Chapter 34 Tension
Chapter 34
Lira
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my expression blank to conceal my panic.
Oh My God. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I had dreaded this day for so long, but I never imagined it would terrify me like this, so much that it felt as if all the blood in my body had drained in an instant
Rowan narrowed his eyes at me; his face scowled in disgust. I was pretty sure he looked at his turd with more love than he would ever look at me.
Damn! The moon goddess sure does know how to punish me.
“Don’t try to act coy with me. I heard of your latest plot.” He crossed his arms on his chest as he gave me a once over.
He grabbed my arm. The flesh around his fingers pulsed with pain, and I yanked his hand off. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I don’t think father punished you properly. You’re meant to be weak and unable to walk.”
My knees are currently weak cause of his punishment.
“That is none of your business. And If I really deserved punishment, why was I standing here in front of you, perfectly okay? You’re the one who deserves to be punished for your idiotic display.”
“I didn’t think you were that disgusting. How could you stoop as low as trying to seduce Beta Daniel?”
I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “Who told you I gave a fuck about what you thought about me?”
He looked taken aback, and like every other time, he reacted with anger.
“You are so uncultured. You disgust me.”
“That’s big coming from you. Tell me,” I muttered and took a small step closer to him. “What have you ever done for this pack or me that would ever make me consider you worthy of judging me?”
“Fucking bitch! You’re just bitter that I rejected you.”
I didn’t let him have his moment. I continued talking, grateful that I was able to shower before leaving Kael’s office. If not, Rowan would’ve already put two and two together already.
“For someone who rejected me, you sure seem so obsessed with me. Why won’t you just leave me alone and ignore my existence like you would do to something you actually hated and didn’t give a fuck about?”
He opened his mouth to retort, but I cut him off before he got the chance to let the words tumble out. “Before you tell me how I can and can’t talk to you, I suggest you get a life. Leave. Me. Alone. Rowan!”
I didn't wait for his response. I turned on my heel and walked away, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest. I could feel his eyes burning into my back, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of looking back.
When I finally reached my room, I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, letting out a shaky breath. My hands were trembling, and I pressed them against my face, trying to calm down.
I barely said a word to anyone for the rest of the day. Not my mum, not the pack members who always tried to get a laugh out of me, and definitely not the servants, who usually rambled on about things I couldn’t care less about.
I skipped dinner. It wasn’t because I wasn’t hungry, I was starving. I just couldn’t stand the idea of sitting there, pretending everything was fine. Pretending Rowan’s words hadn’t cut straight through me.
So I locked myself in my room and stared out the window. The weather looked calm, but inside, I was a mess. My hands shook, so I curled them into fists, trying to hide it from myself. My stomach was knotted, and I cursed Rowan under my breath. He thought he had all this control over me, thought his words mattered more than they did. He didn’t get it. I’ve learned how to hide what I feel. I’ve learned how to outlast him.
I couldn’t sleep that night. Tension sat heavy in my muscles, my jaw ached from clenching it, and when dawn finally crept in through the curtains, I just got up. There wasn’t really another option.
Breakfast was a blur. I ate fast, barely tasting anything, just going through the motions. The servants moved around like always. Mum and Alpha Kael kept laughing and making jokes, filling the room with their noise. I blocked it all out and stared at my plate, pretending that little patch of food was the only thing that mattered.
I couldn’t stay cooped up inside forever. I needed air. Space. A few minutes just to stop thinking about Rowan and his nonsense. So I went outside. The breeze messed up my hair, cold and sharp, and for a moment, I let myself forget about yesterday.
I stuck to the main paths at first. Walked past a couple of people I knew. Didn’t stop, just nodded, managed a quick smile, and kept moving. The grass was covered in dew, the sun making it sparkle everywhere I looked. It should’ve felt peaceful, almost did, actually, but not quite.
Somehow, I kept walking. One foot, then the other, until I’d wandered way farther than I planned. The pack’s voices faded out behind me. Now it was just the trees and that weird, heavy silence you only get when you’re really alone. I stopped. Uneasy, a little on edge. But I told myself I was fine. I could deal with being alone. I’d handled worse.
I held it together, right up until I heard a twig snap. Not the accidental kind. Deliberate. I froze. My heart hammered in my chest. Another sound, shuffling bodies, close, hidden just out of sight.
My heart wouldn’t slow down, and my stomach was a mess. For a second, I couldn’t remember how to move, but I forced myself to step back and scan the trees. They were circling, snarling low, eyes shining mean in the shadows.
“Stay back!” I shouted. My voice broke, but I tried to sound tough anyway. My hands shook like crazy, but I raised them, hoping I looked braver than I felt.
Their laughter cut through the air, their gazes were fixed on me. Every move they made felt deliberate, like they were hunting me for sport. I was boxed in, chest tight, panic crawling up inside me until it felt like I could barely breathe. My mind scrambled for any sort of escape plan, but I drew a blank. Outnumbered, outclassed, and totally exposed.
Then, out of nowhere, one of them charged. I dodged at the last second, nearly falling over myself, heart hammering so hard I was sure they could hear it. Every part of me screamed, Run! Get out! But the forest pressed in behind me, thick and impossible, and the pack blocked every other way out.
And that’s when I saw him. I almost doubted my vision.
Alpha Kael.
He just appeared, almost too fast to track, a sudden blur in the chaos. I stared in shock, breath caught, as he stepped right between me and the rogues. It wasn’t just that he showed up. It was the rage pouring off him. He wasn’t just mad or trying to protect me. He was furious, and seeing that kind of anger up close, well, it was honestly very terrifying.