07~ Playing With Fire

Fiona’s POV 

The air turned sour as I came face-to- face with the last person I wanted to see right then. Laila. 

Her heels clicked against the stone floor, with her platinum hair bouncing with every step she took and her icy blue eyes burning with fury. 

She looked every bit the Luna she believed herself to be—except I knew the poison beneath the image she was trying to sell to everyone was nothing fit to hold a position as sacred as that.

“You’ve got some nerve to show your ugly face here again,” she hissed, stopping just an inch away from me. “You know, for a second I thought you were gone for good and that the pack has finally been purged of your evil. So what are you doing here?”

I lifted my chin. “Giving your little flock of maids the truth,” I said coolly, nodding toward the wide-eyed maids that still huddled nearby. “I wanted them to go further and spread the news you told them about how I am a whore who spreads her legs for everyone and how the pup in my belly doesn’t belong to Kael.”

Laila’s face turned blanched.

“What the hell are you saying?” She snapped with her voice rising.

I chuckled. “Don’t play dumb, Laila.” I turned to the maids who seemed to be savouring the moment in goodwill. “You hear that? You so-called Luna is too scared to own up to her words with her full chest, which means there might not have been a single truth in what she said.”

For a second, I saw it—the crack in her composure—and I knew I had punctured a vein of hers. But then, with her eyes darting to the maids and back to me, she left off a cold smile.

“I know how badly you want it to be a lie, but that is not it at all,” she said smoothly. “It is just that I didn’t expect to hear you tell the truth. You never do, that is why along with your unfaithfulness, Kael got tired and dumped your ass.”

I leaned so close to her that I could feel her hot breath grazing my face, and the insecurity, or rather fear rising in her cheeks, and then patted her face twice, the way you might a child. “Get the fuck out of my way,”

Her breath hitched, but before she could think of giving a reply, I shoved her aside with my shoulder and strode down the hall. My heartbeat was roaring now, but I couldn’t care less as I was more than satisfied with the look on her face.

I turned the corner leading to my room only to stop dead in my tracks as I was met with the sight of Kael. He was slamming his fist into my door ceaselessly as his voice boomed through the corridor like a megaphone.

 “Open this damn door, Fiona!”

Torn between rage and the thrill of watching him unravel in a manner that was uncalled for, “What are you doing here?” I asked sharply.

His head whipped around, and his blue eyes widened as they landed on me like he’d just seen a ghost. “Where the hell have you been?” He demanded, storming towards me. “For two days now, I have sent the guards to fetch you for me but they claim you weren’t responding to their calls.”

I wiggled my fingers, surprised that he noticed my absence. If I told him the truth—that I’d been lying half-dead in Derek’s pack—he’d surely lock me in a cell and throw away the key. I couldn’t risk that happening. So I lied.

Forcing a shrug, “I thought they must have made a mistake coming to call me instead of Laila. She’s the one you always want these days so I couldn’t help but think that way.”

His eyes darkened even more, and in two strides, he had me pinned against the wall, his palm flattening beside my head. “Stop playing with fire, Fiona,” he growled, spit flying with every word onto my face. “Because you’ll regret it.”

I shoved him back with all the strength I had, screaming, “Stay the hell away from me before your precious Luna thinks you are cheating on her with a mere maid.”

With his eyes shining, “A…mere maid?” He echoed. 

“Yes,” my lips twisted into a faint smile. “That’s what your new Luna calls me. That’s what she told the other maids I am.”

His jaw dropped, but before he could let the words out, “What’s going on here?” Laila’s voice sliced the air. Right on cue.

She came striding towards us, her gaze snapping between me and Kael. I could see the envy in the tight smile she offered and I reveled so much in it.

“Oh, perfect timing,” I said sweetly. “Kael was just here begging me for sex. He came all the way down to my quarters to tell me about how you weren’t satisfying him as much as you claimed.”

“What?!” She exclaimed, color draining from her face.

Kael whipped around in an instant, panic flashing in his eyes. “That’s a lie! Don’t listen to her, Laila,” he said as he rushed to her, grabbing her hand in what seemed like desperation. “She’s trying to drive us apart. She’s jealous, bitter, and…and…”

I cut him off with a sharp laugh. “If what you said about me being jealous and bitter is true, Kael, then stop coming to find me. Stop haunting my door because next time, I won’t be as calm as I am now.” 

With that, I shoved my key into the lock, pushed the door open, and stepped inside, their words—Laila accusing Kael and his frantic denials—tangling behind me. I slammed the door shut and turned the lock for extra security against whatever.

I leaned against the wood, closing my eyes as their footsteps faded away and Kael’s voice chased after Laila in weak apologies. 

As their footsteps completely faded, I drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. “No more,” I whispered to the empty room, “No more of letting them treat me like a fool. I’m done begging. Done bleeding for his scraps of attention.”

My eyes fell on the carved chest at the corner of the room as I reminded myself of the real reason why I had defied Alpha Derek’s order and returned here. 

Kael has made his bed with Laila and he would rot in it. Now it was my turn to make sure of that. 

I crossed the room, crouched before the chest, and lifted the lid in a careful manner. Inside lay the notebook that holds the name of the surviving member of the Lunaria pack. My fingers brushed the worn leather cover, and a sharp smile tugged at my lips.