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The way my grandmother talks about tea is adorable. I can’t help but feel excited as she explains everything to me as if we were building a rocket, because everything has to be perfect. The rea she prepared is delicious, and since I have nothing to compare it to, it’s going to be my favorite until she shows me anther one.
Her greenhouse to grow the plants for the teas is insane. Something out of this world. She has herbs and plants I’ve never even heard of. The flowers are beautiful. There are so many kinds and many colors. She’d make a good teacher.
“So, what did you want to talk about regarding the new term?” she asks. Just thinking about school stirs the knot in my belly
awake
“All of my
of my work is gone,” I shrug.
“I know, and it’ll suck to retake the classes, but it’s a small price to pay for your freedom,” she says, putting her spray bottle down.
“Originally, before I found out I was an omega, I wanted to join the medical team here,” I remind her. “While I was in Artume with the King, he told me that my paperwork would be taken into consideration when I apply.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and looks over at me, thinking it over.
“You don’t have to do that. Basic training is not easy, and you’ll find that being around the boys is a chore in itself. There’s always something to do here. I want you to take it easy and fully recover. Losing your mate is painful, and it takes its toll both physically and mentally. I would know it took me a while to feel like myself again.”
“I understand, but I need this. I don’t want to be sitting around waiting to be needed with only school keeping me going. 1 hated that when Santiago was away. I thought things would be different when he got back, but I can’t sit still. I feel like I’m wasting time. It drives me crazy.”
“How about I attend a check–up with you, and if your doctor tell me you’re cleared for basic training, we can start talking to Major Serpant about the medical programs that come after the eight–month training requirement?”
“Sure,” I agree.
“I also would like to remind you that you are nineteen. Among us you are still considered a juvenile. Most Lycan pups your age are still in grade school. So, it’s likely you’ll be paired with someone older through your training. The legal adult age here is twenty–two. It used to be twenty–five, but after the attack Ragnar was restless, and he changed it so he has better access to decision–making at court.”
“Do you have something with immediate laws I need to know?” ask.
“We have an app for that. Hand me your phone,” she says, wiping her hands on her Betty Boop apron. I give her my phone. The boys have made almost everything electronic this past year It’s been so much easier dealing with things. The King has been having trouble letting go of the old ways. His arguments fall apart quite easily now.”
“Are you enjoying your friend’s children slowly driving him insane? I laugh when she hands me the phone back
“Thoroughly, that one I will never feel guilty for. I also watch him overthrow his own father. We’re coming full circle,” she grins proudly. “You don’t have to join the militia if you are doing is to please me, Sophia”
“I joined the combat program at the academy because that’s why you wanted. Did Ragnar ever tell you that he had his father sign the application for the medical program the day of offentation so that you wouldn’t be able to change it?” | ask.
She pauses and looks bark at me. “He did not.”
“He did, and he told me that the choice was mine, but Eleclinedit. He also sent someone to report back to the King during the parent–teacher conferences you missed. I’m not sure if it was Ragnar or the King, but I also received gifts and money from them. Here,” I scroll through some of my pictures to shower. She takes the phone to get a better look, and I show her
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Chapter 12
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some of the ones I have saved on here. There was this one time they sent over a form that suggested counseling Ethrew away because I thought it was you”
I wasn’t aware they did this. Herk-
“Loved” I offer when she struggles to find a word. Her eyes fill with tears, and she gives me a slight nod. “You should Now that I’ve had a chance to calm down, I feel bad about what I said to Ragnar. It was a lie, obviously. I miss them as much as 1 do my brothers. Being around Ivar for three months straight really helped me see how trapped I had been since I found out I was mated to Santiago.
“I feel like an idiot. I’m so out of touch with reality that I’m questioning everything. Every single thing I thought I accomplished. The sleepless nights, my work, all of it. It’s gone now, and I feel like I lived someone else’s life or like I was never a real person.
“I don’t think it would have had such a significant impact if Luna Romano or Poppy had said all those things to me, but it
to
was him. I trusted him. I loved him, and all I ever was to him was some pet that he allowed exist in his world. All the
people I considered my friends and family were laughing at me the entire time. I thought I was home.”
“You are now,” she steps into me and wraps her arms around me. He said those things for exactly that reason, Sophie,” she says, making me look at her. “He wants you to feel like you have othing without him.
That boy can never take what you have done from you because you did it. All alone, I might add. You did everything you set your mind to,” she steps back, taking a deep breath. “I knew you didn’t see it because your love for those people was pure
They took advantage of you, Sophia. Isolated you from everything you knew on a fake promise. But it doesn’t take away from all you accomplished. You had the highest test scores in that school. Before the other pups in your class shifted, you were the best fighter in that program. You can probably still kick their asses if you get angry enough.
“You got into the medical program with flying colors. You did that, and you maintained the highest grade you can receive in all of your classes while working full time at a maternity ward. I seen all of your volunteer work and how hard you’ve worked for that pack.
“It disgusted me because you are a child. They didn’t allow you to be a child because they knew if you tasted that freedom. they’d lose you. Every time I tried to bring it up, I felt that it would start an argument. When I brought it up with them, they would tell me that I was overstepping for someone who wasn’t ever there for you.
“I figured that once you got older, you’d figure it out on your ow It’s why I always told you that if you ever needed me. I’d come for you. I never thought it would be for this reason. I would see you with the boy, and you seemed happy. That was all I ever wanted for you. To live as normally as you could after everthing that happened.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
