Chapter 38 Marriage Proposal

Odette’s POV

“I swear to the Goddess.” Donavon crumples the magazine in his hand, lobbing it at the wall, “Where do they get this shit?”

The shiny pages slacken as it falls, brightly colored tabloid headlines peeking out of the wrinkled ball of paper, “Alpha’s secret love child.”

Unfortunately I have an idea where these rumors are coming from. I’ve seen the way Arabella looks at my son, and I can’t stop hearing Selene’s last words to me: She really hates me. She’s attempted worse. Half an hour later my daughter-in law was dead, then Arabella was miraculously found unharmed a few days later – with an iron-clad alibi for her whereabouts at the time of the

fire

Even so, those are not the kinds of accusations one makes without evidence, and a few words from Selene in the height of a very stressful moment isn’t reliable intelligence. I could have completely misinterpreted her meaning. “Does Bastien know?” i query. gesturing to the tabloid.

“He hasn’t left his rooms since the fire.” Donavon reminds me, shaking his head. And he’s not speaking to anyone.”

I understand better than anyone. The only reason I can get myself out of bed in the morning is because Bastien needs me so badly. I’ve been letting him mourn while I run the pack, not that anyone knows what’s happening behind the scenes. However the situation in Elysium is deteriorating without his leadership, and the rumor mill is out of control.

What’s more, I’m deeply afraid that Bastien cannot go on like this much longer. Young as he is, losing a mate can kill a wolf of any age, and as much as I want to give him time to heal, I can’t risk letting him grieve himself to death.

“That’s not all, ma’am.” Donavon says, pulling my attention from the magazine. “We also received a letter from the Elder Council. They want Bastien to increase the frequency of his security reports.”

“They’ve been weekly since Gabriel’s murder.” I scoff, “What do they want, a daily update?”

The Beta purses his lips and raises his eyebrows, confirming my guess.

“That’s ridiculous.” I snap, “They’ve never had that kind of oversight before.”

to bolster their own power.” Donavon complains,

back to

large man grimaces, “be

my spine, giving my old friend an imperious glare, “I’m his mother, he can huff and puff all he wants,

not your son right now,” Donavon relates gently. “He’s an Alpha who lost his mate. Pushing him is

notch my chin up. “He’s not the only alpha who’s lost his

unsavory blend of hard liquor, dirty laundry, spoiled food

my strength not to immediately gather a garbage bag and begin filling it on my way through the space,

the couch, his golden skin grimy and his jaw covered with weeks’ worth of stubble. An empty bottle of whiskey dangles from his limp hand, and the table in front of him is scattered with beer cans. He wears only a pair of sweatpants, and the weight he’s lost in the last few weeks

his massive hand closes around my wrist before I can touch him. His powerful fingers dig into my

him softly.

of recognition into his hard

one and only.” I

rubs his

my son, need to take

was little and wanted to escape a bath, I

my foot

apartment, trying not to judge the mess.

again. He sits down at his kitchen island, watching me work

holding out the sponge in his direction. “Of course, it would

and tedious, but you just have to force yourself to go through the motions for a little while. Eventually, you’ll be able to find sense in taking care of yourself again,

years. I lost a mate who I never even got to claim. We never had any happy years, we didn’t get to build a life together.” He drops the spunge and closes his fists around the edge of the counter, “1 failed her, I wasn’t there when she needed me, I caused her nothing

Bastien.” I

is so vicious I take a step back, putting some distance between us. “That is the last thing she did before she died. I accused her of kidnapping, put her under house arrest and forced her to run into a situation that killed her.” Bastien

stop myself from reaching for him.

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