Chapter 39

BLAKE

“The invitations are ordered,” my office manager, Mariette, said to me on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in October. “They’re putting a rush on them, and they’ll be mailed next week.”

“Make sure they don’t mail the one for the Baker family. I want to hand deliver it,” I said.

She looked at me sadly. “Yes, I made sure that that one won’t be mailed.”

“Good.” I left the office and went back to my own, letting out a deep breath. I’d finally have to visit Ria’s family and tell them the news. I’m sure they knew by now, it was big news around the pack, but I still knew I should tell them in person. I’d been putting it off—putting everything off. While most of my depression had slowly lifted over the last year, thinking about Ria still seared me. She was a ghost I knew would never truly leave me. This both comforted and scared me. I hated the idea of forgetting her, but it was also difficult to exist some days, her memory now a part of who I was.

I busied myself going through the differe