Fake Mate Beta Rises to Alpha Heiress (Natalie and Landon) novel Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: Reunion**

**Natalie’s POV:**

My phone lit up, its screen flashing a notification from the company system. Aaliyah was the new addition to my department.

For a moment, I froze, a mocking smile creeping onto my lips. Landon just couldn’t help himself, could he?

I had barely been on “leave” for a handful of days, and already he was introducing Aaliyah into our workplace. Did he think he would crumble if he didn’t have women managing things and generating income for him?

His intentions were transparent. He was likely trying to provoke me, hoping to ignite a fire of anger that would compel me to rush back and defend that pitiful, fabricated “mate” status he had bestowed upon me. But I wasn’t about to fall into his trap.

“Ms. Scott, you’ve completed the inspection of the Scott family’s territory and assets within the Moon-Shadowed Pack. Are you still planning to attend the Elder Council meeting later?” The voice of my assistant jolted me back to reality, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.

Alexander, my biological father and the Alpha of the Moon-Shadowed Pack, had left behind a legacy that was both vast and complicated. Yet, the true power lay firmly in the hands of Penelope, my father’s chosen mate. The Elder Council was filled with her loyal supporters, and I knew they would not make my life easy.

But I had to go.

“Absolutely, I’ll be there,” I replied, a sense of determination rising within me.

I needed to assert my presence, to show those arrogant pure-blooded werewolves that I, the half-blood they so disdainfully looked down upon, was back and ready to reclaim what was rightfully mine.

The entire day spent at the Elder Council felt like an intense duel of wits. Those old men were relentless, pulling out every trick in the book to make my life miserable. Thankfully, I had prepared extensively; otherwise, they would have devoured me whole.

As dusk settled, I trudged back home, my body weary from the mental battles I had fought.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed again. The name that flashed on the screen was one I had nearly forgotten—Alice Summers. During our college years, we had been inseparable. We had shared a dorm room, worked part-time jobs side by side, and crammed for exams together, making naive promises to always support one another, no matter what.

After graduation, Alice had taken off overseas to work for a werewolf-run company, while I had remained behind, playing the role of Landon’s compliant, behind-the-scenes “mate.”

Alice’s message read that she had just returned and was only in town for a single night. She was attending a class reunion and practically begged me to join her.

As I reminisced about those carefree college days, when our biggest worries had been passing our classes and proving ourselves, a wave of warm nostalgia washed over me. In the end, I agreed to go.

“Hey, where’s Landon? Natalie, you left your Alpha behind! Go fetch him!” another chimed in, their tone light but the underlying judgment unmistakable.

The atmosphere was thick with curiosity and an almost imperceptible judgment. I could feel the unspoken anticipation of my potential failure hanging in the air.

Just as I grappled with how to deflect their probing questions, a voice cut through the chatter like a sharp knife.

“I bet being a rich man’s wife isn’t all that glamorous, especially if you were just the backup choice.”

The room fell silent in an instant.

All eyes turned to the source of the comment—Rebecca Jones. Her face was vaguely familiar; she had been a student Aaliyah once taught and was in Landon’s class. Her pheromones dripped with an over-the-top, forced Alpha aggression that I found utterly unconvincing.

Her words hit the room like a bombshell, shattering the light-hearted atmosphere that had enveloped us just moments before. The classmates who had been engaged in cheerful conversation suddenly averted their gazes, as if they were hiding a dirty secret from me.

The atmosphere turned frigid, the warmth of camaraderie replaced by a chilling silence.