taken aback, I set my mug down. “What do you mean?” I don’t even ask how she knows about Sophia and me. Her words have struck fear within me. “You’re talking about Noah Black, aren’t you?”
She gives me another dirty look. “No engagement should prevent you from being with your fated mate. Every shifter knows that much.”
My hand curls into a fist on the table. “My situation is complicated. Sophia would be in danger if she were by my side. But I want to know what you meant about Noah being dangerous. Are you saying he’s going to hurt Sophia?”
Elsa is quiet, all the anger suddenly having deflated from her. She stares into her mug of beer. “He won’t hurt her. At least, I hope he doesn’t. But you should have held onto her. For both your sakes.” She gets to her feet, her expression morose. “I always credited the wolves of the North Alliance with being intelligent and quick-witted. I remember your father was that way. I hoped you had inherited some of his traits, Alpha Stone.”
I give the woman before me a startled look. “You know who I am?” My wolf is ready to attack her to keep our secret, my muscles tensing in preparation.
Her smile is sharp and deadly. “I have known who you are since the moment you set foot in this town.”
Shock fills me at her words, but before I can say anything, she turns around and walks into the kitchen, leaving me alone.
She’s known my identity for weeks.
Why hasn’t she told anybody yet?
Chapter 14
Sophia Hope
I don’t understand what is going on in Alex’s head.
He rejected me, and I’ve accepted that fact. I am moving on now, trying to focus on myself.
It’s not easy, but I am trying to graciously accept Noah’s advances toward me. My wolf still yearns for somebody else, though, and every time Noah approaches me or gives me a courting gift, my beast refuses to acknowledge it. I don’t know how to make it understand. We can’t force somebody to care for us. And I don’t want to beg somebody for their affection. It is what it is, and when a situation can’t be altered, it is best that one simply adapts.
And I’m trying really hard to adapt right now. If only my wolf would be a little more cooperative.
I’ve been dropping by Rita’s cottage, and she’s been quite curious about the whole situation. But I’ve kept my words simple. “He rejected me because he has a fiancée.”
She has tried to probe, but I’ve remained silent. I don’t want to have to rehash this entire thing again. What would be the point? My situation won’t change.
However, it seems that only one of us wants to move on. For the past week, I have constantly felt Alex’s presence. Everywhere I look, he’s somewhere in my line of sight. It is quite annoying. It can’t be that hard to just stay away from me. Julia is coming to the bar a couple times a day, too, but I steer clear of her. When she approaches the bar, I ask somebody else to take over as I head into the kitchen to help out.
The servers who usually speak to me with a cold, distasteful attitude have become surprisingly more accommodating. I don’t understand the change in behavior, but I have begun to notice it from more than just them. The shifters who visit the bar have always had a condescending tone toward me, their words layered with some level of disgust and ridicule. I came to terms with it years ago. I couldn’t talk to them about it because there was no point; they would still have been cruel toward me. But now, they talk to me with respect. Do I dare to call their attitude almost friendly? The only thing that has changed between then and now is that Noah has started courting me.
If that’s the cause for their shift in behavior toward me, I find it laughable.
Now that the Alpha’s son thinks I am good enough for him, I am suddenly good enough for the rest of the pack?
Every time one of them smiles at me, anger burns within me. This politeness, this kindness is not because they feel bad for how they used to treat me. It’s because somebody important is suddenly paying attention to me.
However, the one thing that is bothering me the most is that Julia is constantly trying to approach me. Although Elsa is a little upset with me, I did bring it up with her. I don’t want to talk to the woman. I don’t want to interact with her. And I don’t want to be reminded how inferior to her I am.
I’ve never had any problems with my self-esteem. I raised myself, neglected by the adults in my life and despised by the other children, and in my worst times, I comforted myself. Despite everything I faced—rejection from my pack, horrific bullying from my peers, cruel barbs thrown my way in an attempt to make me feel worthless—I stood strong through it all, determined to prove to everybody who considered me lesser than them that they were wrong. But when I am faced with Julia, I can’t help but feel small and insignificant.
I don’t understand it. I wasn’t the kind of girl who dreamed about a prince on a white horse coming to rescue me. I always knew nobody was coming for me. I had to make it on my own. Other girls my age, in the orphanage, would daydream about their fated mate sweeping them off their feet. Not me. I was sure that even my fated mate would find some flaw in me. So why did I change? When mine did show up, why did I let him affect me so much?