<b>Chapter </b><b>20 </b>


    Reba’s POV


    The public bus jolted over a pothole, shaking me from my miserable thoughts. I nced down at my phone, the screen disying yet another rejection email.


    It had been two days since I received Horizon Media Group’s rejection, and I’d spent every waking hour sending out job applications<b>. </b>My former teaching position had been filled months ago–I’d given it up to n the wedding and support William’s career ambitions, a decision that now felt like a cruel joke.


    “I need to expand my search, I muttered to myself, scrolling through more listings. Maybe cleaning jobs? Retail? I had a college degree, but not much else in terms of marketable skills. The irony wasn’t lost on me–I’d abandoned my career to support William’s ambitions, and now I was left with nothing.


    My father’s medical bills shed through my mind. The treatments weren’t getting any cheaper, and without William’s ie, the responsibility fell aquarely on my shoulders. Sofia had been generous enough to let me crash at her ce, but I couldnt–wouldnt–be a burden forever.


    Lost in my spiraling thoughts, I missed my stop. By the time I realized, the bus was pulling away from downtown, heading toward Oak Park I sighed, deciding to get off at the next stop rather than wait for the return journey.


    “I’m not in the mood to go back to Sofia’s anyway, I thought as I stepped off the bus. She’d been nothing but supportive, but I couldn’t bear another evening of her gentle encouragement and optimistic pep talks. Sometimes you just need to be miserable alone.


    Oak Park stretched before me, surprisingly peaceful in the early evening light. Families picked on checkered nkets, couples strolled hand in hand, and children chased each other around a yground. Normal people living normal lives. I wandered deeper into the park, seeking solitude, until I found an ancient oak tree standing apart from the others. I settled at its base, my back against the rough bark, and watched the sun begin its descent over the park’s smallke.


    The water’s surface transformed from blue to orange to deep crimson as the sun sank lower. I observed a young couple across theke, the man’s arm draped casually around the woman’s shoulders. They looked happy, unburdened. I wondered if they knew how quickly everything could fall apart.


    My phone vibrated in my pocket. Mom. Again. I silenced it without answering. My parents were <b>still </b>


    7:56 <b>Sat</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>20 </b>


    furious about the canceled wedding and the wasted money. They didn’t know the full story–how could I exin werewolves and secret affairs to them? All they knew was that their daughter had “cold feet” and had thrown away years of nning and thousands of dors.


    “I’m such an idiot,” I whispered to the darkening sky. I’d sacrificed my career, alienated my parents, and now I couldn’t even get a job serving coffee. How was I going to help with Dad’s medical bills


    now?


    My fingers absently traced the indent on my left ring finger where William’s engagement ring had once sat. I caught myself and jerked my hand away, disgusted at the habit. Five years. Five years of


    my life given to a man who had been cheating on me the entire time, who had a child with another


    woman, who had nned to use me for status before discarding me.


    Sofia had been my rock through all of this, but even her unwavering support couldn’t fill the hollow


    space inside me. I felt utterly alone, a failure in every possible way. Not good enough to keep my fiancé faithful. Not qualified enough to find a decent job.


    The sun had nearly disappeared, leaving the park bathed in twilight shadows, when I decided it was


    time to head back. As I stood and brushed off my jeans, a familiar deep voice carried through the


    evening air. My heart stuttered.


    Dominic Sterling.


    I froze, then quickly ducked behind the oak tree. After ourst encounter at the clinic, thest thing I wanted was another confrontation. Especially now that I knew about the werewolfws Sofia had exined–about how rejecting a mate required a formal ritual, and how dangerous it could be to defy an Alpha.


    I peered cautiously around the trunk. Dominic was walking with an elegant woman toward a bench about thirty yards away. She was tall and slender, with perfect blonde hair styled in a sophisticated updo.


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