Mated to the Alpha and His Beta

Chapter 417
Gabriela
I'd been happy enough when Lenora rang me to see if I'd have lunch with her,
but I'd been waiting during the entire meal for her to question me about what had
happened with Stella. So far, she hadn't said a word. Finally, I decided I couldn't
stand it any longer.
“Sometimes, wolf pups have a double doubling.” The words shot out of me
without me fully knowing why I said them. It wasn't true, and I couldn't be sure
Lenora knew that.
I'd just lied to her face. It felt terrible, but also like the only choice I could make.
Lenora’s eyebrows rose, and her teacup stopped halfway to her lips. She put the
cup down without drinking. “Oh, my. That sounds like quite the surprise.”
“You heard about it, didn’t you? What happened at the school. I'm sure the
rumors are flying.” My laugh. rasped in my throat without much humor. Heat
blazed in my cheeks.
My friend leaned forward with a look of concern. “I wasn't going to ask you about
it. But if you want to talk
aboutit...”
Oh, I did, didn’t I? I needed to unburden myself to someone about my worries,
but I didn’t dare.
I couldn't reveal that my granddaughter was a Celestial, not without also having
to explain what that
meant. It would have to be enough just to start a rumor of my own.
“It's very rare, but as I'm sure you also know,Stella is a hybrid.”
“I'd heard. I don’t know much about hybrids,”
Lenora admitted with a gentle smile. “But here in Brightsky, we welcome
everyone as equals.”
A burst of relief flooded me. I hadn't really been afraid my friend would somehow
reject my granddaughter,
but it was still good to be assured of it. Lenora and I had experienced a lot
together all those years past. It was
good to feel like I could trust her.
She's a Celestial.
The words fought to come out, and I held them back by gritting my teeth.
“Gab? You look upset.” Lenora reached to pat my hand. “Is this double doubling,
this rare thing...harmful?”
“No, nothing like that. Shocking, that's all. One minute she was a little girl, and
now she’s a lovely young woman. Time flies the older we get,” I said with a rueful
laugh. “But this is too fast.”
“What's done can't be undone. She has her family around her to support her. I'm
sure she'll be able to weather this change without too much trouble. As will you.”
Lenora tilted her head to give me a curious look.
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Chapter 417
“And I hope you know, I'm here for you. Whatever you need.”
For the next hour, we chatted about other Brightsky gossip. Lenora relieved my
mind that the news about Stella had spread, but nobody was saying anything
unkind. In an enclave open to anyone, a child who grew into an adult within hours
wasn't even close to being the most scandalous event.
We parted ways with a hug, and for me, a much lighter heart. On the way back to
our quarters, I thought I'd stop off and pick up a few things for Stella. Her mother
had bought her an entire new wardrobe, but I had
some ideas about other things she might need.
A birthday cake, for one. How many had she missed? I wasn't even sure she
could count them, or if she'd really be able to ever name her accurate age again.
Would she continue to age, or would she stay forever
locked into the appearance of a young woman, never going gray or getting
wrinkles?
all.”
“Moon Goddess,” I murmured to myself as I looked over the bakery case at the
cakes for sale. “Guide us
For a moment, my vision swam. Doubled.
Quadrupled. I closed my eyes tight and pressed my fingers to the spot between
my eyes. The small flare
of pain there faded under the pressure, and when I opened my eyes, my vision
was fine.
I'd been meaning to check in with an enclave eye doctor for the past few weeks
but had been putting off
the appointment. I knew my vanity wasn't going to help me, but I hated even the
thought of needing cheater
glasses for reading.
So far, I'd been able to ignore the small issues with my sight, but I had to admit
they were getting more
frequent.
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I » . EAT
That one,” I said to the clerk, pointing
at the tall chocolate cake festooned
2 “

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write, “Happy Birthday, Little
Star’ on it.”
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I paid for the cake and carried the
box with me toward home. Wanting
to avoid crowds so I could get it back
as fast as possible, I decided to take
a different route home. Just as I

)
turned the corner to a new hallway I'd
never used, the lights got so bright it
was like a flash of lightning. Then, the
hallway plunged into darkness. The
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At home, I put the cake on the table
and cursed myself for dropping it. It
could be salvaged, but the icing was
smeared along the inside of the lid. I
definitely needed to make that
appointment with the eye doctor. The

5 )

flash of light and dark hadn't been the
lamps along the way, but my own
eyes. The content is on
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