Chapter b242 /b

I nodded, knowing that Lilith was right. I couldn’t afford to sit here and wallow in self–pity. I needed to buck up and ept that this was my life now, whether I liked it or not, and just be d to be a part of my son’s life.

“When I was a baby,” I asked, ncing at Lilith, “what did you do? Surely you tried to see me.”

Lilith’s face darkened. “By the time I realized what had happened to me and got my bearings, your father had

already remarried. I recall showing up at his doorstep and begging him for a job, but he and his new wife quite

literally threw me out on my ass.”

Margaret. Just thinking about her made my mood turn sour.

“I didn’t see them at the wake,” I pointed out.

Lilith scoffed. “I didn’t want to say anything unless you brought it up, but they never showed. Apparently, they fnb1b7 Th?s chapter is updated by f?ndnovel/fnb1b7

got a big insurance settlement when the house burned and went on a vacation.”

“A vacation.” I nced at Lilith. “Do you think they were the ones who set fire to the estate? For the insurance

payout?”

“I think… That we shouldn’t rule anything out at this point,” Lilith replied cautiously. “Anyone could have done olliit. Or perhaps it really was an ident. Either way, our ancestral home is gone and your beloved father is a /li/ol

bastard who was too busy gvanting around with his gold–digger wife toe to his daughter’s funeral.”

Ancestral home. The words shot straight through my heart. “Right. Stormhollow was your family’s pack

before…b” /b

“Before bI /bmarried your father. Yes, if I had stayed unmarried, I would have inherited the pack and be the female Alpha. But fate had other ns.” She sighed wistfully, but then smiled and patted my knee. “But if it weren’t for your father, I wouldn’t have you. So I’m grateful in the end.”

Personally, I found it hard to be grateful for anything that man had done. He’d been nothing but a user and maniptor his entire life, too driven by greed to think about anyone but himself.

“Stillb,/bb” /bLilith went onb, /bb“/bit hurts to watch the pack that once belonged to my family crumble under a man who doesn’t know how to manage money and who has no sympathy for his people. Often, I do wish I could take my rightful ce as Alpha. But…” She gestured to herself, indicating her situation. “It’s impossible.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, considering this for a moment. Surely there had to be something we could

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6:25 PM Wed b1 /bbOct /b

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do–if only we could break this curse and find a way to reveal our true identities without hurting anyone. Then, my mother and I could take back Stormhollow.

Just then, my lovely bunkmate wandered into the kitchen, yawning and stretching. I watched her through myshes as she slumped over to the fridge and pulled out a container of leftovers.

Satisfaction coursed through me as she took a bite, chewed, then made a sour face and spat the food out into the

sink. “Who tampered with the food?!” she shouted, holding up the container. “Someone put vinegar all over

this!”

“Vinegar?” Lilith whispered in my ear. “Was that what I saw you dumping in that container earlier?”

“Sure was.” I resisted the urge to smile.

Suddenly, the maid whirled on another servant nearby–a young girl with enormous eyes and curly red ha was you, wasn’t it?” the maid barked. “You’re trying to poison me, you vengeful bitch!”

It

The maid reached for the other servant’s hair with a feral snarl despite the girl’s protests. She began to drag the

poor girl over to the back door.

But before anything bad could happen, Alexander suddenly swept into the room with a thunderous expression.

The moment he saw the maid holding the fistful of the other servant’s hair, his green eyes darkened

dangerously.

“What is going on here?” His voice was low and even, which I was just realizing for the first time to be even more terrifying now that I was a member of his staff and not his Luna.

The maid immediately released the other servant’s hair. “Someone tampered with my food, Alpha. They’re

trying to poison me.”

Alexander cocked an eyebrow. “I–It wasn’t me, Sir,” the servant stammered, wringing her hands. “But she did

steal my food…”

The maid looked around frantically before her eyesnded on me. “If it wasn’t you, then it must have been

her,” she dered, pointing at me.

Everyone turned to me. I handed Lucien to Lilith and stood calmly.

“Are you using me because you actually think I tampered with your food, or because you’re just feeling guilty over forcing me to sleep on the floorst night?”