But a harsh laugh that sounded like breaking glass. “Trust me, if I had a choice, I wouldn’t be calling you at all. But you need to come home. This weekend. There are… arrangements to be made.”
“Arrangements?” I repeated, my voice rising slightly. “Elizabeth, I’m not coming back to Whispering Valley. Ever. I have a life here, a job, responsibilities -“
“You have responsibilities to this family!” she shrieked, her voice reaching that familiar pitch that had preceded so many of my childhood punishments. “After everything we did for you, after taking in an unwanted omega orphan and raising you like our own daughter, you owe us!”
“I don’t owe you anything,” I said firmly, surprising myself with the steel in my voice. “You made it very clear five years ago that I wasn’t your daughter and never had been. You chose Valerie. You got exactly what you wanted -me gone, out of your life forever. So whatever this is about, find someone else to help you.”
I was about to hang up when Elizabeth’s voice changed, dropping to something low and dangerous that made my wolf pace uneasily.
“I know about your job at Nightshadow Industries,” Elizabeth continued, her tone taking on a calculated quality that made my skin crawl. “I know about your little apartment in the Riverside district. Most importantly, I know about your son.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What did you just say?”
“Adrian Knight. Four years old. Attends Silver Moon Harbor Elementary. Such a sweet little boy, from what I hear. It would be such a shame if something were to happen to him.”
The phone slipped from my suddenly nerveless fingers, clattering onto my desk with a sound that seemed to echo through the empty office. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything except stare at the device as Elizabeth’s voice continued to pour out threats in that same calm, conversational tone.
I grabbed the phone back up, my hands shaking so badly I could barely keep hold of it.
“If you go anywhere near my son -” I started, but Elizabeth cut me off with a laugh that chilled me to the bone.
“You’ll what? Oh, darling, I think you’re forgetting exactly who you’re dealing with here.” Her voice was soft now, almost gentle, which somehow made it ten times more terrifying. “I’m the respected wife of a pack elder. You’re an unwed omega mother with a bastard child. Who do you think they’ll believe if something unfortunate were to happen?”
My chest felt like it was being crushed in a vise, making it difficult to draw breath.
“Come home this weekend. Friday evening.” Elizabeth’s voice was brisk now, businesslike, as if we were discussing dinner plans rather than threats against my child. “And Seraphina? If you even think about running, if you consider taking that little bastard and disappearing… well, let’s just say I have friends in many places. There’s nowhere you could hide that I wouldn’t find you.”
The line went dead, leaving me staring at my phone in complete silence. The office around me felt surreal, like I was looking at everything through thick glass. The familiar sounds of the building -air conditioning, distant conversations, the hum of electronics -all seemed muffled and far away.
I knew Elizabeth Knight better than that. She’d raised me, after all, taught me exactly how far she was willing to go to get what she wanted. The woman who’d been capable of throwing out a pregnant eighteen-year-old with nothing but the clothes on her back was definitely capable of far worse things.
I’d spent the entire week in a state of barely controlled anxiety, jumping every time my phone rang, checking on Adrian obsessively, barely sleeping.
The drive to Whispering Valley felt both endless and far too short. Every mile that passed on the familiar country roads brought back memories I’d spent five years trying to forget.
By the time I pulled into the gravel driveway of the Knight house, my hands were shaking and my wolf was pacing frantically in my mind. The house looked exactly the same -small, neat, perfectly maintained on the outside while hiding rot within its walls.
But something was different. Instead of the cold reception I’d expected, Elizabeth was waiting on the front porch, her arms open in what appeared to be a welcoming gesture. She was dressed in her Sunday best -a pale blue dress that brought out her eyes, her hair perfectly styled, her makeup applied with careful precision.
“Seraphina!” she called out, her voice warm and bright. “Oh, darling, look at you! You look wonderful!”
She swept down the porch steps and pulled me into what felt like a genuine hug, her arms wrapping around me with surprising strength.
“Come in, come in!” she said, looping her arm through mine and guiding me up the porch steps. “I’ve missed you so much, sweetheart. We have so much to catch up on!”
The inside of the house was exactly as I remembered. But sitting in Victor’s old recliner was a man I’d never seen before, and the sight of him made my skin crawl immediately.
He was probably in his fifties, with thinning gray hair slicked back with too much pomade and a soft, doughy body that spoke of a lifetime of excess. His pale blue eyes moved over me with an assessment that felt physical, taking in every curve and line of my body with the kind of hungry evaluation that made my wolf bare her teeth in my mind.
“Seraphina,” Elizabeth said, her voice taking on that bright, hostess-like quality she used when she was performing for an audience, “I’d like you to meet Harold. Harold, this is my daughter Seraphina.”
Harold heaved himself out of the chair with obvious effort, his eyes never leaving my face as he extended a pudgy hand that looked like it hadn’t seen honest work in decades.
“So this is the famous Seraphina,” he said, his voice oily and warm in a way that made my flesh crawl. “Elizabeth has told me so much about you. What a lovely young woman you’ve grown into.”
I didn’t take his offered hand, stepping back instinctively as every alarm bell in my head started ringing at maximum volume.
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking between Harold and Elizabeth with growing confusion and dread. “I don’t understand. Who is this man, and why am I here?”
Elizabeth’s smile never wavered, but something cold and calculating flickered in her eyes. “Sit down, darling. We have wonderful news to share with you.”
When I remained standing, Harold’s smile widened, showing teeth that were too white and too perfect to be natural.
“Your mother and I have been discussing your… situation,” he said, settling back into the chair with a grunt. “A young woman in your position -unmarried, with a child -well, it can’t be easy. But I’m a generous man, and I don’t mind taking on another man’s responsibilities.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach as understanding crashed over me like a tidal wave.
“Harold has very kindly offered to marry you,” Elizabeth said, clapping her hands together as if she’d just announced the most wonderful news in the world. “Isn’t that marvelous? Despite your… past mistakes, despite having that little bastard, he’s willing to give you respectability and a proper home.”
Valerie’s POV
I honestly never thought I’d see that bitch Seraphina again. After she slunk away from home five years ago with her tail between her legs, I assumed she’d crawled into some corner somewhere with her little bastard and disappeared forever. The last thing I expected was to find her working right beside the most powerful Alpha in the territory, looking like she actually belonged there.
The memory of being thrown out of that restaurant still burned in my chest like acid. The way Damien had looked at me -with such cold disgust -when he’d ordered security to remove me. The way he’d automatically moved to protect Seraphina, like she was something precious instead of the worthless omega reject she’d always been.
It made me want to scream.
Sitting in the passenger seat of Gabriel’s beat-up Honda, I stared out at the shabby neighborhood we now called home and felt my rage building with each passing second. This wasn’t how my life was supposed to turn out. When I’d married Gabriel five years ago, he’d promised me everything -wealth, status, a position in the Nightshadow family that would make everyone who’d ever looked down on me pay.
What a fucking joke.
Gabriel had spun elaborate tales about his importance in the pack, about his close relationship with his powerful Alpha brother, about the inheritance that was supposedly coming his way. All lies.
The truth was that Damien barely acknowledged Gabriel’s existence. Gabriel was nothing more than their father’s bastard son -a mistake that the family tolerated but never embraced. No money, no power, no influence. Just a disappointment who spent his days playing video games and eating junk food while I worked myself to the bone trying to maintain some semblance of the lifestyle I deserved.
“Valerie, baby, come on,” Gabriel whined from the driver’s seat, his hand creeping across the center console to rest on my thigh. “Don’t be like this. You know I hate it when you’re mad.”
I slapped his hand away with enough force to make him yelp. “Don’t touch me,” I snarled, my voice dripping with disgust. “And don’t call me baby. I’m not in the mood for your pathetic attempts at affection.”
Gabriel’s face crumpled like a kicked puppy’s. “But I missed you while you were at that fancy dinner. I was hoping we could… you know…” He waggled his eyebrows in what he probably thought was a seductive manner.
The thought of letting this useless waste of space put his hands on me made my stomach turn. When had I ever found him attractive? He was just a burden dragging me down.
“The only thing you’re going to do when we get home,” I said through gritted teeth, “is clean up that pigsty of an apartment. I’m hiring a cleaning service, and I don’t want them to think we’re complete animals.”
Gabriel’s face fell. “A cleaning service? Val, we can’t afford -“
“I don’t care what we can afford!” I exploded, my voice echoing in the cramped car. “I’m not living in squalor anymore! My parents are already demanding money for Dad’s medical bills, and I look like a failure every time I show my face in public. The least you can do is make sure our home doesn’t smell like rotting garbage!”
The apartment we returned to was exactly as disgusting as I’d expected. Pizza boxes stacked on every surface, empty beer bottles creating obstacle courses across the floor. I kicked an empty takeout container out of my way and immediately pulled out my phone to call the first cleaning service I could find.
“Martinez Cleaning Services,” a cheerful voice answered. “How can we help you today?”
“I need someone here immediately,” I said, not bothering with pleasantries. “My apartment is… challenging. I’ll pay double your usual rate if you can send someone within the hour.”
“Of course, ma’am. I’ll have someone there as soon as possible.”
Gabriel collapsed onto our stained couch with a grunt, already reaching for his gaming controller. “You know, Val, if you’d just relax a little bit, maybe -“
“Maybe what?” I whirled around to face him, my hands clenched into fists. “Maybe I’d be happy living like this?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but the sharp knock on our front door cut him off. I smoothed down my dress and went to answer it, expecting to see some stranger with a bucket of cleaning supplies.
Instead, I found myself staring into a face I hadn’t seen since high school.
“Anna?”
Anna Blackwood stood in our doorway wearing a Martinez Cleaning Services polo shirt and carrying a caddy full of cleaning supplies. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a practical ponytail.
“Well, well,” Anna said, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Valerie Knight. Or should I say Valerie Nightshadow now? Fancy meeting you like this.”
“Oh my God, Anna!” I threw my arms around her, genuinely excited for the first time in weeks. “I can’t believe it’s you!”
She looked around our disaster of a living room with professional assessment. “Jesus, Val. What happened to you? I thought marrying into the Nightshadow family would set you up for life.”
Gabriel chose that moment to look up from his game, his eyes widening as he took in Anna’s appearance. “Who’s this?” he asked, his voice taking on the tone he used when he thought he was being charming.
“This is Anna,” I said quickly, shooting Gabriel a warning look. “An old friend from high school. Anna, this is my husband Gabriel.”
Anna’s eyes swept over Gabriel with obvious disdain, taking in his rumpled clothes, his soft physique, and the general air of uselessness that surrounded him like a cloud.
“Charming,” she said dryly. “I can see why you snagged this one.”
Gabriel completely missed the sarcasm, puffing up with pride. “Yeah, Valerie knows quality when she sees it.”
Anna caught my eye and raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow.
“Gabriel,” I said sweetly, “why don’t you go get us some coffee? Anna and I have some catching up to do.”
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