ALISHA’S POV
Lucien released his grip on my neck as suddenly as he'd grabbed me. As I gasped for breath, the overwhelming urge to leave consumed me. I needed to escape this toxic web I was entangled in. My resolve was slowly beginning to strengthen, forming a wall of succor as I tried to be strong a while long.
Camilla walked into the room. I could sense her nasty presence before I laid eyes on her. As soon as she walked in, she examined all the scattered food and broken glass lying around, and it didn't take long for her to deduce that we'd just fought.
"What's going on?" she asked, her voice dripping with a fake amount of concern, pretending to care like she was a good person would.
I didn't reply. Rather, I remained silent, refusing to dignify her questions with a response.
Lucien sneered, his dark eyes gleaming with malice as he watched me stay bowed down, fighting the pain.
Camilla, undeterred by my silence, grabbed Lucien's hand and asked again, "What's going on?"
"I only want a good meal," he said offhandedly.
I almost rolled my eyes. Such lies!
"Then make him a good meal," Camilla said, turning to look at me. "I'm also hungry."
"Now, go on, make something delicious for I and Camilla. Not that trash you just served me."
I stood there, unmoving.
"I said, go and make something delicious for I and Camilla. Now!"
I clenched my hands into fists as he ordered me, his voice laced with his Alpha's commanding tone. I swear, that was all he used the tone for—to make me do what I wouldn't willingly do. I scoffed at his audacity, daring to mock him under my breath as I reluctantly made my way back to the kitchen.
With each step I took, I couldn't help but resent the situation that had brought me to this point. Cooking was once my sanctuary, a form of self-expression, but now it felt tainted by the dark cloud hanging over this house.
With the anger simmering within me, I began to cook a new meal from scratch. Alfredo pasta.
Every cut, every scoop of spice and creamy sauce, every movement was a show of defiance.
As soon as the sauce was ready, I added the last key ingredient, just for Camilla—bits and pieces of shrimps.
With a wry smile tugging at the corners of my lips, I served them the meal in the parlor since the dining was currently a mess. Then I stood by and watched Camilla eat.
As she took her first bite, her expression turned sour instantly.
"This isn't delicious," she exclaimed, disappointment evident in her voice. "And, what's this? What's in it?! Is that shrimp? I'm allergic to shrimp!" Redness began to creep from her neck to her face.
My eyes darted to Lucien, searching for any sign of support or disagreement. To my surprise, he nodded in agreement with Camilla's accusation.
He turned to me. "Camilla is allergic to shrimp. Why would you put it in her meal?"
"What? Allergic to shrimp? Is there any shrimp in there?"
"There is!"
"Oh, come on." I rolled my eyes.
So, this was how we were going to banter now?
Lucien's cold gaze fixed upon me as he spoke again, "Alisha, go back into that kitchen and cook Camilla's favorite dish."
My heart sank at his words. I shot him a look. He meant it. He really meant it. It was a moment of cruel realization to know that Lucien, who had never cared about my preferences, cared about Camilla's preferences.
I heard his demand, and instead of feeling defeated, my lips curled into a wry smile. There was a newfound strength within me, a rebellion fueled by the flames of injustice. I will no longer be a pawn in their twisted game. From this moment forward, I vowed to take control of my own destiny.
With a determined glint in my eyes, I turned away from Lucien and held my own ground.
No.
"Alisha," he said through his teeth. "Go back into that kitchen and cook Camilla's favorite dish."
Just as he tried to force me to make food once again, the door swung open, and Kane strode into the room. His presence brought a much-needed interruption to the tense atmosphere.
"Lucien," Kane called out, his voice tinged with urgency. "Something's up. A bunch of warriors and gamma are fighting in the pack house, along with a small portion of omegas. We need to do something, and fast."
My heart skipped a beat at his words. Shock washed over me as I turned to Lucien, my voice trembling as I asked the first question that came to my mind. "What have you done, Lucien?"
He frowned, refusing to answer. The truth hung heavily in the air, and I could see it in his eyes. Lucien was impulsive, and his impulsive actions had consequences. This was one of the consequences.
"He'd only imprisoned a few warriors, which had triggered the fight. That's all. Traitors, the lot of them," Kane said casually, sounding like he was trying to brush off the situation.
Anger burned within me, fueling my next question. I turned to Lucien. "Why did you imprison the warriors, Lucien?"
He ignored my question, choosing, instead, to throw it back at me. "Do I need your consent to imprison my own people?"
A bitter smile curved upon my lips. His disregard for the consequences of his actions was evident. "All these things you're doing," I said, my voice tinged with disappointment, "It's only making the pack members hate you even more."
His anger flared at my words, and he lashed out in response. "You and your family are brainwashing the wolves! This has nothing to do with me. It's all on you and your damn proud family!"
Surprise washed over me at his accusation. The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning—he had never truly trusted my family. Doubts and insecurities I had buried deep within resurfaced, threatening to consume me once more.
Camilla, ever the pretender, stepped forward, trying to appease both sides. But her words only fueled the fire within me.
"Was that why you arrested Calum? Was that what caused the uproar?" she asked, feigning innocence.
At the revelation that Lucien had ordered for Calum's arrest, it shattered the fragile peace I had tried to maintain.
Unable to bear it any longer, my voice broke through the tension as I called out Lucien's name, using both his given name and surname. "Lucien Hale, do you even deserve the title of Alpha?"
ALISHA’S POVA sigh of relief escaped my lips as I watched the sun slowly set, the day finally coming to an end. With a satisfied nod, I stashed the last paperwork I was working on away and rose to my feet, yawning immediately to give my body a good stretch.I was done with the office work I had planned for the day and I automatically knew what was coming next- the date with Lucien I had planned for the evening.A shy smile appeared on my face as I recalled how my day started. How I’d headed over to the office with the plan of doing nothing but work but much to my surprise, Lucien had showed up to ask me out a date later in the evening.The invitation had caught me by surprise I couldn’t deny, my blinking eyes and automatically sweaty palms making it extremely obvious. But at the same time, I found myself unable to resist saying no to him, a positive response quickly escaping my lips. Quickly, I rushed towards the mirror in my office to give myself a quick glance. Retouching my appea
ALISHA’S POV“Focus Alisha! Keep your guard up and anticipate your opponent’s next move! That’s the only way you’ll be at an advantage and you know you need to always be at an advantage if you want to mirror my father’s move. One thing we’ll never not do, is not see a move coming.”“Got it.”I nodded in acknowledgment, my concentration steady as I listened to Lucien. He was a good teacher, urging me to try my best to become even better every day.The atmosphere in the secret training room was charged with energy as we continued to train. Understanding his father’s techniques rather quickly, our movements were fluid and precise as we exchanged blows and practiced every day.“Time out!”With light laughter, he freed me from his grip and I immediately collapsed to the floor, finally catching my breath. In seconds, our laughter grew, the two of us taking as an opportunity to reminisce of how the past couple of days had gone by.With Kane and Camila temporarily out of our sight, we took th
LUCIEN’S POVCamila and Kane had escaped. My eyebrows were furrowed, a frown on my face mirroring the expressions of Alisha and Calum. We were all equally pissed, at a sudden loss for words at the turn things had suddenly taken.Regardless of how much I tried to think things through, it made no sense. Camila and Kane’s behavior was nothing but an attempt to prove their point to us all. To remind us of the fact that they were ready to betray us and the pack at large. “How did it happen?” I demanded from Calum. “What happened to the guards? How could such a thing happen?”“Unknown to us a whole lot of the guards were already on Kane’s side,” he explained, a grunt escaping my lips. “And the ones that weren’t were injured. Severely injured. It was a clean attack from Kane’s side. Well planned at that.”“Well I’m not surprised,” Alisha rolled her eyes as she commented. “That’s what happens when a criminal like Kane is allowed to roam freely for long.”Ignoring her comments, I let out a d
ALISHA’S POV“I-I’m fine, Alisha.”I didn’t want to hear a single word of defiance from Lucien and since he was refused to listen to me, I simply regarded him with nothing but silence. How could he say he was fine? He had played hero, jumped in just as Kane was about to attack me and gotten stabbed right in his stomach.“Not a single word from you Lucien.”He was clearly bleeding yet he dared lie to my face to say he was fine.“Alisha-““Stop talking,” I hissed at him when we finally got to the infirmary. “Just stop.”He must have finally sensed the firmness in my tone as he immediately pressed his lips together, allowing me lay him down carefully on the bed. With him finally cooperating, I was able to get the first aid kit to tend to his wounds. My hands moved with precision, gently cleaning and bandaging the injuries on his side.My touch was gentle, every touch reminding me of the guilt within me. He had gotten injured because of me. All because of me.It was only a graze wound
LUCIEN’S POVFor the years I’ve known Camila, drama was never far from her.She loved the attention, loved the chaos- every bit of it and just particularly loved went things went haywire as to her, they were simply doing “her way.”So it didn’t surprise me much when I heard she was outside at the pack festival, creating a huge commotion.Despite her actions of the past few months doing nothing but disappoint me, I was still disappointed by how far she was willing to go. How unreasonable she was willing to be just to express her displeasure. And of all the places to express such foolishness, she chose the grand Moon Pack Festival.I exchanged quick glances with Alisha, reading worry all over her face. I could only imagine what was running through her mind considering the fact that this was not how our day was supposed to go. But she remained on her feet, eyes fixed on the maid as she tried to get more information from her.“What’s this about?” I took a protective step forward, having A
ALISHA’S POVI stared at my image in the mirror, simply fascinated with what I saw in return.Had Lucien always been that handsome?I held back a giggle, staring at my face more closely until I could take in every single feature. I was particularly dressed up with my hair carefully styled, my outfit delicately chosen. After all, it was finally the pack’s moon festival.The pack’s moon festival had always been a big deal since forever. It was an opportunity for every member of the pack to put on their finest dresses and mingle. It was the day to show off and for some, the day they even found their mates.I wasn’t one of the lucky ones to find my mate on such an auspicious day but I was one of the ones that dreamt of spending the day with my mate. For years, I never got to live that dream but finally, it was becoming a reality.Color spilled on my cheeks as the thought crossed my mind, my eyes traveling towards the mirror to give Lucien’s image another quick glance. He looked absolutel