Chapter 17
Kara's POV
“Kara,” Hunter said from across the room. “Come over here please.”
I rose and walked toward the group, clasping my hands behind my back as I came to stand opposite my husband.
“I will not accept any more commentary on Kara’s actions, or anything that does not pertain directly to your work duties, for that manner.” He looked at the rest of the deltas as he spoke, gaze lingering briefly on Laila, and for longer on Daphne. “Is that clear?”
Everyone nodded. Daphne moved her lips in what might have been a “yes Alpha,” but she spoke so quietly even I couldn’t make out the words.
Hunter continued:
“Kara handled the situation well. That’s why she is Chief Delta. And why she has long earned your respect.”
He said nothing about Maya. He turned without making eye contact with me and walked into his office.
I felt a glimmer of hope. It was effervescent and a bit odd. It seemed like it had been so long since Hunter had given me any reason to feel this way.
It must mean—surely—that Hunter still saw me as different from Maya. Still respected me for my competence, if nothing else.
It wasn’t much, but I held onto it like a treasured item, clutching it close to my chest.
I was about to knock on Hunter’s door later that afternoon when I was ready to drop off the revised documents, but paused when I heard voices inside.
The door was open a small crack.
Maya’s voice, sounding pitiful. She was speaking in a sweet, high-pitched tone I’d never heard her use before. She must save it only for him.
“I was only trying to help, Hunter,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry.”
She paused and I heard a shuffling of fabric. She must have scooted closer to him on the couch, put her hand on his arm.
I heard footsteps. Maybe Hunter shrugging her off and walking across from the sofa to his desk?
“The issue has been resolved,” he said after a moment. “There’s no need to blame yourself.”
I couldn’t tell if he was trying to placate her or if he really didn’t blame her for what had happened.
She paused for a long moment, then spoke in a frail voice.
“Why did you give Kara the black card? I thought those were only for members of the Alpha family. Daphne was saying that—”
He cut her off.
“I gave it to her years ago. For convenience. Without a Luna yet or a large family, I don’t have many options, but it would be foolish not to have a contingency plan. As this situation proved.”
“You really trust her, don’t you?” Maya replied. Her voice was shaking. “As more than a delta. I’m just—not good enough.”
More rustling. Perhaps Hunter walking swiftly over to the sofa, sitting down beside her. His voice was soft when he spoke.
“Kara, the only reason I praised Kara in front of the others was to shift the attention away from your mistake.
My heart sank. The brief glimmer of hope I’d found—the idea that Hunter thought of me differently than Maya after all; that he still respected me—faded into the ether.
I gritted my teeth and rapped on the door.
Maya blinked up at me as I entered. They were indeed sitting on the sofa close together.
Hunter put his hand on Maya’s leg for a moment and spoke softly to her.
“Give Kara and I a moment, please.”
She rose and sidled past me, not looking me in the eye.
“Don’t be too hard on Maya, okay? I see now that I was asking too much of her. I can’t expect her to be a professional delta like you. She doesn’t have the training and experience. I should focus on pampering her instead.”
He looked so calm and casual. Like he didn’t expect me to be heartbroken at hearing him talk about pampering another woman.
I sighed, chest constricting yet again with the heartache.
“I’ll compensate you, of course,” he began, looking pleased with himself. “You’ll receive an additional sum of money as my thank you for handling the crisis.”
It was amazing how little he knew me. Or how little he cared.
He was looking at me like a sum of money would fix everything.
Like an additional deposit would be all it took to make me feel whole again.
I slept badly, tossing and turning with anger at Hunter and the intensity of the nausea.
The medicine the city doctor had given me had stopped working entirely. At first, I’d noticed a difference every time I took it. From thirty minutes after I swallowed the pill until it wore off two hours later, the intensity of the sickness dulled to a softer hue. I could focus on other things.
Now, it had stopped decreasing in intensity.
I even squinted to check the writing on the tiny pills to make sure they hadn’t been somehow switched for placebo sugar pills when I went to refill the prescription. They hadn’t.
As the doctor predicted, the limbo state of my mate relationship was increasing my pregnancy complications.
I was scowling down at the spreadsheet I was working on when Maya entered. I was surprised that, after the awkward interaction yesterday, she walked straight to me.
She looked young and fresh, cheerful and happy to be arriving at work.
“Oh, is that the budget for the initiation ceremony?” She asked brightly.
“Yes,” I replied in a small voice. I couldn’t open my mouth too wide or I worried I’d vomit.
“What’s that number at the end of the column there? And how do you get the total for those? And I think you told me, but I forgot. Where’s the template for—?”
I stood abruptly, accidentally sending my rolling chair spinning away behind me.
I’d tried so hard to be patient, for so long, but I couldn’t do it anymore.
“If you’re not capable,” I said, controlled rage broiling under the surface of my voice, “You must stay out of the way. Hunter intends to pamper you and relieve you of your duties. Let him. If you continue to try and help, you’ll only make trouble.”
I exhaled deeply. It was a relief to have lost my patience with her. For a moment, the nausea and headache and joint pains dissipated.
Maya looked into my eyes, blinking away tears.
“Do you dislike me?” She asked timidly. “I mean, outside of the work mistake and not knowing what I’m doing yet. Do you actually hate me? Do you think I’m holding you back?”
I paused, unsure how to reply to a question so direct.
I heard footsteps behind me. Hunter. How long had he been standing there?
He was frowning, arms crossed across his chest, looking down at me.
“Didn’t you also make a mistake with the data once?” He said to me. If I remember right, it nearly cost the pack an important collaboration?"
