Chapter 156: Refusing to Lose
(ALICE)
Seven years ago, I could not have imagined sitting in such a splendid office, with an assistant and people relying on me. I would not have dreamed that other law firms would try to poach me.
Seven years ago, I was lying in the bed of a private clinic, wanting to die. My spirit had been crushed in its entirety, my body so badly damaged that I was holding on by a thread. Mary put her hands on my flat belly, the blood of another healer staining those hands.
My friend, who is the gentlest person I have ever known, had killed someone to protect me and to protect the secret I was carrying inside me. A child. A child with royal blood.
The memory has me touching my stomach.
It was Mira’s existence that made me fight for a second chance in life. I worked hard to become someone. I had been at the bottom of the barrel, and I was determined to claw my way out. The moment I learned I was carrying a child, I swore to myself that I would never let anyone humiliate me again.
My eyes flit around the room, the office that is a symbol of my success.
Alice Lane is no longer a worthless wolf shifter. She’s a successful corporate lawyer who is on track for partnership. My child is happy and confident. She is loved. She will never know even a day of sadness if I can have it my way.
I look at one of the photos on my desk. Mira is in my arms. She was a few months old when this was taken. I had started law school just a few weeks earlier. I was thin back then, having run myself ragged throughout the pregnancy. I look so tired, but this picture is a reminder of who I fought for and how I fought for her.
Mira’s birth changed a lot of things for me. My red hair, which had once been a source of ridicule for me, is now something I carry with pride. Cut in a blunt bob, the edges barely touching my shoulders, I dare somebody to call me Firecrotch now. My wolf rumbles within me in approval.
When the white witches performed the sealing spell on me, they subdued my wolf spirit, which had only just woken up inside me. However, when Mira was born nine months later, I once again had a brush with death, and my wolf spirit revived. Even Mary couldn’t explain it. It was unheard of.
However, the plan had been to hide in the human world and pose as a human. Mary helped me with my shift and taught me how to accept my wolf, but I can’t risk running into wolf shifters.
While the Moonlight Pack has no control in this state, the Blackwood Pack is the ruling entity here, and I have done everything to make sure I don’t get on their radar.
Fortunately for me, ever since the sealing ritual, according to Mary, I don’t smell like one of my kind. If my scent was diluted before, it is even more so now. Sometimes one has to be grateful for the small things.
I try not to think about the past, but perhaps today, after sending Mira off to a new school, my heart feels heavy. Walking over to the floor-to-ceiling window that looks out on Phoenix, I gaze at the city I now call home. A knock on the door has me looking over. "Come in."
A man enters. His dark hair is streaked with gray, his features youthful despite his age. Harry Asher is one of the partners at Kalem and Sons. He’s in his early forties and has been a good friend to me over these past four years. At the same time, he has not concealed his interest in me, which started the moment I joined this firm.
"Harry," I greet him with a small smile. "What brings you here?"
"I heard it was Mira’s first day at the new school." He closes the door behind him, and I notice the cup of coffee in his hand. "Thought you might need this to get you through the day. Extra special blend."
He winks at me, and I chuckle. "Thanks. She’ll be fine. I’m sure of it."
"Oh, I have no doubt about that." He settles in the visitor chair, unfolding his long legs. "After all, she is your daughter."
I laugh lightly, but I’ve learned how to rebuff advances and compliments designed to show interest. I lift my left hand and run my fingers through my hair, showing off the gold band on my ring finger. In the human world, Alice Lane is a widow. Initially, I had planned to tell people I was married, but at some point I would have had to introduce a husband to them. The widow card was easier to play.
The few friends I have made often ask if I’m lonely. Katherine has tried to set me up on several blind dates, most of them ambushes. I’ve told her plenty of times that I cannot move on from my husband and that I want to focus on Mira, but my friend refuses to give up. She doesn’t seem to understand that while I have an abundant amount of love for Mira, there is no space for anybody else in my heart.
I tasted love once, and the scars are still etched into my soul. Even though Harry gets along with my daughter, and he is a good, kind man, I still cannot open my heart to him. Katherine has encouraged me plenty of times to give him a chance, but she doesn’t understand that my heart is nothing more than a dead piece of meat when it comes to romantic love. As handsome and caring as Harry is, I simply cannot look at him in that way.
Luckily, Harry seems to understand my lack of interest because he has never once verbally expressed his feelings to me.
"Katherine has called me for a meeting," I inform him, sitting at my desk and sipping the coffee that he brought me. "Any idea what that’s about?"
Harry smirks. "I believe there’s a project she’s trying to recruit you for, but you are not the only lawyer from this firm that Pinnacle Group is considering. They’re looking to create a team to handle a major contract coming their way."
My eyes widen. "If it’s a major contract, shouldn’t one of the partners be leading the team?"
Harry drums his fingers on my desk. "You do know that both you and Levi are on the partnership track, don’t you? This is your opportunity to prove yourself. The partners will be observing this entire deal very closely, so you should do your best."
I hesitate. "Does Levi know about this?"
Harry gets to his feet and puts a finger to his lips. "We never had this conversation."
I watch him leave, my heart pounding in excitement. Levi Thorne is one of the older lawyers, and he has a strong track record. The only difference between us is that while his reputation is stable, mine is growing. This is why the two of us have been considered for partnership at the same time, even though our status in the firm is different. He’s not my biggest fan, but I’ve worked with him a couple of times before, and he’s a good lawyer.
Being pitted against him is nothing short of an honor.
I smile to myself. Making partner before turning thirty is an achievement I never dreamed of. I’m going to do everything in my power to get that position.