Chapter 124 – A Scent Left Behind
Lady Flourish’s POV
“Two days before the reconciliation dinner’
22
Finished
When I let myself into my apartment that night, exhaustion sat heavily in my body after an evening spent maintaining my composure around half of the pack’s elite.
I kicked off my heels by the door and headed toward my bedroom, already looking forward to a shower and an early night.
Instead, I found a pair of silver-rimmed reading glasses sitting neatly on my dresser.
I recognized them immediately because Alpha Damian had been wearing them earlier that evening during the pack discussion.
I picked them up, and his scent remained faintly on the frame, enough for my wolf to stir beneath my skin.
She recognized the Dartwood Alpha immediately and reacted to the familiar scent before I could stop her.
I stared at the glasses for a moment before reaching for my phone and calling him. He answered almost immediately.
“Flourish.”
“You forgot your glasses.”
There was a brief pause before I heard amusement in his voice. “I must have left them when I walked you up.”
“You couldn’t have taken them before you left?”
“I could have.”
His tone made me narrow my eyes.
“But now I have a reason to come back.”
The call ended before I could respond. I stood there holding his glasses, annoyed that his casual words had affected me more than they should have.
I placed the glasses on my nightstand instead of returning them to the dresser. My wolf settled again, but I could still feel the faint pull of the mate bond beneath my skin.
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11:42 Thu, Oct 1
Chapter 124 A Scent Left Behind
I refused to think about it.
22
Finished
A call from my father came the next morning before I had even made it past the lobby of F- Tech. I stopped when Alpha Garret’s name appeared on my screen and answered immediately.
“Flourish.”
His voice was clipped and tense.
“Dad?”
“The news about your sister online,” he said. “Was that your doing?”
I frowned.
“What news?”
There was a pause.
“It wasn’t you?”
“No.” I tightened my grip around the phone. “Dad, what happened?”
He exhaled sharply.
“Never mind. I’ll deal with it.”
“Dad, don’t hang up.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Flourish.”
The line went dead.
I lowered the phone slowly, my mind immediately returning to Selene.
She had barely spoken to anyone since the incident at Cedarfall Lounge two nights earlier, and Lydia had kept her inside the family residence under close supervision.
If something involving Selene had appeared online, I had nothing to do with it.
My wolf stirred uneasily as I entered the elevator. Something about Garret’s voice bothered me, especially the way he had immediately suspected me before refusing to explain what had happened.
When the elevator doors opened on my floor, I noticed several employees gathered near the break room.
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11:42 Thu, Oct 1
Chapter 124 A Scent Left Behind
:.
Finished
They were huddled around someone’s phone, speaking quietly until one of them noticed me.
The conversation stopped.
Several heads turned toward me before quickly looking away.
Their nervous scents reached me immediately, mixed with curiosity and something close to excitement.
My wolf became alert.
Whatever they had been discussing involved me.
I walked toward my office without changing my expression, even though my instincts had already started warning me that something was wrong.
I had barely reached my door when my manager, Beta Rhys, stepped out of the adjoining office.
“Lady Flourish.”
I stopped.
“What happened?”
Rhys glanced toward the employees before lowering his voice.
“There is something you need to see.”
He held out his phone.
I took it and looked at the screen.
A post had been circulating through several pack social channels since early morning.
It contained photographs of Selene leaving the Cedarfall Lounge and a series of accusations about what had happened that night.
My stomach tightened.
“This wasn’t posted by anyone from my office.”
Rhys nodded.
“No, but whoever posted it knew details that weren’t public.”
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11:42 Thu, Oct 1
Chapter 124 A Scent Left Behind
162
I scrolled through the comments, my wolf growing increasingly restless as I recognized information that only a handful of people should have known.
Some comments accused Selene of attacking me deliberately, while others claimed the Stonehedge Pack had been hiding the truth.
Then I noticed something else.
A photograph of me leaving Cedarfall Lounge.
I hadn’t known anyone had taken it.
“Find out who uploaded this.”
Rhys nodded.
“I already started tracing the account.”
“Good.”
I handed the phone back.
“Don’t let anyone from the company respond publicly.”
“I won’t.”
Rhys hesitated.
“There is one more thing.”
I looked at him.
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