Chapter - 73: Was It Maximus?

(Castor's POV)

I was about to talk when Faedra walked in with a look of confusion on her face. I was seething with anger at Zed's words. I clenched my fist and tried to control my breathing.

It was hurtful and annoying at the same time.

Deep down, I knew Faedra hated us, Shade and me. It wasn't a secret; after all, we had rejected her, bullied her all her life, and treated her horribly. We, of course, had our reasons, and it was more than enough to make Faedra hate us.

However, hearing it from someone else infuriated me and hurt me more. I openly glared at Zed; if only looks could kill, Zed would have died by now. The fact that it came from him made me angrier.

How dare he say Faedra hated me?

Of all people to point out that fact to me, it had to be Alpha Zed. I almost hit my fist on the table; I had to control myself and hold back.

It was a fact already known to us; he didn't have to point it out so obviously. I didn't know why I was reacting so strongly to this. I couldn't pretend to be nonchalant and act like I didn't care, and Zed knew it. He had a little smirk on his face; he knew how much his words had affected me.

Damn this stupid Alpha!

Faedra spoke, and I couldn't stop myself from snapping at her. Zed frowned at me, and I frowned back when I watched Faedra pull him towards her. I felt a little pang of jealousy as I watched them both. I didn't know why I couldn't stop myself from feeling jealous. I tried to shake off the feeling, but Alpha Zed's words stuck in my mind.

They looked good; I couldn't deny it. Why was I feeling this way? I had rejected her. I wanted nothing to do with her; I hated her father; I hated her!

I stood up from the chair, and both Zed and Faedra looked at me questioningly. I dropped the bill on the table and ignored them. I didn't care. I had promised myself to have nothing to do with her; I was going to ignore her. I was going to stop feeling this way. Without another word, I stormed out of the café, leaving Zed and Faedra standing there.

As I came outside of the café, I felt a vibration from my back pocket. I frowned and touched it to feel my phone beeping. It stopped beeping as soon as I pulled it out, and I checked to see if it was a missed call. There were 19 others from Shade. My brows raised in surprise. 19 missed calls from Shade? What could be the problem?

What could be so pressing that he had to call and call again 19 times?

I thought quietly to myself. "Well, I better call him and find out myself," I mumbled lowly under my breath and dialed the last number that had called me; it belonged to Shade.

With a sinking feeling in my chest, I hastily dialed his number, anxiety gnawing at me with each passing ring.

Finally, he picked up, but instead of concern, his voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Well, look who decided to grace me with their presence," Shade said, his tone laced with mockery. My brows furrowed in confusion.

"What's going on, Shade? Why'd you call me so many times?" I asked impatiently.

Shade's laughter grated on my nerves.

"You outdid yourself this time, Castor. A whole new level of simp, I must say."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. Simp. The word burned with accusation, and I felt a flush of shame rise to my cheeks.

What was he talking about?

"Stop playing games, Shade. Just tell me what's going on," I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady. But Shade was relentless. "Oh, come on, Castor. Don't tell me you're still pining over that disgusting piece of shit, Faedra? You're pathetic." He cursed, and my blood boiled at his words.

How dare he say that to me?

Was it that obvious?

I tried to act nonchalantly, but when it came to Faedra, I didn't know what the feeling was, and I tried desperately to shut it out.

"Shade, shut your mouth," I snapped, my anger bubbling to the surface.

"You don't know anything about her, or about me. So just... just stop."

But Shade just laughed, his taunts digging deeper with each word.

"Face it, Castor. You're nothing but a lovesick fool, chasing after a lost cause. And you know what? You deserve every ounce of heartache that comes your way."

"Enough! I won't stand here and let you talk to me this way," I growled.

"Just know this, once the pups are born, I'll take my revenge against Faedra," Shade's voice crackled with anger, his words hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"Alpha Liddell raped Sheila. I won't let him get away with it."

My mind went blank for a moment, unable to process the weight of Shade's words. Alpha Liddel did what?

I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me, leaving me floating in a sea of disbelief and confusion.

"Shade, wait, what did you just say?" I managed to stammer out, my voice trembling with shock.

But before I could grasp the full extent of what Shade had revealed, he seemed to snap out of his rage-induced trance, realizing the gravity of his words. With a curse, he abruptly ended the call, leaving me sitting there in stunned silence, trying to make sense of what I had just heard.

I stood there for minutes in disbelief trying to process what I had just heard, or could Shade be lying?

Why would he lie about such?

Different thoughts ran through my mind as I hoped what I'd heard wasn't true. With a heavy sigh, I pocketed my phone. Just as I was about to leave, I saw a familiar figure and quickly hid.

"Maximus?" I mumbled out in surprise. He seemed to not have noticed me as he walked quickly, seemingly suspiciously.

"What is Maximus doing here?”