Roderick Fletcher.
The one man I'd hoped would love me but never did.
The mind was a bitch. I thought I was over Roderick's betrayal and wouldn't feel a thing when I met him. But watching him as he approached me, looking like he was the one in charge made my eyes rim with tears.
I sniffled and looked away, forcing the tears back in.
"So, I had to come over to speak to you myself," he leaned against the counter beside me. "How daring."
My throat was tight, unable to find any words. I feared there would be a crack in my voice if I managed to speak.
Three guards hovered beside him, their eyes darting around. Roderick looked sophisticated, like he'd obviously been having a good life.
What was he even doing here? Was he picking someone?
"What's the name?" He tilted his head as he asked.
I said nothing, won't even look at him.
"Hello?"
"I don't feel like disclosing my name to strangers," I finally managed. My voice was tight.
His eyes beamed with amusement. And here was a man who never smiled at me when we were together for one year.
"Let's just say I'm overly excited today," he sighed. "I'm here, waiting for a certain bitch to arrive." When I gave him a puzzled look, he added, "Ex-mate. We are through with the first step and just have the tiny little step to go. I'd finally be free of her."
I scoffed. He was unbelievable.
"I'd have done this sooner, you know? But the horrid girl has been missing for years. Stressed us the hell out to find her." He spoke with raw disdain.
"What makes you call her horrid?" I found myself asking before I could stop.
He chuckled. "Trust me, honey; she's a monster. If you see her, you'd have the same opinion. She's the ugliest thing I've ever seen."
Something hot exploded in my chest. It was all I could do not to let my emotions rush out.
No. This was not the right place.
But Roderick was the true monster. He had no idea he was standing before the very woman he despised. What would proud he do if he gets to know?
It made sense why he was waiting at the airport. He clearly wanted to drag me to the temple to cut the ribbon. Well, I wouldn't let him humiliate me in public. Not again.
Fortunately, my luggage finally arrived.
"Sorry for the delay, ma'am," the young man said as he rolled it to me.
Not looking at Roderick, I made to leave. That must have surprised him. "I'd love to speak to you some other time. Your contact, if you don't mind."
For a moment, I stood with my back to him, contemplating my words. I turned around when I found the most polite one I could give; "Even if I have to give up my number to save myself from you, I wouldn't do it. Alpha."
When my words sank in, surprise danced in her eyes, followed by a hint of hurt.
Something blossomed in my chest. It was pride.
So, I rolled my luggage away, leaving him standing there in shock.
****†****†
Rufus and I arrived home to the party. It was my stepmother's birthday party.
Not that I had any intention of attending—may the moon forbid it—I just arrived at a coincidentally perfect time.
I wasn't dressed for the party. Had my simple jeans and shirt on with my hair in a ponytail. Yet, when I entered into the hall, heads turned in my direction.
I felt awkward for a moment. The whole attention thing was still new to me.
I never knew I could receive so much compliments until I was free of my scar. Now, people could hardly stare at me without telling me how beautiful I was.
My stepsister, Nora, walked up to me with a smile. "Hi! You're a little late for the party. What's your name?"
Typical Nora. From young, she's always wanted to be friends with the hot girls. She despised me so much as I brought a 'stain' to her name. A scarred lady being her sister.
Five years ago, she had slammed the door in my face, not letting me in despite my pleas. Now, she was being all nice.
"I'm not here for the party," I answered her coldly and looked away, scouring around for my father.
I found him in a corner with my stepmother and some guests. He was the reason I was here. I needed to know what was so urgent aside cutting ties with Roderick.
He had his eyes on me, staring suspiciously. I went toward him.
"Hey! Who are you?" Nora came after me, sounding a little hurt.
But I ignored her until I reached father.
My father was a well known Alpha, hence the party filled with dignitaries. I did well to bow my head to them as I stood before father.
"Who are you?" My stepmother asked.
I met her gaze with a smirk. "Am I that different that you can't recognize me?" I looked to father. "What about you, father? Am I too different?"
Audible gasps rippled around me. Nora's hand went over her mouth.
"It's not possible," she muttered, shaking her head.
"Lyric?" Father's eyes were filled with shock and recognition.
"Who's this impersonator?" My stepmother snapped. "Do you think we lack knowledge of what Lyric looks like? You think we'd fall for this scam?"
I focused my gaze on dad. "I'm only here 'cause you said there was something important you needed to talk to me about. If you don't mind, I'd like for us to have that conversation now."
Father took me to his study, leaving numerous shocked persons behind who couldn't utter a word.
I wouldn't deny how good it felt to know I was the reason they were speechless. They couldn't call me ugly. As a matter of fact, I'd never be called ugly by anyone, ever again.
"What happened to you, Lyric? Your scar was impossible to get rid of," Father asked.
"I don't wish to discuss it now." Or the horrible things that happened within five years. I was still trying to run from them. "Just tell me why you needed me here."
"Yes, that." his countenance soured. "You have no idea how happy I was when. I found you after searching for years. You just... vanished." He sighed. "We have a problem, Lyric. Our Pack is in a deep mess with Darkspire. I—I made some mistake and lost a lot of money—a whole lot—making me indebted to Darkspire."
Okay, I did not like where this was headed.
Darkspire was a generational wolf pack, known to produce only the strongest Alphas. The Alphas that always ranked first in the hierarchy system. They were avoided as much as possible as they were known to be vicious. One did not get tangled with them for any reason.
"If word of this gets out, we'd be doomed. We'd go down the ranks, and coming from a pack that was used to being at the top, believe me, it is not a good thing for us. But they're willing to let it go."
I furrowed my brows. It didn't make any sense. I sensed a huge 'But' coming.
"But they need a Luna from this family, for just a year."
LYRICThings were about to get messy.Here I was, baking some cookies for the kids just before the news of Alpha Miguel's death reached me.Jaris was very furious and set to fly out to the Alpha's pack. Last night, he'd given me a highlight of what the problem was. Now, with the high-ranking Alpha dead, it wasn't looking good, especially with Jaxen being the suspect.I intended to go with Jaris and decided to quickly serve the cookies to the kids before getting ready.Fortunately, their problematic mother wasn't in when I entered, only their nannies. Jaris told me he'd managed to speak with the kids last night and was even the one that suggested giving something to them this morning.They were getting ready for school and all stopped to look at me when I entered."Hey!" I beamed, ignoring how hurt I was from the fact that th
JARISThe argument lasted for sometime with people from the low ranks throwing words against the high ranks. When I'd had enough, I signaled them to stop talking."Miguel," I called the high-ranking Alpha involved. "You do realize that Jaxen's family worked hard for this company, don't you? If the roles were reversed and you had to give it up—something you've worked so hard for—would you be happy about it?"He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "My King, I perfectly understand your point. And truly, a part of me feels bad that I'm taking this from him. But it's my inheritance. Mg father was a clueless man who didn't know how to work hard for something, and instead, gave it away. Now I want it back. I even told Jaxen he has the right to demand for something higher if he doesn't like what I'm offering. I think I'm being considerate enough.""Oh, fuck you and you consider
LYRIC My eyes widened like saucers, shock sizzling through me. What in Moon's name has Marta done to these kids?"You should know you're special to me. If I had even the slightest idea that your daddy was supposed to go somewhere with you two, I never would've let him stay with me. I promise I didn't know. I'd never do anything to hurt you two.""We don't believe you," Xyla folded her hands with a huff. "All this time, we thought you were good."Taking Xylon's hand, she walked off. I thought of going after them but was too weak to. Too heartbroken. What exactly did I do to deserve this?****†† JARIS My forehead crinkled in a fusion of disbelief and irritation as I read through the letter. It was the second one I was reading concerning this very matter, and the shock that filled me up could not be compared to nothing. I dropped the letter when I finished and looked up at Kael to see he was just as disturbed as I was. "This real? There was really a fight between them?"
JARIS At first, I felt nothing, my mind numb. Then, a small laughter slipped through, followed by a bigger one."Lyric," I repeated, still laughing.Then, just like a switch had been turned off, I stopped abruptly. "Why don't you tell me, which part of your brain has been affected? Is it terminal? Are you going to die? Oh, I hope you do die 'cause your brain is definitely tired of working.""I'm serious," Caden said."And I was serious when I said I hope you do die."A brief moment of silence, followed by an atmosphere thick with tension. "I need her," he sighed. "I've been searching for her for years and didn't know she was your mate this whole time. I'm trying to make this as peaceful as I can. Hand her over, and you'll never hear from me again.""Too bad that is never happening," I tsked. "As a matter of fact, you're an asshole for even spitting this trash. How possible do you think it is that I'd gladly hand Lyric to you? You mention her name one more time, and I'll damn t
JARIS I didn't know his name, but he did work for me six years ago. He quit the job a few months later.So, one of my staff had lied against me to push Lyric away? I knew there was no way this staff would've done this on his own. Somebody must've definitely asked him to."I'll have him found and questioned," I told Lyric as I put the envelope back away."Is it really necessary? I mean, we're already together, right? Shouldn't we just let the past be?""No," my tone came out harsher than intended. "This son of a bitch is the reason we got separated for six years. If we'd been together, I'd have taken good care of you and the babies. Who knows, they might've survived. You wouldn't have gotten into trouble by awakening Caden. Do you understand that a lot of things wouldn't have been happening right now?"She nodded, clearly seeing my point.I hope to the moon there are people around when I find out who this person is, because there was no telling what I'd do to them.****†****†
MARTAThe mirth was gone from her face. She looked vicious now as she stepped toward me."You think I don't see what you're doing? You probably forced yourself on Jaris and quickly took in for him. All for what? To secure your spot beside him? Well, guess who's still Queen, Lyric."I laughed in her face. "Oh, poor Marta." I tsked. "Stupid Marta. Always thinking everything's a competition. What Jaris and I share is special and something I'll never call a competition. Sadly, it's also something you'll never be able to understand as you've hardly ever been in love."The thought struck me, furrowing my brows. "Have you ever been in love, Marta?"The further crumbling of her mask said it all."Good gods," I muttered, faking pity. "You've never actually been loved by someone. Your whole life, you've only wanted a man who has never really wanted you. A man who only made you Grand Luna 'cause he chose his kids. And despite being grand Luna, you're still insecure because you know you'll