CHAPTER TWO
OCTOBER, 7, 2018
DEEPWATER PARK
HAILEY
I groan softly as my eyes flutter open. My body aches as though I've been run over by a truck. Where was I?
"You're awake!" A cheerful voice broke my line of thoughts. I looked up and my heart got stuck in my mouth as I came face to face with the intruder. It's Maya!
"How are you?"
"I'm fine" with furrowed brows, I answer absentmindedly as I wonder what was going on.
Wasn't I supposed to be dead? I don't get it! My head hurts as I try to figure out what was happening.
"The doctor said you've sprained your ankles badly and need to stay in bed. I doubt you will be able to attend the ball. It's quite unfortunate" Maya said, her voice dripping with sadness like she really wanted me to attend the ball.
"What ball?" I raised my brow in confusion. "What year is this even?" I ask, my voice sounding harsher than I intended.
Maya looks at me with a weird expression and comes closer to touch me but I move away before she could reach me. "Hailey, are you sure you're fine? Did you hurt your head? Should I call the doctor?" She bombarded me with a series of questions, looking extremely concerned and interested in my well being.
"Answer the question, Maya" I frown. Her over niceness was starting to get on my nerves.
My sharp retort caused her facade to falter but she answers nonetheless "It's 2018"
At this moment, reality dawns on me. I was reborn two years ago! The moon goddess has given me a second chance and I sure as hell won't mess it up.
I can remember what and why I landed where I am. On this particular day, I had tripped and fallen down the stairs causing me to sprain my ankle and the doctor asked me to stay bedridden for at least three days.
But why this day? What was special about today that the moon goddess chose to be reborn today?
I barely refrain myself from gasping out loud when I eventually put the pieces together.
Today is the annual gathering of all Alpha's and this year's meeting is being hosted by my father.
The notable thing about this day is that Tristan promised to be my date for the event and officially announce me as his mate and Luna but unfortunately, because of my "unexpected accident", he had to go with Maya instead.
Thinking back, Maya was behind me when I mysteriously fell and I could swear that I felt her push me but when she profusely pleaded her innocence, I let it go, blaming it on nervousness and paranoia.
Maya had actually pushed me in order for me to not be able to attend the event so she could go with Tristan in my stead. I didn't think anything of it because I simply guessed Tristan needed company for the event and Maya was both our friend.
But it just hit me, this was their plan all along. He introduced her as his mate, instead of me.
"Is there a problem, Hailey?" Maya spoke with her light voice that made me cringe. Ironically, I had once likened her voice to that of the soothy summer breeze.
I stare at Maya and feel nothing but pure unadulterated hatred. I had stupidly played the lead role in her plan to end me. Just how dense was I to be played by her?
"I need to be alone. Please leave" I say, and turn my gaze away from her. If I am reborn, I need time to calculate my next move. I need to make sure I don't repeat the same mistake and end up the same way I did.
"But the doctor--"
"No buts. I need space!" I cut her off angrily. Was she always this stubborn? As much as I could remember, she always acted docile in my presence. "Didn't the doctor say not to stress me? Or don't you want me to recover quickly?!"
If it were before I got reborn, I'd have felt she was genuinely concerned about my wellbeing and asked her to stay by my side. But not anymore, I wasn't going to be that gullible girl anymore.
In this life, I have no trust and love left in me to give out. I've learnt the hard way that man is a very selfish being and to survive in a world like this, you need to be cruel.
"How could I not want you to recover, Hailey? What are you saying?" She looked like she was about to cry but I couldn't care less. She could die for all I cared- but not before I took my revenge.
"Then leave, Maya!" I insist.
Both Maya and I stare at each other with an unwavering gaze. I could tell she was thinking of what had come over me. What happened to the calm and overly nice girl she could control? I'm sure that's was was going through her mind
"Okay" Maya finally dropped her gaze and turned to leave. "Call me if you need anything"
I clicked my tongue loudly the moment she closed the door. How was I blind to these antics? How did she manage to fool me?
I shake my head. That isn't important anymore. My most important priority is to take revenge on everyone who orchestrated my death. No one would be left out.
But to do that, I need to be powerful enough and that means having a strong back up. But who? My father doesn't even pay attention to me.
A plan suddenly clicked in my mind and I smiled sinisterly. My thoughts were interrupted by a voice in my head.
"Hailey" The distant, yet firm voice which I recognized belonged to my wolf.
"Leila?" I asked, just to be sure. It's been a very long time since I spoke to Leila. So long ago that I almost forgot how she sounded.
"Yes Hailey, it's me."
"How? I thought you left me" I was surprised and happy. I had missed her so much.
"I did but I'm back because you were reborn, and hopefully smarter"
I couldn't help but wince at the subtle insult thrown at me. Back then, Leila abandoned me because she claimed I was hurting her by loving the wrong person.
In my entire life, I had never heard about something of that sort so I likened it to her wanting to dominate me. I had always thought Leila was too mature to be my wolf. But now, I regret being mean to her.
"The moon goddess has granted you a second chance of being reborn and to avoid being reckless, she has given you two simple rules to follow. Failure to abide by them, leads to grave circumstances"
"What are the rules?" I asked carefully, my heart uncontrollably pounding for some weird reason.
"The first is; you must tell no one about being reborn." Leila paused for a second which only added to my strange anxiety.
"And you must not fall in love."
CHAPTER THREEOCTOBER, 7, 2018DEEPWATER PARKCARTERI finish off my vodka in one swift gulp as I prepare to get the fuck out of here. I'm done with this party. Events like this never fail to irk me because I'm almost a hundred percent certain that everyone present here has a fake smile latched on their faces as they try to curry favor. The only reason I attended is to seek the necessary information from this pack.I navigate my way through the crowd and towards the balcony to get some fresh air and maybe some peace and quiet while I'm at it because my beta is on a mission and I can't leave him alone.But to my dismay, the balcony sitting area wasn't empty like I had thought it'd be.I grimaced at the back of the lady who's occupying my space but I could hardly make out her face as her long black wavy hair covered most of her face and flowed to her waist.I motioned to leave but before I could take a step further, she turned around to face me.I recognize her as Alpha Damian's daughte
CHAPTER FOURHAILEY"I can be your mate for appearance until you get your inheritance" I offer. However, I didn't think he was taking the bait, I could feel his disinterest against my skin.When he turned to leave, I panicked and used the last card on my sleeve."I know about your mate's disappearance and I can help you find her" I blurted, hoping it'd interest him.To my relief-- and maybe horror, he turned around and held me in place, choking me. God, was he strong. The way he held my neck, if it wasn't for the moon goddess's grace, maybe I'd have died a second time."What do you know about Alanna?" He tightened his grip on my neck, forcing me to speak."There's no way you'll get an answer out of me when you keep choking me" I croaked but kept a straight face, it was quite difficult but I needed to impress him. Even with his hands wrapped tightly around my neck, I still had a sharp mouth. I was crazy but the wine made me brave and I knew it.But my craziness had paid off as I saw a
CARTER"There's been complaints from the elders and shareholders about you, the company and the pack." My father sat opposite me in my office. After he handed over the company to me, he rarely ever visits the company except for pressing needs.I wouldn't say this case was the same because I personally didn't see this as something important. Once again, he's become the voice of the elders who constantly nag and question my matelessness.But this time, I'm not listening to him. Infact, my thoughts are on a certain dark haired and blue eyed feisty little lady. She's got my mind occupied, her offer I mean, the whole morning and I've barely been able to get any work done.Not one person knew of Alanna's disappearance because I kept it a secret and by that means, I haven't been able to get any lead on her whereabouts. So naturally, Hailey's offer interested me. I loved my pride but I loved my mate more."Carter" My father's voice woke me up from my reverie. "Are you with me?"Though I didn'
HAILEY"Marry me" His words came as a shock to me. When I proposed that we form an alliance, I didn't mean it as such. It was only meant to be for show and not realistic but he sounded as serious as it could get."You're joking, right?" He had to be because I didn't survive death caused by a jealous friend and cheating mate saga only to get entangled with another man. "You don't mean we should get married like for real, right?"Carter frowned. His expression annoyed like he would prefer to be anywhere but here. "I don't have all the time in the world, Miss Hailey. You have just twenty four hours to make up your mind, after that, the deal is done." then he made an attempt to walk away but I grabbed his arm to stop him."Give me time to think about it." I tried to reason with him, "marriage is not a thing to be taken lightly."Carter gave me a look of understanding "Whenever you're ready, you know where to find me." He then gave me his card and with that, he strolled away and I couldn'
C&M ENTERPRISESHAILEYMarveling at the sight of the building, with my head held up high, I drew in a deep breath and walked towards the main entrance.Today, my life was going to change for the better. I had made up my mind to accept Carter's proposal and with his help, I'll destroy Maya and Tristan. If everything goes as planned and we achieve both our goals, we'd go our separate ways. I plan to go far away from here and live a quiet life.I spotted the receptionist immediately I stepped in, and naturally, I walked up to her. "Welcome to C&M enterprises, how may I help you?" She greeted with a polite smile on her face."I want to see Carter, your boss." I said simply. Her brows furrowed slightly when she heard me call Carter by his face name. Apparently, she had never heard anyone call him that as they always refered to him as Alpha or boss but since I had addressed him by his name, she thought I was special to him. Was I? I doubted that."Do you have an appointment, miss?" She aske
CARTER'She's the one who needs my help, I can do well on my own' This line had become my mantra since few hours ago and i couldn't be wrong.I barely restrained myself from groaning out loud because of the frustration growing in me. I pinched the skin between my brows to get ahold of myself. I don't need Hailey, she needs me. She was the one who approached me first, meaning that I'm more useful to her than she is to me. I could find my mate with or without her. I really didn't care if she comes or not. I am the supreme Alpha for a reason.The board members all kept mute when my phone beeped out loud. Under normal circumstances, I would have ignored it and continued the meeting but I wasn't interested in sitting here any longer.I picked up my phone to see the reason of interruption, it was a message from my receptionist that someone was in my office.Automatically, my mind drifted to Hailey but I quickly sidelined the thought because if it were to be her, Malachi would have told me
HAILEYI got married, though not real but I'm married.I sat beside Carter in the back seat of his car and stared down at the marriage certificate in my hands.For a fake marriage, the certificate had good quality. Well, I don't expect anything less from Carter. He is supreme Alpha for a reason."It's too late for regrets" I hear Carter's mocking voice mixed with amusement say to me."I didn't say I am regretting. Don't put words in my mouth." I scowled at him."With that look on your face, one would think I forced you into this marriage" He chuckled as he relaxed into the luxurious leather seat of the car. He seemed to be enjoying this way too much."Technically, they won't be wrong because it isn't a pleasure getting married to you." I retorted speedily. I would never let this man win me in a tongue war. If I can't win him in a physical battle, this is the least I should do."You had the opportunity to change your mind but you chose to dive right into my waiting arms" he continued w
CARTERThrough out the ride back from the company, I thought about ways to make Hailey pay for bringing up my mate in a totally unrelated situation. She needed to know that though we were working together, I wouldn't take any nonsense from her. She wasn't in any way worthy of having Alanna's name on her lips. No one was! Alanna was special to me and I wouldn't have anyone disrespecting her in any way.I stepped out of the car immediately it came to a halt and strode out."Where's she?" I asked Caroline, the head maid, who stood by the door. She's been an employee of my mansion since I was young, hence the most reliable."In your room, Alpha" she replied with her head bowed.I wanted to lash out at her for letting Hailey into my room but I decided against it. I was to blame for not instructing her properly. She had assumed that it was only normal that my 'wife' stayed in the same room as me. I breezed past Caroline into the house, taking two steps at a time to get to my room. Yes, I