299\u2013Saving His Dignity\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were the two doing here? Did they come to ask you to come back home?\u201d Lady Eugenia pressed, catching up instantly. I knew she had been watching from the window the whole time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey came to talk about the sickness,\u201d Baxter replied casually, not stopping to explain further as he moved past everyone. He headed toward the small storeroom on the second floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t ask you to come back?\u201d Lady Eugenia insisted, following after him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched her trail behind him, continuing to bother him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but they did remind me that tomorrow is my dethroning,\u201d Baxter said, stopping briefly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The way her eyes widened and her jaw dropped made me wonder whether she was pretending to be shocked or truly had no idea it was happening tomorrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t trust her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eugenia\u2019s words made me snap my head toward her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d I asked, crossing my arms. It felt like she thought we were on the same side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said don\u2019t trust anything she does or asks you to do,\u201d Eugenia replied, repeating herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lowered my head and smiled to myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m not going to trust either of you, so don\u2019t worry,\u201d I replied. \u201cBesides, you can\u2019t stand around whispering with her and then come back and tell me you\u2019re on my side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My tone was bitter, but I kept a smile on my face to unsettle her. It worked. She looked annoyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter came down with his arms full, wooden posts tucked under one arm, a coil of wire hooked over his shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was the material he had gathered over the past two days. Behind him, his mother trailed after him, just like before, struggling to keep up in high heels and a gown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was clear she needed to change the way she dressed, or she would end up hurting herself out in the woods.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will lose all the power you have,\u201d his mother almost yelled at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had noticed how difficult she made his life. I had always known she was like this, but now that we were living with her, I realized it was worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was constantly in his ear, complaining about one thing or another. Baxter, however, seemed immune to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He did not slow down or look at her. He simply adjusted his grip on the wire and kept moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he reached the door leading outside, he nudged it open with his foot and glanced toward the children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKids, come on. You need to get some sunlight too,\u201d he told them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They grabbed their toys and ran after him. He then turned and tilted his head at me, signaling for me to follow. I\u00a0<\/p>\n
did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced back and saw his mother standing near the couch, clenching and unclenching her fists, clearly angry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
200 Saving His Dignity\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once outside, Baxter set a post near the edge of the cliff and immediately began working, hammering a stake into the ground. I moved closer, picking up the wire and holding it steady while he secured it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking of getting information about the sickness from somewhere else,\u201d I said. \u201cDo you think there\u2019s someone we can talk to who could help us without letting the others know we\u2019re working on it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He slowed slightly, pulling the wire tight and fixing it in place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about Ron?\u201d I suggested.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter paused for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d rather look through my own contacts,\u201d he replied, making it clear he did not like the idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour friends are also friends with Elgin and Graham,\u201d I complained, resting my hands on my waist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRon used to be our friend too,\u201d he pointed out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUsed to be,\u201d I replied. \u201cHe\u2019s not anymore, and he might be a better option.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I repeated Ron\u2019s name, Baxter straightened and gave a short nod.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, if you\u2019ve already decided, what can I say?\u201d he remarked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He tied off the wire and reached for the next post. I steadied it, holding it upright as he drove it into the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you have a problem with him, then I\u2019ll skip him,\u201d I quickly added, letting him know that his decision mattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He paused, looked up, and then smiled with ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, it\u2019s okay. Ron would be a good choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, when he agreed, there was a smile on his lips. I realized that simply acknowledging someone\u2019s concern mattered. It was a good thing to have in a relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It took us two hours to finish half of the fencing. After that, I decided to go inside to cook a meal, while Baxter told me he would head down to the motel to call Ron.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I entered the cabin, I saw Baxter\u2019s mother pacing anxiously with a file clutched in her hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Baxter?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her tone was not stern or harsh. It was the first time we had properly spoken since she arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left for some work,\u201d I replied, \u201cwhy is there a problem?\u201d I asked her and she held up the file.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHis dethroning is tomorrow. We were supposed to return this file to one of the northern packs. If we don\u2019t, Baxter will be penalized.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that alphas sometimes sent important documents to one another for review or assistance, and those files were always meant to be returned on time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the dethroning, the file needs to\u00a0<\/p>\n
be in the Alpha\u2019s hands, or Baxter will be sent to prison for forty days. That means we\u2019ll be living here without him for forty days,\u201d his mother said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart sank. Not because I was worried about what would happen to us, but because it would be a blow to his dignity to be thrown into prison right after having his crown taken from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby\u2019s writing style is bold and irresistible\u2014perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.<\/p>\n
299\u2013Saving His Dignity\u00a0 Madeline:\u00a0 \u201cWhat were the two doing here? Did they come to ask you to come back home?\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-no-daddy-novel-by-novelnozi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19668,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19500\/revisions\/19668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}