ログイン(Jenna POV)Dr. Daugherty sat down next to me.“Are you okay?” he asked.I shook my head.“No.”He moved closer, and then he tried to put his arm around me. I pushed it off. I’m sure he intended it to be a comforting gesture, but it wasn’t.“Please don’t touch me,” I said with a shaky voice.He nodded and then moved a few inches away. Thank Goddess.The slide show continued to play. There were pictures of Beth at all stages of her life. Pictures of her when she was happier and healthier. Pictures of how I’m sure she wanted her family to remember her.There weren’t a lot of pictures of Danny, but there were enough. And every time one came on the screen, a little piece of my heart broke.The pictures included ones not only from the past, but also many from the last couple of years. The most recent ones were easy to spot, because Danny was either wearing his locket or Beth was wearing one of her wigs.According to the pictures, Hawaii wasn’t the only place that they went together.
(Jenna POV)The moment that Nick, Andrew, and Alpha Black left the tent, Dr. Daugherty turned to me.“How long have you been living under the alpha order?” he asked.My eyes widened. He knew?I opened my mouth to answer his question, but nothing came out.He gave me a knowing look.“You aren’t supposed to talk about it.”I looked down.“My guess is at least a year,” he continued. “Possibly closer to two.”I couldn’t respond, so I just looked at him with question marks in my eyes.“I can’t be completely sure without running tests,” he said carefully. “But the look on your face tells me a lot.”He studied me for another second.“The longer an alpha order is in place, the more harmful it becomes to the body. Untrained wolves won’t be able to see it, and even many doctors can’t either. But, having lived under one, I know the signs.”Relief hit me so suddenly that it was almost overwhelming. Someone saw it.Someone understood.“I’m sorry I didn’t see it earlier. I would have helped.”
(Jenna POV)As Charlotte stood there with her jaw hanging open, I tried to quickly calculate my next move.Because clearly, I wasn’t going to get to talk to Dr. Daugherty any time soon.“You can close your mouth, Charlotte,” another male voice said from behind me.Nick.“Alpha Black, I see you’ve now met Jenna,” Nick said, as though it was the most casual thing in the world.As though this wasn’t the first time in 25 years that I was meeting the male responsible for half my DNA.I turned, intending on giving Nick a dirty look, but instead I caught Alpha Black staring at me with a strange, almost reverent expression.“She’s even more beautiful than you described,” Alpha Black said to Nick, adoration evident in his voice.I narrowed my eyes slightly.“You called me beautiful?” I asked Nick.Okay, it was a strange question. But I needed a moment to think.Alpha Black smiled.“He also called you incredibly smart, passionate, and loyal,” he added. “The way he talked about you, I almost w
(Jenna POV)Leaving Nick in my condo, and hurrying out to go find Dr. Daugherty, sounded good in my head.Really good, in fact.Unfortunately, the moment that I got in my car and started my engine, it hit me — I had no idea where to go. So I ended up driving around aimlessly instead.****Two hours later, I parked in front of the large event hall where Beth’s funeral was being held.It was only 5:00, so I was shocked by how many wolves were already there. Most of them looked like they were from Beth’s pack out east. However, there were also a ton of tabloid reporters and werewolves who simply wanted to be where the cameras were.Sighing, I parked my car and looked for a good place to wait and keep a lookout for Dr. Daugherty. I found one under a tall Redwood tree.Finally, after twenty minutes, I saw him. He was with Mandy, and they were parking their car on the other side of the lot.I quickly made my way towards them, intent on talking to Dr. Daugherty before the service began.
(Jenna POV)After leaving the packhouse, I went back to the condo. I turned on loud, angry music.And then I started packing.Nick showed up an hour later.At first, I didn’t open the door. I didn’t even acknowledge that I was home. But he kept knocking. I guess the music was loud enough that it gave me away.Eventually, I answered the door.Nick stepped inside, took one look at the chaos in my living room, and then looked at me.“Jenna?”The concern in his eyes almost angered me.I wasn’t in the mood to be comforted.Comfort meant sadness and crying. I didn’t want that.I wanted to be angry.So, I ignored Nick’s concern and his very blue eyes, and I went back to the box that I was packing.“Jenna,” he repeated, “what’s going on?”I pointed toward the speakers and pretended that I couldn’t hear him.He didn’t fall for it.Of course he didn’t.He crossed the room and turned off the music. Right in the middle of Carrie Underwood singing “Before He Cheats.” An old song, but a d&mn
(Jenna POV)On the morning of Beth’s funeral, I woke up with an unshakable feeling of dread.I didn’t know what was going to happen today, but I knew that it was going to be bad. At the same time, I kept trying to convince myself that I was just being paranoid and reading too much into things.It didn’t help that I had not heard from Danny since Beth died. Not once. I had texted him a few times:“Hey, just wanted to let you know that I’m thinking about you.”“Hey, I know you must be really busy with Beth’s family in town and the funeral arrangements, but I wanted to let you know that I am here if you need help or just want to talk.”“I miss you.”He didn’t respond to a single one of the messages.In a weird way, not responding after Beth died hurt more than the distance between us while she was alive.“Because it means more,” Willow said sadly.The truth in that tore through me.A part of me wished that I could talk to Ashley, but she needed to be with her family right now. Thank
(Jenna POV)I don’t know how long I cried while holding onto Nick.I just know that it was for a long time. Long enough for the shaking to stop, and long enough for the pain in my chest to dull.And when I started to realize that I didn’t want to let go of Nick, I did.I had to.Because I wasn’t t
(Jenna POV)A few days later, I was with Ashley and Andrew when Danny called me.“Where are you?” he asked when I answered.“At the packhouse. Why?” “Aren’t we doing our run?”Sh&t. I forgot that it was Sunday.“You’ve missed the last two runs,” I reminded him. “I didn’t think you wanted to do
(Jenna POV)The lunch continued quietly.But then my mother decided to make it uncomfortable again, in the way only she knew how.“Kyle is also an oncologist,” my mother announced proudly. “Oncologist?” I asked, even more curious now. Looks were clearly deceiving; I never would have pegged Kyle as
(Jenna POV)“Jenna, what… what are you doing here?”Danny was clearly uncomfortable.That wasn’t really a surprise, though. I had, after all, shown up on his doorstep without warning, after months of us barely speaking to one another.“I was hoping that I could talk to you for a few minutes,” I ex







