Marcel Conway is fresh on the market for a new year of the Mating Season: a sex auction masquerading as a Peace Trade to keep the packs from going to war. But she's gritting her teeth and digging her heels in, determined to come home to her small bu...
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"And what did Lydia do after that?"
There was the rhythmic ticking of the cheap clock on the office wall. Lavender essential oils were being dispersed through a diffuser on a small wooden table and I was nestled into a love seat across from Doctor Buangala. Throughout all of our conversations, her warm attentive brown eyes never displayed the slightest degree of judgment.
"Well, after the third time she publicly shamed me, I discreetly warned her in privacy I would help her swallow her teeth if she provoked me further," I vented, picking at the specks of dirt beneath my nails.
"It's been a month since you arrived, and she still hasn't made any progress?" My therapist sighed, pushing her glasses up to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"I am the bane of her existence," I agreed, nodding my head. "I want to be honest with you, Doc, and I never thought I'd say this but...I'm really glad we started doing therapy sessions."
"Oh, Marcel," Dr. Buangala smiled at me tenderly, smile lines creased the chocolate brown skin of her face as she awarded me a stunningly bright smile. "During your transition to Night Blood, you needed this outlet. Your progress toward accomodating to the pack is impressive."
"It's just nice to be seen and understood, not framed to be this bad outsider."
"You told me therapy was for recovering addicts and the mentally unwell," She chuckled and I felt my lips break, letting a small smile twist at my cheeks.
She rose from the plush chair across from me and ventured to her desk where the oldest computer I had seen sitting in idle wait. I frowned as I watched her boot up the PC, the system roaring to life with a vengeance.
"Do I need to make sure we are stocked up on enough coal for that thing to burn through?" I asked as I eyed the machine. "I thought they were supposed to get you a new one by now?"
"This should have died with the dinosaurs..." She agreed. "Unfortunately, pack funding is tight. The last agreement we signed with the humans was a tad expensive to my knowledge."
"Rotten luck," I grimaced, sympathizing for her irritation. Dr. Buangala let out a silent cheer after a long moment as she pulled up her previous notes from our last session.
"Right, here we go...." She hummed. "So, how are things going with Donovan?"
I frowned, casting my eyes down to my lap.
"Yeah, they aren't really going," I admitted, scrunching my nose.
"You mentioned last time he was going on a trip to California?" She pressed and I bit down on my lip nervously.
"Yeah, something happened in Crimson Timber. Alpha Yates died unexpectedly. All of the Alpha's were called into attendance. According to Jane, he is pushing for further investigation," I said as I discreetly withdrew my phone to check my texts from Khadra.
