Page 2 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
Caidyn shook his head, licking his lips and trying to get a word in, but I just repointed at the door emphatically and kept telling him to get out. He grew angrier, almost like he wanted more of a reaction, but I wasn’t giving it to him.
Cheating assholes get nothing from me. Not now, not ever.
“Fine.” He pulled out his keyring, all but ripping the bundle apart in his haste to get my key off it.
Slapping it into my palm, he pulled the door open with a glare and left. I stared at the door for too long. I needed to get moving. What was I waiting for? Him to come back through, announce it was all a joke, and say we were fine? Ha. Wasn’t going to happen. Not with Caidyn.
“What the eff was that?” I moaned to the suddenly very empty apartment. Sagging forward, I banged my forehead off the door in frustration. “I found someone else. Seriously? Who does that?”
After a few morose moments of self-pity and the like, I took a deep breath. No way was I going to let that asshole ruin my entire day. Work could do that well enough. It didn’t need help. I was going to put Caidyn on the back burner. Maybe even just toss him in the trash.
I think I surprised myself with the lack of instant depression and tears that followed the sudden dumping/cheating confession. After all, that’s what a girl is supposed to do. Isn’t it? So why was I more upset about the time I’d wasted on him than anything else?
Probably shock. Give it time, Syl. It’ll come for you when you least expect it.
Maybe.
The truth was, my instinct had been giving me subtle warning signs for months now. In the past, I had always trusted it. That tightening sensation in my stomach or the more intense prickling of claws that would make their way up and down my spine if something really bad was about to happen. It had never led me astray. I had learned to trust it implicitly, far more thananyone else I knew. To me “trust your gut” was not just a saying. It was a very literal way of life, and it never failed me, as long as I listened to it
And the current lack of impending doom emanating from it was a clear sign that I was going to be okay. Things would be okay.
If I got to work on time, that is.
Hurrying to put my shoes on, I checked my watch. I still had time to make the next subway.
If nothing else …
The ancient buzzer next to the door lit up at the same time the sleep-destroying blare filled the apartment.
Furious that he was back whining already, I stabbed my index finger down on the button hard enough to cause the brittle plastic to groan in protest. “What do you want? I told you to go away!”
A momentary silence followed.
“Uh, ma’am? Is this a Miss Sylvie Wilson? Sylvie Anne Wilson?” a young sheepish voice replied.
“Yes, yes, it’s me,” I said hurriedly. “I’m sorry. I thought you were my ex that I just tossed out.”
The buzzer let out a heavily distorted snort. “That makes perfect sense. Sorry to hear about that, but no, I have a letter for you.”
I stared at the intercom. “A letter? Via courier?”
“I just deliver, ma’am.”
“Right, right, of course. I’m on my way down.”
Finishing up inside, I grabbed the elevator, both grateful and curious about this newfound distraction.
A young man who could barely sport facial hair waited in a bright blue-green skintight outfit, his expensive road bike propped up next to him. He tapped one foot on the ground impatiently until he saw me walking toward him, at which point he stood up straight.
“You weren’t joking,” I said as he handed me an envelope.
“They don’t pay me anywhere near enough for that,” he said with a light smile. “Sign here.”
I did, and he departed, hurrying off down the street to his next delivery. Judging by the gray skies above, I couldn’t blame him. His day was about to get a whole lot worse.
Flipping the letter over, my curiosity grew even stronger. The curved, flowy handwriting of my name and address could only be one person. A return address in the top left confirmed it.
“What are you up to now, Grandma?” I pondered, tapping the letter against my other hand as I walked briskly down the sidewalk and headed for the nearest subway stop. I had missed the first train, but taking the next one still got me into the office on time, provided I didn’t stop for coffee. Just another great start to the day.
