Page 128 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

But just in case there was someone out there watching out for me and guiding me, I wanted them to know I was grateful they’d led me back to my parents.

CHAPTER 44

WESLEY

I was wrong. I was so, so wrong. Never in my life had I been so wrong about something.

I thought for sure we would wrap everything up and wash our hands of this whole situation with Amber Forest by Sunday. But Sunday came and went. And then Monday. And then Haven’s birthday. And then Wednesday.

Almost a week. Almost a whole fucking week had gone by, and we were no closer to having all the evidence we needed than we had been before I pretended to agree to this stupid union.

Tim was drawing it out, demanding proof of our sincerity, asking us for things he had no right to ask of us before he’d give us the access we needed. But we had to play along, had to agree, and keep up our facade.

And that’s how I ended up agreeing to a small, private mating ceremony with Nicole that was scheduled for late Friday evening. I wouldn’t actually go through with it, of course, but it was the only way he would give us the account information for the merger.

And despite that, what he gave us had missing details. We just had to hope it would incriminate him enough—that the missing info would be enough to force the council to pull his title and dig more. We were still waiting to hear from them.

The ceremony would just be us, our parents, and one witness each. He didn’t care if his daughter’s mating ceremony was extravagant, as long as her luna ceremony was.

After I’d agreed to that stupid request, I’d shoved my phone into the bottom of my dresser. I couldn’t bear to see text after text and call after call from Haven come through and not answer.

It killed me and my lycan to ignore her, but it wasn’t worth the risk it would bring to her safety for me to answer. Or sneak out to see her.

I’d drunk myself into a stupor the night of her birthday, sitting in my dining room with Seb, Nolan, and Reid to make sure I didn’t leave to go find out if we were mates. I’d wanted to—I’d wanted it more than anything.

But I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold myself or my lycan back if she was my mate. So I stayed locked in my house, pretending I was the epitome of a playboy who just used her.

I didn’t even want to think about how she must feel. It had to be worse than how I felt. She probably felt used and abandoned. And it was all my fault, just like when I lost her the first time.

A knock on my front door brought me out of my spiral, and I answered it, surprised to find Nicole and Benjamin on my front porch.

“What?” I snarled, annoyed at their faces.

Even though it wasn’t their fault their dad was being a right pain in my ass, they were still a reminder of how, once again, I had fucked up and failed Haven.

“We come in peace,” Ben said, lifting his hands in surrender, a thick envelope held in one.

“What’s that?” I grunted, gesturing at it as I stepped back to let them in.

“It’s what you need,” he said, passing in front of me and walking to my dining room table.

“And what is it that you think I need?” I asked as I closed the door.

“Evidence?” Ben said with a small laugh, sitting down.

“All of it,” Nicole added as she sat next to him.

“How’d you get it?” I asked as I sat down across from them.

“I’ve had it. My dad is too cocky sometimes. He left it sitting out on his desk. I made photocopies of it. I’ve just been waiting for a chance to get it to you,” Ben replied.

“What does your dad think you’re doing here, then?”

“Nicole said she wanted to spend some time with you. Before she leaves for her ‘bachelorette’ tonight.”

“He thinks we’re fucking,” she said bluntly.

My lycan growled in my head, and I let one spill out of my mouth, too, not bothering to hide it from either of them.

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