Page 19 of Her Bully Alpha

As we walked, I realized I hardly even knew Sam. She spoke about her job with a passion, and I hadn't realized she'd been working for so long. She had worked hard to earn what she had, but not a lot of people could say the same. I couldn't even. My father had placed down my first few stepping stones. There was a lot about her I didn't know yet, and I should.

Sam walked a step ahead of me and shook her head. "That dinner went as I thought it would."

"Oh, did it?" I asked.

She nodded her head. "Yes, they were all bullies, just as I suspected they would be. Your mother wasn't terrible, and your cousins were okay, minus Samuel, who seems like a prick."

She wasn't wrong. I should have known how it was going to turn out. I would need to call my mother when I got home and let her know what happened.

"Sam, I'm sorry…"

"No." She turned, glaring at me. "Do not apologize for something you've done yourself! Do not apologize for being just like them."

I paused and scowled. "How am I like them?"

She threw her arms wide. "How aren't you? You treated me just like they have….like I was worth less than you."

I couldn't argue with her. I grew up always being told that werewolves were superior to humans. And it wasn't until I started my Alpha role did I realize that wasn't entirely a fair point. While we were in a lot of things, humans were still people as well. They had accomplishments and, in many ways, could surpass us.

They always weren't having a fricken breeding problem, either.

"I'm sorry," I said softer this time. "And you're right. I didn't treat you well growing up, and I should have. My family views things differently…but that's not an excuse. And I do want us to get along, Sam, believe it or not. We were forced into this, but we could at least be civil."

Her shoulders sank slightly, and she watched me. I knew she wasn't going to just take the words at face value, but she nodded. "Thank you."

She turned and continued to walk, and I followed her. I didn't know what more I could say or do to prove I had changed.

We arrived home, and I watched as Sam made her way up the stairs, taking the left and heading towards her room. I wanted to follow and somehow get her to talk to me. I wanted to fix this. But I heard the door shut and knew it wasn't happening tonight.

Chapter 8 - Sam

I glanced at the time, seeing it was just a little past three. My day had gotten away from me, and I would need to head home in a couple of hours. I didn't love this new schedule that Jay had wanted me to do, but I couldn't argue with it either.

In the past, I worked long shifts and overtime, and I didn't have the best sleeping schedule. Jay and I agreed I could come in as early as seven, but I had to be out by five or six at the latest. I could bring work home if I needed to.

We had treated a rhythm of living, and it was working well for us. We'd had to tweak it a few times after living in the house together for two weeks. I learned Jay slept in, so I was quieter in the mornings, and when I got home, Jay enjoyed cooking dinner.

The first few times I came home to it, I wondered what his schedule was like, and I realized it wasn't ridged like mine was. But there were times he had to slip out late at night for work because something urgent had come up.

I had unboxed my apartment stuff upstairs and turned the spare bedroom into a minus living room plus my office. I redid my bedroom and even had it painted because the colors before were too neutral for me. We painted everything olive green, and I hung up as many pictures as I could.

I quickly learned that Jay was a grumpy person in general. He wasn't cruel or mean, just cranky. He grunted his responses before coffee in the morning, and he had short answers in general. You could certainly tell he wasn't sunshine and rainbows.

There was a knock on the door, and I looked from the clock to the door, finding it was Joshua. He'd been seeing me less after he found out I was married, and a small part of me wondered why. Had Jay scared him a little? Or had Jay been right when he said that Joshua had liked me more than just a friend?

I shook the thoughts off. "Hey, what's up?"

He leaned against my door, crossing his arms as he did. "I was just wondering if you would be staying late tonight. I have a huge pile of paperwork that just hit my desk."

I shook my head. "I can't. I'm actually leaving in a little bit because I have a birthday party to go with Jay, too."

Joshua nodded. "Well, if you change your mind, I'll be here." He gave me another smile before he slipped back into the hall. I sighed, wondering what life would have been like if this hadn't happened. If Jay wasn't in the picture and Joshua had a crush on me,

I quickly shook my head. Now was not the time for that. It couldn't happen even if Joshua did like me. I was married now.

I finished a few papers and left. I arrived at home and headed upstairs to change. I had already picked out a long summer dress to wear to the birthday party. I was not looking forward to it, considering it was with Nessa and Kirk, who bullied me growing up alongside Jay. My stomach was in knots as I thought about it.

I let my hair fall loose from its bun, and it fell in nice waves. I quickly ran a brush through it while I slid my dress on. I grabbed my shoes and made it back out to the hallway. I was coming down the stairs and found Jay waiting. He scanned me and raised a single eyebrow. He looked a little surprised. "That's nice."

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