Like a pampered kitten returning to her velvet cushion, Sadie sat in the sitting room of the
manor, nestled between Solomon and Teresa.
She was still over the moon after Alpha Amiel threw her a romantic birthday night date. Her heart was full, and her body was sore in a good way.
If only her parents wouldn’t question her too much about staying long at the packhouse, she wouldn’t have returned home so soon.
‘Mom, Dad, it feels so good that you’re back in Duskridge. I missed you both so much.”
‘We missed you too, sweetheart,” Solomon said warmly, his arm resting across the back of the couch behind her. “Your mother couldn’t stop talking about you while we were overseas.”
Teresa gently cupped Sadie’s cheek. “You’ve gotten thinner. Are you eating enough?”
Sadie pouted, running a finger along the seam of her skirt. “Not really. No one’s been taking care of me since you left. I felt so abandoned, like I didn’t matter to anyone.”
Solomon frowned. “But you had Eleanor here, right? I’m sure she did a good job taking care of
you.”
Teresa’s expression turned stone–cold at the mention of Eleanor. “Let’s not talk about her. She married into the Alpha line but gave us no heir, no honor. And now? She can’t even show her face
here!”
Sadie lowered her gaze. “Don’t say that, Mom. She’s still your biological daughter. And I’m the
outsider.”
‘You poor thing.” Teresa reached out and stroked her hair. “Don’t you ever say that. If I could choose, I’d have chosen you as my daughter from the start.”
‘And I’ll always be your real daughter,” Sadie said with a soft smile. For a split second, her sweet expression seemed too perfect, like a mask hiding something far more dangerous.
The family moment was cut short when the door opened and Amiel entered, looking windblown. and tense from travel.
“Alpha!” Sadie leapt up and approached him with a bright smile. “Did you come to see Mom and Dad?”
Amiel’s eyes scanned the room almost immediately, but when he didn’t find Eleanor, his shoulders tensed. “Mom, Dad,” he greeted with a respectful bow of his head.
Solomon frowned slightly. “Where’s Eleanor?”
Amiel stiffened, caught completely off guard by the question. He had assumed Eleanor was here with her family, not realizing they were just as in the dark as he was.
Before he could answer, Sadie tilted her head just slightly, brushing an invisible speck from her sleeve with her fingers. “Eleanor’s been a little under the weather since the Moonlight Accord. She said she needed to rest, so she stayed behind.”
Amiel narrowed his eyes at her as if silently asking why she was speaking on his behalf.
“Yes,” he finally said. “She asked me to come to her place.”
919
3:37 am DD DD
DDDD.
Teresa scoffed. “Convenient, isn’t it? Always sick when she’s needed. Always distant when duty calls. Don’t let that woman feel too pampered just because she’s Luna. Stop tolerating her irresponsibility.”
Amiel forced a polite smile, though irritated. “I’ll talk to her about it.”
He turned to leave.
“I’ll go with him to see my sister. Bye!” Sadie started to follow the confused Alpha.
But Solomon’s firm voice cut through the air. “Sadie. Stay.”
Sadie froze in place. She glanced at Amiel but the man didn’t even turn back to collect her.
As Sadie was still confused about Amiel’s strange behavior, she stomped back to the sofa beside Teresa.
The old woman asked her. “Is Eleanor always like that? Acting like she’s too good for everyone? Don’t tell me they’re still pampering her just because she’s Luna. Someone needs to stop enabling her irresponsibility.”
Sadie gave a dramatic sigh. “You should’ve seen her when I visited the packhouse. She looked at me like I didn’t belong. Cold and bitter. And one time, she even said I was just an omega with ambition to steal my way into this family.”
Teresa gasped. “She said that? She really said that to you?”
Sadie gave a slow nod, her eyes misting with what looked like tears. “Maybe it’s because of me. Maybe she feels like you love me more.”
Teresa clutched her hand. “No, darling. Don’t blame yourself. We gave Eleanor a companion by adopting you. But she never saw the good in it. She twisted everything.”
“All I ever wanted was to be a good daughter. A good sister,” Sadie whispered. “That’s why I even gave up my supposed bond with Alpha Amiel because I know she liked him even before.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, sweetheart,” Teresa said firmly. “If she can’t appreciate you, don’t waste yourself on her. She’s just an ungrateful brat. Solomon, call Eleanor. Her behavior needs to be addressed.”
Solomon, silent until now, pulled out his phone. He dialed Eleanor’s number. It rang and rang, until finally it clicked to voicemail.
He pressed record, voice low and hard. “Eleanor, come to our house. Now. You need to explain some things. If you still think of us as family, show yourself.”
He ended the call and put the phone down.
Teresa’s voice rose again. “What are we going to do with that girl? When did we ever go wrong raising her?”
Sadie wiped the corner of her eye and smiled gently. “Maybe it’s because of me. You both gave me so much attention, and she just couldn’t accept it.”
“You are our light, Sadie,” Teresa said, wrapping her arms around her again. “Eleanor could never see that. But we do.”
Sadie leaned into their arms, resting her cheek against Teresa’s shoulder. Her fingers clutched Solomon’s sleeve with a delicate touch, as if afraid they might slip away.
3:37 am DDDD
They were hers now. Fully.
And soon, she’d have Alpha Amiel too.
3:37 am DDDD
Chapter 8
