Page 31 of Destined Bear
“I wantmyhouse,” she growls. “Withmythings. This isn’t how I want to live!”
“Mom. This is just temporary?—”
She cuts me off mid-sentence. “I don’t even want to look at you right now. Why don’t you go be with Emeric, since that’s the real reason you moved me in here?”
My mouth falls open. She can’t genuinely believe that! “It is not!”
She closes her eyes. “I’m going to sleep. I don’t want to see you when I wake up.” She’s quiet for a moment, and I think she’s sleeping, but then she yells for her nurse. “Millie!”
Millie enters with her usual mousiness, averting her eyes from my stare. “Get me some water and make sure Vivienne leaves when I sleep. Don’t let her back in here, either.”
A grimace falls over Millie’s face at the request.
“No, Mom, I’m not going anywhere!”
“Then I won’t rest while you’re here!”
Oh, her stubbornness is driving me bonkers.
“She won’t be alone,” Millie mumbles, nodding toward the maid by the door. “Emeric made sure there’s staff here around the clock to ensure your mom has everything she needs.”
There’s no sense in continuing this battle. It’s only making Mom’s health worse. At least there will be eyes on Millie, even if they aren’t mine.
“I’m going, Mom.”
I don’t want to be the cause of any more of her stress, even though I’m sure she’s worried about the wrong person.
Giving Millie a wary look, I head out of the suite, sidestepping boxes and suitcases. As I enter the hallway, I hear two staff members talking, their voices echoing down the hallway.
“…pathetic, if you ask me. She already turned him down once. What is she doing back here? The poor Alpha. He deserves better than her.”
“She’s using the Alpha. She should have just stayed away. No one missed her here, no matter what the council says. Circe, yes. Vivienne, definitely not.”
I round the corner, and they pale to see me standing in front of them. “Oh, Miss Vivienne. Is there something you need?”
Humiliation stains my cheeks, but I don’t respond, my head lowering as I make my way toward Emeric’s office. As much as the words hurt me, I don’t blame them for feeling that way. If the roles were reversed, I’m not sure I’d feel any different.
But how can I stop the pack from feeling this way without putting my mom at risk? She’s the more important issue here. I shouldn’t care what the staff are saying, but I also know that if they’re saying it, others probably will be, too. This will snowball until everyone in the pack considers me public enemy number one.
I knock on the office door.
“Come in.”
Emeric sits behind his desk, his neck craned forward to peer at the screen in front of him intently. His eyes flick toward me. “What’s going on?”
“She threw me out of the suite.”
He clucks sympathetically and sits back as I amble toward him uncertainly. Coming here was another bad choice, but I don’t turn around and leave.
“She’ll eventually come around.” He sounds so confident, as if he’s never met Circe before and doesn’t know exactly how stubborn she is. “And we’ll have you home in no time.”
“Maybe I should go to the house on my own. I’ll leave her here with you… and Millie.” I almost choke on the last part.
“What?” He’s on his feet, meeting me in the center of the room. “Why would you do that?”
I shrug and scuff the carpet with my toe. “I…”
I don’t want to tell him what I overheard. He will undoubtedly fire the staff members, even if I tell him not to. “I don’t think this looks good, me moving in here with you.”
