Caught Between My Lies

"Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Zosh?"

I jumped slightly, turning around. It wasn't my fault I felt jittery, not after I had to lie through my teeth to get away from Maddox.

My hand tightened over the small square bottle. I couldn't let anyone find out the secret from that night and this perfume was like the very bomb that was going to set everything off.

"Hey baby," I called out to Brair who was in her purple and white school uniform.

She was beside Cleo at the door and while she held her backpack, Cleo was holding a cardboard box filled with Briar’s toys. Her expression was tight with worry, her eyes scanning the luxurious, freezing room.

"Is this what we're doing now?" she asked when I didn't respond.

"I signed the contract, babes," I said quietly, moving over to take the box from her hands. "It's done. I don't really have a choice anymore."

"I know, but..." she crossed her arms, shivering despite the thick cardigan she wore, thanks to the air conditioning that was blasting at full speed. If Maddox wasn't already a wolf, he would really pass off as a polar bear. Funny how I was sweating some minutes ago even under the same condition. "You needed to see how the woman by the kitchen looked at us when we walked in? Like we had tracked mud onto her precious floors. And the security guards

at the gate? They basically sneered at your car. They made us use the service entrance, Zosha. Like you're the help."

"I am the help. Or close enough to it," I replied, setting the box down on the floor. I began pulling out Briar's coloring books, keeping my hands busy so Cleo wouldn't see them trembling. "He made it clear that I was nothing more than a mistress and I agreed to it." I let out a frustrated sigh. " I didn't come here expecting a warm welcome."

"But to be treated like garbage? In front of your kid?" she stepped further into the room, lowering her voice. "This Alpha is ruthless, Zosha. If the staff

is already looking at you like you're a disease, what is he going to do to you behind closed doors? I hate leaving you here. This place feels completely toxic."

I stopped unpacking and looked at my best friend. Cleo had been my rock for five years. She had watched me cry over overdue bills and skip meals so Briar could eat. She knew my limits better than anyone.

I walked over and pulled her into a tight hug. "I can handle toxic," I whispered into her shoulder. "What I can't handle is losing my daughter. Julian’s lawyers would have eaten me alive by Friday. Maddox’s name is the only thing standing

between Julian and Briar. I will take the dirty looks. I will use the service entrance. I will endure whatever cold, arrogant attitude Maddox throws at me, as long as it keeps her safe."

She squeezed me back fiercely. "You're the strongest person I know. But promise me you won't let them break you."

"I won't," I promised, pulling back and giving her a reassuring smile.

"And you have to visit," she demanded, pointing a stern finger at me. "I don't care how many terrifying guards this place has. You and Briar are coming to the apartment for movie nights."

"Every other Sunday," I agreed. "I promise."

She nodded, wiping a stray tear from her cheek before forcing a bright smile. She walked out into the adjoining sitting room to say goodbye to Briar. I listened as Cleo struggled to make her laugh despite peppering her face with kisses.

A few minutes later, she was gone and we were officially alone in the Alpha’s territory.

I walked into the sitting room. Briar was sitting cross-legged on the plush rug, staring down at her coloring book, but she wasn't holding a crayon. Her small shoulders were slumped, and the room was completely silent.

"Bug?" I asked softly, kneeling down next to her on the rug. "What's wrong? Are you hungry? The kitchen staff left us some dinner in the fridge."

She shook her head but kept her eyes glued to the blank page.

I tilted my head, studying her face. Her lower lip was trembling. "Hey. Look at me." I reached out, gently tucking a strand of her bright copper red hair behind her ear. "You've been quiet ever since aunty Cleo picked you up from school today. Did something happen?"

A single tear spilled over her eyelashes, tracking down her cheek. "Tommy pushed me at recess."

My maternal instincts flared instantly, a hot spike of anger cutting through my exhaustion. "He pushed you? Did you tell the teacher? Why did he push you?"

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her small hand, sniffing. "He said I was a liar."

"A liar about what, sweetie?"

"About my dad." she finally looked up at me, her small face crumpled in distress. "I told them my dad was busy and that's why he didn't come to family day last week. But Tommy said his mom told him my dad doesn't want me. He said he isn't even my real dad."

My heart broke right down the middle. Julian’s disregard for the child he helped create was a wound that never seemed to stop bleeding. "Briar, Tommy is just a mean boy repeating gossip he shouldn't have heard. Your father... Julian is a complicated person. But he is legally your father."

"But Tommy said dads and daughters are supposed to look the same," she argued, her voice thick with tears. She pointed a tiny finger at her own face. "Tommy has brown hair and brown eyes just like his daddy. My daddy also has brown eyes too and plain brown hair."

She looked at me, her expression entirely innocent but deeply confused. "Why don't I look like him, Mama? Why are my eyes like ice?"

The question hung in the quiet air of the sitting room.

I looked at my daughter’s eyes. It was a question I had asked myself a few times over the years. Julian unremarkable in his features. I had deep brown eyes myself. But Briar? Her eyes were striking. They were a piercing, icy silver-blue, ringed with a faint, fierce rim of gold. It was an intense, dominant color that always made people stop and stare.

I had no idea where they came from. But genetics were a strange, unpredictable thing.

"Oh, bug," I sighed, pulling her into my lap and wrapping my arms tightly around her small frame. "You shouldn't listen to kids like Tommy. They don't know anything about biology."

"But where did I get them?" she mumbled into my shirt.

"You got them from my great-grandmother," I lied, repeating the same excuse I had told myself for the past five years to make it make sense. I rubbed her back soothingly. "She had the exact same icy eyes. It’s just a rare family gene that skipped a few generations. It makes you special."

She sniffled, her small fingers gripping my worn-out blazer. "Tommy said nobody wants a kid who doesn't even look like their own pack."

I was going to have to talk to the school about this. And his mother? She was about to understand just how far I can go when it comes to my child. I tightened my grip on her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Tommy is wrong," I said fiercely, my voice steady and completely unwavering. "You are wanted, baby. You are the most important thing in my entire world. And I promise you, nobody at that school is ever going to bully you again."

She looked up at me, her icy eyes wide. "Really?"

"Really," I promised. "Things are going to be different now. I brought us here for a reason. Alpha Maddox’s name is on our paperwork now. That means you are under his protection. No one in this city will ever dare to look down on you again."

She wiped her nose, seeming to absorb my words. The trust in her eyes gave me the strength I needed to face whatever this estate threw at me.

"Okay, Mama," she whispered.

I smiled, standing up and taking her small hand in mine. "Come on. Let's go see what the chef left us for dinner. Tomorrow is a new day."

As I led her toward the small kitchenette attached to our quarters, I pushed the doubts out of my mind. My secrets were going to cost me everything eventually but until then, I was going to make sure nothing touched her.