Chapter 2

LILA

6 YEARS LATER

"Mommy, your phone’s ringing!"

Gavin squealed, snapping me out of my reverie, before his tiny feet bounded across the room and towards the stairs in full speed.

"Be careful so you don't fall." I called out, smiling, but he didn't listen.

He never did.

It had been six years since that day- the day my heart shattered into a million pieces.

But I was no longer the fragile, quiet girl who was always seen as the weaker twin. After I fled from Crescent Moon Pack and came here, I hid, thinking my father would come looking for me.

But surprisingly, he never did. As much as it hurt to admit, my escape must have been good riddance for them, and that just made something inside me snap. I got a job at a healing shop- using my healing skills my mother had taught me.

It wasn't long before people began to notice how good I was. They came to me for every little thing. A fever. A wound. A year later, I opened my wellness center called "Midas Touch."

It started small, but at the end of that year, people from neighbouring Packs traveled just to see me. My name became known, and since then I'd built an empire from the very thing people once mocked me for- my healing gift.

Along the way, I met Jackson. He was Beta, calm, gentle and strong. He didn't want me because of my powers. He just wanted me. He helped me heal from my past wounds and gave me a reason to smile again. Now, I was Lila Greg. A wife. And a mother too.

Gavin was five, and a curious little boy with wild, brown curls and bright emerald eyes that always sparkled with energy.

I grabbed my coat, just in time before Jackson leaned in and gave me a quick kiss.

"I'll drop him off at school and meet you for lunch, alright?"

"Alright," I whispered, smiling.

Gavin ran over with my phone. "It's Aunt Talia!"

"Thank you, baby," I said, kissing his forehead. "Be good at school, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, Mommy."

Jackson took his hand and they both walked out. I stood there, watching them for a second, feeling so grateful for the peace in my life. Then I answered the call.

"Talia?"

"Lila... hey,"

She sounded... off.

"What's up?"

A heavy sigh followed. And with it came a brief, unsettling silence.

"Talia?"

"Yeah. Lila... How's it going?"

"I'm fine. What's wrong? You sound worried."

Another pause followed. The silence felt too long this time. "Lila, I- there's no easy way to say this…I thought you already knew."

The foreboding made my gut churn. "Knew what, Lila? What's going on? You're scaring me."

"I just heard… I'm so sorry, Lila. I just heard that Lyric is dead."

Dead... Dead?

Lyric?

Dead?

Everything around me went silent. My heart stopped. I stared at the wall for what felt like forever. My twin sister.

No. That can't be.

"Hello?"

"W- what?" I manages a croaked, despite the lump in my throat.

"I'm so sorry, Lila. I understand how you feel right now. I couldn't believe it. Lyric died last week. The news only just got out of the Crescent Moon Pack. I thought you knew, thought your father would've called."

He didn't. Of course he didn't.

The sob broke out. My chest was tight. I couldn’t breathe properly.

The phone slipped from my hand crashed on the marble floor. Then my knees gave out. I spent the next few hours crying before I mustered whatever strength I had left and immediately had my chauffeur drive me back to the Crescent Moon Pack. Everything looked the same- but I didn't feel the same.

The moment I stepped out of the car, people who lived in the neighbourhood stared. But I barely noticed that.

My father was in the living room when I walked in, crestfallen. He looked older with the wrinkles deepening and streaks of gray heir matting his temples. The bags under his eyes told me he'd been crying, and his hoarse, forlorn voice confirmed it.

"Lila," He'd whispered hoarsely. I didn't say anything.

The sob ripped out of me again, this time harder. I cried for another long while before I finally found my voice.

"Is it true?” I sniffled, dabbing my tears. “Lyric is... dead?"

He stood from the couch, walked over and stood in front of me. Then, to my shock, he dropped to his knees.

"I’m sorry," he said, voice cracking. "I was wrong. About everything. About you."

"Don't," I snapped causing him to flinch.

"Don't apologise to me now. Where was this energy when I needed you? Where was this love when I cried myself to sleep?"

He looked up at me with teary eyes. "I failed you."

"Save it," My voice was ice. "Tell me what happened to her."

He lowered his head. "She was murdered a week ago. We still don't know who did it."

"Murdered?"

He gave a nod.

"And you didn't reach out. You didn't even think of calling me."

He stayed quiet for a long moment. "You vanished."

"And you never cared to look for me. Don't lie to me because I know you never did. Do you know how it hurt? To know my absence felt like good riddance?"

He nodded. "You're right. I didn't have the courage to face you."

I scoffed, and got up. "I'm only here because I wanted to know what happened to my sister. I'll pay my final respects whenever she's to be buried. But just know, that you're not my father. You ceased to be my father a long time ago."

"Lila, please don't say that."

I stood, and left the house without looking back. I needed more answers, so before I returned to Raven's Pack, I made my way to the Packhouse, the place I once stood broken and humiliated. After I let them know I was here to inquire about my sister's death, the guards let me in out of pity.

Tyler was all alone in the courtyard when I found him. He wore a deep black suit which was buttoned all the way up, his dark hair slicked back neatly. His sharp jawline and heterochromic eyes were still as striking as ever. His demeanour thawed the moment he saw, and recognised me. But he hid it.

"Lila," he said, his eyes taking me in with violating scrutiny "What a surprise."

"Don't act like you're shocked. My sister died a week ago, and you didn't think to tell me?"

He shrugged, and then his cold demeanour set in. "I assumed you'd hear it eventually."

My jaw hardened. "You're disgusting."

"This is not the time, Lila. I'm still grieving."

"No. You're not grieving. You're pretending. You let them kill her!"

A flash of pain crossed his face but he hid it, and clenched his jaw. "Still... dramatic, I see."

I didn't hold back. "You ruined everything." I said, fists clenched. "You destroyed us. You betrayed me. And now my sister is dead-!"

"So what?" He cut in.

My breath hitched. I couldn't believe my ears. "You monster."

"She was never meant to be Luna."

"You think this is a game? My sister is dead!" A tear slipped down my cheeks.

He took a step closer, voice low. For a second I thought he'd say something to soothe the pain. But the bastard, had the audacity to raise his hand and touch my hair, his monochromatic eyes locked onto mine like he still had a right.

"Why are you really here? I know it's not just about your sister. You came to tell me I can have you now. Marry me."

The nerve. The disgusting, arrogant nerve of him. My sister had just died, and he thought this was the right time to flirt? To touch me like I belonged to him? To propose, as if I was some prize waiting on a shelf for him to pick back up? He hasn't changed. Still full of himself.

Still treating women like tokens in a game he had to win. His pride was so thick it made me sick. And the worst part? He said it like he was doing me a favour. He was disgusting. And I hated him for it.

What? I blinked, shell-shocked.

"Marry me." He said again.

The words froze in the air between us.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Be my Luna. This time, I'll choose you."

"Are you insane?"

He smirked. "Perhaps. But I see it now. You were always the stronger, smarter-"

I didn't let him finish.

SLAP!

His head turned from the force of it and a red mark contoured by the shape of my palm bloomed on his cheek. "Burn in hell, Tyler."