Free Web NovelChapter 41: Chapter 41 A Quick Detour
Christina’s POV
I was just about to grab my mail when the door swung open, revealing Hudson standing there with a coffee tray and a paper bag, his tall frame filling the doorway.
I blinked, momentarily stunned. "Uh, morning."
The awkwardness in my voice was unavoidable. Last night, I’d somehow agreed to marry the man who happened to be the Alpha of the Sabreridge pack, and my brain was still struggling to process this reality.
"Morning." His voice was deep, confident. "I brought breakfast."
Of course he had. Always prepared, always one step ahead.
"Thanks. Come in. You look... nice."
Understatement of the damn century.
Hudson was wearing a three-piece charcoal grey suit that showcased his broad shoulders and powerful build. Not the stiff corporate type, but something sharp and unmistakably custom-made. The lapels were narrow, the trousers perfectly tailored to his muscular frame, and at the cuffs were subtle hand-embroidered initials HL. Even his tie seemed to radiate power and confidence.
People often complimented well-dressed men by saying they looked like a million bucks. For Hudson Laurent, I’d have to add three more zeros, and that still felt like lowballing it.
We ate in the living room, though neither of us ate much. My croissant sat there flaking quietly while my brain kept repeating "I’m getting mated and married today" like a broken record. My wolf stirred restlessly inside me, confused by the sudden life change but not entirely opposed to it.
After about fifteen minutes of merely poking at the pastries, I glanced at the clock. Still early.Elder Council wouldn’t open for another hour and a half.
"Would you mind making a detour first?" I asked, not quite meeting his intense gaze.
"Not at all," he said instantly, "As long as we’re not late."
He drove. In silence, mostly, because there were only so many ways to fill the air between "Want to get married?" and "Sure." His scent surrounded me in the confined space of his luxury car, making it hard to think clearly.
He pulled up outside the Vance residence,my parents’ home in The Crescent pack territory.
I unbuckled my seatbelt. "Thanks. I won’t be long."
"Do you want me to come with you?" His eyes scanned the house.
I hesitated, then shook my head. "No. I can handle it." Though having an Alpha by my side might make this easier, this was something I needed to do alone.
I grabbed the door handle, then paused. He deserved context.
"I’ve been thinking about what you said. About Louisa. You were right, I shouldn’t let guilt steer my decisions just because she’s been...decent to me."I sighed, remembering how she was the only one who treated me with genuine kindness. "Mateship should be about me and the person I’m actually mating with. Not how charming his mother might be."
He didn’t say anything. Just gave me a slight nod.
"I gave Niall the ring back ages ago. But there’s something else I forgot to return to the Grangers."
There had been an exchange of gifts when our families arranged the engagement between The Crescent and The Frostpelt packs. My father gave the Grangers an heirloom gold ring with our pack’s insignia. Louisa had it now.
The Grangers’ gift had been a vintage brooch.According to pack lore, it once belonged to Louisa’s great-great-great-grandmother, who probably wore it while judging lesser wolves in oil paintings.
My parents had kept it locked away in a safe somewhere, never trusting me with something so valuable.
When I stepped inside the house, both my parents were there. My mother sat stiffly on the sofa, sipping coffee, while my father stood by the window with his arms crossed.
"Well, well. Look who finally showed her face," my father sneered, eyes cold as they fixed on me. "Tough on the phone the other day, now crawling back? After slapping Beatrice and Serenna in front of half the Northern packs? Save your breath unless you’re here to apologize."
"I’ve got nothing to apologize for. If anything, Beatrice should be apologizing for sleeping with my fiancé, and Serenna for trying to steal him."
My mother’s face flushed—anger, not embarrassment. "Your father’s right. The nerve of you!"
Her coffee cup hit the table so hard I thought the glass would crack.
"Unbelievable! I raised you to be a proper Luna, fed you, clothed you and now you cut us off? After everything your father and I sacrificed for this alliance?"
Here we go. Again.
"Don’t start with the Greatest Hits," I cut her off fast."I didn’t come here for a lecture. I came for the brooch the Grangers gave us."
My father frowned like I’d asked for his kidneys or the pack’s sacred ceremonial items.
He took five seconds to remember, then his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Why do you want that brooch?"
"I don’t see how that’s your business. It was given to me as part of the mating arrangement. It belongs to me." My patience was fraying.
"Absolutely not," he snapped, all tight-jawed fury. "You’re planning to return it, aren’t you? To the Grangers? To destroy any chance of salvaging this alliance?"
"So what if I am? Louisa gave it to me. I can do with it whatever I like."
I checked my watch. I’d stupidly thought this would be quick. In, out, done. Five minutes, max. But no, my father was digging his heels in, as stubborn as any wolf protecting his interests.
"I’m your father. I have every right to hold on to it for safekeeping."
"Exactly, safekeeping. As in, you’re just the storage unit. And newsflash, when something’s mine, I can take it back whenever the hell I want. Like... now."
"Absolutely not. It’s way too valuable to just hand over to a daughter who’s throwing away her destiny."
I narrowed my eyes, "Are you giving it to me or not?"
"Not a chance," my father growled. My mother sniffed, mouth curling into that nasty smirk she probably practiced in the mirror. "Even if we did, it wouldn’t go to you. Beatrice deserves it when Niall proposes."
"Then wait till they’re engaged. Until then, it’s still mine."
If I didn’t hand that brooch back to Louisa myself, she’d keep thinking there was still something between me and Niall.
"Still no." My father’s voice was stone. Caroline nodded, eyes darting nervously between us.
They both knew it.Louisa would never let that heirloom touch Beatrice’s backstabbing chest. Old-school about pack traditions, Louisa didn’t gift ceremonial items lightly.
I raised a brow. "Scared Louisa won’t accept Beatrice? That even with the brooch, she’ll pretend your precious daughter doesn’t exist? Hoarding it like paranoid wolves guarding scraps? Pathetic, even for you two."
That hit a nerve. My father’s jaw tightened; Caroline’s nostrils flared so wide I thought she might shift right there.
"How we handle this is our business," my father snapped. "And mind your tone. We’re your parents, not some omega pups to lecture." Caroline hissed in agreement. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"Cool. Then you’ll love this."
I whipped out my phone and started dialing.
