Chapter 28 028
~LYKA~
I couldn’t dodge Zuri’s attack.
My body was weak....tired, bruised, and still shaken from whatever that other Derrick had done to me earlier. My muscles screamed in protest as I felt the blow coming, and instead of trying to evade it, I made a decision.
I let it hit me.
Pain exploded across my face as her fist connected, my head snapping to the side as a sharp sting spread through my cheek.
“How dare you think of seducing him with your ugly body!” she yelled, striking me again.
I cried out softly and immediately raised my arms to protect my neck, instinctively shielding the cut there. I couldn’t afford another injury....not there, not again.
‘What are you doing, Lyka? Fight her!’ Elysia purred furiously, her voice vibrating with rage inside my head. ‘Attack her!’
But I ignored her.
She was angry, and rightfully so, but anger alone wouldn’t help me now. I needed more than brute force. I needed control.
I tried to push Zuri off after enduring a few hits, my strength barely holding up, but then I heard hurried footsteps echoing down the passageway.
A plan formed instantly.
I relaxed my resistance.
I allowed her to hit me again....just a little longer.
“What is going on here!” a thunderous voice boomed behind us.
My swollen lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile.
Zuri froze.
She scrambled off me in panic, but her movement was clumsy, frantic. I heard the unmistakable sound of a body slamming into the wall with a dull thud.
Was that Zuri?
I kept my eyes shut, my breathing shallow, my body still sprawled on the cold floor. I wasn’t ready to rise just yet. I needed this scene to play out exactly as it should.
“Alpha… I was....” Zuri stammered as she struggled to get up.
A deep growl vibrated through the air.
Derrick.
His wolf was furious....I could feel it pressing against my skin like an invisible force.
Zuri’s voice faltered, her words dissolving into frightened silence. I could practically feel her regret radiating off her now, but it was too late.
I wasn’t done.
“What… now?” I muttered weakly, forcing my eyes open as if in pain. “You can’t talk?”
I winced deliberately, my voice shaking as I slowly lifted my gaze.
That was a mistake.
Those hollow, misty eyes were hovering over me....Derrick’s eyes. Concern flickered there, sharp and conflicted, as if he wanted to pick me up.
I recoiled instantly, scrambling away from his reach.
No.
I wasn’t getting caught in his web again....not until I understood what truly happened in that room earlier.
The Beta rushed forward.
Scott.
He bent down and helped me up carefully, his grip firm but gentle. My legs wobbled the moment he loosened his hold, and I nearly collapsed again. He caught me instinctively....
A growl ripped through the passageway.
“Let her go!” Derrick roared.
I blinked in confusion.
What?
If Scott let me go now, I would fall.
“But I can’t....if I let her go now she’s going to....” Scott started, alarmed.
“I’m very sure she’s not stupid enough to be unable to lean against the wall,” Derrick snapped coldly.
Scott hesitated, then slowly released me.
I barely managed to brace myself against the stone wall, my fingers digging into the cold surface. Pain flared through my body, and anger simmered beneath it....but I swallowed it down.
I had bigger things to deal with.
Before I could speak, Zuri beat me to it.
“She was trying to escape!” Zuri bellowed. “I caught her in the act and was trying to tame her!”
I nearly laughed.
Escape?
When I already held leverage strong enough to anchor myself inside this pack?
What a joke.
“I would’ve laughed at that joke if you’d told it at the marketplace,” I said sharply, my voice cutting through the air as I glared at her. “But this is a serious matter, and you dare lie?”
Zuri looked startled....clearly not expecting my composure.
“Tell me,” Derrick said, his gaze shifting to me, his voice low and dangerous, “why were you beaten?”
I sighed softly.
I couldn’t fool him.
“I wasn’t beaten,” I said slowly. “I was attacked. By two different things.”
The passageway went still.
“And that brings me to my question,” I continued, lifting my gaze to him. “Alpha Derrick… are you sleeping with Zuri?”
Silence crashed over us like a heavy curtain.
I studied everyone’s expressions through my lashes.
Scott looked shocked.
Derrick stiffened.
But Zuri....
Zuri looked anticipatory.
My lips twitched.
So that was it.
“Why are you asking?” Derrick finally asked.
I scoffed.
“I wouldn’t have asked if Zuri hadn’t attacked me just because she sensed your scent on me and....”
“No!” Zuri interrupted frantically. “That’s not true! I was stopping her from escaping, she....”
“Don’t,” Derrick growled, stepping closer to her. “Don’t even think of lying to me. You know how ugly I get when I’m lied to. Tell me....what happened?”
His aura darkened.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Yet he wasn’t losing control.
Good.
The earlier nightmare wasn’t repeating itself.
“Who gave you permission to act on your own?” Derrick demanded, gripping Zuri by the neck.
I scoffed internally.
Did she really need permission to beat me?
“Since you act so recklessly,” he continued, “you will be punished.”
He turned to me.
“How do you want to be compensated?”
I pretended to think.
“I don’t want much,” I said softly. “I just don’t want to run into Zuri for a very long time.”
Zuri gasped.
“What? That’s impossible! You mean imprisonment?” she shrieked.
I shook my head calmly.
I still needed to look like the innocent one.
“No,” I said sweetly. “I just think her room is more… suitable for her.”
Scott nodded approvingly. “An imprisonment that doesn’t look like imprisonment. I like that.”
All eyes turned to Derrick.
“Guards!” he ordered. “Escort Zuri to her room and make sure she doesn’t step out.”
Joy surged through my chest.
Success.
“What? No! This isn’t fair!” Zuri screamed as she was dragged away, her voice echoing down the passageway.
I turned to leave, satisfied.
“Was this your plan all along?” Derrick asked behind me. “To trap Zuri?”
I paused.
Then shook my head.
“No,” I said quietly. “I’m not that calculative.”
I walked away.
And it was true.
Trapping Zuri wasn’t my plan.
But if I wanted to survive in this pack....if I wanted power, safety, and control....
I couldn’t remain just a rogue.
I needed to be more.