Chapter 16 TOO CLOSE TO THE TRUTH
Ginnie
“What the hell were you thinking!?” The words tore out of me before I could stop them, my voice cracking under the strain.
“Why would you go anywhere near that place? Let alone going near him?”
The sight of seeing Lily afraid should have stopped me, it should have slowed my tongue. But fear was still clawing through my chest—turning every thought inside me into something dark.
“Answer me, Lily!” I demanded, gripping her shoulders firmly, “Why were you in his study in the first place, why?”
“I—I was looking for you,” she whispered, her lips trembling with every word. Those big eyes of hers filled with tears.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I shot back, my fear twisting into anger. “How many times did I tell you not to wander the Alpha’s wing, not to talk of going anywhere alone in this villa. You of all people should know better.”
She staggered back, the tears spilling fast from her eyes now, “Mummy. Please stop yelling at me…”
The words hit harder than any slap.
I sucked in a sharp breath and dragged a hand through my hair in frustration, trying to pull myself back together before Lily would pay for the rage burning inside me. “Tell me,” I said again, my voice coming out as a low whisper, “what happened?”
“I went to play outside,” Lily started, swallowing hard before she could speak another word.
“Play…where?”
“With the other children,” she murmured, “The Pack children, they were playing outside near the garden and I went to join them.”
“And?” I pressed.
She hesitated for a second, twisting her fingers together. “They didn’t want me there.”
I felt it instantly—that old, familiar ache that creeped into me anytime Lily was treated like nothing but garbage.
“What did they do?” I asked, forcing my voice to sound calm despite the tears that threatened to spill.
“They laughed at me, Mummy.” She continued, “They teased me for being weak. One of them pushed me and said humans shouldn’t breathe the same air as wolves.”
The thought of the image in my head sent an unimaginable rage burning behind my eyes, but I stayed calm…I had to act calm for Lily.
“I tried to be nice to them,” Lily’s voice shattered through my raging thoughts, tears sliding down her cheeks. “But they kept calling me names and said I should go back to whatever hole I crawled out of. So I ran away and came looking for you…”
“I…I wanted to find you, Mummy,” she whispered, “but you weren’t in the quarters. So I thought you might be in the kitchen, but on my way, everything started spinning,” Her small voice shook. “I think I fainted. When I woke up… he was there.”
The room suddenly felt too small, like the walls themselves were inching closer with every breath. I exhaled slowly, forcing the anger deep inside before it consumed me as I dropped to my knees in front of her, pulled her into my arms, holding her like a fragile thing that might break.
“I’m sorry, Baby,” I whispered into her hair. “Mummy is so sorry for shouting at you.” She clung to me instantly, her tiny arms wrapping tight around my neck.
“I didn’t mean to disobey you,” she sobbed, “I only wanted to find you but you weren’t there.”
“I know,” I murmured, rocking her gently. “You didn’t do anything wrong…it's not your fault, baby.” Then I pulled back, just slightly enough to look at her face, and wiped her tears away with my thumbs.
“Listen to me,” I continued softly, “You must stay away from the Lycan children. They don’t understand us and they don’t have to. But they can hurt you without thinking twice.”
“Promise me you won’t ever go near them. No matter what.” I added quietly.
She nodded quickly. “I promise, Mummy.”
For a moment, silence stretched between us, not until Lily tilted her head, confusion flickering across her cute little face.
“Mummy?” she asked carefully.
“Yes, baby?”
“Why did you call me your sister in front of him?”
For one terrifying second, I couldn’t hear anything but the violent pounding of my heart.
Fuck!
I could never tell Lily the truth no matter what!
I forced a smile—one that didn’t quite reach my eyes as I parted my lips to speak. “Because he’s a bad man.”
Her brows furrowed, “But—“
“If he gets to know that I am your Mummy,” I cut in gently before she could finish. “He would order me killed,” I lied softly, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “And you wouldn’t want that right?”
Fear flickered in her eyes for a brief second before she responded. “No, Mummy.”
“So you must never tell anyone,” I continued, stroking her hair gently, “He must never find out no matter what. Do you promise?”
“ I promise.” She replied, reaching for my pinky finger as a sign to show that she was bent on keeping her word. A few moments passed before I laid her gently under the blanket.
“You need to get some rest, baby,” I whispered, tucking the blanket around her carefully, and kissed her forehead. “I’ll go get you water to drink, okay?”
“Don’t move,” I said softly. “I’ll be right back.”
Without wasting a second, I slipped out of the room and headed for the kitchen, my thoughts spiraling violently with every step.
Shit!
Today has been too close—if Varkos suspected anything…anything at all. It would be all over, every single hard work over the years keeping the truth hidden from him would surely be wasted…
I could never let that happen.
The kitchen was quiet when I entered, the chandelier casting a dull glow over the metal counters. I grabbed a cup, filling it with water as I stared back at my reflection rippling faintly in the basin.
Just as quickly the cup filled, and I turned toward the door—
Cold steel pressed against my throat.
“Don't you dare scream,” a dangerous voice whispered into my ear.