Chapter 51
It was the best way to dodge him while my leg healed-after all, I could hardly run from a determined alpha in
this state.
“Fine,” I agreed, my voice flat but relieved.
I grabbed a few clothes from my place-enough to last a couple days-and Alpha Gideon wheeled me back to
the penthouse.
Frank was already asleep, snoring softly in his guest room, the scent of cinnamon rolls still lingering in the
air from his late-night baking.
Alpha Gideon showed me to the guest room, its walls a soft cream, the bed piled high with silk pillows.
“It’s late. Rest up.”
With that, he left, his footsteps fading down the hall.
I lay in the unfamiliar bed, feeling like I’d stepped into a fever dream.
Not only had I scored a home-cooked meal, but now I was crashing at Alpha Gideon’s penthouse?
A space that probably cost more than my entire life’s savings?
I tossed and turned through a night of wild dreams-Adrian chasing me through a forest of thorned vines,
Vanessa laughing as she held up a torn bond certificate, Alpha Gideon standing at the edge of a cliff,
watching me with that unreadable look.
The next morning, still half-asleep, my phone rang.
Squinting, I saw Sabrina’s name flash across the screen.
I answered, but before I could speak, her excited voice burst through, loud enough to jolt me fully awake.
“Babe, finally! Your phone’s working! Forget that-check YikYak, now!”
“YikYak?”
I echoed, pulling the phone from my ear, my fingers fumbling
I opened the app, and right at the top, trending with blazing heat, were several major pack influencers reposting the same video.
It was yesterday’s airport showdown, but cleverly edited to paint Vanessa as a fragile, innocent victim-her wrists bandaged, her eyes wide with fear-mercilessly slapped around by a vicious, spiteful me.
Interestingly, Adrian had been cut out of the footage entirely, leaving just me “tearing into” Vanessa like a rabid wolf.
The big influencers weren’t slamming me-they were piling on Vanessa.
They’d dug up her identity, mocking her as a spoiled rich she-wolf who shamelessly chased a mated alpha,
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< Chapter 51
wrecking his sacred bond.
She deserved the beatdown, they said, her own fault for being a homewrecker.
Rewards = Menu
Any pity for Vanessa vanished once the truth came out, her name trending with hashtags like #Quinn Trash and #Homewrecker Gets What She Deserves.
Ninety percent of the comments cheered me on.
Some gloated that I’d gone too easy, others roared that a mistress should be stripped and paraded through
the pack square.
The mob then dove into Vanessa’s background, dragging the Quinn pack into the fire with her-digging up old scandals, their shoddy business deals, their weak alpha.
I noted the original post came from an anonymous account, dropped last evening.
The influencers jumped on it after 3 AM, like someone had paid them to amplify it.
“Is this your doing?”
Sabrina asked, barely containing her excitement.
I laughed. “You think it’s me? I’ve been too busy dodging Adrian to orchestrate a social media hit job.”
“I can’t figure out who else it’d be! It’s got your style-sharp, ruthless-but then again, maybe not. Who else
would stir the pot like this?”
“Maybe just some random wolf who hates mistresses. Makes sense, right?”
“Come on, a random wolf going all out, paying big influencers to hype it up? That takes cash and
connections.”
“Doesn’t matter who did it,” I said, scrolling through the comments, a faint smirk tugging at my lips.
“It’s the result that counts.”
“Result?” Sabrina’s curiosity spiked.
“What if it was someone crushing on you? Like, say, Alpha Gideon?”
I burst out laughing, loud enough that I half-expected Alpha Gideon to appear in the doorway.
“Babe, I can’t speak to much, but I can tell you for sure-it’s not me, and it’s definitely not Alpha Gideon. That
man’s got better things to do than play social media games.”
I didn’t elaborate further, but Sabrina knew me well enough to drop it-for now.
After hanging up, I called Cassie to fill her in on the YikYak drama.
Cassie, who’d spent the night with her mom after a square-dancing injury, was just waking up.
She checked the app and, piecing it together, said, “Could it be Evelyn? She cut Adrian out of the video, probably to shield him from more backlash.”
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“Evelyn?”
“She’d rather bury this whole mess in a deep pit than dig it up herself. That woman hates drama more than
she hates Vanessa.”
“Yeah, true. Then who?”
“My bet’s on Vanessa herself.”
“No way,” Cassie argued, her voice rising.
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“She’s the biggest loser here-her reputation’s trashed, everyone’s tearing her apart. Is she that desperate for
pain?”
Cassie gasped, connecting dots.
“If she did this, she’s straight-up unhinged. Like, needs-a-minder unhinged. Tanking her own name and dragging the Quinn pack down just to play the victim for Adrian?”
Was that even possible?
I shrugged. “Let’s see how it plays out. My parents are bound to see the video soon, and they don’t know about my injury. They’ll freak, thinking the worst. Can you talk to them first, explain things? Let them know I’ll visit in a few days.”
“Don’t worry, I already gave them a heads-up. They’re chill-just glad you’re okay.”
“I should’ve told them myself,” I sighed, guilt twisting in my chest.
Wanting to spare them worry, I’d delayed, only for them to learn the truth in the most shocking way. Cassie reassured me. “It’s done, don’t beat yourself up. Focus on breaking that bond. I’m gonna track down Adrian today and have another talk-straighten him out.”
“He moved into my building. 25th floor.”
“What?!” Cassie yelped.
EP
“Hold up. He ditched you at the airport for Vanessa, didn’t he? He made his choice! Why’s he still stringing you along?”
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“Who knows what’s in his head? I just want him locked in with Vanessa so he’ll stop dragging me through his
mess.”
The YikYak post nagged at me, a faint worry creeping in.
Vanessa and the Quinn pack might come for me now, their pride bruised.
zi
But that feud was sealed tight at the charity gala anyway-this was just adding fuel to the fire.
Meanwhile, Adrian, still hungover from last night’s binge, got a call from the Quinn pack.
Vanessa, “humiliated by the YikYak fallout,” had slit her wrists and was in the infirmary.
They demanded he come immediately, their voices sharp with accusation.
He was floored-stumbling to his feet, grabbing his keys, his mind a blur of guilt and confusion.
Blackwood
Evelyn’s phone was blowing up, notifications pinging like a swarm of bees.
Staring at the video of the two she-wolves tearing into each other, she wished they’d both vanish-preferably
into the next territory.
Adrian’s father, Alistair Blackwood, had rushed back from the Meridona pack after the charity gala fiasco.
His health kept him there for treatment most of the time, but his son’s affair, me quitting, and the gala’s
public humiliation had him on the verge of a stroke.
He’d seen my contributions to the company over the years.
At first, he’d looked down on my modest background-no powerful pack ties, no family name to boast of-but I’d proven myself: capable, steady, loyal, willing to sacrifice for the pack’s business.
Beyond my skills, he’d once told Evelyn, I was striking, sharp, and high-value.
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< Chapter 51
Any pups I bore for the Blackwoods would be top-tier, strong and smart.
“I hear Adrian’s trying to win Vivian back,”
Alistair said over breakfast, his voice gruff but determined.
“Find a chance to invite her for dinner, apologize properly. And cut things clean with that Quinn she-wolf-no
more games.”
In his mind, if the Blackwoods humbled themselves, I’d come around.
Wolves like me, he thought, valued loyalty above all-even when betrayed.
Evelyn, exasperated, shoved her phone at him.
“Take a look. Neither of these she-wolves is some delicate flower. Vivian’s got claws, and Vanessa’s got a death wish. This isn’t gonna end nicely.”
Alistair glanced at the video, his expression unfazed.
“Vivian’s got spine-that’s good. That Quinn she-wolf tried to steal my son-she had it coming. If you won’t
invite her, I will.”
Evelyn groaned.
“Fine, you handle it. I’m done.”
言
She stormed out, chest tight with frustration, her phone ringing again as she reached the door.
Seeing Vanessa’s name, her blood ran cold.
She hung up.
Seconds later, a voice message pinged through.
“Evelyn, it really hurts that you hate me so much now,” Vanessa’s voice cooed, weak and mournful.
A pause, then a low, eerie giggle.
“Oh, by the way, I found out your little secret. Willow Hnines? Wow, didn’t know you still had that kind of fire in you, heh heh heh.”
Evelyn’s mind exploded, her face draining of color.
So Vanessa was unhinged.
And now, she had leverage.
She stumbled outside, scanning for eavesdroppers, then called Vanessa back, her voice shaking.
“How-how do you know about that? What do you want?!”
