06

"Jaris, you're here." Isolde said with relief. "Please, meet Alpha Bennett of Ravencrest. This is his daughter we talked about."

I'd stopped breathing since he walked in. In that moment, nothing else, other than the pain in my chest seemed to exist. 

Memories I'd been fighting so hard to stay buried reared their ugly heads at me. And the name 'Princess' echoed in my head, hauntingly, I wanted to scream. 

He had been Jaris? Alpha of Darkspire? I couldn't believe this. 

Unlike that night, when he looked at me with those charming eyes and called me beautiful, his eyes were very cold now; devoid of emotion. He didn't look like the man I'd wanted to spend an extra day with. He looked ruthless, like a man I wanted to run as far away as possible from. 

Now it made sense. That night, he'd only been sweet 'cause he wanted to deceive me. Oh, how foolish I had been. And how he must have laughed at me when I laid my head on his chest. He must have been disgusted too. 

I contemplated running. I didn't want to be with him; didn't want to be his Luna. 

But before I could make a move, he walked away, not without giving me an icy stare. 

Luna Isolde looked taken aback and embarrassed. 

"Um. Ex-Excuse me." She went after him. 

Father and I returned to our seats. But unlike hm, I was battling to hold back my tears. 

It hurt. So so bad. He had been a monster like everyone else and deceived me. I never thought I'd see him again. 

I suddenly realized how disrespectful he had been to father. My father was an older Alpha, yet he hadn't even acknowledged him. 

My head was a jumbled mess. I couldn't do this. 

I rose to my feet and started toward the door. 

"Lyric?" Dad's voice halted me. "Where are you going?"

When I looked at him, I suddenly didn't have the courage to tell him I was done with this. 

"I—I just need to use the restroom."

"I'll show you, ma'am," a maid stepped forward, wearing a warm smile. 

I filled her up the stairs to the second floor where I was shown to a row of restrooms. As soon as I shut the door behind me, I burst into tears, my facade finally dissolving.

I leaned against the door and cried for a long time, letting it all out—the pain, the rejection. I'd only known him for a night, yet his betrayal had cut deeper than anything else. After getting my scar, he was the first man to ever make me feel loved, and the first to take it away so quickly. It'd have been better if he never said those words to me and made me think he was different. 

I had to put it behind me. It was a thing of the past now. I shouldn't let it bother me this much.

When I was done getting the tears out, I wiped my face and left the room. The maid was gone. 

I was trying to find my way back to the ground floor when I heard tiny running footsteps and turned to see a little kid running toward me. 

My brows furrowed, and for a strange reason, there was a sharp ache in my heart. 

She couldn't be older than four or five years of age. She had familiar silver eyes, hair styled into a ponytail and was the most beautiful kid I'd seen in a long time. But she looked sad as she ran toward me. 

She stopped in front of me, having to tilt her head back to stare into my face. "Aunty, can you help my brother?"

I stared at her in amazement. "Your brother? Is he in trouble?"

More to my surprise, she took one of my fingers and began pulling me toward the direction she had come from. 

Okay; this was odd. I didn't even know who she was or where she'd come from. But for her to come to me for help, her brother must need it. I'd be helping a little kid. 

As I followed her, I glanced down at the part where our hands were joined. Why did I feel so at ease with her touching me? Why did she feel so... familiar?

"Uh...what kind of trouble is your brother in, honey?" I asked.

"A serious one." She sounded so sad. Now, I was curious. 

We finally got to a door which she pushed open, and the moment I stepped into the room and saw what she had brought me in to see, my body froze.