Chapter 105
Iris’s POV
“Iris Stone, go to the break room and make me a coffee. Make it
quick.”
Megan’s shrill command rang across the office for what felt like the
hundredth time this week. I didn’t even bother looking up from my
jewelry design sketch, my pencil continuing to trace delicate patterns
across the page. The sound of her impatient heel tapping against the
floor grew louder as she waited for a response that wasn’t coming.
I heard her huff dramatically before storming off. A small smile
tugged at my lips. Ever since I publicly cleared up her abortion.
rumors, Megan had been relentlessly trying to reassert her
dominance over me with these petty commands. It was almost
laughable how transparent she was.
I glanced at my watch–7:30 AM. I’d arrived at the office early to work
on my designs for the competition. The peaceful morning hours
before everyone arrived were perfect for creative work, especially
since Megan had been dumping mindless tasks on me during regular
hours.
The scent of coffee drifted through the air, but not the cheap office
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brew. This was rich, aromatic–definitely Starbucks. I looked up to see
Lisa Reynolds walking toward my desk with a paper bag and two
coffee cups.
“Morning, early bird,” she said with a genuine smile. “Figured you
hadn’t eaten breakfast. Starbucks had a buy–one–get–one deal, and I
can’t drink both.”
I blinked in surprise. Lisa had always been nice, but this was
unexpected. In a workplace where Megan had effectively turned most
people against me, genuine kindness felt almost foreign.
“That’s… really thoughtful,” I said, accepting the coffee. The warmth
seeped through the cup into my fingers. “Thanks.”
Lisa shrugged. “No big deal. What are you working on?”
I hesitated before turning my sketchpad slightly so she could see.
“Just some preliminary designs for the North American competition.”
“Wow,” she whispered, leaning closer. “That’s gorgeous.”
I felt a little flutter of pride. After a moment’s consideration, I
reached into my bag and pulled out a small container. “Here, take this for your afternoon tea. I made it myself–cinnamon bread.”
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“You bake?” Lisa’s eyes lit up as she accepted the container.
“Sometimes. It helps me think.” I didn’t add that baking had become my therapy lately, a way to feel in control when everything else was
chaos.
Lisa was about to say something else when my phone vibrated.
Rachel’s name flashed on the screen.
“Sorry, I should take this,” I said, already standing up.
I headed to the break room, checking over my shoulder to make sure
no one was following. The room was empty.
“What’s up?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“Iris, Stone family has made a move,” Rachel said without preamble.
My spine stiffened. “What kind of move?”
“My cousin works at Moonlight Pharmacy. Catherine came in
yesterday and bought wolf’s bane extract. The concentrated kind.”
My blood ran cold. “Wolf’s bane? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. She was really specific about the dosage too. Said it was for a
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‘traditional remedy,‘ but my cousin thought it was weird how many
questions she asked about how quickly it works and if it can be
detected.”
I leaned against the wall, processing this information. “Wolf’s bane
would temporarily disable my shifting abilities and…” I paused, not
wanting to say the rest aloud.
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