Chapter 65
Gemma
I couldn’t have heard that right.
Did I just hear that right?
Did Cassian just announce that I’m his wife to these high–ranking members of the pack?
Suddenly, they all look at me with respect and deference.
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I’m so used to being invisible, I don’t know what to do. I take an involuntary step back.
“Cassian…” I say.
I’m so confused why he’s suddenly done this. Why, when he knows our relationship is going to end in a year, would he do
this?
He comes over to me and takes my hand. Still addressing the rest of the room, he says, “Gemma and I have been married for years. I’ve kept it from everyone because you all know what kind of danger my wife will be in.”
He makes eye contact with every single one of them as he says, “For now, I want to keep it in the pack. I know word will get out, but it’s past time people knew.”
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My lungs feel tight and I’m having trouble breathing.
Reyna looks livid. I’ve never seen her so angry that she can’t hide it before, but now…
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Then Cassian looks at her, and the rage on her face fades down to a tiny spark in her eyes that I don’t think anyone can see but
- me.
“Reyna, don’t you think my wife is brilliant?” Cassian says quietly.
Holy shit. He’s standing up for me? In front of people from the pack?
I’m feeling so many emotions so intensely I might pass out.
“Yes, Alpha,” Reyna says with a little laugh “I was joking before. Of course, I think Gemma is brilliant. She’s my sister, after all.”
The engineers all go a little quiet. I hear a few more whispers.
“Wait, they’re sisters?”
“They don’t look alike at all. Maybe the shape of their faces, though?”
“She’s the sister of the Alpha’s wife…and she let us all think she was his girlfriend?! That’s messed up!”
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Reyna clears her throat loudly. “All right, all right, let’s get back to work everyone!” she says with false brightness.
But I can still see that anger in her eyes. It scares me a little.
Reyna’s mother poisoned my mom with silver years ago and drove her insane. Reyna was in on it.
Now that her plans with Cassian have been ruined…what might she do to me?
I swallow and pull away from Cassian. “Dear,” I say through gritted teeth, “I think we need to talk about this later.”
“You’ve got it, darling,” he says, giving me a wicked grin. “Later. At home.”
I glare daggers at him. Like hell am I going back to that house just because he finally decided to tell people that we’re married.
I scrunch my face up into a fake smile and pull away. I go out into the hall and down the stairs.
“Gemma!” someone calls behind me.
I turn and see the pack Beta, Liam, coming down the stairs after
- me.
Still flustered by Cassian’s announcement, I push my hair
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behind my car and say, “Yes?”
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“Hey,” he says, slowly coming to a stop a couple of steps above me. “That was a good catch in there. I don’t know why Cassian has been hiding you away all this time.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling my cheeks heat. “It’s just about how you look at it.”
It’s weird how he’s looking at me, and it’s a little creepy. “I’ve got to go,” I say.
“Don’t let what they said about Reyna get to you,” he says suddenly. “She and Cassian are just old friends.
He nods. I hope he’ll go back into the meeting room, but I can feel his eyes on me all the way down the stairs, until the warehouse shelves block me from view.
Reyna
I see red. My wolf Meadow snarls inside me.
How dare that little bitch! RIP HER APART!
I can’t, I snap back at her. Not in front of everyone. Not in front of Cassian. Damn her! Me coming back is supposed to break them apart, but it’s like they’re getting closer.
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You were arrogant, Meadow says. I told you a man as proud as the Alpha wouldn’t throw himself at your feet.
I shove her down. I don’t need this right now.
Rhett Whitaker comes up to me. He’s another of the senior members of the Smokewind Pack. Another friend who went to
college with me, like Cassian and Liam.
Rhett is tall and lean with short brown hair, golden brown eyes, and a smile that makes most women swoon.
He’s got nothing on Cassian, though.
“I can’t believe he did that,” Rhett says. “He’s been keeping that low–life’s daughter a secret for three years. What the hell is going on with him that he would tell the world about her now?”
“That low–life is my father, too,” I snap at him. “Or did you forget? She’s my half–sister.”
I look away, making sure that I look sad and broken. “I don’t know why Cassian would choose her like that. She’s never done anything for him.”
Rhett’s cheeks turn a little red. Then he says, “I didn’t mean that about your dad. Besides, even if she is your sister, she doesn’t deserve attention. Not like you do.”
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“Thank you, Rhett,” I say quietly as I put a hand on his arm.
He looks down at my hand and the red in his checks deepens. Then he says, “So, what are you going to do about her?”
I look at the schematics on the table and an evil smile crosses my
face. “Oh…I have a few ideas.”
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