227
Anything I might have said to explain myself died in my throat. My eyes burrowed into Luke as Mara’s words echoed. Alpha Black.
“She told you that, did she?” Oswald glared at me. “Apparently, the girl just can’t let it go. Now she’s slinking around trying to convince you—the Alpha of the Silent Shadows Pack—that she’s still the Alpha Female! Don’t you see why I couldn’t have somebody so deceitful by my side?”
“How terribly underhanded,” Mara contributed, her voice fragile with disappointment in me.
“It started with her making horrible comments at Mara, threatening her life, putting her hands on her! Now she tarnishes the reputation of Grey Creek Pack by spreading lies! I’m sorry you had to see this, Lucas. I’ve been trying to do damage control, but she’s just spiralling.”
At the mention of all the crimes I’d committed against Mara, her eyes glistened with oncoming tears. The sight ignited a small fire in my chest, knowing that they were all lies, but Oswald only heard what he wanted to hear. He reached out a comforting hand to Mara’s arm, and she pressed closer to Oswald as if hiding from me. My inner fire crackled, but there was nothing I could do. I felt hopeless—trapped.
“I apologize for the thoughts she might have put in your head, but she in no way represents the ideals of the Grey Creek Pack,” continued Oswald. “I’ve already banished her from the Lodge and stripped her of her rank. This Omega shouldn’t even be standing before us in my office.”
Every word Oswald said made me feel smaller and smaller. I lost the strength to look at anyone and just stared at the ground in humiliation. This man beside me wasn’t just some IT technician who’d gifted me prey out of the goodness of his heart. This was the Silent Shadows Alpha. This was Lucas Black, the wolf at the top of the totem pole, leader of not just his pack but also the subsidiary packs! This entire time, it was Lucas Black who invited me to run with him, who fought beside me, who watched over me last night!
How could I not have known? I felt so stupid that I wanted to fall apart.
“Even now, she’s putting on a show, trying to twist our feelings. Don’t pay any attention to her. That’s just what she wants.”
It didn’t help that Oswald was enjoying his verbal assault of me, slicing me open with the claws of his words, destroying the image I tried to present of myself to Luke—no, Lucas. The truth was laid bare, and it was even worse than I could have imagined.
“Enough!” said Lucas.
His voice surged with anger that I knew would be directed at me. I had lied to him. He’d sunk to the level of fighting alongside an Omega. I’d embarrassed him by accepting his kindness, and now he was going to turn on me, just like Oswald.
Lucas growled and then he stepped in front of me.
“Your heartlessness appalls me, Oswald. You’ve thrown aside an exceptionally talented Alpha Female who excelled in her training for this… this stranger?” Lucas gestured at Mara, unaffected by her wide-eyed innocence. “How could you be so irresponsible?”
I stared at Lucas, stunned.
Was he actually defending me?