Too Late, Alpha. Our Bond Is Already Broken.

Chapter 2

The next afternoon, I found Lucy at the training hall.

She sat alone outside the locker room, dirt packed beneath her fingernails.

A group photo from the drill was on the screen. Lydia's son, Ollie Keene, wore the team leader's sash. Cedric had a hand on his shoulder.

Lucy wasn't in the picture.

"Mom, I wasn't running off."

She burst into tears the moment she saw me.

"Ollie said there was a puppy trapped in the maintenance passage. He told me to go look. Then the door shut, and I couldn't open it."

"How did you get out?"

"I pressed the red button."

The instructor stood beside her. "The alarm went off, and we stopped the drill," he added quietly. "She wasn't hurt."

"How long was she locked in?"

"12 minutes."

Lucy gripped my sleeve.

"There weren't any lights."

I picked her up and carried her into the reception room.

Lydia was explaining, "Ollie's father died in a maintenance passage. He just wanted someone to go with him and have a look..."

Cedric stood and reached to stroke Lucy's head. She ducked away.

"I didn't say you couldn't call for help, sweetheart."

"You said I shouldn't be the team leader."

"You left the team without telling anyone. That was against the rules."

"Ollie left, too."

He paused. "He's new. He doesn't know all the rules yet."

Lucy looked at the sash across the boy's chest.

"But he knew which door would lock."

Lydia pulled her son closer. "Are you saying he bullied you on purpose? He's just a child who's lost his father."

I set Lucy down and took her hand.

"Please get the security footage."

Cedric drew me aside and lowered his voice.

"We're already looking into it. This event is for bereaved families. Ollie has to go onstage today. Lucy will have other chances."

"She spent a long time preparing for this one, too."

"I know." He turned to our daughter. "How about some training with me this weekend? Just the two of us."

Lucy lowered her head.

"I did well today, too."

He didn't hear her. He was checking his watch. An elder had come to the door to hurry him along again.

I picked up my daughter's backpack.

"Send me the investigation results. Until we know what happened, don't leave them alone together."

Only after we were outside did Lucy ask, "Mom, was it embarrassing to press the alarm?"

I put my hands on her shoulders.

"You were trapped. Of course you could call for help. You did the right thing."

She wiped her face and finally agreed to go back to the car with the childcare worker.

I turned and went to the auditorium.

Cedric was speaking onstage.

"This pack will never overlook a single child."

I handed my phone to the protocol officer.

"Please withdraw this publicity statement."

It read: The Alpha's daughter voluntarily gave up the honor of leading the team to support a peer who had lost his father.

Cedric came down the steps. "We can change the wording. Let's discuss this at home."

"Lucy didn't give it up. She's waiting for you to explain why she was the only one punished."

An elder in the front row opened his copy of the statement. His expression changed.

I looked at the staff.

"The investigation isn't over. No one gets to say she agreed to give up her place."

The screen soon went dark.

Cedric held out a hand. "Irene, I didn't know they'd written it like that."

"Now you do."

I took off my event badge and set it on the sign-in desk.

"We won't be in the family photo today."

"Do you have to let everyone see we're having problems?"

I stopped.

"When she was calling for you in that dark room, she wanted you to see her, too."

He said nothing more.

Back in the car, Lucy had saved me half a cookie. I sat beside her, and we finished it together.

My phone lit up. The Royal Court had accepted my application to care for her.

Only 46 hours remained.