Chapter 24

Sabrina POV

I stomped away from the clinic to my car, then sat gripping the steering wheel, waiting for the rage to settle.

The kiss I’d just witnessed between Nathan and that filthy wolfless Claire was still playing through my mind. It was disgusting, and insulting.

It was obvious now that Nathan, for some reason, still felt something for Claire. Clearly that was why my efforts to reignite our former relationship were failing.

But why?

Claire had left him, had left their son, and showed absolutely no remorse. Meanwhile I was by his side day in and day out, working to help him win the Alpha Presidency.

I was the one supporting him. So why was he back there wrapped up in her?

I screamed in frustration, and pounded the steering wheel with my fists.

It wasn’t fair! It didn’t make any sense!

There had to be something I could do. Some way to break the two of them up.

Burning with anger and embarrassment, I closed my eyes and fought for calm. I couldn’t just rush off somewhere mindlessly.

I needed to calm down. And I needed to think.

And I knew just where to go.

Leaving the clinic, I drove straight to Nathan’s house. What should, by all rights, also be my house. I stood for a moment studying its elegant lines, and the well manicured lawn and garden surrounding it.

It wasn’t the royal palace, but it was a perfectly acceptable residence for an Alpha President and his Luna.

And it would be mine.

Inside the staff greeted me with courtesy and respect, as they should. If they were a little slow to follow my orders, or sometimes pushed back against them, I comforted myself with the knowledge that I could fire every last one of them when I became the mistress of the house.

“Princess Sabrina, how may I help you?” the butler, Colin, asked.

“The Alpha has asked me to take care of a few things for him. Nothing to concern yourself with,” I added, dismissing him with a wave of my hand.

He looked doubtful, but bowed and walked away.

At least someone around here knew how to follow an order.

Satisfied Colin and the rest of the staff would stay out of my way, I marched upstairs, determined to find something I could use as ammunition.

I didn’t bother with the child’s room, and was glad he was at school and not underfoot. I could barely stand the brat.

At the door to the main bedroom I paused, studying the space. It was a spacious suite, with a sitting room, his and hers bathrooms and two walk in closets.

The anger I was holding in check wanted to boil up again, thinking about an Omega living in such wealth and comfort. She didn’t deserve it!

I went into the room, snooping through every corner and every dresser drawer. In Claire’s closet I entertained myself for quite a while with a pair of scissors, happily cutting and ripping up a number of shirts.

With a pile of raw-edged fabric at my feet, I smiled, feeling better.

But it was in Nathan’s closet that I struck real gold.

Up on a shelf, jumbled in a small pile beside a neat stack of watch cases, I found several unopened gift boxes.

And each and every one of them were labelled “To Nathan, with love, from Claire.”

I gathered all the boxes and dumped them out onto the bed, then called for the butler.

“Colin,” I said when he arrived. “Nathan has asked me to clear out some of his unused belongings. He’s staging a charity drive as part of an upcoming benefit. I need to know what these are.”

Colin’s eyes clouded when he looked down at the boxes on the bed. “I believe those are gifts Miss Claire has given the Alpha over the years. For his birthday, or special anniversaries.”

He came closer, picking up a few. “They’re all unopened. I don’t understand.”

I felt a prickle of excitement. “What do you mean?”

“I remember how much time and effort Miss Claire spent in searching for the right gift, how much trouble she went to finding craftsmen for some of the special orders. Why didn’t the Alpha open any of them?”

Inside, that prickle of excitement blossomed into satisfaction. This was just what I had been looking for.

Outside, I carefully maintained a cool expression. “I suppose the Alpha was simply too busy to bother himself with such trinkets. I’ll take care of them. That will be all.”

Colin cast one last long, sad look at the presents, then left the room.

Grabbing a luggage carry-all, I loaded it with every single unopened present from the precious “Miss Claire.”

Down in Nathan’s office, I sat and wrote out a note, doing a fairly good job of copying Nathan’s bold sharp handwriting:

“I’m tired of this junk cluttering up my home.”

I attached the note to the handle of the bag, then left the house, laughing out loud once I was alone in the car.

I was going to take care of his unused belongings alright.

And I knew just where to take them.

Claire POV

“Doctor Green, this was just left for you at the front desk,” said a nurse, interrupting my last hour of work for the day.

I’d been able to fit in a full schedule of appointments, though everyone was still playing catch up after the interruption of yesterday’s events.

It had felt good to get back to work, and help people, especially after the fear and accusations I’d faced when I was surrounded by a group of Gammas.

I was looking forward to wrapping up my notes and heading out for the day.

Instead, it seemed I would be dealing with this mystery package.

I thanked the nurse, and took the luggage bag from her, then shut my door and set it on my desk.

And realized I recognized the luggage.

It was Nathan’s.

My curiosity rose, but so did a feeling in my stomach, a sinking hesitation.

What was inside?

Reaching for the zipper, I paused when I realized there was a note attached to the handle. Slowly, my hands feeling stiff and cold, I untied the paper and opened it.

Nathan’s stationary. Nathan’s handwriting.

“I’m tired of this junk cluttering up my home.”

“Junk”? What junk? And why would he be giving it to me?

The sense of foreboding got stronger, heavier inside of me. I no longer wanted to see what was inside. I just wanted to go back to the normal day I’d been having.

But I set the note aside - it was so curt, so coldly worded - and eased open the zipper.

And stared at the boxes tossed together inside.

I remembered these boxes, the wrapping paper, the gifts so lovingly nestled inside.

Numb with confusion, I pulled out every present until every single one of them was stacked up on my desk.

And I could clearly see that every single one of them had never been opened.

Not the monogrammed wallet I’d had custom made for our third anniversary. Not the pocket watch for his birthday four years ago. Not the cufflinks or the silk tie.

Not even the handmade wooden toy soldiers I’d had made for Andy before I left.

Unopened, tossed in a pile in a bag and dropped off here at the clinic.

All of it just “junk.”

How could Nathan be so cruel?

Heartbroken, I sat down in my desk chair and, with a pile of unopened presents in front of me, covered my face and wept.