Third-Person POV:

“For what? You should be grateful Rick even allows that bastard to live under his roof.”

The slap came so suddenly that Vikki stumbled sideways. Several guests turned toward them, shocked to see the Beta’s wife striking another woman in public.

Vikki pressed a hand to her cheek. “How dare you! I’ll tell Rick what you did!”

“Please do,” Angela replied calmly. “And while you’re at it, ask him why he’s spent the last three years begging me to keep your name and your son’s existence out of the council’s records.”

Vikki went pale.

“What is going on here?”

Rick had arrived after hearing the commotion. His attention moved from Vikki’s reddened cheek to Arabella, who was crying against Angela’s legs.

“Your wife slapped me!” Vikki complained. “In front of everyone!”

Angela didn’t bother defending herself. She simply picked up Arabella and examined the red marks on her little arm.

Rick noticed them too. “Vikki,” he said, keeping his voice low, “apologize to the child.”

Vikki looked at him in disbelief. “Rick, she hit me!”

“I said apologize, you fool!” he said through clenched teeth.

For a moment, Vikki looked ready to argue. But with so many people watching, she finally muttered an apology. “S… sorry!”

Angela gave her a polite smile. “Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my daughter needs some fresh air.”

She walked away with Arabella in her arms, gently wiping the little girl’s tears. Behind her, Rick was left dealing with a furious Vikki and the curious looks of the pack members who had witnessed everything.

***

Once they returned home, Rick waited until Angela had put Arabella to bed before approaching her in the living room.

“Angela, what happened tonight was unnecessary. You shouldn’t have caused a scene in front of everyone.” He sounded irritated, although he was careful not to raise his voice. “Vikki is nobody compared to you. She’s not even a high-ranking female. Why would you lower yourself by fighting with her?”

Angela listened without interrupting. “Oh, Rick, dear,” she said with unsettling calm. “I know she is beneath my rank. But that doesn’t mean she gets to hurt my daughter.”

“She didn’t mean to—”

“Oh, and you have another daughter too, don’t you? About the same age as Arabella?” Angela pretended to think for a moment. “What was her name again? Vanessa, right?”

The color drained from Rick’s face. He looked at Angela as if he was seeing her for the first time.

Angela smiled faintly. “Did you know I had a man standing outside Vikki’s cottage tonight, waiting for my orders? One word from me, and Vikki would have gone home to find a dead little girl.”

“Angela, what the hell—”

“Let me finish.” Something in her voice made him stop. “I’ve never asked you to answer for what you did to me. Or what Chris did to me.” She slowly raised her left hand, showing him the four missing fingers. “Look at this, Rick. I lost these because you decided I deserved to be punished for what those men did to me. And I never once tried to get even with you.”

Rick looked away, but Angela didn’t stop.

“Always remember this hand. It may belong to a woman who was too weak to protect herself from the mates who betrayed her. But it also belongs to a mother who will never forgive anyone who harms even a single hair on her daughter’s head.”

She lowered her hand and looked him straight in the eye. “So, the next time Vikki has something to say about Arabella, you’d better make sure she keeps it to herself.”

For the first time, Rick realized that the woman he had once broken was now someone he was afraid to cross.

***

Angela sat anxiously in the doctor’s office, holding Arabella against her chest. The little girl’s face was flushed with fever, and despite the medicine Angela had given her, her temperature hadn’t come down.

“Doctor, why does she keep getting sick every other night? Such a high fever can’t be normal for a child this young, can it?”

The senior doctor, who had just finished examining Arabella, frowned as he checked his findings once more.

“Mrs. Toussaint, I think you should sit down before I tell you this.” His serious expression frightened her.

“What is it? Is something wrong with her?” She looked down at her unconscious daughter. “Please tell me she’s going to be all right.”

The doctor placed the stethoscope aside. “I believe your daughter has already gotten her wolf, and it’s trying to come out.”

Angela looked at him in disbelief. “What? B… but she’s only three years old! How is that possible?”

“It’s rare, but it does happen. Children born with unusual or particularly powerful wolves sometimes show signs much earlier than others. Her recurring fevers could be connected to that.”

Angela glanced at Arabella again, gently moving the damp hair away from her forehead. “So, what should we do?”

“I’d like to keep her here for observation for a few days. That way, I can examine her more closely and monitor these episodes.”

Angela considered his suggestion. The doctor had been a close friend of her father’s and had known her since childhood. He was also one of the few people who had continued treating her with kindness after everything that happened.

As for Rick, he hardly cared where Angela spent her days or nights, let alone where Arabella was. The thought brought a bitter smile to her lips. “All right, Doctor. If you think that’s best for her, we’ll stay.”

She looked down at her daughter and kissed her warm forehead. “Whatever it takes to make my little girl better.”

***

That night, Arabella’s fever suddenly shot up to 108°F.

The doctor immediately ordered the nurses to administer fever-reducing medication. They removed her blanket, placed cool, damp cloths against her skin, and monitored her temperature continuously. But despite everything they tried, the fever refused to come down.

“Doctor, please do something!” Angela cried, standing beside the bed. “She’s only three! Her little body can’t take this!”

“We’re doing everything we can, Angela. Please, give us a moment.”

But Angela could hardly bear to watch. Arabella had stopped responding to her voice, and her tiny body was frighteningly hot to the touch.

Tears streamed down Angela’s face as she held her daughter’s hand. This little girl was the only reason she had managed to survive the past three years. Without Arabella, she couldn’t imagine what would become of her.

“Please, sweetheart,” she whispered, kissing her daughter’s fingers. “Mama’s right here. Please open your eyes.”

Suddenly, Arabella’s body jerked. At first, Angela thought she was having a seizure, but then she noticed something strange happening to her daughter’s hands.

“Doctor! Look!”

Soft white fur began appearing along Arabella’s arms. Her tiny hands and feet began turning into paws as her body slowly transformed into a white wolf.