Chapter 2: Things I Hate

AMAYA

Before I could even process what was happening, Ronan lunged at Lucien and landed a hard punch straight across his jaw.

“Don’t you dare call my sister that unless you want me to rip your throat out!”

I froze.

But instead of throwing a counter-punch like he usually did, Lucien just stood there and wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb. A low chuckle escaped him, looking barely bothered by the hit.

My brows furrowed. Even more surprising was the way he casually raised a single hand, stopping his teammates in their tracks when they surged forward to jump Ronan.

“It’s fine,” Lucien muttered smoothly. “Let them mourn their loss while we go out tonight and celebrate our win.”

He turned back toward his team, a sharp grin flashing across his face. “The club will be wide open for us tonight.”

His teammates immediately erupted into cheers.

I could see the raw frustration burning across Ronan’s face, his knuckles white at his sides. His teammates looked just as furious.

Then Lucien glanced back at Ronan and offered him a mocking, two-finger salute. But a second later, his dark eyes shifted past my brother and locked straight onto me.

He winked.

A sudden knot twisted in my stomach. I immediately rolled my eyes, making zero effort to hide my sheer irritation.

He let out another quiet laugh, turning on his heel to lead his team toward the far side of the parking lot.

“Fuck!” Ronan screamed, swinging a heavy kick straight into the front tire of his truck. “I’m going to kill him,” he growled.

“Ronan, don’t let him get under your skin,” Luis said, stepping in to place a firm hand on his shoulder. “You know how the guy operates.”

“Alpha Ronan,” one of the other players cut in, “just because we lost the game doesn't mean we can’t go out. Remember two months ago when Nightblood lost? They still went to the strip and completely ruined our night. Why don’t we crash theirs?”

I closed my eyes, letting out a long, silent breath. Here we go again.

If Ronan agreed to this, he was going to face a double execution from Father tonight. And Ronan knew better than anyone how the Alpha felt about taking a loss to the Nightbloods.

“Yeah,” Ronan snapped, his jaw set tightly. “We’re celebrating our loss, too.”

I exhaled, completely drained, and climbed into the passenger seat. I just prayed Mother wouldn't be home yet. Tonight was already turning into a total trainwreck, and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

A few seconds later, Ronan slammed his door shut and threw himself into the driver's seat. He hadn’t even turned the ignition before the rant started.

“That arrogant son of a bitch. I’ll tear his head off.”

I kept my gaze glued to my notebook.

“Oh, he thinks he’s got the final game in the bag? I’ll show him.”

I flipped the page.

“And calling you cutie? If that bastard comes anywhere near you again, I’ll end him.”

My pen paused mid-word, a sudden weight dropping into my chest.

“Does he actually think you’d ever look twice at him? He should keep dreaming. He isn’t even your type.”

I slowly raised my head to look at him. Was he seriously still stuck on that? Could he not drop it for five seconds, for the Moon Goddess's sake?

“Fuck. I’m making him pay for today.” He kept muttering under his breath as he pulled out of the parking lot, while I forced my focus back down to my story.

Attracted to him? Why would I ever be attracted to Lucien?

Sure, I couldn’t deny the guy was handsome. Ronan and Lucien were both annoyingly good-looking in that tall, imposing, future-Alpha kind of way. But what was the point of a face like that when your entire brain was consumed by violence and chest-beating ego?

I stared down at the handwritten dialogue on the paper.

The man I wanted to fall for would be gentle. Peaceful. Someone who wouldn’t turn a simple conversation into an endless competition. Someone who didn't walk around with a smug, infuriating smirk plastered across his face.

Lucien was the absolute opposite of everything I wanted.

So, no. There was nothing about him that could ever draw me in.

The second we pulled into the driveway at the pack house, I sprinted out of the car and hurried inside toward Nina, my mother’s personal maid.

She was in her early fifties, a warm, steady presence who had been with our family since before I was born.

“Hello, sweetheart. How was school today?” she asked softly, pulling me into a quick, familiar hug before pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.

A small smile finally broke across my face. “It was... chaotic.”

“I already heard about the ice game,” she murmured knowingly.

I nodded. I wasn't even surprised—news traveled through the pack corridors faster than a mind-link. Sometimes I genuinely wondered if there was a student on Nightblood's payroll reporting back every minor thing that happened at the academy.

“Is Mother home?” I asked quickly, scanning the empty foyer.

Nina shook her head. A massive weight lifted off my shoulders. Thank Goddess.

Nina couldn't help but chuckle at my obvious relief. “She’ll be back in an hour,” she said gently. “She went down to the shrine.”

Mother would probably return after the argument between Father and Ronan was over. Ronan had already been summoned to Father’s study.

“Thank you so much, Nina.” I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and hurried upstairs.

There was one thing I absolutely hated whenever Mother was home during their arguments.

Whenever Father and Ronan started screaming at each other, she would drag me into the study to sit right beside her while she listened. Sometimes, she even expected me to step in and say something.

But what was I supposed to say?

Ronan was literally a younger version of Father. They were both stubborn, ridiculously competitive, and looked so much alike that it was almost frightening. They even ordered the exact same food.

The only real difference was that Father couldn’t stand spicy food—and neither could I—while Ronan loved it, just like Mother.

And the funniest part?

After shouting until their throats were raw for hours, they would wake up at dawn the next morning and go hunting together. Or go for a ten-mile pack run, laughing like they hadn’t nearly torn the entire house apart the night before.

So what was the point of wasting my energy trying to stop them? They were always going to make up eventually.

I reached my room, took a fast bath, and changed into a pair of soft denim shorts and a simple top before heading straight down the hall toward the playroom.

The pack pups would be arriving soon, and I couldn’t wait to tell them today’s story. I had been working on it all week, and honestly, it was my favorite one yet.

A genuine smile crept onto my face. Finally, something peaceful I could look forward to.

In less than thirty minutes, a dozen little pups were already sprawled out on the rug around me.

“Amaya, what’s today’s story about?” one of the little boys asked, bouncing on his knees.

I chuckled and cleared my throat dramatically. “Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a girl named Nyx. She was brave, kind, and very cute.”

“A cutie just like you!” one of the pups squeaked, making the rest of the room erupt into giggles.

My heart gave an unwanted thud.

Lucien’s low, teasing voice suddenly echoed through my head: “Fine. We’ll listen to you, cutie.”

I forcefully shook the thought away before flashing the kids a bright smile.

“No, a cutie like Zoe right here,” I said, pointing to the quiet little girl sitting right in front of me. She flushed red and smiled shyly, looking down at her hands.

Suddenly, the heavy door clicked open.

My breath caught as I turned toward it. Everything inside me froze at the sight of the figure standing in the doorway... My mother.

“Okay, one of the Omegas will take over with the kids,” she said, stepping inside and wrapping a firm hand around my wrist to pull me up.

“We need to go reconcile those two before your father loses his temper completely.”

I squeezed my eyes shut in total defeat.

Damn it.