Chapter 23 Honest Answer
Lulu
“So,” Alpha Caspian said, “what’s your answer, Lulu?”
His voice was calm. The kind of calm that told me he wouldn’t accept half-truths or polite smiles. I stood in the middle of the boutique, surrounded by expensive outfits that felt more intimidating than a room full of Alphas.
Honest. The word dried out my throat.
I glanced left, then right, searching for anything that could distract him. Mirrors. Mannequins. The exit. Even the price tags, which honestly made me want to faint.
“Alpha, I…”
The sound was loud and sharp. It naturally came from my own stomach.
I froze. My face burned. In my entire life, I’d never been this grateful to be hungry.
Alpha Caspian went quiet for a few seconds. Then his eyebrow lifted slightly. For the first time since the conversation began, he let out a soft laugh.
“You’re hungry,” he said.
I hugged my stomach and nodded. “A bit.”
“My fault.” He checked his watch, then glanced at the cashier. “I took too long.”
He paid for all the clothes he’d chosen—based mostly on my very questionable advice about men’s fashion. Thankfully, he didn’t continue interrogating me about my feelings. I nearly hugged the cashier out of pure gratitude.
“Come,” he said, picking up the shopping bags. “Lunch.”
We walked through the city centre, people passing by, living their ordinary human lives, unaware of how complicated the world of wolves really was. Caspian stopped in front of a small restaurant with red brick walls and a chalkboard menu.
“English pork,” he said. “I know your taste.”
I ordered roast pork belly with perfectly crisp skin, apple sauce, buttered peas, and Yorkshire pudding. Caspian went for bangers and mash—thick sausages with fragrant onion gravy.
As soon as the waiter left, Caspian’s phone buzzed.
“Beta Rohan,” he said, standing up. “Too noisy in here. I’ll find somewhere quiet.”
I nodded and left alone.
I looked around. Two tables ahead of me, a human mother was breastfeeding her baby boy. Her movements were gentle, full of love. My chest tightened.
Soon enough, that would be me.
“You’re staring like you want something.”
I flinched. A human man was standing beside my table. His hair was messy, his stomach slightly round, his teeth yellow like they hadn’t seen a toothbrush in days—but his grin was far too confident.
“Mind if I sit?” he said, already pulling out the chair that Alpha Caspian had been using.
“Yes. I do mind. Intensely,” I replied coldly.
He chuckled. “Relax. You looked lonely.”
“I was enjoying a rare moment of peace,” I said. “You’ve ruined it rather efficiently.”
“Careful, love,” he smirked. “Men might think you’re flirting.”
“If this is flirting to you,” I said flatly, “I pity the women in your life.”
He laughed and leaned closer. “Don’t play innocent. You’ve been staring.”
“At a baby,” I snapped. “Which says far more about you than it does about me.”
“Oh, come on.”
His hand touched my waist.
“Take your hand off me. Now!”
He didn’t.
I stood and slapped him across the face. His hand flew up to his cheek, rubbing the mark I’d left behind.
“You asked for that!” he shouted.
“I asked for lunch,” I replied calmly. “You volunteered humiliation.”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t want attention.”
“If attention looked like you,” I said coolly, “I’d rather be invisible.”
“Is there a reason you’re raising your voice at my wife?”
Alpha Caspian’s voice came from behind me. His arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders.
“Your wife?” the man sneered. “She was clearly inviting.”
“Careful,” Caspian interrupted calmly. “You’re confusing confidence with consent. A common mistake among men of limited intellect.”
“She was looking at me!”
“I was looking past you,” I said. “A skill I intend to keep practising.”
“She slapped me for no reason!”
“For no reason?” Caspian raised an eyebrow. “Fascinating. Then you won’t mind us checking the CCTV.”
“That’s unnecessary.”
“On the contrary,” he said. “It’ll be educational. For you.”
We waited. The man kept talking, blaming me, ranting.
“This is ridiculous. Women like her always…”
“If you finish that sentence,” Caspian said coldly, “embarrassment will be the least of your problems.”
I touched his arm. “Please. Let him talk.”
Caspian glanced at me. “He seems remarkably enthusiastic about his own downfall.”
The CCTV footage proved everything.
“Sir, you’ll need to leave,” said the restaurant manager politely, dressed in a black suit with blue pinstripes.
“This is outrageous!”
“No,” Caspian said calmly. “This is accountability. Do try to remember it.”
The man was thrown out. The manager apologised and comped our meal. A few customers even praised Caspian.
He pulled me into a hug.
“You alright, love?” he asked softly.
My heart was beating strangely fast. I pressed my hand to my chest, and Caspian watched me until he finally sat down. We finished our food in silence.
On the way out, I stopped in front of a pale blue dress in a boutique window.
“Go in,” Caspian said.
“I don’t have any money,” I said quickly.
“I do.”
“I’m already living off you—”
“Lulu,” he said quietly. “Please don’t be stubborn.”
That tone ended the argument.
I tried on countless outfits. I loved all of them. Satin dresses, tulle blouses, pleated skirts and when they led me to the women’s shoes section, my eyes immediately locked onto a pair of low heels I adored.
The fun lasted all day. Every woman—human or werewolf—deserves a little self-indulgence. Including me.
Back at the pack house, Beta Rohan was waiting outside the Great Hall. He handed Caspian a brown envelope.
“Alpha Scott Byrne of Emerald Earth is looking for Miss McCarthy.”
My world collapsed. Memories of Scott’s and Leia’s betrayal crashed into me all at once.
I ran to my room, locked the door, and buried myself in the bed with a pillow. It felt like the wound had torn open again, like just as I’d started to care for someone else. His shadow had come crawling back, clinging like a parasite.
A knock echoed at the door.
“Lulu, are you alright?”
My chest tightened. No matter how hard I tried to hold it together, it felt like I was being dragged down into the depths of a dark lake.
My vision slowly faded, right as my bedroom door burst open.