Filed to story: Alpha’s Regret After His Pregnant Luna’s Death (Evelyn & Declan)
“The matter with Anita docking your pay has been reviewed,” she said briskly. “The penalty’s been revoked. Take a look here and sign. You’ll get your deducted wages back.”
I nodded silently, a ripple of joy bubbling within me.
Frances wasn’t done. “Oh, and regarding your police claim – the officers confirmed it was Anita who slandered you. You’re innocent. Keep working hard. You’re young and have a bright future ahead.”
Her lips twitched, a smile too thin to be kind. The way she said bright future made my fur prickle beneath my skin.
If working as a cleaner was a bright future, I thought bitterly, then I suppose anyone can dream of being the wife of California’s richest man.
Frances sipped from her cup, content and smug. “Alright, sign the form and close the door on your way out. Don’t let the heat escape. It’s freezing in here.”
Her words buzzed past me like gnats. My hands, red and cracked, trembled slightly as I took the pen. The callouses tugged against the cheap plastic barrel. I signed my name and pushed the paper back.
When i stepped out, the whispers around me swelled. My wolf ears caught every word, every sneer.
“Evelyn sure made a scene this time. Mrs. Jennifer had to step in for her.”
“Wasn’t it Evelyn who cleared her name and kicked Anita out?”.
“Please. Anita’s got powerful connections. You think a cleaner could pull that off alone?”
“Who’s backing Anita, anyway?”
“Who knows? I heard she’s got someone really high up behind her.”
“Evelyn’s playing a dangerous game. Her bad days are coming. She’s pissed off more than just Anita.”
My pulse beat heavy in my chest, and for an instant, I wanted to snarl at them,
But I didn’t.
I just gathered Lana closer and kept walking, tuning out the gossips.
I’d learned that trick the hard way. If I let every whisper sink its claws into me, I’d never stop bleeding.
The air inside the building as I stepped into the hallway was thick with the stale scent of coffee, paper, and envy.
I didn’t know much about Mrs. Jennifer as people thought. All I knew was that she carried an air of power. The kind that could either crush or save. Back when I was someone – when the world still called me Attorney Evelyn Thorne or even when I became Luna Evelyn Crawford – I might’ve met her at a gala, maybe even spoken to her. But that woman was gone now. Dead, in her own way.
All I wanted was peace. A quiet life where my daughter could grow up.
The document in my hand trembled as I looked down at it, the official reversal of my penalty. My fingers shook so hard the paper crinkled. I clutched it tighter, afraid that if I loosened my grip, it would vanish like a dream.
A whole month’s wages. Enough to buy food, formula, maybe even a blanket that didn’t smell of rain and metal.
For once, I’d won.
For once, justice had clawed its way back to me.
My chest swelled with fierce relief. I glanced down at Lana, her cheeks flushed, her little hand tangled in my sleeve. You see, baby? We did it. We’re safe, for now.
But safety is a fragile thing.
Just then, a looming figure appeared in my path.
It was him.
Evelyn’s POV
It was none other than the man who had tried to abuse me. The man I’d once stabbed in the neck to stop him from taking what wasn’t his. His cruelty had haunted me every night since then.
Kevin.
The name itself was bile on my tongue.
I stepped aside, fighting the instinct to bare my teeth at him. Then I saw the grin twisting his mouth.
“Evelyn,” he sneered. “It has been a minute my dear.”
For a moment, the corridor blurred. I was back in that room again, the flicker of a dying light bulb, the echo of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. His breath hot on my neck.
Why was he here?
His grin widened as if he could smell my fear. He fed on it. My wolf clawed at my ribs, snarling for release, but I tried to suppress it.
He turned and went down the hallway to the room I had just left. He rapped on it before slipping inside. “Ms. Lawson, I’m here.”
My wolf’s sharp ears picked on Frances’ voice as it floated out, smooth as oil. “Kevin, perfect timing. Anita’s gone. Her spot’s yours now. Do well, keep the team in line. These days, it seems just anyone dares to report their supervisors.”
The same Frances who’d smiled sweetly at me an hour ago now practically purred at him.
Kevin came to the door as if he knew I was listening in. He glanced at me, smirking.
Our gazes locked, and ice spread through my veins. My wolf whined, a low, furious sound only I could hear.
One Anita was gone, an even more cruel person has taken her place. Fate had a cruel sense of humor.
I turned and left the Community Board, my footsteps echoing hollowly.
All the way home, the ghosts of the past came crawling back.
When Lana was born, she’d been so tiny. She weighed five and a half pounds of fragile life. My little cub, fighting for every breath. I’d tried to feed her, but my milk wouldn’t come. I needed food and strength-but in prison, food was power, and I had none.
The women there stole from me. My wolf had been weak then, starved into silence. They called Lana a nuisance, her cries a curse.
One night, in a storm that shook the concrete walls, I woke to cold emptiness beside me.
Lana was gone.
They’d taped her mouth and nose to keep her quiet.
Something inside me snapped that night. My claws tore through flesh before I could even think, injuring one of them severely. I got her back. If I hadn’t, if I’d woken a minute later, she would’ve suffocated.
Why I asked why that was done to my child, they said her crying interrupted their damn card game.
What had I ever done to deserve this? Why did the world always choose to break me-and her?
I’d learned to keep my head down in order to survive, hadn’t I?
But maybe survival was never enough.
When I returned to the dorm, the air buzzed with gossip.
“You hear? Kevin’s taking over Anita’s spot,” someone whispered.
“Anita’s job was a goldmine,” another woman said. “Everyone wanted it. How did Kevin snag it?”
“After what he tried with Evelyn…” There was a pause. “She’s got the worst luck.”
Luck. They said it like it was a weather pattern, like I hadn’t fought tooth and claw just to stay alive.
“I heard Kevin got that job through someone big,” an older woman murmured. “Alpha Declan, Asterfell’s richest man.”
I froze at that revelation.
Across the room, kara looked at me, worry etched on her face. I barely registered it.
The world had gone muffled, a low buzzing filling my ears. My wolf growled, restless, pacing inside me.
“Evelyn?”
A voice pierced through the haze.
“Evelyn! Lana’s crying!”
It was kara’s voice.
Lana’s cries sliced into my ears at that moment, shrill and desperate, like claws raking against my heart. The sound yanked me back to myself. I realized my arms were locked tight around her, too tight. Her little body squirmed in my grasp, her sobs rising in panic.
Goddess, what was I doing?
I loosened my grip immediately, guilt clawing at my insides. “Shh, shh, my love,” I whispered, but my voice trembled, the words breaking apart. She didn’t calm. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and I could smell my own fear.
My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin, pacing.
Tears burned down my cheeks in quick, hot streaks. I tried to smile through it, but it came out wrong, it was a grimace. The room wasn’t cold, yet I shook like a leaf. My body remembered fear even when my mind tried to forget it.
I gathered Lana up again, breathing in her scent. My daughter, my anchor, my only reason for living.
“I’m going to confront him,” I said to myself, my voice low and raw with anguish. “Why is he doing this to me? Haven’t I lost enough already? Does he want my life before it even ends?”
