Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Ayla Things had been a little tense between Kingston and me since the Gathering. His overprotectiveness seemed to kick into high gear after what happened at the banquet. It had been four days, and he hadn’t let me go anywhere or do anything without him. I had confronted him several times, and he just said he was protecting me. But he wouldn’t tell me why he thought I was in so much danger that he had to be so close to me all the time.

Alpha Harden had called us after Alpha Conner’s judgment meeting. They gave him the option to serve two years in a Blue Fang prison for breaking the laws of the pack and the Gathering. Or he could choose to be stripped of his Alpha rank and banned from leaving his pack territory for at least five years. He opted to be stripped of his rank, which didn’t satisfy Kingston as much as I expected it to.

But still, we followed up, and Alpha Conner hasn’t shown any signs of immediate retaliation toward us. Even if he did, the pack has been alerted to watch for any trouble. There was no reason for Kingston’s behavior.

I thought something else might be going on. Maybe it had something to do with Pierce’s absence at the Alpha Gathering. But he denied all my questions. He said everything was fine. But he still wouldn’t give me some space.

It was starting to stress me out. I received another card from my stalker on Tuesday. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Kingston because I was afraid he would lock me in our apartment for the foreseeable future. Especially since the message had referred to the events at the Alpha Gathering.

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15:21 I found the blue envelope when I came into the office that morning. It was the same as the others; except for the message inside.

He was a fool to take you.

He can pretend you belong to him all he wants.

But you’re mine.

He was too weak to take care of that Alpha.

But I’m not.

I will keep you safe.

See you soon, my love.

I was working at my desk when Erica came in with a file for me.

“Here is the revenue report you needed,” she said cheerily.

“Thanks, Erica,” I replied. I stopped her as she was leaving. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she stated.

“I was recently offered a job. Don’t worry,” I rushed. “It’s only a short- term project. I can work on it outside of here for the most part. But it would require me to be away for a few weeks initially. I haven’t made any promises or anything. I’m still committed to this company. But it is a good opportunity.”

“Ayla, sweetie,” Erica said with a smile. “You have picked up the ins and outs of this business faster than I could have expected.

Another month or so, you’ll be running this place on your own. If you need to take some time, take some time before you’re completely indispensable to us. Just let me know what you need.”

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15:21 Chapter 59: Ayla 288 Vouchers “Thank you,” I replied. “I still haven’t decided on anything yet, though. I’ll let you know if I do.”

I hadn’t told Kingston about Luna Grace’s request. I wasn’t going to take the job at first, but with everything going on here, I needed a break. This would give me some distance to reset. Besides, Luna Grace said I’d stay at the lake house about an hour from the city, and I’d have my own place. I would barely see Theo. It may even be relaxing.

I just had to deal with Kingston. I knew he wouldn’t like the idea, but I wanted to do this.

When Kingston and I got home, I had been thinking about how would break the news to him most of the day. I called Luna Grace that afternoon and told her I was interested in taking on the project. We discussed some details, and I told her I would give her my final decision the next day.

I thought I would have doubts about reaching out to her, but I was actually getting excited. When I came to Sablemane territory, I felt I needed a change in everything, including my career. And I did. I was happy with my job and the prospect of taking over the publishing house soon. I liked what I was doing. But I didn’t realize that I missed. writing too. Instead of changing my career trajectory, maybe I just needed a different approach to my writing.

“Hey,” Kingston said, pulling me out of my thoughts, “what’s on your mind?”

It was time to bite the bullet.

“Um, I want to talk to you about something,” I said.

Kingston grabbed my hand and guided me to the couch, pulling me down next to him as he sat.

15:21 Chapter 59: Ayla 288 ¡Vouchers “What’s up?”

“Luna Grace offered me a job last weekend,” I started. “She wants me to write Alpha Torin’s memoir.”

“Okay...” he pressed.

“I want to do it,” I stated. “But it would mean going to stay with them for a couple weeks.”

“Ayla, you’re joking, right?”

“I need to interview Alpha Torin. It needs to be in person so I can gauge his emotional response, study his mannerisms, really get to know him better. I can’t do that over the phone or email,” I told him.

He got up from the couch. I could tell he was getting angry.

“No,” he said flatly. “You’re just going to have to turn down the job.”

“Excuse me?” I had expected him to be upset and not like the situation, probably try to talk me out of going. But I didn’t expect him to flat-out refuse the idea. “Tell me you’re joking now, Kingston.”

“I’m not letting you leave the territory where I can’t protect you, let alone send you back to a pack where your ja****s of a mate is just waiting for you with open arms.” He was practically yelling by the end of his statement.

“Theo has nothing to do with this,” I yelled back 70 070