Page 1 of Betrayed By the Wolf

Chapter 1 - Vera

Thirty-five years old and sleeping on someone else’s couch. Vera had officially hit rock bottom. Her back creaked in protest when she sat up, shaking her tangle of chin-length hair from her eyes. It was her third night crashing at Evelyn’s place. The living room was still unfamiliar to her in those early morning hours, corners filled with strange shifting shadows and mysterious clunking noises.

Suffice it to say, she hadn’t been sleeping well. And there was no reason for her to be awake then at the crack of dawn, when the sun wasn’t even properly up yet. Not anymore. Not since she’d quit her job as a veterinarian and kissed her career goodbye.Over a guy. Seriously?

Not just any guy. Her mate. They hadn’t even lasted a full year together before he’d dumped her and she’d joined the sad small ranks of the rejected mates. She wondered if there was a support group for them.

If karma was real, this must be hers, smacking her in the face. All that time she’d spent lecturing her sister Moira on responsibility, on the importance of a stable, reputable job, and here she was, couch surfing and browsing the classifieds for work. In truth, it wasn’t just about a guy. Her unceremonious dumping by a man she’d fallen for had just been the final nail in the coffin, something she could pin all of her troubles on.

Vera kicked off the pile of blankets, a necessity in Evelyn’s old, drafty house, and shuffled to the kitchen. She’d brought her coffee machine from home, pushing Evelyn’s sad little coffee pot to the depths of the pantry where it belonged, and had it bubbling away, filling the house with the sweet aroma of espresso in moments.

She sat down at the wobbly kitchen table and spread the latest paper out in front of her, scanning the ads. Plumber. Not a chance; she could barely wield a plunger. Carpenter. Did experience using a bone saw count? Probably not.

Like so many others Vera had gone to school with, she’d known she’d wanted to be a vet at an early age, almost as early as she could remember. There had been no other option for her, and she’d worked hard to get into school, taking shifts at the local offices whenever she could before finally graduating and finding her own place.

But the work was grueling. Long hours with customers who couldn’t or wouldn’t pay, debt that nearly rivaled the amount accrued at med school, and daily tragedy. She was burnt out. Crying on the way to and from work, and sometimes at work. Leaving had been an impulsive act of desperation and she still wasn’t sure it was the right choice.

“God, you wake upsoearly.” Evelyn stumbled into the kitchen wrapped in a thick fleece robe that matched her bunny-eared slippers. “If I didn’t have work to do, I would sleep all day. Seriously. All day.”

Vera jumped up to pour Evelyn a coffee and top up her own mug. “I wish I could, but it would really count into the hours I’ve set aside for self-flagellation.”

Evelyn snorted, pulling up a chair beside Vera’s. “Anything looking good today?” She nodded at the paper lying across the table.

“I’m not sure. How do you think I’d do as a clown at birthday parties?” Vera deadpanned.

Tilting her head to the side, Evelyn considered Vera. “It’s kind of hard to imagine you working with kids, actually. You don't really give off that vibe.”

It was a fair assessment, but the words stung. So she wasn’t a bubbly person, the kind you could imagine leading a group of kindergarteners on a field trip. Did that mean she wasn’t good with kids? Did she even care if she was good with kids or not?

Vera tried to cover the awkward silence with a laugh. “No, I suppose I don’t. That’s more Moira’s thing. She played with dolls and kitchens, and I played with doctor kits.”

And so what if Vera had missed her chance at ever having children. There was more to life than babies and settling down, so much more. So why did she feel like she’d taken a wrong turn at some crossroads?

The sun was up and shining now, melting the last of winter’s snow into puddles on the lawn. Spring was around the corner, the promise of it ringing in the birdsong, in the tentative white flowers poking their heads out of the soil. New beginnings. Maybe it was time for hers, too.

“Have you talked to Moira at all?” Evelyn prodded, looking carefully out of the window rather than at Vera.

It was the first time Evelyn had asked that question, even though it must have been the first one on her mind when Vera called her, looking for a place to stay. Any normal person would have gone to their sister first. But showing up on her little sister’s doorstep with her bags and her story of heartbreak had been too pathetic to consider. Talk about swallowing pride. She would’ve been choking on it.

“I don’t want to burden her right now,” Vera said briskly, folding up the paper. “She’s got the baby and a new mate. But I promise I’m looking for a new place to stay. I won’t be here for much longer.”

Her perfect home in Rosewood had sold quickly, before she could regret her decision to list it, leaving her with a sizable lump of money to purchase a new place. She’d spent too many nights there with Rami to stay. His presence lingered there, a ghost haunting her every time she closed her eyes. Plus, she’d lost the steady income her job had provided. It’d made more sense to sell the place than keep paying the mortgage until she decided what her next move was.

“There’s no rush,” Evelyn protested. “I like having the company here. It’s in the middle of nowhere, and the house is kind of spooky all alone, if I’m honest. Having a guest makes it feel a little less like a haunted house. I just think Moira should know what’s going on with you. She’s your sister, and you’re having a rough time.”

Vera straightened up, voice clipped. “Thanks, Evie, but honestly, I’m fine. I know it might not seem like it from the outside, but seriously, I’m okay. It’s exciting, even, changing my life up like this.”

The lies came out with ease. She was so used to telling them, and even more used to believing them. If she pretended this was just a new chapter, a decision she’d made to shake things up, maybe navigating through it would feel less like drowning.

Evelyn looked from Vera’s bright smile to her fingers tapping on the table. “Well, you’re a braver person than me. Look at me; I’m stuck in the house my grandparents lived in.”

Vera breathed a sigh of relief as Evelyn seemed to buy the lie. “It’s frugal. Smart. Better to stay in a cheap place than to stretch yourself with something you can barely afford.”

Was she seriously giving someone else life advice right now? Old habits die hard, even when you’ve lost all ability toback up the advice, when you’ve lost the right to hold up your own life of accomplishments and say, ‘look how I did it!”

She realized Evelyn was still talking, showing Vera something on her phone. “And there’s so many posted on here, I’m sure there will be something for you. Oh, look, this one is for a vet!”

Job postings flashed across the screen in an endless scroll, coming to a stop at the listing Evelyn mentioned.

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