Chapter 268 ()

After I ran upstairs to bring my presents, we headed out. We had decided to drive there together, but when we walked out of the building to get to Wendy’s van that her mom lent us, there was a limo waiting.

Everyone furrowed their brows until Brandon seemed to kick in. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise for your birthday.” He smirked as he opened the door, but I had a feeling he was lying.

Toya looked at me, and I just nodded. She gave her thanks and slid in. Sterling made his way out of the door while everyone was sliding in with their dresses. “You know the pup didn’t pay for this limo,” he leaned in to whisper. I chortled as I gave a tiny nod.

“Was it?” I trailed off with my question, tilting my head to look over my shoulder. Sterling swallowed and then gave a single nod. “I figured. He’s going to announce something today, isn’t he?” Another single nod, but I could see the pain in his eyes. I turned fully. “Hey, none of that.”

“I just know—” He started, but I smacked my hand over his mouth.

“I need my reaction to be genuine. But I need you to know, no matter what happens today… you have become my family, and that isn’t going to change.”

I saw relief in his eyes. “You don’t deserve this, Amy. I’m sorry.” He hugged me again, and this time it was tight. He was worried about me. “Stay strong. They want you to break. Don’t let them actually do it.” His whisper was super low, and I heard a step behind me.

“I have to let them think they succeeded, or else it won’t work.” I pulled back with a broad smile and a wink. I raised my voice a little. “Thank you for always helping me when I needed it, and protecting all of us here. I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you, too.” He smiled as he stepped away, then he went back into the building.

I turned back just as Brandon reached me. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” I turned. “Yeah, just saying goodbye.” I headed back to the limo that I knew Rowan sent to make me feel a tiny bit good about the day, knowing he was going to ruin it.

I looked at Toya, her eyes held a knowing look, and her face was tight. She knew something was going to happen. Her eyes flicked to Brandon and then to me, and I shook my head. This wasn’t him. Her face grew even more serious. She knew what that meant, too. I saw a lot of understanding bloom on everyone’s face. They all caught the head shake.

Now everyone knew Brandon was lying, and this limo was bought by Rowan, the man who had disappeared from my life but had a pattern: anytime he was going to announce something or do something that would hurt me.

He sent flowers when he was reopening the mate search. It was on hold while he went through the council. It took a year, but about six months ago, the flowers showed up on my doorstep with a note. ‘I’m sorry.’ Was all it said.

Then again, about four months ago, he sent a gaming console. Another note, another apology. And then our news started broadcasting his dates with these women. I was conveniently excluded, or should I say I wasn’t selected to be one of the lucky women that he was going to publicly date. I will say, that console got a lot of playtime, as the dates interrupted all human broadcasts. So I sent a quick thank you email.

But other than that, it’s been radio silence. I haven’t seen him since the night of my heat, which was honestly for the best. We decided when we woke up to focus on ourselves and our pack. I looked around at my friends and smiled. We wouldn’t have made it this far if I had stayed focused on Rowan. He did all of us a favour.

I settled back into my seat, and we were off. I could feel the excitement in the air, a little cooler from my friends, but Brandon was on the edge of his seat. Everyone was watching him, and I could see it settle in all our chests at the same time. Hanna slid a card into my hand, and I looked at her.

Her eyes darted to Brandon and then back to me. Not here. Not now. But this was something I would have to read. I gave a tiny nod and slid it into my bag just as the car slid to a stop. We were at the main building.

Brandon was the first to get out, and then we all followed. We stepped out onto a red carpet, complete with the news. As soon as I stepped onto the carpet, a microphone was thrust into my face. “Amy, how do you feel about your father being branded as a traitor?”

Chapter 269