Chapter 22 
Reyna Cruz: 
Elder Gale kept gazing at my face until my son spoke up and diverted his attention to him. 
“Who are you?” Tara appeared quite unhappy when a real child corrected her. 
“People call me a kid. I’m her son, Turner! Turner gripped my hand tightly, speaking confidently, which made me proud of 
him. 
Tara frowned as she examined him and then turned to me, looking confused. 
“Young man, you do realize you’re supposed to be quiet when the elders are speaking, right?” Elder Gale remarked in a teasing way, but looking back, he was trying to make my son appear impolite for stepping in. 
Before I could say anything, my son spoke up once more. 

“Mom always taught me to speak up when I see something wrong. Standing up for someone or pointing out a wrong doing is not a bad thing. Silence only brings us shame, and we’re not ashamed of anything, Turner added, surprising everyone. 
Hunter was simply observing him in silence. His gaze was what concerned me. Every time he focused on him. I wondered if he was noticing how much they resembled each other. 
What if someone else notices it? 
“Anyway, thanks for coming. Tara, who had never been corrected before, stomped her foot and walked away, making things awkward for everyone. 
“Sorry for that. I suspect it’s because her family couldn’t come, Hunter attempted to explain when my son decided he wasn’t finished with them 
“Shouldn’t she be happy that you’re beside her?” Hunter followed in his footsteps and openly gave Turner a threatening look for continuing to talk. I slowly positioned Turner behind me and confronted Hunter. I wouldn’t allow anyone to silence my 
child. 
Hunter let out a deep sigh before chasing after Tara 
“Reyna Cruz! I remember you. Now that the couple was gone, Elder Gale turned to me. 
“I heard you’re a very successful copywriter now,” he commented with a raised eyebrow. “Are you married?” 
I’m not sure what he was thinking. The expression on his face seemed to suggest he was wondering where Turner had come 
from. 
“After last time, I decided not to,” I replied with a sarcastic smile. “How’s the pack’s justice system now? Has it improved, or is it the same?” My comment nearly caused him to spill his drink. 
“I’ll go get some drinks,” I said, and as I turned around to hold Turner’s hand, I found him gone. It felt like a hammer had hit 
ΠΙΕ. 
“Turner!” I gasped, anxiously looking around for him. I knew it was a safe place, but these people were unpredictable. I didn’t want him to get into trouble. They might not see him as a child and could hurt his feelings. I started walking through the crowd, searching for him. 
The eyes on me were really bothering me, but I kept ignoring them until I overheard a comment. 
Dreame 

Chapter 22 
“Look at her. She looks so lovely, as if the rejection did her no harm. I don’t understand how a woman can carry on after being rejected,” one woman remarked about my appearance. 
“It seems like the rejection actually worked in her favor. Look at her body; she seems to be doing really well,” another one complained. 
“I think it’s she–wolves like these…. the third woman was about to comment when I stopped in my tracks to have a word with them. 
It seemed like they were my fans since they couldn’t stop talking about me. 
“Doesn’t that go both ways?” I asked, and I couldn’t quite tell from their expressions if they were shocked at my words or if they were angry that I was talking to them. 
“You got rejected because you cheated on your mate, the first lady attempted to take control of the conversation and prove a point. 
“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t say the same thing to the she–wolf who got cheated on. It’s just that your husbands have made you women believe that no matter what, you should be grateful for the bare minimum they do for you. Don’t worry, I was just like you until I cried it out. Now, I know my worth, and trust me, I don’t have to beg any mate to spend time with me. I’m happy and making a name for myself, I watched their faces turn pale. 
For them, their mates were like gods. I didn’t see it that way, not anymore. 
“That’s why she–wolves like you end up alone. Is the money worth it? Don’t you feel lonely?” the second woman whispered as her friends gave her an approving smile. 
“My hard–earned money is absolutely worth it. The so–called powerful and rich men now seek my company and want to collaborate on projects,” I smirked as their jaws dropped, “and if I’m not mistaken, your husband works in the same office as me. I see him greet me at the door every day. I didn’t mean to belittle anyone’s work, but I wanted to make a point. 
A she–wolf can stand on her own and earn as much respect as a man does, but their narrow minds would never understand 
that 
“I would have explained this in more detail if I hadn’t been occupied with something else,” I excused myself and continued searching for my son. I don’t know why, but it felt so good to stand up to these women. 
I remembered my mother–in–law dragging me to parties just so she could watch these women criticize and make me feel bad about every little thing I did. 
They would always find something to criticize about me; it seemed like I was never enough. But now I was. 
I hurriedly made my way upstairs to search for Turner. I was very familiar with the layout of the mansion, but my son wasn’t, and that worried me. 
Just as I was about to pass by the large terrace on the second floor, I heard voices coming from there, and my steps faltered. I carefully approached the terrace and found my son and my ex–mother–in–law standing there. It had been a long time since I had seen her, the woman who always made sure I suffered. 
“That was uncalled for,” Turner said, gently patting her shoulder as if he were an old, wise man. She was sitting in a chair while he stood beside her. 
“All I did was ask her why she was crying, and she shut the door in my face, Lady Yolanda complained, sniffling and wiping 
her tears. 
“And your son didn’t say anything?” Turner shook his head. “If my future mate spoke poorly with my mother, I would first. figure out who was at fault. If my male was wrong, I would tell her to behave.” 
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Chapter 22 
“Actually, my son wasn’t around, so he couldn’t have seen, Lady Yolanda quickly defended Hunter. I was surprised to see her crying like that. She used to be so arrogant, always acting superior and making me feel small. Now look at her. 
“Is it the same birthday lady? Oh, she can be a bit rude, Turner nodded, and I raised an eyebrow at him for acting much older than his age. 
“You seem like a good kid,” Yolanda wiped her tears and turned to hold his hand. My heart sank in my chest at the sight. 
“I am. My grandma says the same thing. Oh, by the way, I defend her too” Turner was quite a show–off. He saw that she admired his kindness, so now he was making sure she knew he was a good child, which he truly was. His face would light up every time he mentioned Polline as his grandmother. 
“Your grandma is so lucky. But how come I haven’t seen you in the pack before?” her question snapped me back to reality. I realized I needed to get my son away from this toxic woman. 
“Turner!” As soon as I called his name, the two of them turned around. The expression on her face was priceless. I bet she didn’t expect me to look so well after her and her son had ruined my life. 
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