4

ELODIE

Silence crashed down and I remained frozen for a second, unable to get air into my lungs.

How was this possible?

How had he gotten his hands on the result? H…had the doctor conducted the test already, way before I gained consciousness?!

No! No, this mustn’t happen.

“What are you talking about, father? What child?” Taking a deep breath, I asked, trying consciously to slow my drumming heart.

I doubted pretending not to know what he was talking about would work on him, but I felt like my whole world was sinking away extremely fast and I needed to quickly find a footing.

“You fled the party, Elodie. Did you even bother to go after Lycan Maximus?” Ignoring my question, he spat through gritted teeth, approaching me.

Now standing before me, the fury in his eyes couldn’t be more clear. It caused my stomach to churn with anxiety and I lowered my gaze, unable to withstand it.

When a full minute passed and I still hadn’t answered his question, my silence spoke for me.

“You didn't, right?” He pressed, his tone oozing with open disappointment.

I swallowed hard, my hands trembling. “Father. I—”

But he cut me off before I could finish.

“To give a commoner a baby on a platter of nothing… Was this your plan all along?” My father thundered, his voice shaking with rage.

That was all it took for tears to spill out of my eyes. I have always been the perfect daughter, the goody-two shoes who doesn’t do anything without the permission of her parents, terrified I might fail them.

All these changed when I met Zane. And it hurts me badly knowing that he, who I had sacrificed everything for, proved to not be worth it.

Now, I was left to deal with the letdown in my father’s eyes at the revelation that I was pregnant.

And worse, by a commoner.

I could already feel it, the amount of the wound it would carve into him if he found out the child I was carrying was indeed an omega’s. Which was the more reason why I couldn’t bring myself to come out clean.

Although doing so would be the perfect chance to deal with Zane for what he did, because I knew my father wouldn’t spare him, my future was also at stake here. Once the truth comes out, I wouldn’t only be hated by my entire family, I could end up being discarded.

A fate worse than death itself.

So I resolved into racking my brain, in search of something convincing I could say to get myself out of this mess. Only to end up with nothing.

As the air thickened with tension, I nervously bite down on my tongue until it drew blood, waiting for my father’s verdict. And it came. Faster and crueler than I expected.

“You’re a failure, Elodie.” His voice cut into the silence, sharp and filled with disgust and my gaze snapped up, taken aback.

I knew my brother, Damian, has always been his favorite child and he really didn’t take much liking for me but hearing him say that? He didn’t only sound pissed at me, it was as if he regretted having me as a child.

That instilled fear in me and I ran after him, disregarding every instinct that told me he was a raging hell and now wasn’t the time. Because still, I was ready to walk into the fire. If that was what it took.

“N…no, father. You have every right to be angry but please… don’t do this!” I helplessly dropped to my knees, grabbing onto his legs before he could move them any further.

“Please don’t leave. I’m so sorry—” I pleaded, my voice breaking as sobs tore through me.

But he didn’t hesitate to shove my hands off.

“Save your tears,” He said flatly, stepping back like I was some leech. “You have until tomorrow to bring the man responsible before me. Only then will I decide what becomes of you.” He asserted, his face stern in a way that promised what was next if I disobeyed him and then he was gone.

I stilled, my breath seizing.

Time crawled by so slowly and I still couldn’t move from the spot my father had left me.

How was I supposed to bring Zane to him when I no longer wanted anything to do with him anymore?

The question rang in my mind all day long. I tried to force myself to sleep but it still reared its head in, leaving me tossing and turning on the bed, unable to catch a wink of sleep.

***

The next day passed too quickly. Maybe it was because I was devastated and didn’t want it to end, but evening came anyway. I hadn’t left my room since the incident with my father the night before. Only Mia, a maid, brought food.

I should have been upset that my brother, the closest person to me, didn't come, but I deserved it. By now he likely knew what I’d done and felt disgusted. Seeing him would only bring guilt, so I prefer to remain in the comfort of my room. Why?

Because I wouldn’t put it past my father to not disown me next thing tomorrow. And I was still determined not to bring that asshole, Zane, before him.

Back pressed against the door, my eyes flickered to the wall clock every minute and each time, I became more frightened than the last. Was there any hope I could get away with this? Does the moon goddess even have any plan to come to my aid?

“Did you hear that the Silver Moon’s Lycan King arrived in our pack about three days ago?” A sudden whisper outside the door cut through my thoughts, the familiar name catching my attention.

“He did? Seriously?” As another voice gasped, and I found myself subconsciously pressing my ear closer against the door.

If I wasn’t mistaken, this had to be about that rude brat, Maximus.

After what happened between us yesterday, I could openly admit I despise him with every ounce of my being. And yet somehow, the maids’ gossip about him was too tempting to simply ignore.

“Apparently, it’s his second time being here. But don’t get your hopes high, it’s now old news he detest commoners. The first time he stepped into this pack, there were rumors he met his mate but rejected her instantly because she was an omega. Avery Spencer or whatever her name is, I heard she went home bawling her eyes out…”

I tuned out the rest, my eyes widening so much it felt like they might pop right out.

Avery? Like my bestfri… no, let me rephrase, ex friend?!

About four months ago, Avery told me how she was rejected so brutally by her first ever mate but didn’t go into the details and I didn’t press for it either because I wanted her to get over him. But the ex-mate was King Maximus?!

My hand flew to my mouth, holding back the gasp that threatened to escape.

Holy shit.

This was important information, how could I have been missing out on it?

In an instant, I shot upright and began pacing back and forth before I even realized it.

A part of me seemed to be telling me I could turn things around with this. But how? That was something I spent more than an hour thinking about and then suddenly, out of nowhere, an idea struck me.

Revenge.

Despite hating him for looking down on me when I was nothing but a stranger to him, he would be the perfect revenge on Avery for backstabbing me. Through him, I would not only be avoiding punishment too, I could also get away with being pregnant for an omega.

For the first time today, I felt something other than pain, and it was happiness. I actually beamed, my heart swelling with renewed hope.

I barely felt my feet hit the floor as I sprinted toward the door, adrenaline surging through me. However, wrenching the door open, I nearly collided with my father’s solid frame.

Surprised, I paused long enough to take him in and saw his hand was still lifted, frozen mid-knock. But he recovered quickly.

“Good thing you came out yourself,” He cleared his throat, crossing his arms behind his back authoritatively. “Your deadline is here already and…”

Right, my time was up.

“He’s not a commoner, father. Just give me until tomorrow, I’ll bring him to you.” I cut him off and spoke as confidently as I could. I saw his jaw slacken in surprise as I hurried past him and out of the house.

It wasn’t easy to locate where the Lycan was residing. I asked passersby more times than I could count and finally met someone who seemed to know his exact location.

I stood at the entrance of the hall, observing with a mix of emotions. When the man’s warning replayed in my ears.

“Before you go searching for him, you should know this, the Lycan King has no interest in women. There was once a rumor, spread by one of his own officials, that he only wanted an heir to secure his lineage. The man who started the rumor? He never saw another sunrise.”

I didn’t listen to him and came anyway.

But at what cost?

What were the chances the Lycan would even agree?

My gaze stayed glued to the entrance, anticipating his appearance. Just like the many crowds here. Although it was nearly impossible, I wanted to be the first person here to meet him.

But that would only happen if I brought some of my father’s men over and revealed my identity.

“The Lycan King is here!”

The clicking of shoes cut through the hallway, and one by one, heads turned. Including mine.

The moment my eyes snapped in the direction of the voice, and his towering figure came into view, my stomach fluttered. Here goes my chance.

I shoved my way through the sea of bodies. “I should be the first person to speak with him!” Before anyone could be let in, I shouted on top of my voice, catching one of the guards' attention.

“And why is that? Who are you?” His eyes narrowed down on me, annoyance evident on his face.

“Elodie. I’m Elodie Dawson. The Alpha's daughter.” I answered, walking forward and dropping down on the seat across Maximus, the Lycan himself.

The guard’s eyes widened in realization and he quickly bowed in acknowledgment before retreating.

Maximus placed his phone face down on the table between us and raised his head. “Wait. You again?” Not only was his tone condescending, he didn’t try to hide his disappointment.

I nodded dismissively.

Then taking a deep breath,

“Can you be my fake husband?” The words rolled off my tongue right away.

He gave me a slow once-over and then a snort of pure disbelief burst out of his mouth. “Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?”

Leaning back in his seat, he crossed his arms firmly across his chest and I think I caught an ounce of amusement in his gaze. “You can’t just show up out of nowhere and…”

At that point, I wanted to quit and run as far away as possible but I held my ground, forcing my face into a calm mask.

“What if I can give you what you’ve been looking for?” I confidently countered.

I could tell the Lycan King was taken aback when silence fell between us. His gaze bored into me, an uncertainty that wasn’t there before glinting in them.

I stared back at him, still hopeful but a feeling of unease starting to creep in. Suddenly, after a beat…

“What I’ve been looking for?” He reluctantly raised a brow as if to ask what that was and I answered casually, as though we were discussing the weather.

“An heir.”