It seemed like Olivia had taken my place in every way. All the Alphas who used to try to be my friend now flocked to her.She was petite and pretty, with curly brown hair reaching the middle of her back. Her brownish-green eyes were perfect ovals, and she moved gracefully, like a ballerina.The way she touched William’s arm when they spoke told me she was attracted to him. He seemed flattered by her attention, and I saw them chatting in the hallways later in the day.The rest of my Friday was as dismal as the first half of the day. Besides losing my seat next to William and all my friends to Olivia, some of the Alpha kids resumed their attempts to torment me.However, I wasn’t the shy, geeky girl of the past. Their efforts to humiliate me didn’t always work out well for them.At lunch, as I sat at an empty table near a gaggle of popular girls, one asked me how it felt to go from riches to rags. Another called me a homeless nobody.“Wow, you girls are getting your gossip from a lame so
“Daisy, you look too much like your mother for it to be a coincidence,” William said. “My parents say you are the spitting image of Joanna Wilson. Everyone who has ever seen her or has been inside Alex’s ballroom can see it.”“Alex said my maid must have molded my looks, so I resembled Joanna in the portrait.”“No way!” William exclaimed. “I remember you before you began wearing contacts and makeup. You have your mother’s eyes, and the shape of your face is exactly like hers.”I didn’t know what to say.“Your bright green eye color is rare,” he pointed out. “They are the exact shade as Joanna’s, while Olivia’s are hazel green.”“That’s true, but it wasn't hard evidence.”“I’ve been talking to Olivia to draw more information from her for my investigation,” William said. “There are several more reasons why my parents and I think she's an imposter.”I was stunned. William and his parents think Olivia is an imposter! How many other Alphas thought this, too?I reminded myself it didn’t mea
I rode the bus to school the next morning with the same happy smile on my face. William had given me hope of regaining my life and home. It was a fantastic feeling.Plus, it would clear my name.Too many of my fellow students think I am the imposter. Having people think I was the type of person who would scam Alex made me angry.It was hard seeing Olivia surrounded by many of the same Alphas who had befriended me while hearing them say horrible things about me that weren’t true.I didn’t intend to speak to Olivia. And I don’t think she wanted to talk to me. Each time I saw her that morning, outside the school and again in werewolf history, she looked the other way and ignored me.Maybe she felt guilty about what her impersonation was doing to me. I didn’t speak to her because I was afraid I’d ask her something to make her suspect somebody was looking into her sudden appearance in Alex’s life.If she was a scammer, It was best to leave the investigation to William. If she knew someone
My life in Denhurst was over. I couldn’t face Amy after what I did to her, and the bullying grew worse daily.There was no choice left for me but to leave the city and go somewhere nobody knew who I was.The prospect of leaving Denhurst and everyone I cared about made me cry harder. Everything was crashing down around me, and it felt like my life was over.If only I had told Amy about Justin being an Alpha, there would have been hope for our friendship. Maybe not after I let her be bullied at that stupid party.It was all my fault Amy didn’t want to be friends any longer. I screwed things up beyond repair.I got to my locker and placed my books inside. Since this was probably the last time I would visit this locker, I took the pictures taped to the inside of the locker door and held them to my heart.One photo was a selfie of Amy and me at a book fair. Another was one Benson had taken of me and Alex after he had gotten out of the hospital. The last one Jennifer had taken at the lake.
I rushed into the first stall. Wendy and the others would expect me to hide in the last stall again. While they looked for me there, I would try to slip past them and sneak out the door to the hallway.“But I only saw one pair of feet go past the stall I was hiding in, and a soft voice called my name. “Daisy, it’s me. Are you in here?”“Amy! Thank the Goddess, it’s you.” I flung the door open and hurried to her side. “How did you know they locked me in here?”“I was looking for you and saw those Alpha girls come out of the bathroom,” she explained. “I knew they were up to no good when they jammed the janitor’s mop into the door handle.”“Then I heard them mention your name, and I put it together,” she added. “Are you alright?”“Yeah, but Wendy tore up two of my photos,” I replied with a shaking lower lip. “One was the selfie I printed out from our trip to the book fair.”“We can take another selfie,” Amy said. “But I think you need to go home for the day. You don’t look well.”“I was
Victor’s POVWhen I saw Amy exit the kitchen to help clean up a mess in the dining room, I realized I shouldn’t have brought Olivia to Gray’s restaurant.It felt disloyal to be here, discussing marriage with Olivia in the place where I first met Daisy.“It sounds like a good arrangement for us both,” Olivia said after I told her I wanted an open marriage.Her eagerness to be able to take other lovers bruised my ego, but I couldn’t pretend to be in love with her. Daisy was too fresh in my heart and mind.The pain that tore through my soul when Daisy rejected me made me vow to never care about a female again.I should be grateful Olivia was willing to marry me. She was pretty enough to attract any man. But there was something about her, something strange about her reactions and mannerisms.She flirted with me like an experienced woman, yet she shied away from any contact with me, even the touch of my hand on hers.Still, she was Alex’s daughter, and she claimed to want to marry me. The
Seeing Victor with Olivia was agonizing. Without thinking, I ran out of the backdoor and began to walk. I had no destination in mind, but I had to get away from the sight of Olivia taking my place in Victor’s life.Four blocks later, I reminded myself that Amy and her dad needed me in the kitchen, and I returned to the restaurant. Amy and Mr. Gray tried to act like nothing was wrong.“Victor was here looking for you,” Amy said as she handed me clean dishes to put away.Great, I didn’t want him to know I was upset. It would be humiliating for him to know I cared that he was with Olivia.“What did he want?” I asked.Amy shrugged. “I guess he wanted to talk to you.”I could tell she wasn’t telling me everything, but I didn’t want to think about Victor and Olivia anymore that night. I tightly squeezed my eyes closed to try to get the image of them together out of my mind.The three of us finished our work for the night, and Mr. Gray took us to my apartment.“Thanks for your help, Daisy,”
Victor’s POVAfter leaving my parents’ house, I went home and gave my decision more thought. But I was sure Daisy meant more to me than the leadership position.Alex needed to know that I wasn’t interested in marrying Olivia even if he had to give the job to someone else. I’m sure he could find another husband for Olivia, who wanted the job.Benson was waiting by the front door when I arrived at the mansion. He held the door for me and then led me to Alex, who was waiting for me in his den.“Victor, you're here. Benson says you need to speak to me about something urgent,” Alex said and waved me into a chair next to him.“Yes. I must speak to you.” I tried to remember the words I decided to use to explain myself. I didn’t want to insult him by saying anything wrong about Olivia. She was his daughter, and he may take offense.Plus, Olivia hadn’t done anything wrong. If I didn't love Daisy, she would be acceptable for my mate. But as long as Daisy was in this world, I couldn't accept any