Chapter 2

Fiona

On my last day before leaving, Kathy was still playing her Luna game.

And I, as the pack's Gamma, naturally became her personal servant.

"Fiona, go clean the rooms with the Omegas, then prepare the drinks I want." Her voice floated from Jackson's office, sickeningly sweet like spoiled syrup. "Forty iced lattes, no sugar."

I stood at the door, still holding the quarterly financial reports I was supposed to hand over.

Making a Gamma the company relied on serve as her maid to make coffee?

I felt humiliated. Pride made me clench my fists.

But I held back and simply nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

Only one more day until I left this hell. I could make it through.

In the kitchen, I ground beans, brewed, added ice, poured milk.

The prolonged physical labor exhausted me. I stared at my steam-reddened fingers, lost in thought.

I used to be the Gamma everyone in the pack respected, the Alpha's most capable lieutenant.

Now, my abilities hadn't diminished one bit, yet just because of Jackson's favoritism, I'd been stripped of everything—even the last shred of dignity in the pack.

I gave a bitter smile.

Whatever. I'd be leaving tomorrow anyway. I snapped back to attention and carried the last two coffees into the office.

The scene before me made me freeze, nearly dropping the cups.

I'd already decided not to care about him anymore, so why could I still hear my heart breaking?

Kathy sat on Jackson's lap, his large hand gripping her waist. They looked so intimate that my intrusion made me the one out of place.

Jackson's gaze was cold. "Set them down. Close the door on your way out. Don't disturb us."

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat, stepped forward, bent down to set the coffee before them, and was about to turn and leave.

Kathy glanced down, then smiled sweetly.

That smile sent chills down my spine.

She picked up her cup and took a sip.

"What is this?" She put on an exaggerated tone, covering her mouth. "Fiona, just because you can't stand my presence doesn't mean you should lose your professional competence. How can you not even make a proper cup of coffee?"

"You can't even take care of the pack's Luna—how are you supposed to take care of the whole pack?"

"I'll tell you what—kneel down and catch the coffee I'm about to throw, then make forty more for me to check. Then I'll forgive you." She spoke with false mercy.

She threw the cup at me.

Coffee splashed onto my white shirt. The cup shattered on the floor with a sharp crack.

I stood there looking at the spreading coffee stain without moving. What did this humiliation matter to me now?

My heart had already died along with my pup.

Kathy seemed surprised by my lack of reaction. She froze for a second, then turned to Jackson, her eyes instantly filling with tears.

"Jackson, she did something wrong, but look how defiant she is," she sobbed. "I only wanted her to focus on her work, and she makes that scary face at me."

"Jackson, I'm so scared..."

Jackson's gaze slowly moved to me. "Fiona, when did you become like this?"

He acted as if he couldn't see the coffee all over me. "Apologize to her." His voice carried no warmth. Alpha pressure crashed down like a mountain, forcing me to kneel on the ground to ease the pain.

I reached out, trying to grab Jackson's pant leg to explain. "I didn't do anything wrong. The coffee was perfectly—"

"Enough." Jackson stood up and kicked my hand away. The momentum sent me sprawling on the floor. "This isn't how a Gamma should behave. Making a scene shouldn't disrupt office order, and you definitely shouldn't talk back to the Alpha's mate. Dock your pay for a month, cancel your quarterly bonus. At next week's all-staff meeting, you'll apologize to Kathy publicly."

The noisy office instantly fell silent except for Kathy's fake crying. Everyone stared at my disheveled form, witnessing this public humiliation.

Kathy even flashed me a triumphant smile from an angle Jackson couldn't see.

Once upon a time, I would have bowed my head, bitten my lip, and said "Yes, Alpha," then continued working for him the next day.

But now I straightened up and laughed.

"Dock my pay?" I said. "Cancel my bonus? Jackson, what gives you the right?"

His brow furrowed. "You—"

"I'm not your employee." I enunciated each word. "I'm your Gamma. I chose to serve Stone Lake Pack because I once loved you very much—not because you own me. But now—"

I took a deep breath and straightened my back.

"Now, I no longer belong to this pack."

"And I no longer love you."