Page 4 of Rival Love

Life sucks, they seemed to say.

Yeah, it did.

Mates sucked. Marriage sucked. Twin sisters sucked. Everything sucked.

Somewhere during my breakdown, I fell asleep in the leaves. When I awoke, the sky was dark but clear, the full moon casting silvery light on everything around me. A chilly night breeze whistled through the trees, and soaked as I was, I shivered. I needed to find a place to get dry and figure out some shit.

I rose to all fours and bounded through the woods until I reached a residential section of Moon Valley. After scoping out a few backyards, I lucked out with finding one where the homeowners had left some clothes in their unlocked all-season room. With a glance around and not seeing anyone, I shifted back to human. My long black hair was drenched so I quickly braided it then shrugged into a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a soft flannel shirt that was the hug I needed right then. Two backyards from that one, I located a pair of sneakers that I slipped on. They were a little big, but they were better than going barefoot on the wet ground.

I felt a little better now that I was dressed, but with that goal accomplished, now what? Should I go back home and kick Vince out of the house? That was laughable. I couldn’t kick anyone out of anywhere, let alone the Alpha. Sometimes—okay, most of the time—being an Omega made me want to scream. Not having any power among other wolves made being a werewolf less cool. At least as the Alpha’s wife, I’d earned some respect.

That respect was now out the window. I couldn’t show my face around those wolves again. Not with them knowing I’d rejected the mating bond because my husband and sister hooked up. First of all, no one ever rejected the mating bond because Lunai didn’t make mistakes. The Moon Goddess had been pairing wolves since our kind took its first breath. She never got it wrong.

Except this time she had.

I mentally flipped through all the stories my family had told of werewolf history, and I couldn’t recall one in which fated mates weren’t forever.

“Leave it to me,” I mumbled in the dark as I leaned against a telephone pole and contemplated where to go. Though technically, this wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t the one who had engaged in an affair. I’d simply come home from work to find my life as the Alpha’s wife was over.

And when something ended, something else could begin.

Embroider that on a pillow.

But what did I want to begin? I hadn’t thought beyond being married to Vince, having babies, and working at the museum. I still wanted to work at the museum. I loved leading people on tours and talking to them about all the fabulous pieces we had on display there. I enjoyed the challenge of getting even the most disinterested adolescent to show some spark of curiosity about something they’d seen on their trip to the museum. Conversations with guests filled my well, and I’d never give that up.

Plus, I now needed the money from that job more than ever to support myself.

Pushing off the telephone pole, I jogged down the street toward the museum. I had some snacks stashed in my office, and after running like I had, my body definitely needed a refuel. When I arrived, the nighttime security guard raised an eyebrow at me, but he opened the main entrance door.

“Aren’t you a bit early for your shift, Selena?” He checked his wristwatch. “It’s only two o’clock in the morning.”

“Stupidest thing,” I said. “I think I left my teapot on in my office. I woke up in a sweat about it, you know? I gotta check, Milton.”

Milton let out a chuckle. “I’ve been there.” He stepped aside and let me pass into the foyer. “How much you want to bet it’s not even on?”

“I dragged my ass here,” I said. “It’d better be on.”

Another laugh rumbled out of Milton as he locked the main door again.

I eyed his keys. “Hey, I didn’t bring my keys because I threw on clothes and ran over here. Can you let me into my office?”

“Sure.”

I followed Milton upstairs to the offices, pausing at my door while he found the right key. When he unlocked the door for me and threw it open with a flourish, I said, “You know what, Milton? I might get a few things done while I’m here and wide awake now. Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” He gave me a warm smile. “But you have to tell me one thing first?”

I froze on my route to my desk and slowly turned around. Milton was an ordinary human, but was I giving off some vibe that I’d been made a fool of by my mate? Something universally recognized by all species on the planet?

“What one thing do you need to know?”

He gestured to my teapot. “Is it on?”

“Oh.” My heartbeat settled. Barely. I hated lying. Apparently that was another thing Omega wolves weren’t good at.

Alphas, however, were skilled liars. I’d learned that tonight.

I went over to the teapot and slapped a hand to my forehead. “It’s not on.” I held up the cord which was not plugged in.