Chapter 71-1
Kiana
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A dark bruise formed on my cheek the next day. I dressed for work and opened the door only to find a female guard waiting for me. She bustled her way into my suite, covered my bruise with
makeup and pinned the necklace back around my neck. “It’s so pretty. You should show it off,” she said mildly.
Right. So pretty.
The first hour of opening the bar was usually a quiet one for me. Everyone else was busy at their
stations, the manager was counting the money, and it was just me, flipping on the automatic
switch, and planning while I worked. Only today, I was constantly interrupted by a parade of my
co-workers who wanted to admire the necklace. Their simpering made me sick to my stomach.
“Oh, how beautiful. Our alpha has amazing taste.”
“The two of you are like a fairy tale. I can’t wait to find a mate of my own who treats me like this.”
“He loves you so much.”
Don’t vomit, Kiana. Just smile and nod. You can survive if you just smile and nod.
Hiding the necklace down my shirt, I opened the unlocked the doors and let in the people who
were lined up at the door, like Hair of the Dog was the place to be at eleven o’clock in the morning. The Thursday regulars walked in, seated themselves, and patiently waited for me to get behind the
counter.
“I heard Morven gave you a beautiful necklace? Can I see it?”
Fuck, this was going to be the longest shift of my life.
By one, the bar was incredibly busy. Almost everyone asked to see my necklace, so I ended up just
wearing the stupid thing outside my shirt to save time. Cindy came in early, and nobody blinked an
eye when she asked me to go to the bathroom with her. When I asked her why, she just smiled. ”
Your makeup needs a touch-up.”
So much for thinking Cindy might be a friend.
Dutifully, I followed her into the bathroom and stood there while she covered my bruise.
The whole time, I watched her face to see if her true emotions might arise. She chattered on
aimlessly about something her daughter had done that morning.
“This is good practice for me. One day, I’ll be doing her makeup!”
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Chapter 71-1
“Is she accident-prone as well?”
Cindy’s hair wavered just a little, and she smiled. “No, silly, For dance recitals and plays and all those things.”
“Right. Good. That’s good, Cindy. Thank you for your help.”
Her gaze dropped down to the necklace. “It is beautiful.”
Glam
“From the way everyone is talking, they all knew about it before I even received it. Does Morven send out some kind of daily newsletter in your sss?”
I chuckled to act like I was joking, but I was still watching her carefully. How was he sending out so much information so quickly?
“Word just travels fast. I shouldn’t keep you any longer. You’ve got customers!”
“Actually, I’m going to take this opportunity to finally use the bathroom. My stomach has been killing me all morning. Give me a couple of minutes? I’ll see you out there.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh! Yes. I’ll handle everything. Don’t worry.”
When she left, I leaned against the counter and sighed. It was all I could do not to yank the stupid
necklace off my neck.
“It’s a tracker. A magical one. One of my best designs.”
It didn’t surprise me when Janelle’s voice softly filled the bathroom, or that I heard her before I saw her. The magic hiding her was thick and had taken up the corner in brilliant hues of orange and yellow. It had taken me a few minutes to see beneath the magic, to see her quietly waiting.
The question was why she had to hide at all.
“Will it explode if I take it off?”
She looked even thinner and paler than before, and she didn’t even grace me with a smile.
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