Page 10 of Wolf's Redemption

Eric looked at the two of us, trying to find some resemblance, but, besides hair color, Linda and I were completely different.

"She came into my room by mistake and fell asleep in my bed all night long. How could she cheat on her boyfriend while asleep?" he added.

"It's not possible; she came upstairs last night and got into bed with another man. I'm pretty sure of that," she stated. "Don't try to protect her, Eric."

Many things were going through my mind, but one of them was how Linda would know this would happen.

"Who says I'm protecting her?" he replied. "I'm telling the truth. She spent the whole night with me."

Linda looked impatient. She's not the kind of person you can contradict. To my sister, her word is the absolute truth.

"Eric, you drank too much. When I left you at the party, you were so drunk I doubt you remember clearly what happened last night," My half-sister replied. "Don't defend this piece of shit. She's just pretending to be the victim."

"I won't tolerate you talking to her like that in my presence," Eric raised his voice. "Much less if you have no arguments or proof."

For the first time, someone stood up for me, and it felt good. I felt I finally had an advantage in my favor since, with Eric backing me up, my father would have to listen to me.

"If I'm not right, show me the key, and let's see if it matches the number on the door," Linda said.

I put the key she handed me in the palm of my hand so we all could see 301 engraved on it.

"See, my room is 305." Eric closed the door and pointed his finger at the number carved into the pine door.

Linda's face of confusion was even worse than when she saw Eric leave the room.

"No. There's no way this could have happened, not when I..."

The sound of a door opening echoed down the hallway, drawing our attention and interrupting Linda. As she casually glanced over, it was 301.

"I thought I heard your voice, young lady. I was wondering when you would show up," said Sam, a man who was in his fifties, but his appearance was terrible. He looked older. He was the hotel concierge and one of the few humans who knew of the existence of the shapeshifters. He has worked devotedly for us all his life, just as his father did and as his children will. "I was up all night as we agreed, waiting for the girl, but she never showed up."

Linda reddened and clenched her fists so hard her knuckles thundered. "Why didn't you warn me... I shouldn't have trusted you. After all, you are just a human. Your kind is so useless and repulsive," she said without measuring her words. "I should throw you out of the hotel."

Sam began to sweat, and his expression changed completely. The man was angry, and even though Linda was fearsome when she was angry, he stood his ground.

"That wasn't my job, we had a deal, and I did my part. I don't care about your problems or excuses," he added. "The only thing I care about here is knowing where's the money. I'm not leaving here until you give me my payment."

Linda got angrier, and if it wasn't for us being here, I bet she'd shift and rip the poor man to shreds.

"I will pay you absolutely nothing. You're useless," she said desperately. "You and your wife will pay for this insolence, mark my word."

The atmosphere became tense. Eric just watched what was happening and drew his own conclusions. There was disapproval in his eyes for my half-sister's attitude. He looked at her as if he was looking at a completely different person and, in a way, with disgust.

"Linda, you need to calm down," Alston said to her, brushing aside a lock of hair that was falling over her face. "It's not the right place."

He talks to her too closely. I never thought the two of them could get along. In fact, on occasion, Alston remarked to me that he was afraid of my sister and that because of everything I had told him about her, he could never be her friend.

The old man stood in the doorway, looking at me angrily as if blaming me for what had happened.

"I'm fine," Linda replied. "It's just that I detest incompetence."

Everything made sense in my head as my mind cleared, and I was able to remember a few things from last night at the salon: the wine, her kindness, and her insistence on accompanying me to find my boyfriend. I could bet that all that time, she tried to keep me from meeting him. She planned it all from the beginning, and now I'm sure of it. It's not just a guess.

"Can't you see?" I shouted at Alston. "She planned it all. She's been manipulating you all this time. That harpy is the real enemy."

Alston moved his gaze away from mine and turned to my half-sister. "I don't want to be here; let's go," he told her.

Linda shook her head.