3. A Price To Pray

She's got no money, and her jewelry box is empty. She felt like crap. She wishes to take revenge against all of them, but even revenge is a luxury for her.

After rummaging through many places, she found a diamond ring that was luckily shoved in one of her dress's pockets. She gasps in relief and is grateful for it. Now, she has to make sure that Angie doesn't inject her with sedatives for tonight and the following day.

Angie came that evening precisely to her schedule. She looked like she was chewing on a bug when she discovered Narsha's disgusting appearance, with vomit smeared across the front part of her body.

“Get up, you dirty assh#le.”

“I… can't. I don't have the strength to walk or clean myself."

“Damn it.”

Angie rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. Eventually, Angie took Narsha to the bathroom. And that's when Cherish started her task.

She reached for the medicine box brought by Angie. Using an injection, she exchanged the liquid in all the vials, which she believed to be a sedative, with plain water. Thanks to her nimble hands, she finished the job quickly.

After bathing Narsha, Angie quickly injected Narsha with the liquid she thought was a sedative while grumbling non-stop. She didn't seem to suspect anything and only wanted to run out of the room quickly.

Narsha and Cherish winked at each other behind Angie’s back.

“Wait.” Narsha grabbed Angie's wrist. She asks. “Was Ethan still angry? Please tell him I am sorry for what I did yesterday, and I promise not to repeat it."

Angie hissed. “Damn it, whatever.”

As Angie exited the room, Narsha and her daughters cuddled in a festive mood. They made sure that Narsha was not under the sedatives so that she was conscious enough to continue their preparations. Her arm is swollen, though, but it's okay.

..

...

....

“Is Charlene ready?” Ethan asked the butler while adjusting his bow tie in front of a standing mirror.

"Yes, she does, Alpha."

Ethan raised his chin arrogantly and smirked. He won the war against several packs and made them work under his terms. And tonight, those packs will pledge their loyalty to him, Alpha of the Moon Golden Pack.

Everything was settled smoothly and perfectly, coupled with the presence of his pregnant Luna, which further perfected his ambitions. He can't help but laugh when he feels his glory days are right before his eyes.

“Shall we go to Lady Charlene, Alpha?”

“Alright.”

But he stopped in his tracks as he stepped outside his room. "Let's go to the third floor first."

“I understand, Alpha.”

Ethan heard Narsha's message through Angie's report. He liked what he heard, which was evident on his gradually relaxed face. As he grew closer to Narsha's room, he didn't realize that his facial expression now looked brighter than a few minutes before.

“Narsha, how is your body?” He looked down at her. A glint of satisfaction radiated from his gaze when he saw Narsha lying weak.

Narsha stretched out her hand, trying to grab Ethan's hand, then spoke. "I'm sorry. I have failed you.”

"So you realize that now?"

“Yes. I know you only want the best for me, Ethan.”

“And you will no longer say you want to leave my side?”

“Yes. I must be crazy at that time. Where would I go if it wasn't by your side? Thank you for not throwing me out." She said so with longing in her eyes.

Ethan let out a laugh under his breath. He knew she couldn't live without him because he had made her that way for seven years. He held Narsha's hand, then lowered his face to kiss her forehead after a long time.

Ethan was satisfied when he saw Narsha's face redden, and she couldn't look into his eyes. It reminds him of when they first met many years ago.

“It's good that you know now. Sleep well for tonight, Narsha. I'll visit you again tomorrow morning." Ethan curved his eyes and smiled at her.

He shifted his gaze towards the two little girls hugging each other on the side of the bed, his eyes scanning them.

"Tomorrow, we could have breakfast together, little girls."

Cherish opened her mouth. “I understand, Alpha.”

“Oh no. You should call me Daddy in this situation.”

“I… understand, daddy.”

“Good.”

Half an hour later, the sound of exploding fireworks filled the night sky, marking the beginning of the banquet to welcome Charlene to the pack. Narsha looked down from the window and found no one below there.

She wrapped Chelsea on her back using a cloth to keep their bodies together while Cherish was ready next to the window.

“Mom, I'll be fine with this height. It is you who needs to be careful when jumping. Make sure you fall properly.”

Narsha nodded at Cherish's words.

Cherish shifted to her wolf cub form and jumped first. She's so agile that she landed on the ground safely. After a while, she gave Narsha a sign that jumping was safe. Following Cherish's signal, Narsha started throwing several pillows and blankets to cushion her on her fall. After taking a deep breath, she jumped.

She feels liberated for once, and she can't help but think. ‘I should have done this much earlier.’

She fell nicely on the pads. Her body did not suffer any severe injuries, so she continued running into the forest. She ran with Chelsea on her back, following Cherish's nimble steps as she showed off that she was familiar with the area. Narsha found herself giggling with so much joy.

That is until several wolves blocked their way.

The big silver wolf shifted to his human form. He appears naked but doesn't show the slightest embarrassment, proud even. His eyes and hair are silver. It's as if no darkness had ever reached them. That man is bulky, tall, and moves with dangerous grace. His appearance was so mesmerizing that she could not help but stare.

She felt so drained, as if confronted a massive beast.

“Going somewhere, little kitty?”

The naked man approached her, who was astonished as if she was about to faint. His whole existence exudes dangerous sensuality. That's when she snapped out of a daze and quickly hid Cherish and Chelsea behind her.

"Don't come any closer." She mumbled in anxiety.

No matter how dull her senses were as an omega, she could not help but react to the dominating aura emitted by the man in front of her.

'Silver hair, blue eyes, and a thunder-shaped scar on the forehead. I swear I've heard this description before.' Narsha's brain, which had been in the gutter for a moment, quickly turned its gear. ‘No way… is he Alpha Dexter of the Moon Shone Pack?’

A series of information about an Alpha with that name, scattered in pieces at the back of her mind, began to form a complete puzzle. The danger siren started spinning in her head, and cold sweat ran down her stiff neck as the man's gaze penetrated her.

She remembered Ethan often cursed his name. And that's the only thing she should matter.

Such a dangerous man. Why is he here now?

He does not look like a guest who is lost one's way, or rather, he does not look like a guest for the banquet that Ethan is hosting in the main hall. He seems more like…

'No way...' She swallowed her actual answer, which almost popped out.

“Are you running away from that pack, perhaps?” Dexter asked. There's a hint of ridicule in his question.

“I, uh— we just want to go through this path to get to the main road. It's a shortcut, you see.”

He chuckled as he scanned her. "And where will you go after you get to the main road?"

Even though his presence shook her insides, she could not avert her gaze from his eyes. She heard that the beast would recognize her as prey once she looked away from it, so it was best not to do that.

She… couldn't afford to be his prey.

That aside, she can't look anywhere other than his eyes now, can she?