Page 5 of Alpha Wolf's Arranged Bride
“This is lovely work, Scarlett,” someone says. “How much is it?”
I look up to see Genevieve, and for a moment, my heart lifts. Then I notice her set mouth and hard glare.
Of course she likes the dress. It matches her eyes.
“Two hundred,” I answer.
She scowls at me as if I just insulted her mother, brother, and extended family, as well as her pride.
“Don’t be ridiculous. The fabric isn’t that expensive.”
“The thread is.”
“So, I’m paying hundreds of dollars for thread?”
“I worked on this for hours, Gen. The work is incredibly delicate—”
“Don’t get familiar with me,” she snaps. “You may call me Genevieve, even if it is slightly inappropriate. Otherwise, you refer to me as Elder Larson.”
I stare at her, feeling the chasm of pain open up in my chest again. I remember when those bright blue eyes were full of laughter and affection, and we trusted each other with every secret.
“What happened, Gen?” I mutter softly.
She shakes her head and leans over the table to whisper at me. “You know what happened. You got pregnant outside of the mate bond. It might have been accepted if it were a pack member of some standing—but you got pregnant by a faithless drifter!”
I shake my head a little, tears running down my cheeks. It was bad enough to give myself to James only to find out he’d abandoned me, and worse to find out I was carrying his child. But what had truly devastated me was losing all my friends over it.
I never outright said it was James, but my closest friends assumed it was. The rest of the town didn’t really care who the deadbeat dad was. The only thing that mattered to them was that I’d gotten pregnant from a one-night stand.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way! I thought he loved me.
“Do you want the dress or not?” I ask, a hard tone in my voice as I wipe the tears from my cheeks.
Gen glares at me. “Seventy-five. I won’t pay a cent more.”
“Fine,” I mutter, wrapping the gown in tissue paper before putting it gently into a paper bag. Gen puts the cash down on the counter as if she’d rather not touch me.
“Don’t forget, you’re booked to clean the council chambers tomorrow,” Gen says as she picks up her bag. “We did you a real favor giving you this job, and it pays well, so don’t screw up.”
“No problem,” I say, knowing damn well that no other cleaner in town would take the job because it would mean working for Gen.
Ever since her dad died and she became an elder, she’s been insufferable. Maybe we wouldn’t have stayed friends, even if I didn’t end up becoming the town joke.
“Don’t be late,” she snaps as she walks away.
I want to snap back, but I just nod.
I can’t fuck up; I need the money too badly.
Even though no one can deny the quality of my clothes, and my work is still in demand, no one pays fairly for it anymore. I used to make an excellent living from it, but now I can barely make ends meet, even with the extra cleaning jobs I’ve been doing on the side.
The market seems to be winding down, and I know I’ve probably outstayed my welcome for the day, anyway, so I pack up and get ready to pick up my son from school.
It’s hard to believe he’s five years old. Sometimes that night with James seems like it was only yesterday…
As my fingers linger over the soft, silky fabric of my wares, I slip into memories of that night, so intense that they take my breath away. I can almost feel his firm touch, taste his lips, and see the shadows glancing off his body as he moves above me.
James… why?
