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• TWELVE • The Wolf's Den
Last Updated:
2025-04-03 08:48:29
Lorea AsheDaniel and his wolf are glad to be back home! He takes a well-deserved nap while the village gets ready for a party. What do you think of the little safe haven the pack has carved out for themselves? If given the choice, where would you stay - Packhouse in the convenience of having everything close and your meals cooked for you? The Bachelor’s Pad with the freedom and privacy to be on your own, yet still have the sense of community? Or in your own home, away from the daily business of pack life?
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Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • THIRTEEN • Miss the Misery
The past several days blended into each other as Samantha stayed close to the house. Her attempt to enter the boutique left her feeling broken, defeated, and frustrated. She knew the feelings would persist as long as her eye was this fantastic shade of eggplant. It had been three days now, and each day, the bruise darkened with no sign of abating any time soon.The only saving grace to any of this was that Richard still hadn't come back home or reached out to her. The longer he stayed away, the more she dreaded seeing him again, and the pit in her stomach grew heavier knowing they were going to have to have a very difficult talk eventually.The afternoon she came home from the restaurant, she had looked around the house, lost. She lay on her bed and cried. It didn't get her anywhere, nor did it help ease the dull ache inside. She ran a hot bath and added Himalayan sea salt to it, hoping the warmth would penetrate her chilled core, but sat in the tub with her arms curled around her knee
Last Updated : 2025-04-03Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • FOURTEEN • The Art of Letting Go
The food and new attitude did Samantha a lot of good. It was like she walked around the house with a fresh set of eyes. She tied her hair back and started with the laundry, looking at his clothes mixed with hers in disgust.She was a nuisance.A bother.Clingy.A child.She punctuated every thought with another item of his she threw in a separate pile to go back in the basket, then she yanked his towel off the hook and threw it on top of everything she left behind. Luckily, the washroom was upstairs, so she took her clothes and sorted them in there before starting the first load.After an initial pang of anxiety, feeling like she was being petty and immature, she decided that it felt good. Next, she stripped everything off the bed so it could wait its turn in the machines. Feeling a moment of satisfaction, she moved to the bathroom with cleaning supplies and started in the shower, scrubbing down the walls. Unsure what to do with his hygiene items, she gathered everything into a small b
Last Updated : 2025-04-03Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • FIFTEEN • The Wolfless Alpha
Daniel's eyes popped open with a start. The soft tap on the door was just enough to rouse him from his deep slumber. He checked the clock on the nightstand, and it read four pm. Dammit. He meant to be awake before now.He got up and threw a T-shirt on over his dark jeans as he opened the door and found Lucas lazily leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway with his arms crossed."Sorry to wake you from your beauty sleep," he drawled, not looking the least bit apologetic. “Donna sent me to get you so she could have a word with you before the cookout officially starts.""I'm surprised she didn't get me herself," Daniel mused as he left the door open and put his shoes on."Why would she when she knows she can get me to do it," Lucas grumbled good-naturedly.Daniel followed Lucas down the stairway. As they descended, the smell of food became thicker in the air, making his stomach rumble and reminding him it had been a long time since his last meal. He could hear Donna just outside,
Last Updated : 2025-04-03Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • SIXTEEN • The Meaning of Alpha
He knew this discussion and her displeasure, no, her infuriation, was inevitable. He hoped to take care of this tomorrow, but it was here in front of him right now, today."Donna, I do not want to, nor will I ever send Henry away," Daniel swore. "But I promised him he and his wolf would thrive, and they have. But I cannot in good conscience hinder or limit him either.""He won't go," she said stubbornly. "He doesn't want to.""That may be," Daniel sympathized. "But I think I owe it to Henry to let him make that decision himself, as much as it pains us both. You know his wolf is strong, Donna, you've known it from the very beginning. It was part of the reason you feared another Alpha would kill him.""He's not as strong as you, or Lucas, or Thomas, or Judd, or even Justin," she protested. "He doesn't even rank in the top three deltas!""No," Daniel said. "Not yet, anyway. A lot of that has to do with desire. Henry is happy right now with his position in the pack, but we can both feel hi
Last Updated : 2025-04-04Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • SEVENTEEN • The Wolf Ascends
Daniel lifted his face to the full moon and let his wolf wash up through and over him. It wasn't a seamless transition, not even for an Alpha such as him. Being a werewolf was initially called a curse for a reason, but with his pack and full moon present, his shift came relatively easily and painlessly, and he accepted it for the blessing it had become.There, of course, was the pain as his bones broke and reshaped, but by now, it was one he was familiar with and barely gave it a thought. A lot of movies like to portray the lengthening of the jaw and snout as the transformation works its way down, but in reality, the change starts in the spine between the shoulders. The kinder way to describe it, without detail, would be to say it began at his shoulders and rippled out, like a rock tossed into a still pond.But it wasn't that simple or serene.The bones of Daniel's vertebrae from the last rib up, his thoracic spikes, began to lengthen, pushing out from the skin. As the skin peeled back
Last Updated : 2025-04-04Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • EIGHTEEN • Blood Moon Run
Donna hummed a wordless tune, which sounded like a well-practiced lullaby, as she kneeled over her grandson, and Henry's whimpers began to subside. Daniel gently fed his power into Henry this time, going at his pace to assist rather than insist. As Henry's little human body began to weaken in exhaustion, it allowed the wolf to come up smoothly until finally, a dark brown wolf, with lighter markings on its belly and inside legs, was now lying on its side, panting. It blinked a few times, then rolled up onto its feet and looked around in wonder.Henry's wolf wasn't a pup, but Daniel could identify it as a juvenile, a little smaller and lankier, with not as much muscle mass as the adult wolves. Daniel had never seen a werewolf so young, so he wasn't sure what to expect.Donna sat back in the dirt and put her face in her hands as she cried, not just for the rendering scene, but for the adrenaline that left her wrung out. Henry cautiously approached her and nuzzled her cheek with a small li
Last Updated : 2025-04-05Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • NINETEEN • Breaking the Pattern
Samantha received the box and looked at it as she shut the door. Richard Covington. She set it in his study while she cursed herself for not putting sunglasses on before she opened the door. The deliveryman's warning echoed in her ears.She knew he was right. She knew the pattern of abuse and how it escalated. At least when it happened to somebody else. Being in and living the situation makes it difficult to see. The chance for real change, from either party, was very slim once those patterns were established.She knew right now, she needed that change to keep from getting sucked into the vortex of misery. Her heart and body were bruised in ways she’d never felt before. If this wasn’t their breaking point, which it seemed to be with his continued absence and silence, then what would be? She pulled out her laptop and went back to the island in the kitchen. As she waited for it to boot up, she nervously chewed her bottom lip.Am I doing this? I know I should, I know I need to, but is thi
Last Updated : 2025-04-05Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • • TWENTY • Traitor
Tuesday morning, Samantha could see some improvement around her eye. The swelling had been gone for a couple of days now, and she noticed a slight lightening in the bruised area. She still felt like a recluse holed up away from the world in her own home, and she was beginning to run low on a few items.She thought about her dilemma and then opened up the website for the grocery store. It felt odd doing the shopping online, but not as difficult as going in person and being stared at with judgmental, or worse, sympathetic looks. She always spurned the idea of having someone else shop for her, but today, she was grateful.She loaded up her virtual cart and paid for everything. The store sent her a notification stating it would be ready by eleven. That gave her a couple of hours, so she took her time getting ready, trying to find a way to style her hair to minimize the appearance of the bruise.She picked up her groceries and gave the young man who loaded her up a cash tip in appreciation,
Last Updated : 2025-04-06
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Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Fifty-Six
A giddy feeling welled up in Samantha. Daniel texted her back. She couldn’t stop the smile on her face when she read his last text.Goodnight, Samantha.He was appreciative of the meal she bought. And he asked if she got home safely. Richard didn’t even care if she was gone, as long as she was here when he was.She felt better for setting an appointment to discuss security options for her home. But it also meant he was going to need to come by to figure out what she needed.She wasn’t ready for that yet, hence why she set a meetup for Tuesday. She inherently knew she could trust him. He had already proven that her safety was a priority for him, whether it stemmed from his profession or because he cared about her, she didn’t know.
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Fifty-Five
When they returned to the hotel, it was pushing nine. Thomas retreated immediately, grumbling about being up before everyone else this morning.Thomas is getting a little cranky, Daniel thought aimlessly. He poured himself an Irish whiskey.His wolf is cranky, Daniel’s wolf commented. All of their wolves are getting restless.I’ll take everyone up for a run at Blue Ridge on Saturday, Daniel promised. Why aren’t you cranky, then? Daniel heard a coughing chuckle from his wolf at the question.
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Fifty-Four
Samantha returned home and retreated to her bedroom. She still wasn’t ready to be in the living room, and she didn’t want to be downstairs when, or if, Richard came home tonight.It was ironic that just a few short weeks ago, his absence upset her, and now, the thought of his presence was almost too much to bear.She ran a hot bath. It was still early in the day, but she hoped the heat and some essential oils would relieve the knots of tension embedded in her back and shoulders, and she thought about her meeting with Mandy. It didn’t go how she expected.What did you expect? The silent, sarcastic voice mocked her. She didn’t have an answer to that. She just knew now that she had some big decisions to make.Mandy laid out a few options. Talk to a psychiatrist. File a restraining order. Petition for Divorce from Bed and Board. All of it was so detailed and were huge steps. It felt like overreacting. He had already left and had a chance to calm down. That moment last night was on both of
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Fifty-Three
Richard couldn’t pinpoint when his fascination with Mari began. Once she began dating Nate, she became a natural addition to their friendship dynamic.He does remember their first night, though, when they crossed that line of friendship into… whatever this was. It wasn’t love. Neither one of them was going to leave their marriages. But it was fun, raw, and dirty, and the taboo of it all appealed to their mutual need for adrenaline and danger.He got her a job in the marketing department with his brother around three years ago. She excelled very quickly and had a great eye for detail. Almost two years ago now, she was working late on a project he was overseeing. Once she had his final approval on it, they went out for drinks afterwards to celebrate.After the long night and the glowing feeling of s
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Fifty-Two
Edward could see where Daniel was going with the proposed changes, but he had to admit, in his situation, he would have pushed for the same thing. He knew Richard wasn’t going to take it well, but he did what he could to make sure Richard didn’t lose his stake in the company completely out of his own idiocy.He called him on the way home, the first time going to voicemail, so he called a second time. Richard answered the phone in irritation.“Uncle Eddie, what do you need?” He asked.“It’s not what I need, it’s what you wanted,” Edward snapped. “You asked me to do you a favor, and I’m doing that favor.”“Can this wait until tomorrow?” Richard asked, sounding repentant but distracted.
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Fifty-One
“We have a few things to discuss, I was hoping to inform the other shareholders of, and we will need a vote on some changes.“First of all, we’re announcing that Lucas Dunn, our COO, is now a twenty-percent shareholder. That leaves me, and Clearfork Securities at an even fifty,” Daniel explained.Daniel noticed as Edward nodded his head, and then he continued.“You’ll find the breakdown and relevant transference information on page one of your folder. The more important matter, however, is to generate the new bylaws and shareholder agreements to accommodate the acquisition. I was hoping your nephew would be present to weigh in on this, but since he is not, we’ll proceed without him.”
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Fifty
“Tell me you have some good news, Thomas,” Daniel said, looking over his CFO. “What have you found?”“Honestly, nothing yet,” Thomas shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t seem to make any connection to either Merrick or Roble.”“How are we on background checks?” Daniel asked.“They’re starting to trickle in, but so far, the worst I’ve seen is an open container violation.”Daniel’s jaw ticked. He felt the pressure of time bearing down, making him restless.Thomas is a good hunter, his wolf said out of nowhere. Daniel drew his eyebrows down. It was right. Thomas was a good hunter. He was always patient and thorough. Sometimes his style reminded Daniel of a cat.He could crouch motionless for hours if he needed to. He could wait there, taking everything in. He’ll find something eventually.Daniel opened his mouth to speak when the men heard two sets of footsteps approaching. Daniel raised an eyebrow and looked at the others. Their expressions mirrored his.Paige knocked on the door a little
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Forty-Nine
Paige walked calmly to her desk, which was set up directly in front of Lucas’s office. She opened her top drawer and reviewed its contents - a couple of loose paperclips, pens, and a used notepad.A man in light gray slacks and a cream shirt with his sleeves rolled up approached her as she took out the pen and notepad.“Good afternoon,” he smiled. He had light brown eyes with flecks of green. They were just a shade too dark to be considered hazel. She sat up straighter.“Good afternoon,” she returned, keeping her face in a professional mask.“I was wondering if Mr. Dunn was in his office?” he asked.“He’s not,” Paige replied. “He is preparing for a meeting toni
Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure • Chapter Forty-Eight
Daniel let the events of the morning wash over him, and let the stress and sweat disappear down the drain just like his shampoo and soap.Instead, he focused on his incredible luck at running into her today. Samantha. He had a name to the face. It made her more real, more concrete. Instead of being plagued by visions of an ethereal beauty with haunted eyes, he now had memories of her voice, emotions, mannerisms, and the feel of her hand in his.He waited for her inconspicuously. Since they’d come from the park, he didn’t know where she’d left her car. When she left the lawyer’s, he didn’t see the confident square of her shoulders indicating someone was taking back the power to reclaim their life. He saw worry and hesitant insecurity, causing him to worry.Which caused him to worry.
