GIA O'LEARY
The tall and imposing doors of the grand hall went open and Keegan led the way in with Madeleine, his pride and joy, clinging to his side, looking more beautiful than ever.
"Here comes the High priest and his holy maidens!" Emory Rhode, a gregarious man plunged forward to welcome us.
I instantly recognized him. The slightly balding man was a regular at the strip club. A pervert to the core. Although I performed every night with my face concealed, I still hid my face with my shawl, afraid of getting recognized.
A few pack nobles came forward to welcome us, treating us like we were daughters of the moon goddess.
Alpha Levi was a recluse, none of my sisters and I knew what the ruler looked like yet, my sisters were already wedded to him mentally.
I chuckled.
Just then, the babbles and cackles in the hall ebbed and this made my soft chuckles ring loudly.
"Excuse me?" Emory asked, "Is something funny?"
His condescending tone and cold eyes made it plain he already knew I was Keegan's runt.
Keegan shot me a death stare. I didn't mean to laugh so loudly. If things escalated then I'd be whipped afterwards for sure.
"My apologies," I spluttered, "I'm just overwhelmed to be here." I lied.
The lecherous Sir. Ferren, one of the pack Elders, the sickening old man who had demanded and got denied on several occasions at the club for a private session, shook hands with father, appearing more holy today than he did every other night in the strip club.
He repulsed me more than anything. These two-faced men in the hall tonight repulsed me just to think of their solemn appearances compared to their boisterous and leering remarks at the bar.
More Elders came forward to greet and welcome us, the more faces I recognized from the club. Was there any decent man in this pack?
Could Emory at least conceal his lustful gaze as they wandered my body? To think I was adequately covered from head to toes.
His perverted features stirred up a wave of disgust in me. How could I escape this? How long was it going to take to save up enough money to leave this all behind?
He shook hands with my sisters in total respect welcoming them but when it reached my turn, instead of a handshake he leaned into me with his hand grazing the small of my back. My guards instantly skyrocketed.
I didn't appreciate people touching me so I swatted off his hand from me with a deadly scowl on my face.
Father's face fell in disapproval of my attitude. We were bound to put on a show if this man kept on with this attitude. It didn't matter if Keegan ordered I get whipped afterwards with a silver whip.
"A pretty feisty one!" Emory made light of the situation.
The other men including father roared into laughter as though this man didn't just touch me in a way that made me feel violated. Even in the strip club, the manager went all out to protect his girls from men like Emory but father couldn't protect me from his subtle assault.
Not like I had any faith in Keegan to protect me.
The smiles instantly dropped off their faces, fear suddenly seized their features at the sudden aura in the hall. Emory snapped from my side and bowed his head stiffly at the man who just entered the scene in gallant strides exuding an air of dominance with his broad shoulders pulled back, haunted gaze scanning the scene before him.
My face dropped, the anger abruptly snuck out of me. Someone else from the strip club.
I quickly pulled my shawl to conceal my face.
The man I kissed. No, the man who kissed me.
His dark exterior clamped and jaws clenched as though grinding rocks with his teeth, my eyes dropped on the perfect set of green eyes that were oddly familiar.
Oh no!
A shrill rose and died in the hollow pit of my soul. This felt like an attack on me. My sins were catching up to me.
"Emory," His steely tone resonated off the now quiet hall.
Emory stood as though he'd been placed on death row. Shaky to the core.
"My alpha!" The older man nearly faltered.
"Clear your desk and vacate the treasurer position, your action towards a maiden is quite inappropriate."
"I apologize, Alpha Levi." Emory spewed, frightfully.
All the air left my vision.
He was Alpha Levi?
Our gazes snagged and I instantly averted mine, pulled the shawl to cover my face the more, afraid to get recognized by the man who had ignited a fiery flame that was burning ravenously on my inside from just a kiss.
"My apologies, my holy maiden." Emory redirected his apology to me.
For the first time I was actually getting apologized to. The first time anyone ever stood up for me. But my fear of getting recognized by this handsome pack ruler made it hard to react to Emory's apology.
"We are most honored to be here, Our Alpha!" Father stiffly bowed, Tilting everyone's attention to himself. Easing the tension in the air. Looking somewhat nervous.
How could father be nervous? Why was everyone acting like they were scared to breathe?
But Alpha Levi's amused gaze was pinned on my face. No, he couldn't have recognized me as black swan from the strip club last night. My shawl covered most of my face. I'd be killed if he did for sinning against my body.
My face grew white and my gaze dared not leave the floor beneath my feet.
A nightmare was unfolding before my eyes.
GIA O’LEARY I couldn't believe what was happening. The words my father had spoken to the elders kept echoing in my mind like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.He took his time to explain everything that happened, and the elder believed him without question. And before I could even process what he had done, two guards grabbed my arms and started dragging me away. I struggled against them, but they were too strong."Dad!" I screamed, looking back at him. "Dad, please!"But he wouldn't even look at me. He just stood there with his back turned while they dragged me out of the room.They took me to the dungeons, the cold stone walls felt like they were closing in on me as they pushed me into a small cell. They locked heavy shackles around my wrists and ankles.I was being treated like a criminal. Like a prisoner.The metal was cold against my skin, and the chains were so heavy I could barely move. I sat on the dirty floor and tried to understand how my life had fallen apart so quickly
KEEGAN O’LEARYSleep was impossible.I paced the length of my bedroom floor, my bare feet wearing a path in the carpet as the events of the evening replayed endlessly in my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Gia's face.My daughter. A stripper?!The word tasted bitter in my mouth, like poison I couldn't spit out. How had it come to this? How had I failed so completely as a father that my own child had resorted to... to that?But even with the disappointment and the rage, there was something else gnawing at me. Something Maddison had said earlier, before we'd gone to that godforsaken club.
MADDISONThe night breeze kissed my skin as I walked up the path to my room, but nothing could cool the fire of satisfaction burning in my chest. Victory tasted sweeter than I had ever imagined.I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face. After months of watching her act like the Luna beside Levi, she was finally finished. Completely and utterly destroyed.The memory of her father's face when he saw her in that club, the shock, the horror, the absolute disgust. sent waves of pleasure through me. And the way he had slapped her, called her those names, torn her down piece by piece in front of everyone... It was even better than I had dreamed.I found myself practically skipping up the front steps, my body moving with the rhythm of my elation. The maids I passed in the hallway looked at me strangely, their eyes following my unusual display of joy, but I didn't care.By now, Gia would be locked away in her bedroom, crying her pathetic tears and realizing that her perfect new l
GIA O'LEARY"She knew," the words fell from my lips before I could stop them. "She knew I used to work at the strip club."The silence that followed my words was deafening. My dad turned slowly to look at Tara, whose cheerful expression faltered for just a moment before she quickly recovered."What?" He said, his voice dangerously quiet. "What did you just say?""She knew," I repeated, pointing at Tara. "She's known this whole time. She's been threatening me with it for weeks."Keegan's eyes narrowed as he studied Tara, who was still clutching her phone and trying to maintain her innocent act."Is this true?" he asked her."Of course not!" Tara laughed, but it sounded forced now. "Dad, you can't seriously believe her. She's just trying to deflect blame onto me, maybe because she got caught."But I wasn't backing down, the damage was already done, my secret was out, my father had already called me every horrible name he could think of. I had nothing left to lose."She knew everything,
GIA O'LEARYEverything around me became a blur of flashing lights and pounding music, but all I could see was my father's face. The shock. The horror. The disgust spread across his face like poison. How was he here? How was this possible?My mind scrambled for answers, for some logical explanation that would make this nightmare make sense. But there was none. Just my father, standing in the middle of a strip club, staring at his daughter who was wearing a mask and dark clothes, looking exactly like what I was trying so hard not to be seeing.And beside him, Maddison stood with that satisfied smile I knew so well. The same smile she wore when she'd successfully manipulated a situation to her advantage."Dad?" I whispered, my voice barely audible over the music.But he wasn't looking at me like I was his daughter. He was looking at me like I was something filthy he'd found on the bottom of his shoe.The seconds stretched like hours. Other people in the club were starting to notice the
GIA O'LEARYMia and I returned to the pack feeling tired but content from our Lunch. We had visited Hilda's dad at the hospital, but when we got there, he was far asleep and the doctor resisted us from waking him up. After looking at Hilda's dad, I felt pity for her, including Mia, who kept reminiscing if that’s why Hilda had been feeding Levi the poison so she would be able to sort her father’s hospital bill. When we got inside, I said goodnight to Mia and headed upstairs to Levi's room. I was eager to share what I'd learned about the herbs, and I was hoping he'd still be awake waiting for me.But when I opened his door, the room was empty. The bed was still perfectly made, just like I'd asked him to do earlier.I walked back downstairs, feeling confused and a little worried. Where could he have gone so late at night?I spotted one of the maids cleaning in the hallway and walked over to her."Excuse me," I said. "Do you know where Alpha Levi is? I was looking for him in his room, b