Born One Minute Too Late, But I Was the True Alpha Chapter 02

Born One Minute Too Late, But I Was the True Alpha Chapter 02

Declan was right about one thing.

I had Nightglass Tattoo.

But the shop was not compensation from my family.

It was proof that I could build something without them.

The next evening, I stayed late to finish a black rose over a client’s shoulder. By the time I cleaned the station and locked the front door, it was almost midnight.

Rain followed me back to the Pack House.

The kitchen lights were still on.

I opened the refrigerator.

Every shelf had been labeled.

DECLAN – TRAINING.

BRIELLE – PROM DIET.

GRANT AND LENORA.

There was no container with my name.

Lenora entered in a silk robe.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for dinner.”

“You should have eaten at your shop.”

“You didn’t save any food for me?”

She crossed her arms.

“Declan has strict nutritional requirements. Brielle is preparing for prom. You own a business. Surely you can buy yourself a meal.”

“I also live here.”

“Then start behaving like part of this family.”

She walked away before I could ask what that meant.

I found half a packet of crackers in my backpack and carried it upstairs.

My bedroom door would not open completely.

Boxes covered the floor.

Brielle’s shoes, dresses, and cosmetics had been stacked against my bed. A clothing rack stood where my desk used to be.

The other side of the room held maps, training files, and a second computer.

Declan sat in my chair.

“What is this?”

He did not look up.

“Father wants a strategy room for my transition.”

“This is my bedroom.”

“You are barely here.”

“Because I work.”

“Exactly.”

He clicked through a map I had made for him last month.

“Brielle needed more closet space. I needed somewhere quiet. You have the apartment above Nightglass.”

The apartment had no heat and one broken window.

I had slept there twice during storms because Lenora had locked me out.

“So both of you took my room.”

Declan leaned back.

“Don’t start.”

“Where am I supposed to sleep?”

“At your shop. Isn’t that what you wanted? Independence?”

He said the word like an insult.

Brielle appeared behind me.

“Are you angry about my boxes?”

“Move them.”

Her lower lip trembled.

“Mom said you wouldn’t mind.”

“I mind.”

“You have so much space at Nightglass.”

There it was again.

The shop I had built was now the reason I did not deserve food, a room, or a place in my own home.

Declan stood.

“Stop making her cry.”

“I asked her to move her things.”

“Your voice is aggressive.”

“My voice is tired.”

His hand closed around my wrist.

The skin was already bruised from where he had restrained me after training.

Pain shot up my arm.

“Let go.”

“Apologize first.”

My wolf rose.

The air changed.

Declan’s fingers loosened.

For half a second, his eyes flashed with fear.

Then he released me.

“Go cool down.”

I picked up my backpack.

“Gladly.”

I spent the night on the couch above Nightglass with my coat over me.

At six the next morning, Brielle arrived at the shop.

She carried two coffees.

“Peace offering?”

I did not take one.

She placed them on the counter.

“I need the crest today.”

“I haven’t agreed to give it to you.”

“Dad said you would.”

“Dad does not own my work.”

She looked around the shop.

Photographs of my tattoos covered one wall. Wolves. Flowers. Names. Scars turned into art.

“Everyone already knows you’re talented,” she said. “I never get to be special.”

“Then make something.”

“I can’t draw like you.”

“That doesn’t make my work yours.”

Her expression hardened.

For one moment, the sweet little sister disappeared.

“You always make everything difficult.”

She left without the coffee.

I spent the day with clients.

That night, I opened the locked cabinet beneath my desk.

My graduation sketchbook was gone.

So was the original Greyhaven crest.