Whitemore Plantation
“You’ve grown quiet. What are you thinking about?” Anders asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
I sigh. “I was thinking about the first time I met Alpha Agnus.” I shake my head. “I was so upset with her when you came to take me. I felt like she ratted me out.”
He laughs. “We chased you all the way from the clinic that night. You definitely gave those guards a run for their money, including me.” He smiles. “I finally decided to knock on her door to let her know we were searching for you, but she was already on the porch. She said that she dreamed about you and wanted to get to know you a little more, so I should return the next evening after dinner. I tried to protest, but she dismissed me. I explained that I would return under the Alpha King’s orders. She basically flipped me off and slammed the door in my face.”
I giggle. “Sounds like her.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t remember why, but that entire day turned to shit. We couldn’t pick you up until the evening anyway. When I returned, she explained that your name was Jessica and that I needed to raise you with the guards. She mandated that I bring you back regularly so she could spend time with you. She said that the two of you had become friends, and she liked your company.” He raises his eyebrows. “I thought she lost her mind. Then she told me, ‘Don’t repeat the same choices of others. History doesn’t have to be something we only learn from books. We also need to learn from those closest to us.’ With that said, I brought you back to the clinic, as I was ordered to do, and had a long discussion with the Alpha King about what happened next.”
I frown. “What did she mean by that?” I ask.
He runs a hand down his face. “I didn’t know at first, but then I realized… much later.” He falls silent and turns to look out the window again.
Why is he acting so odd today? I clear my throat. “She always played by her own rules. I mean, her funeral is by invitation only.” I chuckle.
He smiled. “I know. I was invited. I would have been insulted if my own grandmother didn’t invite me to her funeral.”
My head whips up to meet his gaze. “Grandmother?”
He lowers his chin and nods. Anders doesn’t explain further as we enter the Whitemore territory. My head still whirls from confusion and, well, plain curiosity. Stepping out of the car, Anders instructs both Ean and Odyssey to stand guard at the pack hall’s main entrance.
Miller greets us. “I think we’re ready to start. You are the last to arrive.”
I smile apologetically, and Miller mirrors the gesture with kind understanding in his eyes. I hand him the package of brownies. “As requested.”
He grins. “Oh, yes, these were her favorite. Mine as well.” He squeezes my shoulder. “I remember the first time you made these, the first time we all met you.”
I nod. “I made these for dinner every time I visited after that.”
“A great tradition, one I will always treasure,” he whispers hoarsely.
Sissy approaches and stands next to Miller. “Jessica.” She hugs me and, pulling away, grabs both of my hands in her own. “Come. Alpha Agnus requested that both you and Anders sit in the front, opposite Marisol, Morgan, and Peter.”
Anders simply nods. It makes sense that he would sit with the family, now that I know Alpha Agnus was his grandmother, but I’m just a friend.
Sissy guides us to the rest of the group, and I walk over to Marisol to offer my condolences.
She envelopes me in a hug. “Thank you.”
Not sure of what else to say, I gently squeeze her hand.
Morgan and Peter stand on either side of me. Peter pats my back, and Morgan pats my arm. “Our Aggie loved you so much,” Peter shares.
“I loved her, too. She was like a grandmother to me. I have a lot to thank her for. She was a large part of my life. I am who I am partly because of her influence. I hope you all know how much she loved all of you. She talked about you all the time. If I didn’t know any better, I would never know you were her stepchildren. She always thought of you as her own.”
Marisol dabs away fresh tears and replies, “I always thought of her as my mother, too.” Peter and Morgan nod in agreement.Peter, the youngest of the three, spent the most time with Alpha Agnus. His eyes mist with the sheen of unshed tears as well.
Miller addresses the group, “Shall we start?”
Marisol nods, and I find my seat next to Anders. The funeral progresses exactly as Alpha Agnus planned—short and to the point.
When it ends, Miller clears his throat. “She requested that all five of you be present for the reading of her will.”
He looks at each of us in turn, and we all agree. Of the three stepchildren, no one objects to Anders’s presence. Do they know?
We follow Miller to Alpha Agnus’s home and gather in her office. Miller sits behind Aggie’s office desk and begins to read aloud from a stack of documents. “As the direct female descendant of Alpha Agnus Whitemore, Princess Jessica Langhlam will succeed me as Alpha of the Whitemore pack, and as the Alpha, she will become CEO of Whitemore and Parker Corporation.”
