Turning the table

Chapter 7

~Selena~

I stared at Serena, my mind racing. I should have expected this from my bitchy sister. Of course she would show up here, trying to ruin everything I’d worked for. Of course she would lie and manipulate the situation to make herself look good.

But two could play that game.

If she wanted to lie, I would use the truth as my weapon. And I would humiliate her in the process.

“Please, have a seat,” Lucien said to Serena, gesturing toward one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Serena took a step forward, then suddenly staggered, swaying on her high heels. “Oh!”

Lucien moved quickly, his hand reaching out to steady her by the arm. “Are you alright?”

“I’m so sorry, Alpha,” Serena said, her voice weak as she pressed her free hand to her forehead. “I’ve been feeling feverish all day. I probably shouldn’t have come, but I needed to see you. It was important.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Of course. The damsel in distress act. Classic Serena.

“You should sit down,” Lucien said, guiding her to the chair. His voice was concerned, kind. He had no idea he was being played.

Once Serena was seated, looking perfectly comfortable despite her supposed fever, I decided it was time to take control of this situation.

“Serena,” I said, my voice calm and professional. “Why did you decide to show up here without any announcement? Without even telling me you were coming?”

Serena waved her hand dismissively, barely glancing at me. Instead, she kept her attention focused on Lucien, her eyes wide and innocent.

“Alpha Lucien,” she said, completely ignoring my question. “I came here because I’m worried about my dear sister. She’s been complaining so much about the workload you’ve given her. About how exhausting it is, how difficult the work is. It breaks my heart to see her struggling like this.” She placed her hand over her chest, sighing dramatically. “So I came here to do her a favor. I want to ask for a job here, to assist my sweet sister. To help lighten her burden. That’s what sisters do for each other, right? We help each other.”

For a moment, I was so shocked by the audacity of her lies that I couldn’t speak.

Complaining? I had never complained about my work. Not once. In fact, I loved this job. It was giving me everything I wanted—access to the Alpha, a position of authority, a chance for revenge.

But I recovered quickly. I wasn’t going to let her get away with this.

“I never said that,” I said confidently, cutting through whatever response Lucien was about to make. “Especially not about my job. I love working here. The work is challenging, yes, but I’ve never once complained about it.”

Serena’s smile faltered slightly, but she tried to maintain her innocent expression.

I wasn’t done.

“The truth is,” I continued, looking directly at Lucien, “my sister can be very jealous. And that jealousy drives her to act impulsively, to do things without thinking them through.” I kept my voice calm, reasonable, like I was simply stating facts rather than making accusations. “That’s actually why she made me promise not to tell anybody we were twins. Not because she wanted me to succeed on my own merit, like she claimed. But because she hated that I got this job. She was jealous that I was chosen to work directly with you, Alpha, and she couldn’t stand it.”

Lucien’s expression shifted. I could see him processing my words, comparing them to what Serena had said. His eyes moved between us, studying both of our faces.

“Is this true?” he asked Serena.

Serena’s face had gone pale. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, clearly scrambling for something to say.

“I… I was just trying to help,” she stammered. “Selena, why are you being so cruel? I’m your sister. I came here to support you.”

“No,” I said firmly. “You came here because you’re jealous. Because you can’t stand seeing me succeed at something. You never could.”

Lucien’s jaw tightened. I could see that he believed me. The way Serena was fumbling for words,

He turned to Serena, his voice taking on that commanding Alpha tone. “I’m going to have to reject your request. I don’t need another assistant, and frankly, I don’t appreciate dishonesty.”

Serena’s eyes went wide with panic. “But Alpha, please! I could be so helpful. I’m just as capable as my sister, maybe even more so. If you just give me a chance….”

“The answer is no,” Lucien said firmly.

“But….”

“Serena,” I interrupted, standing up. “Let me walk you out.”

I moved toward her, my expression neutral but my eyes sending her a clear message: don’t make this worse for yourself.

Serena stood up reluctantly, her face flushed with humiliation and anger. I could see the fury burning in her eyes as she looked at me. She hated losing. She hated being rejected. And she especially hated losing to me.

Good.

I guided her out of the office, keeping my hand on her elbow. Rowan watched us leave, his expression carefully neutral, though I could see the curiosity in his eyes.

The moment we stepped outside and the office door closed behind us, I turned to face Serena.

And then I slapped her.

The sound echoed through the empty hallway. My palm stung from the impact, but I didn’t care. Serena’s head snapped to the side, her hand flying up to her reddening cheek.

“How dare you,” I hissed, my voice low and venomous. “How dare you come here and try to ruin this for me. You’ve already taken everything else. You took Damon. You destroyed my life. But you’re not taking this from me too.”

Serena’s shock lasted only a moment. Then her face twisted with rage.

“You bitch!” she screamed.

She launched herself at me, her hands reaching for my hair. Her nails raked across my arm as she tried to grab me. We stumbled backward, and she shoved me hard against the wall.

This was exactly what I’d been expecting. What I’d been counting on.

Serena had always had a terrible temper. She could play sweet and innocent when it suited her, but the moment she was challenged, she became vicious.

And I had just provoked her deliberately.

She grabbed my hair, yanking hard. I cried out in pain, but I didn’t fight back. I just tried to defend myself, raising my arms to protect my face as she continued her assault.

“You think you’re so special!” Serena shouted, her voice echoing through the hallway. “You think just because the Alpha gave you some pathetic job that you’re better than me? You’re nothing! You’ve always been nothing! Just the weak, useless twin who couldn’t even keep her own mate!”

Her words were designed to hurt me, and they did. But I pushed the pain aside. I had to stay focused on my plan.

Inside the office, I knew Lucien would be hearing this. The walls weren’t that thick, and Serena was shouting loud enough to wake the dead.

Right on cue, I heard the office door open.

“What is going on out here?”

Lucien’s voice was like thunder, filled with authority and anger.

Serena froze, her hand still tangled in my hair. I could feel her grip loosen as she realized we weren’t alone anymore.

I looked past her to see Lucien standing in the doorway, his expression absolutely furious. Behind him, Rowan had also appeared, his hand already moving toward his weapon.

“She attacked me!” I said, my voice shaking. It wasn’t hard to sound distressed, my scalp was throbbing where she’d pulled my hair, and my arm was stinging from where her nails had scratched me. “I was just trying to walk her out peacefully, and she attacked me!”

Serena released me immediately, stepping back and raising her hands. “Alpha, I….she started it! She slapped me first! I was just defending myself!”

But the damage was done. Lucien had seen Serena with her hands in my hair, had heard her screaming insults at me. And I looked like the victim disheveled, hurt, trying to maintain my composure.

Lucien stepped forward, his eyes blazing with fury as he looked at Serena. The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop several degrees.

“You will never,” Lucien said, his voice low and deadly, “lay a hand on my worker again. Do you understand me?”

Serena’s face had gone white. “But Alpha, she’s my sister, I was just….”

“I don’t care if she’s your sister,” Lucien interrupted, his voice rising. “She works for me. She is under my protection. And if you ever touch her again, if you ever come to my office and cause a scene like this again, I will have you executed. Sister or not.”