I lacked love. I lacked pa*sion so much that if someone treated me with the tiniest bit of kindness, I would hand over my heart without hesitation. I craved a partner, a mate, the way I saw people around me have.
Not people…shifters. Shifters who would never choose a human as their mate.
Although the two men I’d loved had abandoned me, I didn’t regret my love for them.
I had tried my best to love hard, but no one had ever loved me.
Maybe in my next life, the goddess would reward me for what I’d gone through in this one.
That idea was more than a little ridiculous.
When a person was dead, they were dead.
I put away my thoughts and looked up at Silas-er, Jackson Sterling.
Right now, I am needing to concentrate on why I was here in front of him.
“Alpha Sterling, I’ve always treated business a*sociates of the Midwest Packs Corporation professionally. As for what happened five years ago, that’s all in the past. Nothing to worry about.”
Regardless of whether he was truly suffering from amnesia or pretending not to recognize me, it didn’t matter anymore.
Time had taken away all the things that had happened, and it should not have been mentioned again.
I turned away from Jackson and walked toward the parking garage.
Looking at her petite frame as she walked away, Jackson could see that Taya had changed. Significantly.
It appeared that the young girl who had knelt at his feet those years ago was gone. She’d died, and this new woman stood in her place.
Now, Taya was no longer glamorous, and she was indifferent.
Jackson pressed his hand against his chest. It felt like it was empty, as if he had forgotten something. But he couldn’t recall anything.
There were so many people with Jackson that a commercial car was unable to hold all of them. I had to arrange for another vehicle to shuttle some of them back to Arcadia.
The senior pack leaders took the other car while Jackson and his pack guards rode with me.
That wasn’t what I’d been hoping for.
I didn’t speak to Jackson the whole time. I focused on driving and getting to the five-star hotel where dinner was to take place.
In the luxurious private room, Tara and a few shifters from the Midwest Packs Corporation had arrived, but Griffon had not.
After Tara arranged the seats for Jackson and the others, she turned to me. “Did you send the address to Alpha Knight?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
Although, I was unsure if he had seen my WhatsApp message since I’d re-blocked him.
I’d delivered the message; whether he came or not had anything to do with me.
“Ms. Thorin, I’ll be leaving now.”
I’d done my duty and picked Jackson up from the airport and brought him here. I would rather not stay a second longer than absolutely necessary. The “wolfiness” in here was already too much for me, with so many powerful shifters in one room-plus the added stress of Jackson being thrown into the mix.
Once Griffon arrived, it would be unbearable.
I was about to leave, but Tara blocked me.
“Taya, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Book hotel rooms here for Alpha Sterling and his men.”
“I-”
Just as I was about to refuse, Tara’s eyes changed to that of her wolf’s-a bright, dark amber color.
She opened her mouth to say something, but then paused and put on a pleading expression instead. Her wolf receded from her eyes.
Ha. She’d been about to command me to do what she wanted. As a she-wolf from a powerful bloodline, she was able to do that with most people.
But then, she’d clearly remembered I wasn’t a she-wolf, and her commands would have no effect on me.
“I know you want to resign, but before that’s completed, this is still your job. Take good care of Alpha Sterling today, and I’ll approve your resignation application when I get back, okay?”
I was stuck. If they didn’t approve my resignation, I wouldn’t qualify for continued benefits. And… I needed those until I died.
I didn’t appreciate the almost threatening nature of Tara’s words, but if doing this meant that she would immediately approve my resignation when she got back to the office, I’d su c k it up.
I asked Jackson’s a*sistant for all of their information, then I sat outside the private dining room, took out my phone, and booked rooms. Doing it online was much easier and quicker than going into the lobby to see the receptionist.
After I booked the hotel rooms, I slid my phone back in my purse to go use the restroom.
When I stood up, a wave of dizziness overcame me, and I almost fell to the ground.
Fortunately, a large, strong hand wrapped around my waist just in time to support me before I could fall.
“Ms. Palmer, what’s wrong?”
I leaned back against the man’s chest and relaxed for a minute or two before looking up at the person helping me. At first, the dizziness made it difficult to focus, but then his face came into view.
I quickly shoved Jackson away “I’m fine. It’s just low blood sugar.”
Jackson frowned slightly when he saw my pale face, his eyes narrowing a bit as he a*sessed me.
“Are you sick k?” he asked.
“No.” I shook my head and Jackson looked as though he was going to take a step forward, so I took a step back to maintain the distance between us, and He stopped, gave a terse nod, then turned and walked away.
I wanted to get to the bathroom, but I was even more dizzy now.
I could only hold on to the door frame and sit down again.