Filed to story: Sorry Alpha... I'm a Lycan Princess Now (Amber & Julian) Book PDF Free
As Noah flopped down on his chair, Anna looked at me. “You’ve been getting a lot of baskets and flowers.” Her eyes flicked around the room. Nearly every available surface had been covered in one or the other, and that didn’t account for the ones I’d already stuffed into the closet.
“Since that engagement announcement, I’ve heard nothing but congratulations and well wishes,” I said. “In other circumstances, I might not have minded so much. But with this as they are…’
“The engagement is fake,” Anna said. “That makes it awkward.”
“Beyond awkward,” I replied. “I’m mortified about the whole thing. But I have no idea how to set the record straight without undermining Roman as the Alpha of his own pack, or making us both look like fools.”
“If you marry an Alpha, doesn’t that make you Luna?” Noah asked.
“Theoretically,” I said.
Recognition crossed Noah’s face. “Ah. Right. Sorry.”
It was still difficult for him to connect the boss he knew as Healer Amanda with Alpha Julian’s ex- wife. As Julian’s wife, I’d never truly gotten to be Luna. I’d always been tucked away, hidden from the world.
Olivia was the one people recognized as Luna. Even now, though they still weren’t technically married yet.
They couldn’t be, since Julian was still married to me.
I still didn’t understand why he wouldn’t sign the paperwork.
Nothing about this situation made sense, although when had it ever with Julian? The man had been a walking contradiction from day one,
“Have you talked to Roman about any of this?” Anna asked, “Since he’s the one who pushed this lie to the press, he should be the one to clean it up.”
“I haven’t answered his calls,” I said.
“I know you are mad at him, but it might be worth to have just one conversation,” Anna said.
“I thought you didn’t like him?” I asked Anna.
“I don’t,” Anna was quick to say, “But he was there for you in times when no one else could be. You’ve been friends a long time. You yourself told me you think this came from a place of good intentions. Do you really think he wouldn’t try to clear this up for you?”
“I told him that night that I wasn’t and would never be interested,” I said. “I made my rejection as clear as I could. His intentions might be to protect Alice and me, but he dn’t listen. He ignored my wishes and pushed this engagement narrative anyway.”
Anna nodded with understanding.
“I’m so angry with him, I don’t think I’d be able to talk to him without yelling,” I said, then sighed. “You’re right. We had been such good friends before. Even to protect me, I don’t understand why he would push for this so hard. To go directly against my wishes like this…”
“His own feelings are making him blind,” Noah said. “He cares for you, and he thinks he’s the one who can see things logically…”
Anna shook her head. “Like an Alpha to make all the decisions on his own…’
“I’m not okay with it,” I said.
“So talking to Roman is out,” Anna said.
“Yes,” I said. For now, I added in my mind.
“
For right now, I was so tired of being ignored or being pushed around emotionally.
As far as I was concerned, I was done with both Roman and Julian.
Julian, who had come in here, ready to start a fight because of an article he read in the newspaper. Something that wasn’t even true!
“I’m done with men for a while,” I said. “Alpha or otherwise, I’ve had enough.”
“I don’t think anyone can blame you,” Anna said. “But…”
She was going to say I was lying, that I was talking a big game, but I still had feelings for Julian.
I didn’t really want to hear that from her or anyone else, so I shook my head.
Anna blessedly let the matter drop, but I could continue to see the sparkle in her eye, telling me she knew it all even without her having to say it.
“I just need to finish my work, so I can get out of here,” I said. “Protecting Alice is and forever will be my top priority. I can’t and won’t let anything get in the way of that, especially not the confused feelings of a friend, or the lingering feelings of an ex.’
“Really?” Anna said, with a raised brow.
Anna wasn’t sure what to make of Amber’s sudden desire to swear off men. Technically, it wasn’t anything new, as she had been so singularly focused on raising Alice since the plane crash, that she hadn’t given much thought to much else, even with Roman practically throwing himself at her at every turn.
Yet, she’d never really been able to hide the depths of her feelings from Anna. As her best friend, Anna had always known that Amber loved Julian, even when she’d been unwilling to admit it to herself.
Anna hadn’t really ever approved of the relationship, annoyed at the way Alpha liked to keep her friend hidden. Anna herself had to swear to keep the relationship a secret, as she’d been one of the few who actually knew about it.
So now, she didn’t really want her friend tied back up with a guy who treated her that way, even if they did have a kid together.
But if Amber wasn’t honest about her feelings for Julian, then it might make things more complicated long term. She had to confront those feelings to truly defeat them. By pushing them down, she was only causing them to linger, perhaps indefinitely.
Anna hated seeing her friend suffer, but she couldn’t make Amber’s choices for her. She couldn’t even really fight Amber’s fights, despite how much she wanted to support her.
The only thing she could do was be there for her friend in time of need.
And snoop. A little. If the opportunity presented itself.
Amber had professionalism and pride. If she had been the one to see Beta carrying a suspiciously light looking envelope down the hallway of the hospital, Amber likely would have just turned the other way and thought nothing about it.
Anna was not so by the book. Seeing that envelope… Knowing they were in a hospital… Knowing Alice’s paternity was in question… Knowing Amber wanted to keep that paternity a secret, especially from Julian, the actual father…
Well, Anna couldn’t fight all of Amber’s fights for her, but she help to protect Alice.
So, instead of heading down to the parking garage after leaving Amber’s office after lunch as she planned, the moment she spotted Beta and that envelope, she decided to follow him instead.
Anna maintained a good distance, always looking busy when Beta looked back. Beta didn’t really know her, so he had no reason to suspect her, so he seemingly did not.