Chapter Twenty

Jake

Something is bothering Vanessa . It started shortly after her shift, or perhaps was deepened by her shift, and led to her telling me she was fine when that clearly wasn’t the case.

I don’t appreciate lies.

I appreciate truths.

Details are not required. I won’t push her to talk to me. But I do need her to tell me when something is wrong, even if she doesn’t elaborate.

Honesty is imperative in a clan.

As Alphas, we’ll push her boundaries and reach limits that she may not be comfortable exploring, and if she doesn’t voice her concerns, we may not know we’ve gone too far until it’s too late.

And that’s unacceptable.

Tonight’s offense is obviously mild, and her punishment won’t be harsh. However, I intend to use her little lie as a teaching moment.

Because we can’t afford larger lies in the future.

“Are you all right to helm the yacht on your own?” I ask Beta Lock and Alpha Mackin. They are two of the wolves we typically take with us when

sailing into the mainland.

Beta Lock is an ex