Chapter 39
Chapter 40
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Chapter 40
Amber’s POV
Immediately, I hopped to my feet and then raced to Anna. She just as eagerly rushed to me. We met somewhere in the middle of
my office, crashing together for a long overdue hug.
Anna had been one of the few people I had made contact with after my accident. Sworn to secrecy, she knew everything – about
Alice, about my wolf, about my new life and becoming Healer Amanda. She also knew about Alice’s struggles. She’d even come to
visit us a few times, though we were careful not to publically post any pictures. She couldn’t even really talk about her trip when
she got back home.
The only thing she didn’t know, to my regret, was that I was returning to the pack in an effort to afford that necklace for Alice. In my defense, her own job had taken her out of the pack, so we hadn’t talked much the past few months. There hadn’t been a lot of
opportunity to tell her my plans.
“I’m back,” I said, when we finished our hug and separated.
“I can see that,” she said. “Just like I saw you on the news the other night. Standing next to Alpha Julian while Head Healer Eric
was being demoted p>
“You saw that?” I asked.
“Everyone saw it,” she replied.
“Right.” I supposed they did. All of my new appointments and the dozens of gift baskets around the room were proof of that.
“You…. Beside Julian,” she said pointedly.
There was a lot to catch up on.
Anna looked past me, to Noah.
“Oh! Let me introduce you,” I said quickly. “Anna, this is my assistant, Noah. Noah, this is my best friend in the world, Anna p>
“Nice to meet you,” Noah said, and they shook hands.
“Nice to meet you,” Anna said. She smiled at him, but then gave me a look, as if asking me silently if we were safe to talk around
Noah.
I trusted Noah. Though he didn’t know much about my past, I didn’t mind if he did. In the short time we’d known each other, he’s
come to be an ally and friend.
The only secret I really wanted to keep was the truth about Alice.
I told Anna all that in a return glance. She nodded. We’d been best friends for so long that we didn’t need to verbally say the words to communicate our thoughts. I was pleased to see that this form of silent communication still held up despite our years apart.
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Chapter 40
“Join us,” I said and pulled up another chair to my desk. “You don’t mind, do you, Noah p>
“Of course not,” he said.
Anna dropped into the free chair, as I moved back to mine.
“Tell me everything,” she said. “But start with this. Are you and Julian back together p>
“Absolutely not,” I said.
Noah’s eyes went wide. “You… and Alpha p>
Anna wasn’t the only one who needed caught up.
“It’s a long story,” I told him. To Anna, I said, “He’s with Olivia. I’m helping them so they can have children p>
Anna’s nose scrunched. “Oh p>
བ སཔ。
From there, I gave Noah a brief overview, that Julian and I used to be in a relationship but it was long done. I glossed over some of
the more specific details, particularly about the marriage and Alice.
Noah had been raised in the pack though, so he guessed a few things. Pointing at me, he said, “You are Amber! The Alpha’s secret
first wife who died in that plane crash p>
“I didn’t die…” I said.
“You almost did,” Anna said.
From there, I delved into some of the basic nature of my return, that a need of money had me coming back. I didn’t explain the
reason for needing the money. I could trust Noah with most of my secrets, but Alice was…
Well, I had to protect my daughter.
When Noah excused himself to go to the bathroom, Anna leaned forward. “You still have feelings for Julian p>
“I absolutely do not!” I insisted.
“You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me,” she said. “The way you are talking about him… The disgust in your voice when
you speak about him and Olivia… It’s all there p>
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