Chapter 170

Chapter 170
Renee's POV

I'm engaged. To the Alpha Prince. I mean, soon to be Alpha King.
It feels so surreal.

We made sure to keep the news to ourselves until Sasha settled everything with Lily and Bryan.
So maybe it wasn't exactly the best period to propose but for us, it was the perfect time.
And that was all that mattered.

She managed to get through to Lily. Typical Sasha and she managed to cunningly drive answers out of Bryan. Turns out older sisters do have their ways.

It wasn't until after that, that we broke the news to her.
She was beyond joyous and she quite literally screamed about how pumped she was to be a grandma.
It was such a funny sight.

Now, I was presently waiting for Emma in the oddly quiet clinic cafeteria. I decided I had avoided her enough and I decided to just tell her the truth, before breaking the news of our engagement to her. Alex mentioned that he was going to tell Dylan too.

Nobody knew that he was going to propose to me, he didn't tell anyone.
He said he had a whole grand thing planned out but I just looked so perfect in that moment that he couldn't just lose the opportunity.
I told him it was perfect. Because it was.
But I could tell he still felt uneasy about it. Like he didn't do enough.

I fiddled with the sparkly diamond on my finger beneath the table. It was beyond stunning. If I didn't know before, I knew now that Alex had an amazing eye for jewellery. I absolutely loved the ring. It was so perfect.

“Hey stranger” Emma's voice cut through my thoughts and I immediately tucked my hand further beneath the table.

“Emma, hey!” I said with a bright smile as she slid into the seat opposite me.

“Fancy seeing you so easily” she said and I winced.

“I'm sorry. I've been avoiding you…” I apologized, guilt gnawing at me.

“Yeah I know, but the question is why?” She asked and I sighed.
How was she even supposed to process this?
I bit my bottom lip as I thought about how to safely tell her I have powers, without freaking her out.

“Is this about your superpowers?” She asked casually and my eyes widened in shock.

“Uhhh… huh?” That was all I could get out.

“I guess that's what it's about. You were avoiding me because I saw you display your powers? Girl, I was definitely shocked but no way you can get rid of me. Especially now that I know you have powers.” She explained and I stared at her blankly.

“I'm…” I genuinely didn't know what to say.

“Look, I get it. It's okay. You had your reasons for not wanting me to know and you're clearly hesitating, so don't force yourself to talk about it unless you're ready” she said and I sighed in defeat.

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have avoided you. I just didn't know how to handle it. How did you manage to accept it so easily?” I asked and she shrugged.

“I'm the type that believes what I see. It happened and it wasn't a dream. It's real. Definitely shocking but still real. If I wasn't sure before, I was when you healed way too fast.” She explained.

I nodded slowly, processing what she said.
“You're right. I do have powers and I'd rather not explain further right now but I need you to know that it's a secret. The only people that know about it are Alex, Dylan, Sasha and now… you. No one else can know. Our existence depends on it. When the time comes, you'll understand it all, I promise.”

“Wait. Dylan knows?!” she exclaimed.

I winced.
Uh oh.

“Well, yes… but, he knew way before he met you and I asked him to keep it a secret. He probably didn't tell you because of that” I tried to reason with her.

She huffed. Damn, Dylan's got himself a feisty one. I love it.

“So… you're not mad at me?” I asked and she burst into a wide smile.

“What?! Absolutely not. I'm just happy to have a superhero friend” she said and I smiled warmly.

Friend…
Yes, that's what we were.
It made me feel warm all over.
It reminded me of Cara but for the first time in a while, the thought of her didn't turn my mood sour.

I sighed in relief.
“Great!”

I cleared my throat before I continued.
“So, erm… there's something I have to tell you”

She leaned forward, urging me to continue.

I placed my hands on the table and leaned forward too.

Her eyes immediately darted there and I flexed the finger.

Her eyes widened in shock as she slapped her hand over her mouth, muffling a scream.

“Goddess, that's absolutely brilliant” she said, as she grabbed my hand, assessing the ring.

“I can't believe you're officially engaged!” She exclaimed.

“Me too!” I exclaimed and we giggled like little girls.

“Alex did his thing with this gem” she said, staring at the ring in awe.

I blushed.

“Congratulations. I'm so happy for you” she said, with the warmest gaze and I smiled.

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely glad to see how happy she was for me.

We talked some more about random stuff, and it really made me feel like I had a friend.
A part of me was definitely frightened. What if it went all wrong again?
But I pushed my fears aside.
I wouldn't know unless I tried.

As I made my way back to the quarters, I thought of Cara and Bryan.

The riddle had been solved, thanks to Sasha.
Almost as soon as she got back, she met with Bryan and managed to fish answers out of him.

It was sickening listening to the recording as a third party. I couldn't imagine how she must have felt. How she must be feeling… Her own brother has hurt so many people. Her own blood.

I could see past her facade when she came back to us after meeting with him. I knew she was hurting so bad and I knew Alex was so torn too.

She insisted on being the one to talk to Lily and we let her.
I tried talking to Alex after she left but he didn't want to talk about it.

The whole thing was just so sad.

Sasha came out with Lily, their eyes red and swollen, showing they had both been crying.

Cara hugged me and apologized for everything and she did the same with Alex.
It was a very emotional moment for all of us but we got through it.

A semblance of peace, or the beginning of peace at least, settled with us.

“Ren!” I heard my name as I approached the entrance to the quarters.

I turned to see a grinning Dylan as he made his way to me.

“Dylan, hey-” I got cut off mid sentence as he wrapped me in a hug.

I laughed, clearly surprised.

“What's going-” I started to ask as we pulled apart but got cut off again as he grabbed my hand.

“Goddess, it's true!” He exclaimed, staring at my ring.

I smiled brightly as I realized what was happening. Oh, he heard. Alex must have told him.

“Seriously, just when I think he's slow and infuriating, he goes and does the best thing ever” Dylan said, clearly referring to Alex.

I swatted his arm.
“Hey! Don't talk about my fiancé like that” I said, with a playful pout.

He looked at me, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Did you just- no you didn't!”

I flipped my hair, flexing my ring in the process.

“I so did” I said, a playful smile on my lips.

“Damn, so that's how it is” he said and I laughed.

“Just get into acting already” I said and he laughed too.

“I know! I'm amazing” he said and I shook my head.

“But hey, seriously, congratulations Ren. I'm so happy for you guys. It's so refreshing to see” he said, with a warm smile and I responded with a smile of my own.

“Thank you Dylan. For everything” I said and he rolled his eyes.

I looked around when I noticed Alex was nowhere to be found.

“Where's Alex?” I asked and Dylan's eyes widened, like something suddenly dawned on him.

“Oh!” He exclaimed and I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

“I left him at my place” he said and I blinked in confusion.

“Huh?”

“When he told me he proposed to you, I just left and drove straight here” he explained and my mouth opened in shock.

“Goddess, Dylan, you're so unhinged! He must be so confused” I said, as I burst out laughing.

Just then, my phone rang. Alex. Of course.

“Speak of the devil” I said as I picked the call.

“Heyyyy” I spoke first.

“Hey baby. Is Dylan there?” he asked and I laughed.

“Yes, he is” I said as I looked at Dylan, who just shrugged in response.

“That crazy fu-” he cussed under his breath.

I laughed again.

“I'll be there soon” he said and I hummed in response before cutting the call.

“Great! He's gonna go crazy now” Dylan groaned and at this point, I was almost dying of laughter.

I was genuinely happy, for the first time in a very long time. My problems just drastically reduced.
And I was so grateful to the moon goddess for the people that surrounded me.