Chapter 24

Shirley

As I watch Ralph tearing down the street, getting farther and farther away from us, I begin to feel panic rise up from my toes.

Ralph is leaving. And his urgency suggests that he’s on his way to somewhere specific, or rather - someone specific.

Jean.

He’s going to reject her. Right now. And everything in me can’t help but feel things might go south.

“I have to go,” I say aloud suddenly, taking myself by surprise. But I soon realize that maybe the words aren’t necessarily for me, but for the Alpha still standing at my side. Simultaneously, we both look over at each other. The furrow over his brow causes me to swallow as I begin to back away.

“I’m sorry, Keith,” I start. “I have to go take care of something urgent.”

I then try to swivel away, but I’m stopped as I feel his hand wrap around my arm.

“Wait,” he says, leaving me to look back at him as I can’t move my arm even a centimeter within his grasp.

But I can’t wait. I need to go.

So I tell him.

“I need to go,” I say, my voice filled with a desperation I hadn’t expected. It shakes me so hard that I feel my eyes soften, pleading as I stare up into a sea of gold. A gold that is bright and clear, not dark like it had been moments ago. They’re flicking again, dancing back and forth from one of my eyes to the other, his lips parting as if he has something to say.

“I need to go,” I repeat, and that time the words are so quiet that I’m not sure he heard them.

But much to my relief, he did.

And he lets me go.

~

“Jean!” I call out as I storm through the front door. As I slam it shut behind me, I take off down the hall as I search each nook and cranny for my best friend. But soon, she comes rushing out of the kitchen to meet me.

“He isn’t here yet,” she tells me quickly, sounding a bit breathless. Likely, she’s been in the same worked up state as I have since I called her once I left Keith. I had to warn her in case I didn’t make it in time.

But apparently I have, leaving me to thank the Goddess for working her magic and sparing us. However, I keep it brief as I know Jean and I need to act fast - Ralph may be coming through the door at any moment.

“What are we going to do, Shirley?” Jean asks, slight terror fueling her words. “What am I going to do?”

“Just talk to him,” I state simply, despite my own frantic state.

“But what do I say!?” she fires back, grabbing my hand desperately.

“Jean,” I begin, squeezing her - I need to be strong for both of us. “It’s going to be okay. He’s just coming to tell you that it’s over. You probably won’t even need to say anything, really.”

Jean tries to nod, but it’s more of a helpless tremble.

“Just let him do the talking and try to be surprised, blindsided,” I insist, the words rushing out of me. “It’ll be fine.”

That time, Jean actually nods but it’s followed by a whimper.

“But what are you going to do?” she asks, her voicing shaking. “He can’t know you’re here.”

“He won’t,” I jump in. “I’ll…I’ll just hide.” I stop to point toward her side room. “I’ll be right in there - only a door away if you need anything.”

“Okay,” she breathes, practically gulping.

But then we both freeze. We hear tires squealing down the street, someone approaching quickly and soon bumping over the lip of their driveway. Our eyes are wide as we look to the doorway and then each other.

“Hide. Hide!” Jean yells, pushing me toward the door as I quickly shuffle over. I slip inside, grabbing the doorknob in my hand as I stare at her through the gap. She holds my gaze, still rattled as I give her one last nod.

“Just a door away,” I repeat, pushing every ounce of reassurance into those four words.

Jean sighs, barely standing on her own two feet, but still she stays upright as we finally allow the door to close between us.

And then another door opens.

I hear Ralph stumble in, sounding as if he’s in a complete frenzy as he comes inside. And then he’s throwing out Jean’s name, though I know he quickly spots her as she was in the clear line of the front door.

“Ralph,” Jeans says back and I try to keep my breathing inaudible as I notice the steadiness suddenly in her voice.

Good girl. You’ve got this, Jean.

“What’s going on?” she asks. “Are you alright?”

“We need to talk,” Ralph replies, his words breathy. I’m thankful there’s no anger behind them. But then again, why would there be? Jean has done nothing wrong.

She never has.

Craning my neck, I slide my ear closer to the door as I listen for more.

“Okay…” Jean brushes out.

At first, Ralph says nothing. There’s only silence and I bunch my eyebrows as I fear I may have missed something. After all, he’d taken a few steps and I’m not sure if his loud footfall had covered his words. But I tell myself that it didn’t - my wolf sense of hearing is too good to be impaired by something so small.

So I wait. We all wait. And then Ralph speaks.

“I’m leaving.”

Those two words nearly make me sigh in blissful relief.

“O-oh,” Jean stammers out. “Where are you going? A business trip?”

Good girl, Jean, I repeat. Play up your surprise.

“No,” Ralph responds. “I’m leaving you.”

The words feel like pin pricks on my skin, in my heart. I know Jean and I hoped this would be the outcome, but no matter what Ralph has done, I know it can’t be easy to hear those words. Softly, I brush my fingertips against the wood of the door like it’s Jean’s skin, wishing I could be out there holding her hand.

Jean’s fairy tale is officially coming to an end.

No… the nightmare is coming to an end.

“What?” Jean breathes, and I know his words have wounded her also - more than she’d realized they would.

“I don’t think this is good for either of us anymore and it’s time for us to let each other go,” Ralph states. “I’m rejecting the mating bond.”

I close my eyes, picturing the pain across Jean’s features that she probably doesn’t need to fake.

“I know this is hard to hear and unexpected,” he tells her. “And I don’t want anything from you. All I need is for you to move out, you can take Eliot.”

“You’ve met someone else…” Jean says in disbelief, as if realizing why he wants her out and doesn’t want his son. But Ralph doesn’t acknowledge that, he just keeps trudging down his own path.

“I will send you whatever you need for a new apartment,” he says quickly. “I’ll give you almost everything I have saved.”

Now that, I didn’t expect, but I know Ralph’s only offering to send her money to speed up the process. He knows Anya won’t wait long and he’s willing to do whatever he can to ensure he meets her timeline.

So I give the smallest nod, praying that Jean doesn’t turn him down. Take as much as you can, Jean. Drain him dry.

“But I’ve made up my mind,” he states. “This marriage is over. The bond is over. I’m rejecting you.”

Be strong, Jean. Be strong.

There’s more silence. Such drawn out and painful silence that it causes me to open my eyes. I raise my head, looking at the door as if suspecting they’re not even out there anymore. But then I hear someone speaking.

“I’ll take Eliot, I’ll take your bribe,” the person says and it takes me a moment for me to realize it’s Jean. Her voice is venomous, so foreign that I can’t believe it actually came from her. Pride swells in my chest as I practically want to shake the door.

“And I never want to see you again,” she finishes, her statement like sharp knives ready to cut through skin. And maybe they have as I hear Ralph sigh.

“Starting now,” she says. “Get out and don’t come back until you’re certain I’m gone.”

Holy shit, Jean! I didn’t know she had that sort of power within her, but I have to admit that even I feel a little threatened by her cruel tone. Especially as she repeats her words.

“Get. Out.”

Getting the message loud and clear, I hear Ralph’s feet begin to shuffle, staggering backward. Then there’s the sound of keys jingling, the door opening and closing.

And then nothing.

I wait. I breathe. And only when I’m sure that Ralph is miles away…

I open the door.