chapter 123
Tori's POV:
The drive back to Lucas's private residence was quiet.
As Lucas had said, the house was empty when I arrived. After wandering through the silent rooms for a few minutes, I decided to take a long shower, hoping the warm water would help clear my tiredness.
Wrapped in a fluffy towel, my damp hair cascading down my shoulders, I had just stepped out of the bathroom when my phone rang suddenly, shattering the tranquility.
I froze when I saw the caller ID: Grandmother Eileen.
What could she want at this hour? My mind raced through possibilities—was this about Hannah? No, that couldn't be it. Hannah had been released yesterday.
Perhaps she just wanted to check on me after everything that had happened.
Taking a deep breath, I answered the call.
"Hello, Grandmother," I said cautiously.
"Is it true?" Her voice trembled with an emotion I couldn't immediately identify. "Tori, how could you? After everything..."
"Grandmother?" My stomach twisted with anxiety. "What's wrong?"
"You've been temporarily marked by Alpha Lucas?" Each word was strained, as if forcing its way past her lips.
My hand instinctively flew to my neck, where Lucas's mark remained. "How did you—"
"The entire community has seen the photographs!" Her voice rose sharply, edged with both anger and humiliation. "You and him... embracing, kissing... his mouth on your neck! The mark was clearly visible!"
I felt the blood drain from my face. Photographs? Of Lucas and me?
"Everyone is talking about it," she continued, her breathing becoming increasingly labored. "How an Omega girl who killed a male and was imprisoned is now... now seducing the First Alpha! Moving from the nephew to the uncle? Didn't you listen to my warning last time? How could you have so little self-respect—"
Her words dissolved into harsh, wheezing coughs.
"Grandmother!" I gripped the phone tighter, panic rising. "Are you okay? Please calm down."
More coughing, then shuffling sounds came through the line.
"Tori? It's Janet." My aunt's worried voice replaced my grandmother's. "Let your grandmother calm down for a moment. She's getting too worked up over this."."
"What the hell happened?" I asked urgently.
"Someone sent photos of you and Lucas Grayson to the entire community," Janet explained, her voice tight with stress. "Anonymous packages appeared at everyone's door this morning. Your grandmother opened hers while chatting with neighbors... everyone saw them."
I closed my eyes, imagining the scene—the whispers, the shocked expressions, my elderly grandmother's mortification.
"The photos show you with a temporary mark," Janet continued. "People are saying horrible things—that you've moved from Ethan Grayson to his uncle, that you're using your body to climb the pack hierarchy."
"Some are even saying this explains why you've been looking down on Andrew—that you were setting your sights on bigger game all along.
She sighed softly. "I know you're not that kind of person, Tori. But you know how vicious people's gossip can be. Your grandmother is just upset and speaking from emotion right now. Please don't take her harsh words to heart—she loves you very much."
"Thank you, Aunt Janet," I said, my throat tight with emotion. "That means a lot to me. Please take good care of her. "
"I'll. Just give her some time to process this. " Janet replied. "These things have a way of blowing over eventually."
As soon as the call ended, I threw my phone onto the bed, my hands clenched into fists.
This was no coincidence. The timing, the targeted delivery to my grandmother's community—this had Hannah written all over it. Fresh out of jail and already plotting her revenge.
I wiped away the angry tears that had formed at the corners of my eyes, my grief quickly crystallizing into cold fury.
With deliberate movements, I picked up my phone again and punched in Hannah's number.
The line connected almost immediately.
"Well, if it isn't my dear daughter," Hannah answered, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
"Cut the act," I said coldly. "I know what you did."
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she replied, but I could hear the satisfaction in her voice.
"The photographs, Hannah. Delivered to my grandmother's community." My voice remained steady despite the rage pulsing through me. "Only you would know my grandmother's address. Only you have this level of hatred toward me."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.
"So what if I did?" Hannah finally said, dropping all pretense. "You deserved it. Did your precious grandmother enjoy seeing what kind of girl she raised? An Omega whore who jumps from one Grayson to another?"
"I bet your grandmother is absolutely mortified. She's always been so concerned with appearances and reputation. I'm sure the whispers throughout her entire community are just eating her alive right now."
Her words were like venom, meant to wound deeply.
"How dare you?" I hissed. "Eileen is your mother too. How could you deliberately hurt her like this?"
Hannah's laugh was cold and brittle. "Mother? A real mother doesn't send her own daughter to prison. "
"You're disgusting."
"Am I? You're the one who got caught with the Alpha's mark. Don't tell me you're ashamed now? I didn't spread any rumors, Tori. I just shared some interesting photographs. If you're bold enough to let an Alpha mark you, you should be bold enough to own the consequences."
I took a deep breath, forcing the rage down into a cold.
"You think this hurts me?" I asked. "You've only proven to everyone that the First Alpha has chosen me. But I wonder what Alpha Lucas will think when he discovers someone distributed private photographs of him without consent."
A momentary silence followed.
I ended the call before she spoke again, hands shaking with repressed anger.
For a moment, I considered calling Lucas, but decided against it. This was my battle to fight.
Lucas already had enough on his plate every day as First Alpha. I didn't want to burden him with more problems. But that didn't mean I was going to let Hannah get away with this so easily.
I scrolled through my contacts and paused, my thumb hovering over a particular name. After a moment's hesitation, I typed out a brief message and hit send.
"You pushed me to this, Hannah," I muttered under my breath, setting my phone down with grim satisfaction.