Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 134

Chapter 134

MATTHEW

“Then the assembly is more important than ever.” I set down the petition numbers. “If I can demonstrate to the pack that I understand what went wrong and have a concrete plan for moving forward–if I can make them believe I’m genuinely here, genuinely committed–I might be able to stop the bleeding before Adam gets to twenty–five.”

“What’s your plan for the speech?”

“Honesty,” I said. “No spin, no justifications. I made a series of choices that prioritized my personal desires over my responsibilities to the pack and to my family. I’m going to say that directly, acknowledge the specific failures, and then tell them what I’m doing differently going forward.”

Marcus looked skeptical. “Showing weakness before a formal challenge-”

“Is risky, I know. But Marcus, the pack isn’t questioning my strength. They’re questioning whether I actually care about them, whether they can trust me to prioritize them when my personal life gets complicated.” I leaned forward. “Demonstrating strength isn’t what they need from me right now. Demonstrating honesty is.”

He thought about it. “That could work. It could also backfire badly.”

“Yes. But the alternative–showing up to that assembly with polished leadership language and careful deflection–they’ll see through it. They’ve been watching me for years. They know what I look like when I’m performing versus when I’m genuine.” I paused. “I’d rather lose the position honestly than keep it through performance.”

Marcus studied me for a long moment. “You really have changed.”

“I’m trying to.” I glanced at the window, at the late morning light that had replaced the grey of earlier. “I don’t know if I’ve changed enough. But I’m not going back to who I was six months ago. That person destroyed too many things I cared about.” My phone buzzed on the desk–a text from Theo’s school confirming his attendance and noting that he’d had a positive morning with particular focus during math. The small, mundane update landed in my chest like something necessary. My son was okay. He was in class, doing math, being a four–year–old who was slowly finding his way through grief.

That was what mattered. Everything else–the pack politics, the challenge petition, the mysterious interest of the Chief of Staff to the Alpha King–was secondary to that text, that confirmation, that small evidence that Theo was okay.

“Set up a call with Dr. Fisher this afternoon,” I said to Marcus. “I want to debrief on the assembly plan with her. She’s been helping me think through how to present difficult information in a way that doesn’t retraumatize the people I’m talking to, I think some of that applies here.”

“A therapy strategy for a pack address,” Marcus said. “That’s not something I expected to be scheduling.” “Welcome to my new approach to leadership.” I closed the Harker file and moved it to the completed stack. “What’s next?” We worked through lunch–Marcus having food brought in, both of us eating while continuing to work through the accumulated backlog. By early afternoon I’d addressed the most urgent items, drafted responses to the trade relationship partners who needed reassurance, and outlined the key points I wanted to hit at the assembly.

and

The assembly was in six days. Thorne Lockwood would be there, which added a layer of complexity I hadn’t anticipated and still wasn’t sure what to make of.

And somewhere in the tangle of everything I still didn’t understand–the threats against Mia, the incident at Theo’s school, the pattern that Dr. Martinez had suggested I look for–there was something important I hadn’t figured out yet.

“Marcus,” I said, as he was gathering his papers to head to his own office. “The message I received yesterday. The unknown number.”

1/2

+30 Bonus

He paused. The one that said ‘you can’t protect him forever.“”

“Did we get anything from the trace?”

“Not yet. Our coordinator is still working on it.” Marcus’s expression was careful. “Matthew, that message came very shortly after the incident at Theo’s school. Whoever sent it knew about what happened almost immediately.”

“Which means they were either present, or Mia communicated with them directly after.”

“Or both.”

I thought about Thome Lockwood’s call. About the ease with which he’d known about the assembly, about pack administrative communications filtering through territory networks.

About Dr. Martinez’s suggestion that I look for the pattern I was almost seeing

“Get me the full trace effort escalated,” I said. “Whatever resources we need. I want that number identified before the assembly.

“Understood.” Marcus paused at the door. “And Matthew? I know you said no spin, no justifications for the speech. But for what it’s worth–the fact that you’re willing to stand up in front of the pack and say what you actually did and actually feel? That matters. Whatever else has happened, that matters.”

He left before I could respond, which was probably intentional. Marcus had always known how to deliver something meaningful and then make himself scarce before it could be deflected.

I sat alone in my office for a moment, looking at the text from Theo’s school.

Positive morning. Good focus in math.

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