Chapter 2
I gave a light laugh, keeping my tone casual. “It’s just a wedding dress. If she likes it, let her have it.” Turning on my heel, I added over my shoulder, “I’ve got work at the Training Grounds. I’ll head out now.”
Alpha Waldo’s jaw clenched as he watched me walk away. He didn’t say a word, but his expression? A mix of confusion and frustration. Good. Let him stew.
Later that evening, to my utter disbelief, Alpha Waldo showed up at the Training Grounds.
It had been months since he bothered to pick me up, yet there he stood, holding a box. Inside was a small mango cake—Alanna’s favorite, not mine.
“Thought you might forget to eat,” he said, his voice carrying an awkward edge. He held the cake out like it was a peace offering, He wanted me to play along, to accept it the way I always had.
but it might as well have been poison.
I almost laughed. Mangoes? After all this time, he still didn’t know I was allergic.
But instead of pointing it out, I smiled brightly, putting on a performance. “Wow, thank you! That’s so thoughtful of you.”
He blinked, caught off guard by my response. Maybe he was expecting me to hurl the cake at him—or better yet, at his car.
The drive home was stifling. Silence pressed down like a thick fog until he broke it.
“Valerie, are you mad at me?”
I was lost in my thoughts about the Wolf Training Program—wrapping up my project, preparing notes, and making sure my junior colleagues would have everything they needed.
“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked, not bothering to hide my distraction.
He slammed the brakes, his frustration bubbling over. “You’re still mad about the dress, aren’t you?”
I blinked at him, genuinely confused. “No, I’m not mad. Why would I be?”
He stared at me, his brow furrowing as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel and muttered, “You’ve changed. You’re not… you anymore.”
He wasn’t wrong.
When Alanna returned to the SnowMoon Pack a year ago, everything changed. Our relationship, once steady and comfortable, became a battlefield. She was the spark that lit every argument.
“She’s like a sister to me,” he’d insist. “Stop being ridiculous.”
The worst fight came when he finally snapped, his words cutting deeper than any claw ever could.