Chapter 226 Some Bets Were Worth Losing

Chapter 226 Some Bets Were Worth Losing
Lya's POV

Five weeks had passed since the takeover. Five weeks since the night everything changed. Five weeks of rebuilding, restructuring, and most importantly, healing.

I stood in the doorway of the Alpha suite, our suite now, watching as the last of Richard and Isabella's personal items were packed into boxes. Their belongings would be moved to separate storage rooms.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Damian asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I leaned back against his chest, drawing comfort from his solid presence. "Yes. It needs to be done."

The transition of power had been swift but thorough. Within days of the takeover, Damian and I had moved into the Alpha suite. My parents' and Airina's things had been packed up as well, clearing space for Jason and Alice to move into what was once the Beta residence.

All photos and mementos of Airina had been removed and repurposed. The garden that Victoria had once named after Airina had been renamed the "Staff Recreation Area" and fitted with additional tables and benches. Similar changes had rippled throughout the pack.

"The trials are going well," I said, turning in Damian's arms to face him. "Victoria's was first."

I'd recused myself from any decisions regarding Victoria's punishment, given my position as both her foster daughter and victim. I couldn't be objective, nor did I want to be. Damian had attended in my place.

"The council recommended she spend the rest of her life in the dungeons with no possibility of parole," Damian said. "They also recommended releasing her wolf."

I nodded. "I'll perform the release ceremony after all the trials are complete." The thought made me sad, not for Victoria, but for her wolf. No wolf deserved to be trapped with such a corrupt human half.

"All the money she hid has been confiscated," Damian continued. "Once we establish criteria, it will be distributed as restitution to her victims."

His parents' trial would begin early next week. Airina's the week after that.

Since the takeover, Airina had written me a letter every day, begging to see me. I'd refused them all.

Cassandra thought I was crazy. "You've disappointed me," she'd told me last week. "I was expecting epic showdowns between you and Airina, you and Sophia, you and Victoria. Instead, you're just... nothing."

Alice had convinced her to back off a little. She understood better than most.

The truth was, I'd spent too many years living in Airina's shadow. Everything about Airina had become the focal point of my life: her beauty; her happiness; her rage; her pain; her supposed "death." My indifference toward her now made me feel stronger than I'd ever felt before. Confronting her no longer mattered.

Seeing her at the council meeting—frantic, shocked, pointing fingers at Victoria and the others, refusing to accept responsibility for anything she'd done—had eliminated any last desire I had to confront her.

Sophia and she were like puppets whose strings had been cut; now that the strings were severed, they were just pathetic, pitiful messes.

I still wanted Airina punished. I needed to ensure she couldn't hurt anyone else. But this meant Airina no longer mattered to me.

In my eyes, Airina had fallen from sainthood to nothingness. The ultimate demotion.

That night of the takeover had represented the end of my first story and the beginning of my next one.

"We still have unfinished business," Damian said, pulling me from my thoughts. "Sophia's baby. Airina's baby. Your father. Eva."

"I know." I sighed. "But tonight, we celebrate. We've earned a break from the drama."

Tonight was Damian's birthday, as well as Bryan and Cassandra's pre-wedding party. Tomorrow, they would fly to the Forever Night Islands for their wedding, with a small group of us joining them.

"You're right," Damian said, kissing my forehead. "Tonight, we celebrate."

---

Damian's POV

I leaned against the bar with Jason and Bryan, watching our mates dance in the middle of the floor. Lya, Alice, and Cassandra moved together, laughing and twirling each other around.

"Ten bucks says you crack first," Jason said, nudging me.

"Twenty says it's you," I replied, not taking my eyes off Lya. The way her body moved to the music was hypnotic.

"You're both wrong," Bryan said smugly. "I'll outlast both of you."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. You can barely keep your hands off Cassandra for five minutes."

"Look who's talking," Bryan shot back.

I couldn't argue with that. It was still surreal how much had changed. I actually liked Bryan now... most of the time. Though it still annoyed me how he constantly flirted with Lya.

Watching the three women together, their friendship obvious in every laugh and shared glance, filled me with contentment. Lya needed this—sisters of her choosing, not the one forced upon her by circumstance.

"So why the rush to get married tomorrow?" Jason asked Bryan.

Bryan shrugged. "Because Cassandra won't sleep with me again until after we're married." At our incredulous looks, he elaborated. "I said something stupid, she's punishing me, I got tired of being punished, so I called her bluff. Told her we could fly to Hawaii right after your birthday party and get married. She said yes."

I laughed. "I don't know, man. I agree with Jason on this one. Since Lya and I first... you know... if she goes 24 hours without, I consider myself lucky. She couldn't possibly last six weeks." I caught Bryan's universal "shut up" gesture too late.

"When are you going to marry Lya?" Jason asked.

I smiled mysteriously. "Funny you should ask that, because I got myself a little birthday present." I discreetly pulled a small ring box from my pocket. "The ring is for Lya. If she says yes, that will be my birthday gift."

"Oh, she'll say yes," Jason said confidently. "She looks at you the way Alice looks at me."

"How's Noah doing?" Bryan asked, changing the subject.

"He texted me this morning to wish me happy birthday. I asked how he was, and he said he'd found where Caroline is and was heading there now. He sounded hopeful."

I watched as Lya looked over at me, her eyes lighting up when they met mine. She bit her lip and gave me a small, private smile that sent heat rushing through my body.

"I lose," I said, slapping a fifty on the bar and heading toward Lya.

Some bets were worth losing.