Bonded to My Ex's Alpha Brother Chapter 41

Erin's POV

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, watching the morning light stretch across the wall. It had been four days since Derek had threatened me, humiliated me in front of the entire office, and fired me without giving me any chance to defend myself.

For four days, I had been hiding the fact that I was unemployed from my mother, pretending everything was normal, leaving the house each morning as if going to work, then spending hours at a coffee shop near our home until it was time to "return from Stone Group."

My wolf curled into a tight, miserable ball deep inside me, barely responding even when I tried to reach her. The pain of rejection from our Soul Bond had affected her far more than it had me.

I rolled onto my side, knees pulled to my chest. Despite the warm morning, I felt cold to my core. Derek's angry expression, the golden flash in his eyes as he threw those photographs at me, the absolute contempt in his voice—these memories played on an endless loop in my mind.

Amy and Jack were the only ones who knew the full truth. After leaving Stone Group, I had immediately called them, voice shaking as I recounted everything that had happened. They had been outraged on my behalf, insisting that Derek should have given me a chance to explain, that he should have trusted me. Their support was the only thing keeping me from completely falling apart.

I finally dragged myself out of bed, mechanically preparing for a new day. I had nowhere to actually go, but staying locked in my room would eventually raise my mother's suspicions.

"Erin, dear, come down!" my mother called from downstairs, interrupting my thoughts. "You have a visitor!"

A visitor? I wasn't expecting anyone. I quickly checked my appearance in the mirror—pale face, dark circles under my eyes, hair carelessly pulled back into a ponytail. I looked exactly like what I was: a heartbroken, unemployed Omega wolf barely holding herself together.

"Coming!" I called back, splashing cold water on my face in an attempt to bring some color to my cheeks.

As I emerged from my room and started down the stairs, I was surprised to see Amy standing in our living room, chatting animatedly with my mother. She looked up at me with pleading eyes, and I immediately understood. She was here to drag me out of the house—probably to the weekend gathering I had reluctantly agreed to attend.

"You didn't tell me you were going out today," my mother said, her face brightening with relief.

"I'm not going out," I replied flatly.

"Erin, dear," my mother said gently, "you've been working too hard lately. You should spend some time with your friends on the weekend. It would do you good."

I knew what my mother saw—her daughter, focused on work, sacrificing her social life to support the family. If only she knew the truth.

"I don't want to go, Mom," I said, my voice small and dejected.

My mother approached me, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Erin, sweetheart. You work so hard during the week. You should go out with your friends on the weekend. It will make you feel better."

I glanced at Amy, who was watching me with undisguised concern. Her usually cheerful face was now etched with worry, her eyes silently begging me to accept her invitation. I knew my friends were worried about me—I had barely responded to their texts over the past few days, refusing all their invitations to meet up. If I refused again, Amy would only worry more.

I sighed, feeling the weight of their expectations. "Fine," I conceded, "I'll go."

Amy's face immediately brightened, relief washing over her features. "Great! I promise we'll have fun."

"You will have her home by nine," my mother instructed, her tone gentle but firm.

"Of course, Mrs. Blackwood," Amy immediately agreed. "I'll drive her home personally, no later than nine."

\---

My mother nodded with satisfaction and returned to the kitchen, leaving Amy and me alone in the living room.

"Come on," Amy said, tugging me toward the stairs. "Let's find you something nice to wear."

I followed her reluctantly back to my bedroom, where she immediately began rifling through my closet.

"I don't want to dress up," I said, sitting heavily on the bed. "I don't even want to go out. I just agreed to make Mom happy."

Amy paused, turning to face me. "Erin, you can't keep hiding. It's been four days. You need to—"

My phone suddenly rang, interrupting her. I grabbed it from my nightstand, my heart skipping a beat when I saw Thomas's name on the caller ID.

"Hello?" I answered, struggling to keep the tremor from my voice.

"Hi, Erin. How are you?" Thomas's voice came through, warm and concerned.

"I'm fine. What about you? The Alpha isn't taking his anger out on you, is he?" I forced myself to sound normal, though I was certain he could hear the fragility in my voice.

"I'm good. I have some news for you. Good news."

I sat up a little straighter, a spark of curiosity breaking through my gloom. "What news?"

"The traitor who betrayed the Darkwood Pack has been caught. It was Claire, the Alpha's personal secretary."

I held my breath. "Claire?"

At the name, Amy's head snapped up, her eyes widening with interest. She moved closer, obviously trying to hear both sides of the conversation.

"Yes," Thomas confirmed. "She had been working with the Ridgeclaw Pack for months, leaking sensitive information."

A weight I hadn't realized I'd been carrying suddenly lifted from my chest. "But... why would she do that?"

Thomas sighed. "She said Alpha Ethan approached her, offering a million dollars for all the information on the project. He promised her name would never be revealed. So she did it for the money."

I shook my head, still struggling to process this information. "How was she caught?"

"You know our leader," Thomas said, a note of admiration in his voice. "He's smarter than any of us could imagine. You won't believe it. He had me check all employees' bank accounts. He caught the culprit through bank transactions. He discovered that a million dollars had been transferred to Claire's account on the day of the meeting. When he traced the transaction ID for all information, he found it was from the Ridgeclaw Pack's bank."

"He could have done that before humiliating me," I said bitterly, the memory of my public disgrace still vivid.

"I know," Thomas agreed, his voice softening. "But he wants to make amends now. That's the other part of my news. The Alpha asked me to tell you that you can rejoin Stone Group."

I froze, my heart suddenly pounding violently in my ears. "What?"

"He wants you back, Erin. Your position is waiting for you."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Four days ago, this news would have filled me with relief, even joy. Now, it brought only a hollow ache.

"I don't want to rejoin the company, Thomas," I said firmly. "Thank you for believing in me and telling me this now. It's good news for me that the blame has been lifted from my head, but I don't want to go back there."

"But Erin—"

"No," I cut him off. "I can't return to a place where no one trusted me, where I was publicly humiliated without a chance to defend myself. Please thank the Alpha for his offer, but my answer is no."

There was a long pause before Thomas spoke again. "I understand. I'll tell him."

After hanging up, Amy immediately enveloped me in a tight hug. "See? It's over! Your name has been cleared!"

I nodded, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through my defenses. "Yes. At least I'm no longer seen as a traitor."

"This is huge, Erin!" Amy pulled back, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Now you can put this whole nightmare behind you."

I laughed—the first time I had laughed in four days. The sound was rusty and unfamiliar, but it felt good. A tear slid down my cheek, but this time, it wasn't from sorrow. It was from relief.

\---

"So," Amy said, her smile widening. "Now you can dress up for tonight, right?"

I nodded, feeling lighter than I had in days. "Yes, I think I can manage that."

Amy clapped her hands together in delight, then dove back into my closet. She eventually pulled out a soft teal dress that hugged my figure without being too revealing. She also insisted on doing my makeup, skillfully concealing the dark circles under my eyes and adding color to my pale cheeks.

By the time we were ready to leave, I looked like a completely different person from the hollow-eyed girl who had stared back at me from the mirror that morning.

"Have fun, you two," my mother gave me a quick hug at the door. "Remember, home by nine."

"I'll drive tonight," I told Amy as we walked out the door.

She laughed, dangling her car keys. "Baby, I've got this. Let's go."

"You could have invited Thomas," Amy said as she drove, flashing me a mischievous smile.

I rolled my eyes. "I forgot, but it's fine. I'll invite him next time."

"Why don't you call him now? I'm sure he'd—"

Amy's suggestion was interrupted by my phone ringing. I looked at the screen, not recognizing the number.

"Hello?" I answered cautiously.

"Why did you refuse to rejoin my company?" Derek's deep voice filled the car, immediately sending a shiver down my spine.