Chapter 16
Amelia
I froze.
Not even Adam had remembered. Not a text. Not a “happy birthday.” Nothing. And sure, it had been a few weeks ago now, but still-no one had acknowledged it. Not until Richard.
I hadn’t even remembered until now. I’d been running nonstop-school, work, trying to keep up appearances
-and the truth was, passing another birthday without a wolf only made it feel more certain: I’d probably be
wolfless forever. It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing I wanted to celebrate.
But here I was, holding a small, perfectly wrapped box from Richard. It was matte black with a satin ribbon tied cleanly across the top, the kind of packaging that made you feel like whatever was inside had to be special. Heavy in my hands-intentional.
“I—” I started, hesitating. There was a strange flicker of guilt behind my ribs, like I didn’t deserve kindness
today. Like receiving this meant accepting that someone had seen me.
“Open it,” Richard said, his tone gentle but firm.
I did.
Inside was a beautiful black fountain pen, the kind that looked like it belonged to someone who actually
mattered. My name was engraved on the side in flowing script-elegant, professional, permanent.
Something in my chest tightened. He remembered. He noticed.
Years ago, when I was still just a kid, Richard had given me a cheap little notebook and pen set, told me to write
down my big ideas. I’d loved that thing until I lost it somewhere in a move. The memory hit me harder than
expected.
He still saw me as that kid, didn’t he? The little girl who spied on him at the compound during council visits,
clutching a notebook too big for her hands and babbling about policy like she understood it. It was sweet. But it
also stung-because I wasn’t that girl anymore. I’d grown up. I’d fought and scraped and gotten this far on my
own. And yet, somehow, this gift made me feel like I hadn’t moved at all in his eyes. Like part of him still saw
me as someone who needed to be gently indulged instead of taken seriously.?
It shouldn’t have made me sad. But it did.
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Chapter 16
“Don’t you like it?” he asked, reading my silence.
I blinked. “No-I mean yes. I love it. I’ll use it for my proposal. I’ll make it good.”
He smiled slightly. “I know you will.” His voice had that quiet certainty I wasn’t used to receiving from anyone, and something about it made me want to prove him right. I closed the box carefully and set it in my lap, holding on to the warmth of that moment longer than I probably should have.
When I stepped out of the car and walked into the building, it was like the air shifted-more grounded, more focused. By the time I sat back down at my desk, a strange kind of resolve had settled in my chest-steady,
sharp, and ready to work.
With Richard’s encouragement echoing in my head, I locked in. The proposal, which was supposed to pitch a new approach to community outreach on behalf of the King’s campaign, had been giving me a headache for
days.
–
I’d spent the week juggling research, formatting guidelines, and second-guessing myself into a corner. But something about holding that pen-about feeling me loose. Suddenly everything snapped into place. The messaging was tight. The layout worked. It was smart, grounded, and uniquely mine. I finished it by
lunch and felt proud of it.
Jason stopped by my desk not long after.
“Lunch?” he asked, holding up a wrapped sandwich like it was a peace offering.
He’d been oddly friendly lately. Weirdly charming, even. I still didn’t trust him—not fully-but I didn’t have
the energy to reject him either. So I nodded and joined him.
We ate outside in the courtyard. He asked polite questions about my background, complimented my initiative,
told me he was impressed by how fast I was learning. I stayed neutral. Guarded. But I smiled a little.
When I returned to my desk, I knew something was wrong immediately.
My files weren’t where I’d left them. The desk had been nudged, ever so slightly, like someone had just stepped
away. My heart panged with dread.
I opened my folder.
The proposal was gone.
I searched frantically. My locker, my desk, my backpack, nothing.
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Chapter 16
“Has anyone seen my interview plan?” I asked the room.
Blank stares. Shrugs.
“Wasn’t that due today?” one intern asked, tone suspiciously wide-eyed.
“Yeah,” I said slowly, still scanning my surroundings.
