My Sister Couldn’t Tame Her Alpha? Fine. I’ll Do It! Chapter 07

My Sister Couldn’t Tame Her Alpha? Fine. I’ll Do It! Chapter 07

After that night, Auriel basically vanished.

No more crying at the door. No more trembling voices at pack gatherings. The people who’d been whispering about me behind my back started showing up with firewood and fresh meat. Nobody mentioned the cliff. I didn’t either.

A few weeks passed, and I settled into Wintermaw’s rhythm faster than I expected.

Mornings patrolling borders with the she-wolves, afternoon fixing things-fences, roofs, that ancient generator that was falling apart. Corvax spent his days training warriors, came home at night smelling like pine and sweat.

We bickered over stupid stuff-who left the firewood out in the rain, whose turn it was to cook-and made up over

even stupider stuff.

That line between us hummed constantly, like a second hear beat.

Every now and then I’d catch his emotions: warmth when I laughed too loud, a sharp prick when I stayed up late sharpening knives.

He never said anything, but I knew he knew I knew. And we both pretended it wasn’t happening.

Life was pretty much stable. Pretty much good enough.

But Wintermaw was poor.

Warriors could hunt and patrol, but the women and elders had nothing. No business, no income, totally dependent on whether a few pack members felt like sharing outside news.

Last life, I’d seen this kind of death too many times-a pack rotting from the inside out.

So I did what I do best.

Made trouble.

I called together all the women, elders, and wolves too injured to run patrol, and slammed a handful of frostbloom

on the table.

“This weed you’ve been feeding livestock? Sells for fifty bucks a gram down south.” I let that sink in. “You’re sitting on a gold mine and dumping it in the pig trough!”

Edith from the second cabin squinted at the blue stems. “Come on, Thera. It’s just a weed.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I’d saved from my last life-a southern herb dealer I’d done business with for years. Ten minutes later, I hung up.

“First order. Money’s in. Anyone who wants in, follow me up the mountain. We settle up before dark.”

Nobody argues with money. By noon I had a crew.

A week later, the first full payment came through. The whole pack lost it.

Women who hadn’t earned their own money in decades crowded around that big table counting bills. I leaned in the doorway, arms crossed, grinning like an idiot.

Corvax walked over with two cups. Handed me one, then nodded at the drying frostbloom.

“You know what this stuff actually does, right?”

“Boosts stamina, aids recovery, enhances focus.”

His eyes drifted toward the bedroom. “…Focus. Right.”

I’m not saying what happened that night. But after that, I never personally picked frostbloom again. Handed the whole operation to Edith’s crew and didn’t look back.

A few days later, a pack messenger delivered a letter. My mom’s handwriting radiated enough resentment to burn through the paper.

Charge one: stealing your sister’s engagement. Charge two: vanishing without a word. Charge three: weeks of no

contact. You’re dead to me. Subject to revision.

P.S. Your sister says the baby’s kicking. Says she wants to name her after your grandma.

P.P.S. Love you, you ungrateful brat.

I read it twice. That postscript hit hard.

Last life, Avelina went forty years unmarked, no kids, slowly withering away in a pack that never accepted her.

Me? Lived alone, ran a business, had nothing around me but inventory sheets and silence.

This life, she’s got a daughter and a guy who writes her poetry.

Me? I’ve got a crew of women willing to do business with me and an Alpha who stares at me whenever he thinks I’m not looking.

Not bad.

Corvax wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. Rested his chin on my shoulder, reading the letter with me.

“Your sister’s already got a kid.” His voice was right against my ear. “When are we starting?”

“That’s on you, isn’t it?” I didn’t turn around. “If you were up for it, we’d have one by now.”

He laughed. “Got it. I’ll work harder.”

That evening, Edith showed up with a basket of dried herbs, dropped her ass in a chair like she owned the place.

“Hey, Luna,” she said, “guess who I saw in the pine grove last night? Holding hands, real cozy.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Auriel. With Vance Gateward!”

Vance. The Alpha who controlled the western alliance’s transport routes. Old enough to be Auriel’s father.

“Vance has a Luna and kids,” I said.

Edith shrugged. “That’s what I said. But I saw what I saw.”

I filed that away in the back of my mind. Didn’t think much of it.