Rebirth of the Alpha's Slave Mate (Samantha and Kade) novel Chapter 166

Chapter 166

I arched a brow. “Get out of my room and take it with you. I’m not falling for it.”

“What?” Beth frowned. “She really is sorry, Elena. Old habits die hard, you know? And besides, I’m just the messenger, so don’t shoot me.”

“No, you’re just the girl who tormented me for six years before I finally left,” I muttered. I hadn’t forgotten all of Beth’s cruel jabs and nasty rumors designed to hurt me, and I never would. I didn’t even want to recount all of the mean girl bullshit she put me through.

Beth sighed airily. “Look, wear it or don’t. But Luna Natasha asked me to bring it to you to wear tonight; she said she’s sorry and wants to make it up to you.”

“I thought she didn’t want me to go to the ceremony.”

“Yeah, well, she changed her mind.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, but Beth left after that. The dress still sat on the bed, glittering under the light of the fire flickering in my fireplace. Still, I refused to wear it. I rifled through my closet instead, trying on every dress I had until there was a veritable mountain of outfits on my floor.

Nothing fit properly since I had lost weight. Everything hung loosely on my frame and made me feel tired and frumpy.

Finally, my eye caught the blue dress again. On a whim, I decided to try it on, if only to see what it looked like.

And indeed, the moment I slipped it on and turned to the mirror, I gasped. It fit perfectly, the silk tucking in at the waist and swaying around my ankles like liquid sky. The gold threads shimmered when I moved, and brought out the natural color of my hair.

It was a nice dress, I had to admit.

I still didn’t think that Natasha would just up and turn a new leaf like that, but I figured that my father had gotten wind of the exchange earlier and had told her to do something nice. Besides, it was just a dress; there were no holes, no stains, no tricks. It was perfectly appropriate for the occasion and it fit me well.

What was the harm?

Eventually, I decided to wear it, even if Ava told me she got a bad feeling about it. I combed and curled my hair in soft waves, then dabbed on a little shimmery gold eyeshadow that I had in my vanity from before my travels. And, of course, I kept my silver necklace on.

As I sat in front of my vanity, touching up my lipstick, something caught my eye; a box in the closet that had gotten jostled when I was looking for a dress. My stomach twisted as the intricate designs caught the light-it was the box in which I kept the one shred of Ivy that I had left.

The baby blanket.

I used to sleep with it every night, until the nightmares got so bad that Tyler insisted I put it away. Realizing he was right, I tucked it into that box and put it in the back of my closet, although I still brought it out on a regular basis, as if smelling the faint scent of my daughter’s blood could somehow connect me to her.

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Chapter 166

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By the time I left, though, I had been taking it out less and less. I’d considered bringing it with me, but I just… couldn’t.

I hadn’t realized I was moving until I knelt in front of the box and carefully lifted the lid. Inside, the white fabric was still neatly folded. With trembling hands, I lifted the blanket out of the box and clutched it close, inhaling deeply.

The only scent on it now was old wood, but I swore I could still feel her warmth there, nestled within the folds. As if she had been swaddled in it just minutes ago, not seven years in the past.

Fuck. Seven years.

Ivy would be seven years old now-old enough to attend this ceremony. Old enough to play with makeup and put on a cute dress with bows and frills and all the things little girls love. Old enough to enter the banquet hall with her hand in mine and sneak sweets from the buffet, eating them under tables until her little fingers turned sticky with sugar and she got a tummy ache that I’d have to rub away.

Tears pricked my eyes as those images floated through my mind. Images that would never come to fruition, because my daughter was dead, gone, and she wasn’t coming back like I had.

A stifled sob escaped my throat. Just one. Before another could come, I shoved the blanket back into the box and slammed the lid back down, nearly cracking the wood with the force of it.

No. I would not cry today. I could not cry today.

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