The Alpha's Other Woman by Vielle Nye (read a book .txt) 📗

"And don't say anything to her about our former...association."

"Of course not, Alpha. My lips are sealed," I said in a falsely sweet tone. A part of me was glad he was being so cold, because waves of anger were finally drowning my sadness and loneliness. This male used me and didn't even have the grace to completely discard me because I was still useful to him, using me as if I were an unfeeling tool.

Fuck him.

"May I leave now, Alpha?" I asked, meeting his eyes in a way that could probably be considered a challenge.

"Yes," he agreed with a frown, not addressing my minor show of defiance.

I swept from the room and went to my former office to start catching up on the piles of work that had accumulated in the few days I had been gone.

—————

The next day, Dane brought Heidi to meet the pack. I was forced to watch as he made a complete ass of himself drooling over her in public. She looked young and naive and she even flounced when she walked. The pack didn't seem to notice how unsuitable she appeared at just a glance. Of course everyone would ignore that. After all, fate had chosen her, hadn't it?

I was disgusted. I tried not to feel old and used in comparison, but it was hard to avoid the feeling. I retreated back to my work as quickly as I could to get away from the wash of good feelings sweeping through the pack. They only made me feel nauseous.

The sooner I got through this, the sooner I could escape the hell this position had become. I tried to plan my future and came up with a couple of reasonable ideas. I would return to acting as a scout as I had before the alpha had swooped in to play with my heart. Most of the orders came through the delta, so I wouldn’t have to endure much direct contact with Dane, which was the position’s main allure.

Then, maybe I’d try to find a job in the human world. I’d never had a desire to spend time away from my pack before, but it was looking better and better out there.

There was a knock at the door of my office, and the scent was familiar but I could not place it. I called permission to enter. I recognized the woman standing before me as one of the more eccentric older females of the pack. Her nearly grey black hair was long and pulled back into a bun. I recalled that she lived in one of the furthest houses from the pack house, but I’d never had a reason to speak directly with her before, or she with me. I struggled to come up with her name.

"Won't you take a seat?" I offered her, and added as the name finally came to me, "Madeline?"

She smiled. "Thank you, Carrie."

"So, what can I help you with?" I asked her.

She smiled, the lines in her face crinkling more with the expression. "I actually was hoping that I could help you," she said.

I was curious. "Oh? How?"

"Well, I'm sure you're aware that I live alone in my own place. It's quite large for just me, so I thought, if you ever need it, I have a room you can have any time you want. Either permanently, or just to get away from the pack house from time to time."

I had not expected this. I almost turned down the offer automatically, but something stopped me. I had considered going to stay at my parents' for a while once I had finally wiggled free from the trap Dane had me in, but I had rejected the idea because I didn't want to see the sympathetic understanding on their faces or the silent reminder that they had been right about my relationship with Dane.

"Thank you," I said instead. "Can I ask what brought you to make this offer?" She was getting older, perhaps she needed assistance around the house or was lonely or some such need that had been overlooked.

She smiled with sympathy. "We mateless should stick together, don't you think?"

While the pitying glances of everyone else had been grating, this was something different, maybe because she understood where I was coming from unlike the rest of these happily mated pairs. Now that Dane had found his mate, I was probably the fourth or fifth oldest unmated wolf in the pack. I met Madeline's eyes. "Yeah, we should." I paused. "I can't do anything yet until I at least start passing off my former duties, but maybe after that. I'll have to think about it a bit."

Madeline smiled encouragingly. "You're welcome to come over for supper or just to talk, too, Carrie."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, dear. But for now, I'd better let you get back to work."

I nodded and watched her as she left the office before turning back to the papers on my desk. It was small, but I felt my first glimmer that maybe there was something good on the other side of this disaster.