NovelEnglishThree weeks passed by after that night without a hitch.
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My life slowly evolved into a simple but comforting routine. Each day was the same-something that might have
givenanxiety before but now served as a pleasant reminder that | got to spend every waking moment with
my son.
Each day, | woke up at dawn. | would change Lucien’s diaper. Feed him his morning bottle while he blinked up at
prepared breakfast. Put him down for his morning nap. Clean his nursery. Repeat.
It was simple work, but it was work that mattered. And every day, | was lucky enough to watch as Lucien grew a
little stronger. His breathing was less labored. He cried less at night. The oxygen tubes were only needed for a
few hours instead of all night long.
And every day, he seemed to recognizemore. He'd calm down the moment I picked him up. He'd follow my
movements with his big, mismatched eyes when | walked around the room. And sometimes, when | was feeding
him, he would wrap his tiny fist around my finger and hold on tight.
Those moments made everything else bearable. The cramped servants’ quarters, the gray uniform that marked
Nothing could fully blot out the constant chatter about Alexander's fucking Luna Trial, though. Because that was
all anyone could talk about anymore. It quickly becthe talk of the territories, and even wound up all over the
news. | couldn’t even turn on the television in the servants’ den anymore without seeing live coverage of the
incoming applications.
As the weeks passed, the applications kept rolling in from all over the territories until there had to be thousands.
Every eligible bachelorette within reasonable distance of Ashclaw was apparently vying for a place in the trial.
Everyone except for me.
Of course, I'd told Alexander to remove my nfrom the list and | was glad | did. | had already spent six years
trying to be the woman he wanted, and | wasn’t about to do that again.
Not for the man who couldn't even grievefor a week before he announced his plans to replace me.
My heart turned more and more bitter each day, although my wolf grew more agitated and desperate each time
the trial was mentioned. | did my best to ignore her, choosing instead to focus on Lucien and the twe'd been
blessed to have together.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBut eventually, | couldn't ignore it anymore. The day the application results-when the list of one hundred
bachelorettes who made it to the first round of the actual trial would be released-finally arrived, dawning gray
and dreary with a constant rain drizzling against the window.
The weather was very fitting for how | felt on the inside, at least.
“Will you cwithto check the results?” Anya asked as | fed Lucien in the kitchen that morning, just as |
did every morning. “I don’t think I can look by myself.”
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| hesitated, biting down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep myself from saying “Fuck no!” out loud. The last
thing | wanted was to be anywhere near that stupid fucking list.
But Anya looked so hopeful, and she'd becone of the few people in this house who actually treatedlike a
friend rather than just an unwanted rogue in the pack. | knew she was excited for the results; she had been
working hard on her etiquette skills and had even saved up to buy a new dress specifically for today.
If only she knew what | knew: that no one was good enough for the great Alpha King Alexander. He was probably
just doing this for his image and would choose Sophia or sother dilettante to be my replacement.
But for Anya’s sake, | forced a smile and said, “Sure. Letjust finish my morning chores and we’ll head down
together.”
Anya let out a breath of relief. “Oh, thank you. | hope we both get in.”
“Both of us?” My eyebrows shot up in mock confusion. | hadn't mentioned that | knew she'd been the one to
secretly put my nin the running, because | knew she was just trying to help. | also hadn't told her that I'd
found out and that | promptly told Alexander to remove my name.
Anya’s cheeks flushed. “Well... | mean... Figure of speech...”
“Right,” | smirked, finishing Lucien’s bottle and standing. “Well, put on your new dress. We'll head down soon.”
My friend beamed and scurried off, and | shook my head good-naturedly as | watched her go. Lilith, who was
sitting on the other side of the table working on mending a hole in a pair of pants, shotan arch look. | simply
shrugged and made my way up to Lucien’s nursery.
A little while after noon, Anya and | headed down to the foyer together, where the results were posted. A crowd
of young women had already gathered and were swarming the sheet of paper on the wall. Their excited voices
were rising to a din.
“Con,” Anya said, grabbing my hand and pullingcloser. “Let's get to the front!”
I let her leadto the bulletin board, shoving our way through the mass of bodies to see the results. | was
surprised to find that there were a lot of names on the list; maybe Alexander hadn't just chosen socialites after
all.
But that was probably just another ploy for his public image and only the cream of the crop would make it to the
final round. It had to be Sophia, anyway. | still couldn't get the picture of them drunkenly waltzing out of my head
even now, weeks later, and | loathed to think of what happened after that.
Fucking liars. Both of them.
The list was organized alphabetically by last name. Anya traced her finger along the list in search of her name,
then let out a squeal and jumped up and down excitedly.
“I made it, Stella!” she cried, gripping both of my hands in hers. “I made it to the next round!”
My wolf howled in anger and frustration, but | shoved her down. It didn’t matter. It shouldn't matter. Alexander
wasn’t our mate anymore, not technically now that | had a new, unmarked body, and besides... He'd never
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wantedanyway.
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| forced a smile and pinched my friend's cheek. “I'm so proud of you. You're going to do great.” Anya beamed.
“Even if | only make it this far, it’s still something. | can’t wait to tell my family.”
“They'll be proud,” | said, then turned to leave so the next wave of applications could shove forward in search of
their names. But | was just stepping away when something caught my eye further up the list and made my
footsteps halt.
There. In the N section.
Night, Stella. Omega, Ashclaw Pack.
| froze. My nwas on the list... The list that I'd specifically asked Alexander to removefrom three weeks
ago.
That chauvinistic ass...
“Stella!” Anya threw her arm around my shoulders and gavea squeeze. “You made it to the next round, too!”
Chapter 258
Chapter 258
Ella
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