Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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“You know you have to take care of her, Violetta,” my sister says from the doorway. “She’s seventeen going on eighteen. You know what we’re like at that age. She’s not you, and she’s not me. Pepper is spoiled. After you left, Dad changed. He went easy on the pups, hoping not to make the same mistakes with them.”
“She’s legally an adult in two weeks. I can take care of her, but I can’t be running around the city. I’m not a patrolman like you. I have a company to run.”
“You are responsible for what happens to her while she’s in your home. I know you can’t be running around the city. All I’m saying is that you have to be there for her. She doesn’t know how to cook for herself. Maybe teach her that. You taught me,”
“That’s what I plan to do. I plan on being her sister. I’m not her Mom, Verona. I can’t treat her the way you do.”
“What does that mean?”
“You clean her room for her. You do her laundry. You’re her mom. You might not see it that way, but that’s what you are. To her and Matt,”
“Someone had to be.”
“No, we had to be her sisters. Mom died. She needed Dad, and he abandoned us for four years. He didn’t come back because he wanted to. He came back because Vince told him I was going to Nova.
“The pack was falling apart without him. Vince and I were fourteen. You were twelve. We would have lost everything if I hadn’t done what I did. The pack, Wolfe Inc., and our brother would probably be dead. We weren’t supposed to be their parents.”
“I’m not saying that what you did was wrong. I know why you left. I know that you still did as much as you could while you were in school. You did what you had to, but I stayed. I stayed for Matty and Pepper. I didn’t want to run fucking patrols.
“I am alpha, just like you. I’m not as smart as you. I couldn’t land me a fancy education, Vy. There was no way out for me. You weren’t there when the pups started asking questions. You weren’t there when they figured out that humans hate us.”
“That wasn’t my fault,”
“No, but it still happened. You’re the cool sister because you never had to make the hard choices for them. She thinks she’s getting that, and I’m asking you not to let her step all over you. She’s just like you, Violetta. I haven’t been able to help her with homework since she was ten.
“She’s not an alpha; neither of them are. Dad not being around fucked them. But it makes her want to try that much more, and she can be a real ditz sometimes. Just look out for her. She looks up to you. Be there. We all need you.
“Things are getting worse for the packs here. Don’t tell him I said this, but Dad has been looking
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Chapter 16
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into territory in Lockwood City. I think he’s thinking about relocating, and with both the pups. going to Nova. It’ll just be the four of us here. This alliance is our last resort. If things don’t work out with Alpha Barnes we’re screwed. Think about us before you try to use him as a rebound.”
“He’s my fated,” I blurt out. We both stand here, letting the words sink in.
“What did you just say?” she growls.
“Alpha Arsenial Barnes is my fated mate. That’s why I ran out in a hurry. Why I left my phone at the bar, it caught him off guard too, but he snapped out of it before I could bail. He told me that he wasn’t going to let me go.”
“Fuck,” she puts the box in her arms down and takes mine to sit on top of it. “Are you okay?”
“I feel like two different people right now. My wolf wants him, but-”
“You’ve been in love with your idiot boss since you were nineteen years old,” she finishes for me when I start crying. After a pause, she snorts. “Dad is going to be fucking livid. He hates Thorne with a passion, but he and Arsen have been at each other’s throats for the past six years.”
“The universe hates me.” I wipe my face. We both laugh.
“I think all Wolfes in general. If it weren’t for Alpha Eloise taking over Wolfe Tech, we’d be fucked. Our good fortune is finally running out after twenty-two generations.”
“I don’t want to work for her.” I take my box back and continue packing.
“Please, don’t tell me you’re going to stay at Thorne Labs.”
“Lycan Tech offered me the CEO position here. It’s not for six months, but they’re expanding this way. The Lycan Queen just bought what used to be Galaxy Industries.”
“You’re joking. The tower across the street from Dad’s?”
“Yes. I’m so happy I got the Clock Tower. It’s a five-minute walk.”
“You’d be sitting across from Dad as his rival,” she laughs. “You fucking did it,”
“You can’t tell anyone about any of this, Verona. I’m trusting you.”
“I swear,” she nods. “What finally set you off?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been in love with Zander Thorne for twelve years. What did he do to make you give up? Thorne Labs is like your guy’s baby.”
I set the box down and take a seat in the living room’s armchair. I think about everything that’s happened just this year. I thought I could get over it, that I had made a choice, and that I would have to live with it for the rest of my life, even if I had been unaware of the situation.
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Chapter 16
“Do you remember when Wolfe Tech stocks started dropping?”
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“Yeah, the software updates for the Wolfe Series two were faulty. We had to recall the phones.”
“It was Justin Thorne.”
“What?”
“Justin Thorne bought a software program from a kid. His name was Darren Phurry. I thought it was a program for the lab. He asked me to clear it and send it to the nerds. So, I did. It was a hacking program. The nerds fucked up the Series Two’s second updates and it was done through Thorne Labs.
“There was a luncheon on the patio at the beginning of August. Justin, Zander, and I were hosting, only Zander bailed. He said a family emergency came up. They left me in charge of the whole thing and when it was over I was kind of drunk and I started dicking around in Justin’s laptop. I have pictures of everything.”
“You’ve been sitting on that for three months, Vy?”
“I don’t know what to do. When I bring it up with Zander, I know he’s going to fire me. Justin is his brother. Every time I look at him, all I see is Dad standing on that podium selling our fucking company to Eloise fucking Lockwood. It was my idea, Verona.” I look up at her with tears streaming down my face. “I told Vince to convince Dad to make her an equal partner. Justin used me. He was the one who left the file in my office.”
“If Dad ever finds out, he’s going to kill you,” she says, squeezing in next to me.
“I know. The fucked up part is that meeting Riley hurt more than that,” I whisper. She wraps her arms around me. “I’m not as smart as you think I am.”
“Don’t say that,” she wipes my tears. “That guy was a fucking snake. You can’t expect more from humans, Vy. This wasn’t on you.”
“I want to hate him. I know he doesn’t know what we are or who Dad is. But I feel like the world’s biggest fool. I feel like the past twelve years have been a lie. All I proved to be was everything Dad said I would be. A naive little girl with dreams too big for this world.”
“Mom would say things happen the way they do for a reason. Wolves walk the path designed by the moon herself.” She rests her head on my shoulder.
“Yo
