Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Lola's POV

I stood around the large hall, a bit shocked that Tyler was gone within minutes. How was I going to find him when I needed to go? I felt like that would be any moment from now.

"Calm down," I thought to myself, taking a deep breath. The least I could do was to at least bear this torture a little for him. I did say that I would, so there was no reason for me to back down now.

Diego and Alex followed out of the gala through the side entrance shortly after. I watched them go and decided that I might as well make myself useful. The things needed clearing, and I had to be busy with something.

I headed towards the group of learners that our four-year-olds had pointed out for me. Seeing them there, they were shut down lightly and having conversations with each other. I approached them with a big smile on my face, keeping up the friendly disposition to a large extent.

They stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me as I approached them. Behind their smiles, I could see certain chilliness and something different in each of their eyes—almost like the calm before the storm. I first noticed that they had a lot more to hide behind their fake smiles and princess disposition.

I wished that I had brought a maid along with me because, seeing them now, they all seemed to have someone with them, like they were best maids or something. However, I, for one thing, couldn't do anything about that now, so I smiled and hoped that I would be sufficient enough.

"Luna of Mystic Park," I said, introducing myself as I approached them.

They looked between themselves, and I had a feeling that they weren't going to accept me. Shortly after, one of the ladies stepped forward and stretched out her hand with a smile.

"I'm Elena of the blue ray pack," she said. I froze as I locked eyes with my her.

She seemed indifferent, and I thought that I could quietly slip past when she took another glance at me, her eyes widening in recognition. Her innocent smile turned into a smirk on her face.

"You're that little traitor aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" I frowned. I'm not sure than I ever offended her. She must be the daughter of one of tbe elders of the blue ray pack.

"What are you doing here? The annual gala isn't for just anybody" she spat.

Her words made some heads turn. The ladies began to point and whisper to one another.

I had no words for her, so I turned around, about to leave.

"Leaving so soon?" she began in a soft tune as she leaned closer to me. "Understandable, considering you should be dead for your sins."

I glared at her, not ready to deal with her shit right now. However, it was obvious that she wasn't satisfied with just looking and doing nothing.

She pulled me aside, her tone sharp. "I see you couldn't risk being the total loser that you are. What did you do to seduce the Lycan king into taking you in?" she spat.

I felt glad that we were shot from the rest of the ladies, but that didn't stop me from glaring at her. What was I thinking? I didn't know that she would be here, ready to give me hell for it, but I wasn't going to let her belittle me like this.

"Funny," I said with an indifferent expression on my face. "You would think that you would have something more worthwhile to do with your time than fill your head with those stupid lies."

"What do you mean?" she demanded.

"Oh, not too much." I gave her a fake smile of my own, noting that I thought the meeting with her would be worse than it could be. "We don't have any beef. And I don't want any trouble. The blue ray pack is hanging by a thread as it is."

"Brave words," she countered, her fist clenching.

Staring at her, I knew that my life over there in the Blue Ray Park was all gone. For certain, I would never have anything to do with them, and how I dreamt hard for my revenge, I would savor every piece of it.

I was satisfied with just slipping away for now.

The air felt chilly, and I wasn't comfortable at all. I was sick of the party already and couldn't wait till I got away from everybody. The whole place was getting really sick, and all I wanted was to get away. I glanced around, looking for Tyler, but he seemed to have long left the gala.

What was going on here? I wondered to myself. I felt lost with nothing and no anchor for me to go to.

Suddenly, a loud voice sounded at the podium: "Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the fifth annual gala."

I glanced up at the podium where a turned man in a dark purple tuxedo stood. I recognized him as Alpha Rufus, and next to him was the senator. I recalled Tyler mentioning them as the hosts of the event. If they were here—I glanced around the place—where was Tyler?

I suddenly had a terrible feeling about it. I glanced around the crowd and quickly pushed past the plenty of people, trying to find a way out.

Suddenly, I received a text from the phone that I had somewhere in my purse. I searched around looking for it, cursing under my breath. Finally, I pulled out the device and glanced at the notification. My heart froze as I looked at the text from Marcella. It was a simple seven words that sent a chill down my spine: "You know what you have to do."

Damn it, how could I have forgotten? I thought to myself. Now it was even more crucial for me to find Tyler.

Back then when I had an appointment with Marcella, he made it very clear to me that I would have to buy myself time before taking over the duties, since I didn't want to abort the baby. I leaned against the walls, taking in a deep breath, trying to calm down the building anxiety in me.

I was one month pregnant—that was hardly time to forget, and it wasn't quite long before Tyler would notice too. Marcella made it clear to me that I had to have intercourse with him before he found out. That was the only way to keep myself safe, even if for just a while.

But that was the problem—I didn't want to do it. Tyler seemed to love me, but how could I have sex with someone that I didn't love?

"You are running out of options, and you know it," a voice in my head countered.

I knew I had to do it. There were certain things that one had to do to survive, and you don't just go by saying that you didn't feel like it. My step-sister's words rang in my memory: "How did you seduce Tyler to become yours?"

Why did I feel that was exactly what I was going to do right now?

"I would welcome our co-sponsor of this event onto the stage," Rufus said into the microphone, causing a lot of heads to turn as they anticipated. Loud music began blaring in the hall, yet I couldn't focus on anything.

Where the hell was Tyler? I thought. A waiter passed by with a tray of drinks, and I took some of the alcohol, gulping it down at once. It was one thing I was smart enough to know—I had to be drunk to do what I was about to do.

Gulping down the alcohol, it sent a burning sensation down my throat. I took another glass as the waitress passed by and got that down too, finding it oddly refreshing despite the chaos building up in me.

I still scanned my eyes, hoping for any sight of Tyler, and Brian was nowhere to be found either. Suddenly, I had a very bad feeling about it. Rufus was mentioning the names of some dignitaries in the background, and that was the last thing I heard as I pushed my way through the crowd and finally arrived out of the huge hall.

Glancing around the side, I realized I didn't have any idea where to go. "Damn it," I thought, cursing under my breath. This night was going terribly wrong. This was why I avoided meetings in the first place. What was I supposed to do now? Even my backup plan was going down the drain.

Without thinking twice, I made a beeline for the left turn, not knowing where it was going to lead me, but I was willing to try anyway. Anything was better than waiting there for the night's surprises that I wasn't quite sure were going to be as pleasant as I would ever imagine them to be.

I was literally wandering around the hill villa when I finally approached some of the waitresses that were heading back to the main hall.

"Excuse me," I said, stopping one of them—a blonde Spanish lady with curls tucked behind her ears. She was holding a tray of red wine in one hand, hovering over her shoulder.

She turned around slowly. I realized how lost I must look in the middle of a corridor with my makeup smeared and panic in my eyes. I knew that my question was stupid even before I asked it.

"Have you seen Alpha Tyler?" I asked.

She stared at me for a while and blinked. "The Lycan king of the Mystic Park?" she repeated in a heavily accented voice.

I nodded. However, she shook her head, and I felt my hopes go down the drain. Tyler was with Brian, I knew it, and judging by previous facts, I also knew that Alpha Sullivan was with them. Whatever was I supposed to expect from here?