---- And in all that time, I never even knew the passcode to his phone. So much for "true love." It blew out like a candle in the wind. But I didn't dwell. My responsibilities waited. I worked harder than ever. My efforts were being noticed. When my Beta suggested hiring a full-time helper to assist with my growing duties, I agreed. The morning of the interviews, a familiar name appeared on a resume. Yeats. He sat across from me in an old, sagging suit, the fabric threadbare and worn. His wolf had clearly lost much of its strength since stepping down as Alpha. He spoke first. "Jasmin... is everything okay with you?" I didn't look up. I flipped through his resume. ---- "?P'm looking for a full-time helper. You currently work five part-time jobs. I don't think you can meet the demands of this position." His hands twisted in his lap. "Please. I need this job. Yelena still needs daily herbs to purge the silver in her blood. She wants to return to the academy, but..." "We're not a charity." My tone was colder than I intended. "You're not sick, paralyzed, or injured. You're still better off than most." My words made him shrink in his seat. After he stepped out, my Beta leaned in. "Last week, he hurt his paw unloading freight and was fired." I didn't respond. I simply picked up the next resume. The next time I saw Yeats, he was scavenging for scrap paper crates-working as a werewolf junk collector. I saw him fighting another for a stack of discarded crates. Beside him, Yelena stood in oversized clothes, hair ---- unkempt, clinging to his coat like a shadow. Awind blew between us. Our eyes met again-his red-rimmed and hollow. Mine, calm, distant, frosted over like winter glass. Months passed. My father, seeing my progress, introduced me toa promising Alpha-someone he had long respected. A male who had quietly admired me for years. We bonded in a public ceremony, celebrated by the clan. Among the crowd, I saw Yeats and Yelena watching from afar. But I didn't glance their way. Not even once.