Chapter 24 Use me
Justin's Point of View:
“Should I inform my sister or ignore him completely?” That was the question in my mind as I entered my car.
“Harridan..” Even his name sounded bitter in my mouth, and now it looks like he'd really ruin my chances with Lydia. I don't even know how to tell her that she's my mate now, because the last look she gave me showed how disappointed she was.
“I should just tell Amber, that way Harridan would be out of the equation, and we'll be able to have Lydia,” I said to my wolf, and he squeaky, frustrated by my murmuring.
“You've been saying that for hours, if you want to report him, then report him. Stop stressing me!” My wolf replied with a low howl.
I scoffed at his words and turned to face the steering wheel, carefully reversing the car out of the parking lot.
“I will move into your house….” Lydia's words replayed in my head, and my eyes widened, as if remembering something.
“Oh my gosh! She promised to move in with us in a few days!” My wolf squealed after gaining access to my thoughts. He looked genuinely excited, and I know he has been dreaming about this for decades.
I was also happy, but not in the way he was, because something sounded suspicious. “Why is Lydia suddenly interested in moving in with us?” I asked my wolf with a deep frown.
My wolf scoffed. “Really? Is that what you should be thinking about? You asked her to move in with us, she agreed, and she's suddenly a problem?” He asked, irritated by my logic. But I knew what I meant.
“Lydia refused at first, so what made her change her mind? Is it because of her kiss with Harr-” I paused, allowing a few minutes to pass before I continued. “Fuck, this is so fucked up! At least, I'm her first kiss,” I tried comforting myself with this knowledge, but I knew that in Lydia's new memory, Harridan is stored as her first.
“Instead of thinking about this, how about you spend our time on something valuable?” My wolf prowled.
“Oh yeah! Something valuable like what?” I arched my brows.
“Like what she complained about, your narcissistic controlling behavior,” my wolf said, distancing himself from me.
“Suddenly it's ‘my behavior'?” I replied and hissed. “You're the one in charge of stimulating my behavior, if anyone should be blamed, it's you,” I paused, and a bitter laughter erupted from my throat. “I can't believe that Harridan also called me a narcissist! Wow, he must have forgotten that I'm in charge. I should remind him?”
At that moment, my phone rang, and the caller was my sister, Amber, Harridan's fiancée.
I stared at the screen, my sister's name flashing like a warning light. Of course, she was calling. The pack gossip mill worked faster than fiber optics. (By that I mean Janet)
I answered, putting it on speaker. "Amber, how are you?"
"Don't 'Amber' me," her voice crackled, sharp with barely-contained fury. "I saw the pictures. Janet has been contained, but what the hell is going on? You were supposed to be keeping that orphan away from yourself and my fiancé!"
I sighed, realizing that she hasn't changed and may never. "Amber, it's not like that. I know what I'm doing, Lydia has lost her memories, she's not a threat."
"Lost her memory?" she laughed, a brittle, nasty sound. "I've heard that, but now that I think about it, what if she's lying? Pathetic, just like her dead parents."
A hot bolt of anger shot through me. "Careful, sister. This has nothing to do with her parents." The Alpha tone bled into my voice, involuntarily.
She paused, hearing it. When she spoke again, it was colder, but more gentle. "Fine, we need to talk. Not over the phone. Meet me at the usual spot, in let's say one hour." It wasn't a request.
"Amber, I have-"
"One hour, Justin. Or I go to Father about this. Imagine how he'll react to you installing your little project in the family." She threatened.
The line went dead. I slammed my palm against the steering wheel. She had me, and she knew it. If our father finds out about Lydia from Amber, it will be a major disaster.
—
The ‘’usual spot’ was a secluded maze by the lake near one of my private estates. When I got there, Amber was already present, pacing like a caged tigress.
"You're late," she snapped, her foot tapping the floor.
"I'm here, sister." I leaned against a pillar, crossing my arms. "So talk."
She whirled on me. "What is your plan, exactly? I think father is planning on giving our inheritance to someone else, but you don't seem bothered, if anything, you look free, and you're spending your precious time chasing after a girl."
"She's not just some girl, Amber." The words were out before I could stop them. "She's my mate, and I'm sure you have verified this."
The silence that followed my sentence was chilling. The anger drained from Amber's face, replaced by stunned, icy comprehension. "So what? Mate and fate are no longer important." She paused, staring at me. "Does she now know?"
"No. And you're not going to tell her either." I pushed off the pillar, my voice dropping to a low warning. "This changes nothing about your engagement. In fact, I think you should be happy, because this means my interest in her is… biological. Necessary. It keeps her away from Harridan. You get what you want. Everybody wins, right?"
A cruel smile slowly spread across her lips. "Oh, I see. So this is a containment strategy. You satisfy the mate pull by having her, and Harridan is left out in the cold." She tilted her head. "But that's not all, is it? You look at her like she's water in a desert. This isn't just duty, brother. You're madly in love with the charity case."
I refused to flinch. "What I feel is irrelevant. The situation is what it is. But I have information. About Harridan."
Her eyes sharpened. "What information?”
I smiled, liking how I'm in charge. “What do I get in return?”
Amber furrowed her brows. “What do you want?”
I smirked. "Harridan is not over Lydia, and I doubt he ever will be." I shook my head. "You know when you said that he's in love with you, for a moment, I hoped it was real."
Amber scowled, I knew what she wanted to say, so I beat her to it.
"Lydia is not a problem. She's-"
"She's the problem!" Amber hissed, turning back to me. "She was a problem when we were kids, she's a problem now. By wanting her as your mate, you've made her our family's problem."