Chapter 39

When he was done, he looked across the table at me.

“I recognize that at this point, you have no reason to truly trust me. Tyler wa a member of my pack, and thus my responsibility. You are my ward, and I have failed you spectacularly. Whatever will make you comfortable in the days ahead will be yours. It will be done. Without question, without hesitation. I want you to focus on your personal goals: your independence, your studies, getting a better job and whatever happiness and fulfillment you wish to pursue from here on. Tyler, his sister, his father, your father, and all the rest are no longer your concerns.” He looked at Arielle. “I am certain that you will enjoy being ensconced in the Mountainow family pack. Enjoy it. As I said before, I’ll be working to transfer your guardianship to your family as soon as possible.”

I nodded, worrying my lip at the gravity in his voice. I glanced at Arielle. She turned to look at me as if she knew I was looking at her. She smiled. It was a vicious, cold thing.

“You say the word, and I'll go drag him by his entrails. To hell with all of this red tape.”

I chuckled at that. “Maybe some other time. It might be... too merciful to kill him so easily.”

Her eyes brightened. “And there's that Mountainhowl.”

She turned back to Dominic. “You have things to do, and so do we. We'll be in touch, Alpha Brightclaw.”

“Of course… Luna Mountainhowl.”

We left the office, and I climbed into Arielle’s car. She pulled away from the curb with a sigh.

“I suppose I shouldn't have said that in front of you.”

“Why not?”

“Because it's obvious how you feel about him.” She sighed again. “Older is your type. Huh?”

My face heated. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

She scoffed. “Sure. You plan on calling him daddy?”

“Arielle!”

“No kink shaming. I’m just wondering what sort of gifts I should be planning to get you.” She smirked. “For the pursuit, of course.”

I scowled, and looked out the window as she laughed. It wasn’t mocking, but gleeful and mischievous. By the time Arielle pulled her car to a stop in front of the towering building, my embarrassment had cooled a little.

"I don’t think I have to tell you that the townhouse isn’t secure for you," she told me bluntly as she threw the car into park. "It’s already been rented out to someone else, anyway. I’ve had the crew pack your things and bring them here. They should be here soon."

I blinked at her. It had only been, what? A few hours since we met? How?

Before I could even ask where here even was, she added, “One of the family properties. Your mom used to live here while she was in school.”

That made me pause.

A strange warmth flickered in my chest, warring with the nerves. Knowing that this wasn’t just some random apartment, but a place where my mom had once laughed, studied, lived... it made everything feel a little less hopeless. A little less alone.

“You’re terrifying.”

She gave out a mock gasp. “Just terrifying? I’m really losing my edge.”

I laughed and got out of the car. I trailed behind her, clutching my small bag like a lifeline. The building was gorgeous—modern but not cold, with floor-to-ceiling windows that caught the afternoon light.

"Your place is on the twenty-second floor," Arielle said as we rode the elevator up. "I’m in the penthouse, top floor. You have access to come up whenever." She flashed me a grin. "Sorry to tell you that you’re stuck with me now, cousin."

I managed a weak smile in return. Being near someone who actually wanted me around didn’t sound so bad.

When we reached her floor, she gestured to the right. "Pool’s over there if you want to relax later. I figure you don’t want to have to unpack or cook for yourself tonight?"

An icy shiver ran down my spine at the thought.

"No, thanks," I said quickly, hugging my arms around myself.

Arielle raised an eyebrow but didn’t push. She just shrugged. "Suit yourself. Dinner later, then. With grandpa. And we’ll go over some details of your security detail."

I nodded, grateful she didn’t ask questions. I wasn’t ready to explain why, just the idea of stepping into a pool made my lungs seize up. She introduced me to. A few security personnel who would be my official security. detail. What that meant exactly was that they would be around. If I noticed them, they weren't doing their jobs properly. If anything happened to me, they'd be fired. Or worse.

“They won't interfere with your day-to-day life. But your physical security will be their priority.” She smirked. “Dates, too. Parties. Work, etc. They won’t follow you to the bathroom and so on, but you’ll be able to reach them if anything happens while they’re not right there with you. You can work with them to figure out how much distance will make you most comfortable, and—” Her phone chimed. She lifted it. “Your things are here.”

“I don't know what's worse than terrifying, but you're definitely that.”

We rode the elevator back down to the twenty-second floor to meet the movers, the elevator humming softly around us. As the doors slid open, my jaw dropped. The place was huge, but it was cozy in a way that wrapped around me like a blanket. I could almost imagine my mom here, young, vibrant, and full of life. The movers streamed in with my suitcases and boxes, all of them wearing Mountainhowl-branded uniforms.

“Want help unpacking?”

“That would be great,” I said, grabbing the box marked “essentials”. “I hadn’t unpacked before.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Is this all you have?”

My face burned. “Well… yeah.”

She pursed her lips, pulling out a knife and cutting through tape. “That’ll change soon enough.”

Arielle started talking to her phone, dictating, out a list that I realized quickly had to do with me. I recognized a few stores, dates, and time,s and my heart trembled. She was going to take me shopping…

I hadn’t been taken shopping outside of special occasions since my mom was alive.

"What the hell?" Arielle hissed, opening the box she’d cut the tape off of. She pulled out a blouse that looked like it had been shredded by a wild animal.

My heart sank. “What…”

I opened my essentials box and found it a mess. Every piece of clothing was ruined. Torn seams, scorched patches, giant rips like someone had taken a knife to the fabric. The few cosmetics I had were empty, clearly dumped and thrown back into the box on top of my shattered laptop.

"No, no, no, no," I whispered, pulling it out as carefully as I could. Eyes burning with tears.

I couldn’t even tell where the power button was, my lotions and things had seeped in through the keys. It was ruined, and the cord had been shredded. Arielle’s expression hardened. Without hesitation, she whipped out her phone she told her phone to call the Brightclaw police, rattling off the situation in sharp, clear words.

When she got off the phone, she turned to me. “The concierge will bring them up to go through it all. They’ll need to take it all for evidence, anyway. Come on. We’re going back to my place.

I hung my head, but I took the chance to open my suitcases, searching for a bit of confirmation. The dresses from the Confirmation Ceremony were all ruined, but the red one was missing.

This was Vivian’s doing.

“I'll ask what that expression was about later. For now, it's time to get ready.” Arielle tugged me along. “It’s a bit of a drive to the restaurant, so we should get a move on.” She turned to me with a smile that was somehow both wicked and warm. "I think I have something that’ll look amazing on you."

Still dazed, I let her drag me upstairs. Arielle rummaged through a rack of clothes and pulled out a stunning red jumpsuit, the kind of thing I never would have picked for myself from how form-fitting it was.

"This color will look insane on you," she said confidently, pressing it into my hands.

It was beautiful. Soft but structured, the kind of red that made your heart stutter for a second. I held it up against myself, feeling self-conscious.

“I don’t know about this.”

“I’d never steer you wrong. Shower, there are toiletries in the second bathroom. Use what smells nice to you.”

Her kindness hit me harder than I expected. I thought about Vivian, how she used to belittle me in subtle ways, suggesting duller colors, advising me to "blend in" so I wouldn’t embarrass myself. I thought she was looking out for me, but she had just been tearing me down. Arielle did my makeup and hair with a thoughtful look on her face.

“That’s a good scent on you. Calendar, add Perfume Apothecary to the Princess.”

I pouted. “Is that really what you’re calling my list?”

“Everyone has a tag on my calendar.” She smiled. “I promise princess is the nicest one.”

When we finally headed to the restaurant, I was nervous about meeting our grandfather. I wasn’t expecting to be ushered into the private dining room, but as we entered I tried to smile.

But it wasn’t our grandfather waiting for us.

It was Dominic.