Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 94

**Nora POV

During my shift at Dave’s, the healer, Rita, stopped in to pick up some groceries. She was pleasant and friendly toward me and didn’t mention anything about the visions her sister had been having or how they might relate to me. It was as if our first meeting hadn’t even happened.

Despite the fact that she didn’t bring it up, just seeing her made my mind wander. I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the possible meanings of the visions. I tried to put it out of my thoughts. It was useless to speculate about it. I didn’t even know the details of the visions, so there was no way I could guess their meaning.

I didn’t want to know, either. My life was complicated enough right now.

I did my best to focus on other

things throughout the day, and by the time my shift was over, the thoughts were just a nagging feeling at the back of my mind. The store had been slow for the last few hours, so I was able to finish my closing work and head home a bit early.

I was hoping to spend some time with Blake tonight. We were both making an effort to spend more time together. We both felt better when we did. The stress and anxiety that were weighing on us didn’t seem so hard to manage when we were together.

The small gestures of affection did more to make me feel loved than any expensive gift ever could. When Blake had arrived to walk me home yesterday, I had been more excited than I could remember feeling in a long time.

Just thinking about it made me smile.

I passed through the gate and

started walking up the path.

I was surprised to see Blake coming out of the front door as I approached. It was late and he was usually finishing up in his office at this time of day.

It didn’t look like he was just coming out to greet me. He was wearing his jacket. I frowned in confusion as he saw me and his step faltered.

“You’re home early,”hecommented. He looked less than excited to see me, which just furthered my confusion.

“And you’re going somewhere?”Iasked in confusion.

Blake normally kept me informed when he had business that would take him away from home for more than a few hours. I wondered if something had happened or if there was some emergency that he had to go deal with. I could feel anxiety starting to bubble up within me.

“I am,”he confirmed. Heapproached me, but stopped just out of my reach.“I’ll only be gone for a few hours.”

“Is something wrong?”I asked.Something had to be, why else would he be rushing out so late?

An expression that looked a lot like guilt flitted over his features.“No, nothing is wrong. I just have to see to an issue at the border.”

I looked around. There was no sign of an escort or guards. I didn’t even see a car waiting for him. “Are you going alone?”

He nodded.“It won’t take long,”he assured me.

I frowned.“Can’t it wait?”I asked. “The sun will be setting soon. Is itreally a good idea for you to be out alone after dark when we’re on high alert for an attack?”

“It’s fine,”he insisted.“Now, I haveto go. I’ll see you when I get home.”

He stooped to k*ss my forehead quickly, then walked away before I could say more. My heart dropped. I had been looking forward to spending some time with him tonight, but it seemed like that wasn’t an option.

I watched him walk away. I was confused and disappointed, but I told myself that it wasn’t anything serious. Blake had responsibilities that came before anything else. If he said it was no big deal, I saw no reason that I shouldn’t trust him.

I went inside and made my way upstairs. I wanted to take a shower and change before dinner. I wasn’t thrilled to be having another meal alone, but it couldn’t be helped. As I neared our room, I saw that Blake had left his office door open.

I stopped to close it and realized that the lamp was still on. It was unlike him to be so careless. I went inside to shut off the lamp. Maybe something more was bothering him. It seemed like he left in a

hurry.

I reached for the lamp and my foot caught the side of the trash can. It fell over with a loud clang and the contents scattered on the carpet.

I cursed under my breath and righted the trash can. I bent to pick up the small number of papers that had fallen out. As I did, one of them caught my eye.

I didn’t mean to snoop, but I saw my name on the page. I held the wrinkled paper up and glanced over the words.

My heart dropped into my stomach. It was a letter from the high council. They didn’t think that I was fit to be the Luna because I don’t have a wolf. They were demanding that I complete the ritual and get my wolf back. If I didn’t…

I crumpled the page and threw it into the garbage. Was this why Blake had left? Was he going to talk to the council about this? Why

wouldn’t he tell me?

Was he embarrassed by me, or was he trying to protect me?

I sat in the desk chair and ran my fingers through my hair. Every time I thought things were getting better, something like this happened.

There was always going to be someone who thought that I didn’t deserve what I have. That was the whole reason that Helen had put me through hell and tried to kill me. She felt that she should have what I did. Some people were so focused on what others had, that they ruined their own lives with their envy.

I knew that there were always going to be people that thought I wasn’t good enough for Blake. I could accept that. It sucked, but I could accept it.

What I wouldn’t accept was that anyone thought they had the right to tear us apart. No one was going

to take Blake from me, not even the high council. I would do whatever I had to do to convince them to accept me. If I couldn’t convince them…

Well, I’m sure that Blake and I could come up with a solution. We’d faced far tougher problems than them.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself. If Blake didn’t think this was important enough to tell me about this, then there’s no reason that I should worry about it.

The sick feeling in my stomach didn’t fade, but I forced myself to ignore it.

I stood up and started to clean up the rest of the trash. I would just clean this up, shower, and have dinner. Blake would probably be back before I fell asleep, but even if he wasn’t, I would see him in the morning.

I grabbed the last piece of paper from the floor.

The rest of the letters had been a few pages long, but this was a single page and it was handwritten. I glanced at the bottom of the page and my blood froze when I saw the signature.

I read the note twice before it really sunk in.

I tossed the paper in the trash, then shut off the lamp and left the room. I firmly closed the door behind me and calmly walked to my bedroom.

Once that door was closed, I burst into tears. Jealousy and a feeling of betrayal were warring for dominance in my mind.

No wonder Blake didn’t tell me where he was going. He had snuck off to meet with Margot.

I covered my mouth in an attempt to stifle the sobs that were forcing their way out. I didn’t want any of the staff to hear me.

I sat on the edge of our bed and hugged a pillow tightly to my chest.

I took slow, deep breaths until I could get myself under control.

I was overreacting. I had to be. Blake wouldn’t cheat on me. I kept repeating these words to myself. There had to be an explanation for this. There had to be. Right?