I Was Dumped by Four Mate Candidates Chapter 08

I Was Dumped by Four Mate Candidates Chapter 08

The next afternoon, I was handling prep for The Greenwood Gathering.

The Greenwood was the sanctuary my grandmother Green built with her life’s work.

Fifty years ago, she marked off a patch at the edge of the territory and took in mixed-blood werewolves no one wanted. Orphaned pups. Wolves with pheromone defects who’d been cast out with nowhere to go.

She said something once. Later they carved it into the stone at the sanctuary entrance. [No wolf is a cast-off.]

After my grandmother passed, The Greenwood kept running. I was one of its overseers. Even when I was abroad, I handled the sanctuary’s important correspondence remotely.

Every year The Greenwood held a charity gathering.

This year’s was set for Saturday.

I saw Ruby Hale’s name on the invite list. She’d received help from The Greenwood too. Excellent grades. Good character. That was why she’d been chosen as one of this year’s sanctuary representatives.

But the gathering’s program had been altered. The first line, Opening Remarks: Sloane Silvermoon, had been struck out by Wolf Council member Soren Ashford.

The housekeeper knocked. Said Whitmore and the others had arrived.

I set down the Greenwood files. “Send them up.”

Five minutes later, all four of them walked into the study.

For a second, I actually wanted to laugh.

Back in the day, when the four of them showed up together it was always to back me up. Full-moon pheromone spirals. Some rogue wolf causing trouble at the border. Some clueless Omega wandering into forbidden territory.

Now here they were. Standing in a row in front of me. Like a tribunal.

Kael spoke first. “Sloane. Don’t go to The Greenwood Gathering on Saturday.”

I stayed by the window. “Reason.”

“Ruby’s pheromones have been all over the place for days.” His amber eyes held this near-pleading look. “She saw everything people were saying on the forums a few weeks back. Last night her wolf almost lost it. The healer barely got her stabilized by sunrise. She’s one of the sanctuary’s reps this year. If you show up…”

He paused. Like he was choosing his words.

“Your Silvermoon bloodline will suppress her on pure instinct. She won’t even be able to stand.”

Flynn Donovan jumped in. Red hair a mess. Forest-green eyes full of irritation.

“It’s one gathering. Can’t you just let her have this one? Wait till her pheromones settle down. You’re the Silvermoon heiress. It’s not like you’re short on chances to show your face.”

Silas Blackwood leaned against the desk. Grey eyes cold on me. Voice as hard as always.

“Everyone out there is already watching you two. The pups at the sanctuary are sensitive as it is. You show up. Your pheromones spike. Ruby can’t even stand. All you’d do is make things uglier.”

Finally Soren Ashford. By the bookshelf. His voice was always the calmest.

“I’ve already brought this to the Wolf Council. If you sign off, the elders will back it. Sloane. Don’t turn a small thing into a pack-wide problem.”

“Are you done?” I said.