Chapter 11

Two days later, Blair came to my new clinic. She registered like any other client, asking for a consultation about breaking a bond. I didn't recognize her until she sat down in my consulting room and took off her sunglasses.I told my assistant to stop billing for the appointment and left the door ajar. "If this is about Lucas, you'll need to contact his lawyer."She threw a courier's delivery confirmation onto my desk. "You sent my check back?""I never cashed it. The service you asked for isn't something I offer.""But you left anyway." Her makeup didn't quite hide the shadows under her eyes. "What are you doing to keep him on the hook now? He canceled our room at Copper Creek, told me to move into a rental, and won't even answer my calls.""That's between the two of you.""You told him about the messages, didn't you?""I gave what you sent me to the adviser handling my bond termination and property agreement. Did you expect me to keep your secrets for you?"Her fingers tightened on

Chapter 12

I opened the accounts I'd handed over before leaving. A payment scheduled for the organization providing the children's first-aid training still hadn't arrived. Finance had initially blamed a banking delay. Now they admitted Lucas had moved the money before his trip, listing it as an expense for hosting alliance representatives.He'd put the getaway through as official business. Blair's additional claim for the crown had finally left the figures impossible to reconcile.Nora asked if I was willing to submit the relevant evidence. "This would go before an alliance review panel. It wouldn't stay between the two of you.""Submit it. The children's budget needs to be restored."I pulled up the recording from the reception. While Lucas had been claiming Owen was fetching the patrol roster, Owen had been having dinner with the North Shore delegates. The hotel's attendance records confirmed it, and Grayridge's Beta was willing to testify."He ordered us to check your border records, too," Owe

Chapter 13

The review took place a week later. By the time I arrived, Lucas had repaid the money, including the fee for postponing the first-aid training. He was standing at the entrance. When he saw me, his eyes went to my neck, then to my bare wrist."You look better.""I am."He seemed about to add something, but the elder chairing the panel called our names. We went inside before he could turn the exchange into another conversation about us.No one played the intimate videos during the hearing. I'd submitted the material that established the dates, the purpose of the payments, and the orders he'd given. The panel had enough to verify the facts. I didn't need to have my own humiliation passed around the room as entertainment.Owen's statement covered picking up gifts, making excuses for Lucas's absences, and receiving the order to search for me. He admitted he'd thought keeping his Alpha's secrets was a form of loyalty.One elder leaned forward. "And where was your loyalty to Grayridge's child

Chapter 14

The property agreement was signed three days later. Lucas stopped dragging things out to get another meeting with me. Our joint assets were divided according to the agreement we'd made when we mated. I kept the clinic and the income in my own name, and Ruby's living arrangements were filed separately.I didn't feel like celebrating when the last signature went on the page. I just wanted to get home. Ruby was waiting for me to help her try out her scooter.We arranged the first official visit at White Pine's children's activity center. Lucas arrived in an ordinary jacket, carrying the puzzle Ruby had been asking for. The moment she saw him, she ran straight into his arms, just as she always had.I stood a few steps away and waited for them to finish hugging. He didn't ask her to persuade Mommy to come back. He sat on the floor and helped her lay out the puzzle instead. When she couldn't find a piece, she turned to call me as naturally as ever. I went over, and for a moment all three of

Chapter 15

Six months later, the clinic moved to the center of White Pine. A bakery occupied the ground floor. Every afternoon, the smell of oatmeal cookies found its way through my window. Ruby liked to wait there after preschool, lining up packets of sugar on a table with the owner's little boy.I'd had my badge reprinted. It bore only my name, Erin Reed, and my professional title: Bond Breaker. The first time I clipped it to my collar, I held it between my fingers for a long while. I could put it on and go to work without checking whether someone else was comfortable with the life I wanted for myself.I still dreamed of the hallway in our old house sometimes. But when I woke, my body knew I was safe here. My wolf would stretch lazily before I'd even climbed out of bed, no longer tensing at a scent I couldn't bear.Grayridge eventually chose a new Alpha from its patrol team. Lucas accepted the review's findings. He lost his office and its privileges, and moved into an apartment near the childre

Alle Kapitel von The Bond Breaker's Broken Bond: Kapitel 11 – Kapitel 15

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15