ManyWriters

My mate, Alpha Richard, locked our she-pup inside a sealed antique cabinet.
Our asthmatic pup.
All because his adopted sister's pup was throwing a tantrum and needed a "doll" to amuse him.
"It's just a Ball-Jointed Doll in there," he sneered. "Can't you even tell your own pup from a doll?"
Then he walked next door to praise the boy. “You’re so much braver than my pup,” he cooed. “You’re my favorite.”
Later, at a fashion show, he let his sister steal the designs I made for our pup.
He called me a plagiarist to protect her.
I was about to shatter when a man burst through the doors.
In his hands was a funeral portrait of my pup.

The Alpha’s Empty Antique Cabinet

When Richard heard the sirens, something inside him finally broke.


He stared at me in terror, his eyes wide with disbelief.


"What have I done? I've merely told the police everything you did."


Did he really think I'd been idle? That I would let my pup's murderer walk free?


All the things you did—involuntary manslaughter, assault, unlawful imprisonment... I gathered every last piece of evidence.


Only when I was one hundred percent certain there was enough to guarantee you a long prison sentence did I finally call the police.


"Irene, we are mates. Even if you don't care about anything else, you have to care about our bond, don't you? Do you really have to take things this far?"


"Richard Blackwood, I told you. Every waking moment, and even in my dreams, my only regret is that I ever knew you."


I was disgusted with myself. How could I have ever fallen for a monster like him?


Chapter 12