You Want Me Back? Too Bad, My Alpha—I'm Done Waiting

Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Nora's POV The whole inspection and funding talks went off without a hitch. Declan immediately committed to giving the sanctuary one million dollars every year, starting next month, making sure all the kids could afford Academy. The paperwork got signed on the spot. Winifred and the staff who'd shown them around invited the group to eat in our newly built dining hall. During the whole tour, Declan kept looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't get it out. Winifred finally brought it up herself.

"Alpha Vale, you're here about Nora, aren't you?" Declan's eyes went bright immediately, but before he could get a word out, Winifred said, "Nora's told me about you, and I know where she is, but she doesn't want to see you." Declan's hands clenched so tight his knuckles went white. Even that couldn't touch the deeper hurt eating at his chest. It was the same thing Gideon had told him before: She didn't want to see him. Why wouldn't she want to see him when she'd loved him so much? Winifred seemed to pick up on his pain.

She looked out toward the foggy mountain peaks as she started talking about the past. "Nora was an unusual child. She lost both parents when she was little, so I took her in and raised her myself. I was always swamped with work here, but Nora never gave me trouble. She was good and even helped out however she could." Winifred's voice sounded distant, and Declan could picture a small kid quietly following behind her, doing whatever little jobs she was capable of "That's how Nora got so tough.

Nothing could break her; nothing could make her run unless she got completely fed up with something and decided to walk away herself." "You must've really let her down." I'd never told Winifred the full story, but she'd figured out enough. She turned to face Declan. Declan could see exactly what he looked like reflected in Winifred's gaze. The broken, guilty version of himself who couldn't say a damn thing. His throat felt completely blocked, and even using all his strength, he could barely get one word out. "L..." 11:32 Back? Too Bad.

My Alpha-I'm Done Waiting 3.7% Chapter 16 "That's why she won't come back, Alpha Vale. You can't force her love, or both people end up getting destroyed." With that, she turned and walked off, leaving Declan standing there like a statue. Late that night, the other teachers and I finally got back to the sanctuary. I'd figured that no matter how long the inspection took, the Vale Pack people would head out the same day. But when I climbed out of our beat-up truck, I immediately saw Declan's black Mercedes.

I knew that car way too well because Declan had driven me all over the northern territory in it. He'd set up surprises for me in it, and we'd had sex in it more times than I could count. But later, in that exact same car, he'd given another woman all the stuff he used to give me. I looked away and started walking toward the sanctuary when the Mercedes driver's door opened and someone got out. The door opened suddenly, and the two people who thought they'd never cross paths again were suddenly staring at each other. Everything stopped right then.

The smell of wet dirt disappeared, and the distant sounds of kids playing in the woods went quiet, leaving just the crazy beating of Declan's heart and his heavy breathing. "Nora..." Declan hadn't expected to actually run into me here either. Because of the sketchy mountain roads in the dark, Declan and his crew had planned to crash at the sanctuary overnight and take off first thing in the morning. Since he had a bunch of business stuff waiting for him, Declan had gone straight back to his car to deal with it.

He'd just been about to step out for a smoke break when he spotted me, the woman he'd been obsessing over for months. Declan couldn't believe that after just three months apart, I'd changed so much. My long hair that used to reach my waist was now cut in a practical bob, and my soft dresses had been swapped for a faded flannel shirt and worn jeans. The smooth skin that Declan had worked so hard to pamper had gotten rough again from outdoor work. Declan almost thought he was looking at the wrong person. I stared at Declan too, never having expected to bump into him here.

The second I saw him, all the grief I'd buried deep in my chest came rushing back up my throat, and memories started rewinding like a broken movie, with all those painful scenes playing over and over in my head. Finally, the wind carried my voice over to him. "Declan, why won't you just leave me alone?" Back? Too Bad, My Alpha-I'm Done Waiting 3.8% Cedella Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter.

With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella's storytelling style is immersive and addictive-perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.