Page 6 of The Alpha Wolf's Bullied Bride

I hesitate to reply, only because I’m unable to sniff out her motives behind that question. Since when does Cynthia care about my schedule?

“Um…yeah,” I offer with a shrug, lifting the basket a little higher in a gesture toward it. “I was just about to hang the towels before heading to the kitchen.”

“Oh, goodie!” Cynthia claps her hands together, startling me with how excited she’s suddenly become, her eyes lit up withanticipation. “I was hoping you’d help me with tonight’s soup. You know…like old times.”

Another moment of hesitation passes as I gauge her face, my eyes flitting to her hands and finding them empty. There’s nothing she can use as a weapon against me, and even the brutality of her usually venomous tongue isn’t being wielded right now.

What’s going on?

“Sure,” I offer with a shrug.

“See you then, Lila,” she purrs, waving her dainty fingers through the air as she takes the steps leading to the back entrance of the pack center with Gloria following close behind.

I gaze out at the yard behind the center, frowning to myself as I strain my ears toward the sound of the two she-wolves entering the building. Despite my suspicions, I don’t hear a single giggle or voiced jab.

I allow another shiver to run down my spine before descending the rest of the wooden stairs and making my way down the stone path toward the rails. I set the basket down before picking up a damp towel that’s fresh out of the washing machine, then flap it through the air to straighten it out.

“Lila!” Valerie calls out from ahead. I giggle as I pull the hanging towel back to reveal her beaming smile as she skips toward me. She immediately wraps me into a hug as I swiftly pull her behind the curtain of the towel.

“Don’t let Dorothy see you out here,” I warn with a giggle as I pick up another towel from the basket. “She’ll just chase you away, and I need to speak to you.”

“That old hag can stop fussing,” Valerie chides as she rolls her eyes. “We’re not kids anymore.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been doing my best to stay out of trouble, and it’s working. Cynthia’s actually being nice to me.”

Valerie spins me to face her with a hand on my shoulder. “What?!” she exclaims, the color from her face visibly seeping away. “Is that what you wanted to talk about? That Cynthia is…nice?”

“Don’t be so shocked, Val,” I dismiss with a shrug. “I passed her just now, and she complimented my hair.”

Valerie huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and turning narrowed eyes on the building ahead as if she can see right through the bricks. “She noticed your haircut?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And she didn’t make a dig at you?”

“Nuh-uh.”

Valerie unfolds her arms and turns to me, worry knotting her brows. “She’s up to something, Lila.”

“What if she’s not?” I offer, taking out the last towel and hanging it on the line.

“You see, that’s where you’re wrong. People like Cynthia Warren don’t change,” Valerie grumbles.

I sigh as I lift the empty basket from the ground as it signals the end of my short rendezvous with my best friend. It’s only because Dorothy, the she-wolf in charge of the pack’s duty center, won’t allow Valerie and me to have the same schedules. We both know that it’s because Cynthia and her crew probably interfered—they needed me to be all alone, vulnerable, and weak against their attacks.

Except, I’m not weak anymore. I’ve learned to take their gruesome words in one ear and let them wander off through the other without allowing it to affect me.

The hard armor I wear now is all thanks to Flynn, how he’d humiliated me in front of those she-wolves with his rejection made me realize that I was on my own. Left to face the residual torment of his brutal rejection, I became numb to the rest.

Maybe that’s why they’re being nice to me. They know that what they say doesn’t bother me anymore.

I place a reassuring hand on Valerie’s shoulder and smile. “‘I'd like to believe that change is possible for everyone.”

She doesn’t seem convinced, shaking her head reproachfully. “Youhave changed, Lila. That doesn’t mean it’s possible for everyone.”

“Why not?” I frown.

“Because…” she sighs. “You’re different.”

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