Chapter 6

Freya

The door burst open, and the first thing that hit me was her scent. That spicy scent that made my heart race for no reason.

I whip my head to see Celeste storm in. She’s breathing heavily as if she’d just run a marathon.

My body reacted subconsciously, and I gripped the chair's armrest.

Alpha Adrian seems calm, despite the situation.

“What the hell do you think you're doing, you slut?” Celeste's voice sounded laced with venom. If words could kill, then I’d probably be dead by now.

I wonder what's holding her back from pouncing on me right now.

My mouth opened, but no words came out. I was practically still in shock. The effrontery of this girl.

“You’re trying to seduce him, aren’t you? You slut!”

“Wait till words get to mum and dad that you’ve returned to the city. You’ll regret it. You will regret ever humiliating me like that.” Celeste pointed her fingers, nearly poking my eyes.

I flinched back, narrowly escaping a potential visit to an ophthalmologist.

Alpha Adrian sighed, his expression still calm and comfortable. “Didn’t I tell you to leave?” He asked my sister, who acted like she didn’t even hear him.

What I’m experiencing right now can’t be real. Celeste practically just stormed into the office of the most powerful man in the country. Is she suicidal?

She ignored the Alpha to face me. “Oh, I have a better idea, how about I call them right now, and show them that the prodigal daughter has finally returned, and is trying to seduce the Alpha of their allied pack.”

“How do you think that sounds, huh?”

Celeste and Alpha Adrian pulled out their phones almost at the same time. The alpha is probably going to call security, and I hope they come in time before she does something crazy.

Her phone made tiny beeping sounds as she tapped rapidly on her phone, her lips pouting.

The sound of dialing tone echoing through the room. Both phones. Alpha Adrian’s call went through first.

“Get to my office now.” He said into his phone like he was ordering pizza. His face remained eerily calm as if he’s experienced crazy people like her daily.

When Celeste's call finally goes through, she puts on an act that I thought should be televised and awarded.

She burst into a fake sob, tears following at her command.

I almost applauded her on the spot.

“Dad, dad, you won’t believe what happened to me today!” Her high pitched voice fills the room. She lifts her phone to find a better angle, and that’s when I realized she’s doing a video call.

“My princess, how was the contest? You did win right?” A familiar voice question from the other end.

Celeste increased the volume of her whine. “I wish I did, dad. Guess who ruined everything for me?”

“Who?”

“It’s that useless Freya again. I don’t know why she came back from the dead to haunt me.”

“Freya?” The other voice sounded surprised, shocked even, like he’d just mentioned a witch’s name.

“That’s impossible. Freya is miles away in another city, serving dishes and cleaning tables. That pathetic girl couldn’t possibly make it to an event like that.”

Celeste shoved the phone in my face. “Look, dad! Here she is. She’s even trying to seduce the Alpha.”

The way she moved her phone back and forth made it difficult to get a clear image of the man of the other line. Though in the blur of panicked motion, I saw that familiar red tie.

It’s him. My father.

“What the Hell is she doing there?” The voice rose louder than needed. “Tell her to get out of there, right now!”

“I did tell her, but she won’t listen. She says no one can make her leave.”

“She said that?”

“Yes, dad.”

I shook my head. I don’t remember saying that.

“Wait there, sweetheart. I will come over there and show that girl her place, even that pathetic Alpha won’t stop me.”

Then the call ended.

Celeste’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. She began a finger between her hair, a wicked smile tugged on her lips. But then, her eyes snapped to the documents on the table, and then to the pen between my fingers.

Before I could react. She moved with surprising speed and snatched the documents off the desk.

I sprang to my feet, reacting immediately in an attempt to snatch it back from her.

Celeste flinched, moving backwards. And in our struggle, a ripping sound sliced through the air.

A gasp escaped my lips as the shredded spiraled to the floor.

Then the door opens, and the beta walks in. He is confused at first to see Celeste, but he quickly reads the situation and his Alpha’s facial expression.

Celeste was then grabbed by strong hands. She screamed, tossed and struggled against the beta’s grip. I thought it was over until she said something that made the two men pause.

“If you let him drag me out of here. I promise you, alpha, I will make sure my father withdraws his alliance with your pack.”

The beta quickly recovered, and resumed dragging her outside. Celeste struggled but the beta was stronger. She was bundled out, but her curses and threats kept flying around.

When the door shut, my eyes dropped to the destroyed contract on the floor. The bold word “marriage contract” made my stomach twist with fear.

Celeste had seen this. She’s going to tell the whole world. News would carry it that I’m a worthless pig throwing herself shamelessly at the Alpha.

I turned to Alpha Adrian who was surprisingly still seated with that same unusual calmness.

Anger coursed through me before I could control it.

“Why are you sitting there like nothing happened?” My voice was a trembling mess of anger and fear. “She’s seen the contract. The whole world will know what’s happening here?”

He tilts his head. “And what’s happening here?”

I grimaced, confused by what he meant asking me that question. “Are you kidding me? The contract! People are going to know that we are having a fake marriage. Aren’t you concerned about your image?”

The alpha pulls his laptop from the side. He opened it and began typing away. “I don’t know what you mean by my image, but you can leave if you don’t like the situation.”

He looked up at me for a brief moment, then shifted his focus back to his laptop. “I will find someone else.”

Will he find someone else? The words sent a chill down my spine, making my anger vanish in a second.

That’s bad. If I leave this palace, how would I ever find out? How will I ever know if Lily is really my daughter?

I swallowed an invincible lump, cleared my throat and adjusted my posture, like someone who’s about to be interviewed.

The alpha kept typing and scrolling through his laptop. His attention already drifted from me like I wasn’t in the room anymore.

“I’ll do it.” I said with a confidence that wasn’t inside me. “I will sign the contract……if there’s another one.”

He didn't look up from his laptop when he gestured to me to sit. “I will have my beta prepare another contract for you. In the meantime, you will have to hear my conditions…”

I sank back into my seat, waiting for him to state these mysterious conditions, but his phone rang.

Alpha Adrian held up a finger at me, then proceeded to answer his call.

As he placed the phone on his ears, his brows furrowed, and I could hear a faint frantic voice explain something in panic.

Alpha Adrian sprang to his feet. “What? You can’t find my daughter?”