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Valerie woke up to a knock on her door. She could see the harsh sun rays through the curtains and guessed it was past afternoon. A yawn escaped her. Never had she slept so much at a time, except when she was sedated during her injuries.

Then she remembered that dawn before Ryker left. She had kissed a guy who wasn’t her mate. It felt good, but she knew it shouldn’t happen again. Ryker might not understand her situation because he had not found his mate yet.

Valerie, having had her two mates, understood the implications of finding one. The bond could make you foolishly trust and be willing to do anything for that one person who owned your heart.

She was certain that Ryker would not look at her a second time should he find his mate, so whatever happened between them earlier could be termed as an accident and forgotten.

She also felt aching muscles due to the midnight training, knowing it wouldn’t have been so if she still had her wolf. Perhaps she had to understand that she was now human and stop missing her wolf.

That way, she might be able to readily accept whatever comes with it. Slowly, she got off the bed to get the door.

"Aless," Valerie smiled at the face she had missed so much. Alessia was surprised to see her sleeping in the afternoon but only attributed it to boredom as Valerie helped her with the items in her hand.

She had come with Burke but told him to drop the things and go as Denzel had told her to do. Ever since bringing the phone, Alessia had not been here in person, though they had spoken a few times over the phone.

"Val, sorry for not coming over for a while. There is so much to do in the office. I brought you groceries."

Valerie smiled at the groceries, instantly missing Ryker and wishing he could cook more for her. Or perhaps, she should surprise him. Yes, she could cook him a meal in gratitude for all the training advice he gave her, and that way, he wouldn’t be able to ask for a kiss anymore.

"Thanks. How did you know that I ran out of groceries?" Valerie suddenly asked, surprised because Ryker had mentioned it.

Alessia did not know she was going to ask, thereby having to rack her mind a little in search of a perfect answer.

"I wanted to bring it since the last time I was here. Weren’t we in the kitchen together? Anyway, the Alpha returned so I won’t spend long."

"He’s back?" Valerie’s expression dulled, knowing she might not be seeing Ryker until after Alpha Denzel left. Somehow, she just wished for him to stay away from the pack for as long as possible. It was peaceful, and Alessia was doing a great job with the management.

Alpha Denzel’s presence made her uncomfortable, unlike Ryker who made her feel at ease and warm. She was saddened why the moon goddess hadn’t paired her with Ryker since he was yet to find his mate.

As for her, she had accepted that she would never be mated again, and should she start something with Ryker, it would be useless as she never felt anything in comparison to the bond towards him.

"Yeah, he said he will be here later today," Alessia revealed, making Valerie panic. If Alpha Denzel would come over, then why didn’t he do so with Alessia? It was always better with the both of them than when he comes alone.

Valerie did not seem amused to be receiving his visit. "Must he?"

Alessia was slightly disappointed since she wanted her brother and Valerie together, especially after knowing his true intentions for rejecting her. Also, Alpha Denzel was working very hard to nip the enemy.

Once that was done, he would no longer hide how he felt about her. Alessia did not know about Denzel’s meeting with the moon goddess, lacking understanding of the complications of Alpha Denzel and Valerie’s bond.

"Even if he mustn’t, we both can’t stop him. I just thought to give you a heads up," Alessia said with a forced smile. Valerie smiled back,

"Thanks."

"I have to go now. There has been some fraud cases in the pack business like we discussed.

After my thorough checks this week, they were all confirmed.

I already informed the Alpha so we are going to take another look," Alessia revealed, Valerie’s interest piqued, and her heart ached for any losses incurred.

"How much are we looking at?"

"So far, it’s accrued to 800 million."

Valerie’s jaws dropped. "What? Do you know the pack involved?" Valerie asked, knowing that if such a huge sum of money was stolen from the pack, it would definitely be another pack involved.

"No, but Adira was involved. I don’t know why my brother trusted her so much," Alessia unknowingly revealed, but by the time, before she could correct her utterance, it was too late as Valerie had already heard.

"Your brother?" Valerie asked with wide eyes, Alessia was nervous. Their well-kept secret was about to go out.

The words had slipped from her mouth before she knew it, and now, she wondered how she was going to make the correction.

"Alpha Denzel is your brother?" Valerie wondered why it was kept a secret. She had seen that some of Alessia’s features resembled that of Alpha Denzel, including her aura but thought she was just imagining things.

Alessia could not let her know, saying, "No. I have a brother, but it’s not him."

It was too late. Valerie could not be fooled, but she only wondered why they kept it a secret and why Alessia grew up at the Litha Moon Pack instead of being her at the Evergreen pack.

"Then who? And how come you never spoke about it before?" Valerie asked curiously. Their friendship was deep, unlike that of Ryker so Valerie did not feel like she was overstepping her boundaries.

Seeing that Alessia was not ready to talk about it, she took deep breaths and said, "You know what, tell me the truth and I will also tell you a secret to make you understand that I won’t tell it to anyone."