Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Emily
First thing Saturday morning, the double doors swish open, and we walk into the local Registrar’s Office.
A big reception desk at the front takes walk-ins, with seating off to the side. I remember coming here when I first entered a courtship with Auren, and then again when we formalized our pack. I never thought I’d be here again, and butterflies take off in my stomach.
We bypass the front area and head down a hall labeled Pack Registration as Jared bounces with excitement. I don’t think he slept a wink last night. Not that I was much better.
“I’m telling you, I caught a glimpse of Grady’s phone this morning, and Holden is serving lobster rolls,” Jared says, his voice carrying in the empty hallway.
He’s two steps ahead of me, walking backward.
If he had a tail, it would be wagging. “And I saw a big can of clams, so I’m thinking chowder in bread bowls.
And I know for a fact that Kyle brought in a couple of salmon yesterday, so smoked salmon hors d’oeuvre. ”
“You shouldn’t be looking at other people’s phones,” Leif admonishes.
He walks beside Grady, scanning the hallway numbers, the satchel slung over his shoulder bouncing at his hip with each step. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“Then Chloe shouldn’t be sending her bestie picks of the kitchen,” Jared insists. “If she’s going to spoil our welcome party for one of us, she’s spoiling it for all of us.”
“You’re going to be so sad when you’re handed a ham sandwich after this,” Dominic says from the front of our little procession, his leather portfolio tucked under one arm, his French braid hanging neatly down the back of his neck.
Jared whips around. “Holden would never.”
“This was very last minute,” I remind him. “And spring season is picking up. What Chloe sent was probably for the island hikers.”
Jared turns to our Beta. “Grady, tell them.”
He mimes zipping his lips, which twitch at the corners.
We round the corner, and a small waiting area comes into view. There are four plastic chairs and a single service window at the back with a glass partition and a small metal tray for passing documents.
Behind the glass, a woman in her fifties, with reading glasses pushed up on her forehead, types away on a keyboard with two fingers.
Dominic goes straight to the window and sets his portfolio on the counter with easy confidence.
“I’m here to sponsor three new members to the Wright Pack,” he says. “The paperwork should be on file.”
As the clerk’s head lifts, her glasses slide down to the bridge of her nose, and she peers at Dominic through the glass. “Names?”
Leif steps forward. While he’s already registered, he wanted to be here to see the rest of us join. Now, he opens his satchel and brings out three manila folders, each labeled with a name in Leif’s neat, angular handwriting. Wilson. Masterson. Finch.
The butterflies triple. This is really happening.
I thought I was ready after spending all week packing up the cottage, but it’s only just now become real.
The clerk draws the files through the window and opens the one on top. “Jared Masterson.”
Jared steps forward.
The clerk reads through the first page of his paperwork. “Status?”
He leans closer. “Lone Alpha.”
The clerk works through his paperwork, typing, pausing, typing some more.
She turns to Dominic. “We’ll need your signature and sponsorship payment.”
He slides in next to Jared and goes through the process, sliding his credit card through the slot along with the signed paperwork.
The clerk processes everything and waits for confirmation. “Your sponsorship is approved. Welcome to the Wright Pack, Jared Masterson Wright.”
She notarizes each page with a stamp that leaves a raised impression on the paper before passing it back.
The whole transaction has taken less than fifteen minutes.
Jared exhales through his nose in one long, controlled breath and steps back from the window, bumping his shoulder into mine.
I bump back, and we share a happy grin.
“Grady Finch?” the clerk says.
Grady moves forward, his cane gripped tightly.
She opens his folder. “Status?”
“Unattached Beta,” he confirms.
The clerk types. Pauses. Types again.
Then Dominic signs and pays.
“Your sponsorship is approved.” Another notarization. Another form slid through the tray. “Welcome to the Wright Pack, Grady Finch Wright, effective today.”
Grady lets out a breath as he accepts the form. “Right. Good.”
Dominic waves him over, his phone coming out. “Hold up the paperwork so I can send Chloe a pic. She demanded proof.”
He huffs but does as directed, holding the piece of paper up next to his face while he sticks out his tongue.
The clerk references the last file before turning to me. “Emily Wilson?”
My knees tremble as I step forward.
She opens my folder, and I see my information at the top. Emily Renee Wilson, followed by my date of birth.
“Status?” she asks.
I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. “Lone Alpha.”
In the past, the words would have brought pain, but now they bring with them a sense of relief, because it means I can join the rest of my pack and be with my true bondmates.
I peer back over my shoulder, and there Jared stands next to Leif and Grady, all three men grinning at me with excitement.
Now that the time has come, I can’t wait to stand beside them, officially recognized as a pack.
Grinning back, I return my attention to the clerk.
Her fingers peck at the keyboard with two fingers, filling in the boxes. She hits Enter, but instead of an approval, a red error box fills the center of her monitor.
She frowns and pushes her glasses up her nose to peer at the error, and her lips flatten into a thin line.
“It’s showing you as registered to the Lavender Sky Pack,” she says. “I can’t process a transfer without a release from the registered pack head.”
My jaw tightens, but I came prepared for this, and now I’m glad I did.
“I was removed from the Lavender Sky Pack over a year ago.” I slide the Petition for Expulsion through the tray. “I paid both the removal and the filing fees. It was part of a formal separation settlement. Everything’s there.”
The clerk takes the petition and scans it with a handheld device. It beeps once, and she sets it aside to type a new inquiry into her system.
It takes longer this time, crossing the fifteen-minute mark, and the happy mood dims behind me.
She compares the screen to the paper, and I start to sweat as the silence stretches, the butterflies dissolving into a sour ball of nausea.
Dominic steps up beside me, studying the clerk’s screen, and his face shifts from pleasant professionalism to steely determination.
Leif comes up on my other side, his hand on the small of my back. The heat of his hand seeps through the blouse I had put on to celebrate today, offering silent support.
Finally, the clerk’s head lifts, her lips still pressed into that thin, careful line. “There’s no record of this petition being submitted to the county.”
“That’s not possible,” I say through numb lips.
“According to the registry, Lavender Sky Pack remains active. Emily Wilson remains a listed member.” She checks the screen again. “And the registered Omega, Auren Dovelle, is still the pack head on record.”
I grip the counter. “Check again.”
The clerk checks again, her fingers moving across the keyboard. The screen refreshes, and the red error box returns.
“I’m sorry.” She passes back my paperwork unstamped, along with my Petition for Expulsion. “I can’t process your sponsorship until you are removed from the Lavender Sky Pack.”
“That fucking asshole,” Jared curses from behind me, followed by Grady’s quiet shushing.
Dominic straightens to his full height. “Can’t we submit the Petition of Separation now? It has all the signatures. I’ll pay the fee today.”
“I’m afraid not. It’s dated over a year ago. The paperwork becomes invalid after three months.”
Jared storms forward. “What if the head of the Lavender Sky Pack refuses to sign new paperwork?”
She edges back from the counter, as though she’s afraid he’ll somehow come through the glass partition to fix the problem himself. “Without a signed transfer authorization from the Lavender Sky Pack head, or a court-ordered expulsion, the registry cannot add Emily Wilson to the Wright Pack.”
She bends to rifle through a drawer, then slides a pamphlet through the metal tray. “This outlines the process for contested pack transfers. You’ll need to file with the county circuit court, and the pack head will have thirty days to respond.”
I stare down at it, the title swimming in my vision. Understanding Contested Pack Dissolutions.
I lick my lips. “Can you tell me who else is in the Lavender Sky Pack?”
When Auren added the other Alphas, he had offered to do it on his own, since I was so busy with work. I had thought he was being considerate and had given him the sponsorship fees for both Mark and Jacob.
When they had removed me from the pack, I had trusted Auren once again to file the proper paperwork. He wanted me out, so why would I ever doubt him?
The clerk purses her lips, but she leaves the current screen and opens a new one. After a couple of clicks, she says, “It’s just you and Auren Dovelle registered.”
The counter creaks under my fingers. “Has there ever been anyone else registered?”
A few more clicks. “No. The Lavender Sky Pack has never had more than two registered members.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Jared hisses, his angry pheromones flooding the air with hot salt. “He doesn’t get to keep messing with Em.”
“Just stay calm.” Leif grips his arm. “We’ll figure this out.”
I think about the day I handed Auren the fees for Mark and Jacob.
How I had been the one to thank him for bringing other Alphas into my pack without my consent.
A year of believing I was free, of building anew, of telling myself the worst was behind me…
And the whole time, he’d still been holding my strings, waiting for the moment he needed to pull them again.
I peel my fingers open and pick up the pamphlet, then gather my paperwork.
“Thank you for your assistance,” I hear myself say.
I feel numb as we leave the registration office, the mood now the complete opposite of the excited anticipation we were feeling when we arrived. Leif has to steer Jared out the front door as the young Alpha vibrates with restrained rage.
As soon as we hit the parking lot, he breaks loose and spins to face us. “We’re not just going to take this. That viper has ruined Em’s life enough already!”
He spins on me. “You are not protecting him this time.”
“No one is protecting him.” Grady turns to me, his usual gentleness replaced by a hardness I’ve never seen before. “I assume you have receipts for all those fees that you paid and he pocketed?”
“Yeah.” My voice comes out as a rasp, and I clear my throat. “They should all be in the boxes for the office.”
“Good.” He turns his hard stare on Dominic. “So, we sue?”
“Oh, we’re going to do so much more than sue,” Dom growls. “We’re going to destroy him.”