Chapter 77: Making Progress

Selene’s POV

I began making significant progress in my research. No more hurdles, not with Cipher’s assistance and my own iron will pushing me forward.

Reading and researching felt so satisfying. It did me more good than an orgasm ever could ... if there was even a way to compare the two.

I was barely around the breeders because of how locked in I was. I was the first to walk into the library every morning and the last one to leave at night.

That made me Ms. Ashlyn’s most trusted protégé all over again. If it could happen twice, then that was simply who I was.

It was like I had been threaded and stitched together ... me, knowledge, and research, bound by the same needle. I cut out all the outside noise.

It was only when I got back to the breeders in the evenings that the world outside found me again. They’d fill me in on everything I missed.

Tessa made her first speech as Luna beside Lucian.

It hadn’t been long since I last saw Lucian. In fact, I was the one who didn’t want to see him or have anything to do with him. I didn’t tell the girls that, but even the love he kept professing to me had become a distraction. I was too deeply focused to entertain it.

"Ohh, Tessa is a bitch for real," Valerie said.

We laughed like we always did.

"But you need to see her plans for the territory ... so unrealistic. She hasn’t even started and she’s already getting ahead of herself," Valerie added.

She broke down everything Tessa had laid out in that speech.

I listened carefully. And just like before, I still wished her the best. It was genuinely a good initiative, whether I liked Tessa or not. The people had accepted her, and that mattered.

All my hypotheses and theories were ready. After hours upon hours of relentless research, I had gathered enough to be certain. Now it was time to move into the lab ... to test everything before the actual invention.

The stigma from the people was still too heavy for me to walk around freely. I couldn’t boldly show my face in public without bracing for something. So I mostly pulled on a hoodie when I went out or came back in.

The last time I stepped out into the open, what I heard nearly broke me.

"Look at this mass murderer."

"She wanted to become Luna ... how could she?"

"How did the Alpha even fall for a weapon of mass destruction like this?"

Among other things.

What happened with the mass destruction wasn’t my fault. That had been made clear. So I didn’t understand why it was still a topic people wouldn’t let die.

The issue of Nara had passed a long time ago. But it wasn’t easy being hated, being refused, when once upon a time I was the one they honoured and cherished.

That was my life now. And I had to adapt ... like I always did.

Very soon, Tessa would become pregnant. And she wouldn’t be attacked the way I had been attacked, almost killed. The people had gotten the Luna they deserved.

"Ms. Ashlyn, I want to go test this theory in the lab," I told her, needing her to grant me official access as chief librarian.

"Are you sure these are well-proven hypotheses?" she asked, steady and careful as always.

"Yes, they are," I said.

"Anyways, I believe you." She held my paper for a moment, scanning it. "The number of hours you’ve put into this shouldn’t give you anything less than a perfect result. Give me the paper."

I handed it over. She signed it, officially granting me lab access and full authority to proceed.

I took it there immediately. When the lab staff saw Ms. Ashlyn’s signature, the doors opened without question. And I got to work.

The test was for a preservative ... something designed to make food last significantly longer than expected.

One of the lab technicians was assigned to assist me for that purpose.

"Hmm, this is new, Ms. Selene. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before," he said, leaning over to study the setup.

The test took hours to confirm.

I sat back, observing the environment, watching the process, waiting.

Then the results came out.

Positive.

It was something that could absolutely be worked on and developed further.

I was so happy I nearly started hooping and shouting right there in the lab.

The technician who had been assisting me looked at me seriously and said, "This piece of work will be sent to the manufacturing industry for scrutiny and full invention. Make sure your trademark stays on it. Don’t let it stop being your work and your product. It’s your invention ... own it."

I took his words with me when I left.

I headed home. I was so happy ... progress had been made. Significant, valuable progress.

There was nothing like having a mentor in your life. All the thanks belonged to Cipher and Ms. Ashlyn.

I was a book freak and would have eventually figured it out on my own ... but their presence had sped up the process more than I could repay.

When I reached the breeders’ dorm, we sat together, talked, and celebrated.

I still didn’t tell them exactly what I was working on ... copyright and ownership concerns kept that close to my chest. The lab technician had made sure I was well informed on that front.

But they knew I was deep in research, and that was enough for them.

We played games together, told some secrets, joked and laughed until we were almost breathless. It was a lot. And it was exactly what I needed.

Then one of the breeders opened herself up to the group.

The Alpha had stopped sleeping with the breeders ... especially after the period when I got pregnant and we nearly got married. That whole stretch, he’d only been with me. But things must have changed by now. Tessa had probably gotten all of that by now.

The breeder in question had been secretly seeing her boyfriend at night.

We all laughed.

The guy was a common citizen of Winterwood.

She’d been sleeping with him ever since the king’s eyes had lifted off their backs.

"Where do you two even do it?" I asked.

"In the bush not too far from here," she said.

We fell out laughing again. They were lucky.

"The king doesn’t need us anymore and my pussy needs to stay lubricated," she said, completely deadpan.

This woman was absolutely hilarious.

She had been taken to the point where she couldn’t go without it ... and luckily, her boyfriend was right there to handle the job.

I understood her, honestly. Even I used the hours buried in the library to quietly quench whatever urges crept up on me ... because I wasn’t about to go fucking some random wolf just to scratch an itch.

It was a night of shared secrets and real fun. I enjoyed every second of it.

Then my phone beeped in the middle of all the laughter.

"Check it, Selene ... it might be the Alpha," one of the breeders said.

We all laughed.

She wasn’t wrong. It was him.

He wanted to see me.

"He wants to see me. I’m not going," I said.

"He’s the Alpha, Selene. Give him the same respect he’s been giving you," Valerie said.

She had a point. He was the Alpha, and whether I liked it or not, I was still answerable to him first. So I agreed to go. He sent the location and the time.

"Make sure his wife doesn’t catch you," Valerie called after me.

We all erupted again. These women were going to choke me with laughter one of these days.

I just hoped my mood wouldn’t shift by the time I reached him. If it did, I was turning right back around.

I wished.