33

DAISY

I headed out of the castle and headed to the main gate. My walk was slow and I was feeling nostalgic, taking in every bit of the environment and convincing myself once again that I'll be fine and I wouldn't feel homesick when I get to Spain.

It wasn't the first time I left the pack. I mean, I've been away for almost three months and I survived it. But I wasn't alone, I had Lily and I had Suzy with me. And back then, I wasn't a rejected mate. I was just a victim of unrequited love. Also, it was a short time. Not like now that it feels like I'm gonna be away for a long time. And I was alone, just me and the luggage of pain that was weighing my heart down.

I didn't wanna act weak and scared in front of Father, but I am. I do hope something good comes out of this and I get better someday.

“Goddess!“ I yelped in fright as firm, tiny hands suddenly hugged me, stopping me dead in my tracks.

“I'm gonna miss you so much, Daisy,” It was Dave. My little Dave. I've been avoiding seeing him and his Grandma today. What was the point? They'll only make it harder for me to leave. Like right now.

”Dave,“ I was already teary-eyed, as I carefully untangled his hands from around my waist. His small eyes were puffy like he'd been doing a great deal of crying.

“Were you gonna leave without saying goodbye?“ He asked, with a childlike anger that melted my heart. His Londonian accent surfaced like it always does when he gets upset.

“I'm sorry, Dave. I suck at saying goodbyes. I'm just gonna cry and hold on tight to you guys,“

“Still, leaving this way isn't right,” Ma'am Daphne sighed as she joined us. ”Dave was waiting for you to come over and say your last goodbyes,“

I squatted to his level and ruffled his curly, blond hair. He was such a cute, little thing and I can only imagine how girls are gonna fawn over him when he comes of age.

“I'm sorry, love. I was just too weak and scared. I don't wanna leave you, but I have to. Saying goodbyes to you will only make me cry a lot, and you know how much of a crybaby I am,“

“You shouldn't cry. Grandma said you are going to a very beautiful place and I'm happy for you. I was just really sad that you didn't wanna say goodbye,“

“I'm sorry, please forgive me. Come here,“ I engulfed his little body into a tight hug and he relaxed his head on my shoulder, soothing my back with his tiny hands. “Try to stay out of trouble, alright?“

“Okay. And Daisy, don't forget me. I'll always pray to the moon goddess to keep you safe. Just don't forget me, okay?“

“I won't.“ We broke the hug and he stuck out his pinky finger at me. I linked mine with his and he giggled.

“Take care of yourself, Daisy,“ Ma'am Daphne said and I stood erect, holding Dave's hand. “I know this sudden arrangement to go study abroad has to do with your fight with Suzy,”

So she found out about my fight with Suzy but she doesn't know about the rejection. Father is determined in keeping it a secret. To every wolf of Silver Pack, Logan was yet to find his mate. Almost no one knows that he already did and I'm that unlucky she-wolf.

“How did you find out about my fight with Suzy?” I asked, wanting to be sure just how much she knows about everything that has happened back at Lawrence High and on the night of the mate-ball.

“I confronted Suzy the night of the mate ball and she told me she wasn't on speaking terms with you. I don't understand what could be the problem that you girls won't just talk it over. Do you really have to leave?“

If it only had to do with my fight with Suzy, then I wouldn't have to leave. I'll stay here and keep trying to win back her love for me and her forgiveness too. But it was beyond that, I just went through the most despicable fate any wolf should go through. There's no way I can stick around much longer, or I'll be risking my life and that of Lily's.

”I'm sorry, Ma'am Daphne, but this is the best thing for everyone. I'm sorry,“

“Daisy,“ She cupped my face, flashing me a warm smile. “I know there are a lot of things you not telling me and I'm not gonna force you to. But I'll keep hoping for the day when you can tell me about it all. I'll always be here to listen, no matter how long it takes.“

It was another crying section for me and the three of us did a family hug. We said another round of goodbyes and hugged again before I could bring myself to head out of the main gate.

Beta Xariel was standing next to a car, and when I stepped out, he took that as his cue to open the door of the car he was standing next to.

When I came to get into the car, he pulled me back softly by the arm and shut the car door. My brows creased in confusion.

“I'm sorry, but you can't leave yet," He said, rather apologetically and kinda distracted.

“Why not?“

“There's someone who wants to speak with you. Oh, there he is,“ His smile widened in relief as a white, sports car pulled up to the curb.

I waited to see who it was and in a few seconds, Charles alighted from the car. I blinked repeatedly, hoping I wasn't just delusional. But I wasn't. It was him. What was he doing here? New Orleans is a thousand miles away.

He looked classy, dressed in his baggy, white top, ripped jeans at the knees, and cool white sneakers to go with his attire. He has never been one big on piercings but his ears glistened from the earrings he rocked. A typical four-horsemen attire. He sure reps the club well.

He hurried to where I was, and gave a curt nod to his Father, “Thanks, Dad," He said to him, and turned to me.

“What are you doing here?“ I asked brashly, folding my arms around my chest.

“Can we talk for a minute?“ He began, and I was very much taken aback by the politeness and the calmness in his tone. I never knew he had that soft side of him. Although he's shown me on-and-off sympathy, never has he spoken to me in such a soliciting manner.

Seeing him and hearing his voice sparked up the angst that had been etched in my heart from what they did to me. I was forced down memory lane, remembering the last time in Lawrence High, when I heard them making fun of me and talking about the video.

“Did you have fun watching my sex video with Logan?“ I blurted out with a sudden gut. “I'm sure you got stubborn boners from watching it, after all, you guys said it was lit.“

Beta Xariel choked on his saliva and immediately went into a series of coughs. It seemed my sudden rawness threw him off balance. I was shocked myself, never knew I could be this raw. Seeing Charles was just sparking up a lot of things, even attitudes I never had.

“I better leave you two alone to talk,“ Xariel said, amidst the coughing, and headed back into the gate.

”I understand you mad at me. Hell, you got every right to be. But if you could only hear me out for a minute. I badly need to talk to you,“

”If you here to make excuses for what Logan did to me, then you better get going. I don't wanna hear it,“

“Nah. Fuck that. I'm not here for that jerk. I just wanna clear up a few things with you,“ I said no words, and he continued, “You know, as our future Luna, you gotta be a little merciful and cut me some slack, please,“

I didn't wanna give in to his request but his approach watered down my resolve and I found myself nodding in agreement. His face lightened at my approval.

“I'm sure you know I got rejected by Logan,“ I reminded him, so he doesn't go ahead with the 'future luna' line.

”I do know that. But I also know that you didn't accept the rejection and you never will,“

”What makes you so sure about that?“ I retorted, somewhat irritated by his confidence. Saying it the way he did made it seem like I was the weaker person and I gotta hold on to the broken mate-bond because I can't survive a rejection. It kinda struck hard at my ego.

“The fate of this pack rests on your mate-bond with Logan. If you accept the rejection, we are doomed,“

“What's that supposed to mean?”

”I'm not sure either, that's all I know about it,” An awkward silence sprung up between us, ”You wanna take a walk with me?” He broke the silence, gesturing at the road ahead.

I hesitated, not wanting to give in to all his requests. I was still very much mad at him and indulging him repeatedly would only make him disregard my anger.

“Please,“ He cooed, “You leaving today and if I don't get to talk to you, I'm gonna feel like shit the rest of my life. Please, Daisy. I'm sorry for all those times I called you nasty names. Daisy is a pretty ass name, and I'm sorry it took me this long to tell you that,“

I was so overwhelmed by his words that I didn't realize I was crying again until I felt the wetness on my cheeks. I quickly wiped them off, suddenly irritated by my tears. Father was right. I should quit being wimpy and such a crybaby, it's no longer in trend.

His beseeching blue eyes were still on me and I gave in, against my better judgment. He smiled and we began taking the walk.

We walked for a while in silence, neither of us saying a word. But then I remembered and turned to him, “Did you really tell Father that I was gonna be Logan's mate?”

If he found it weird that I was referring to Alpha Victor as Father, he didn't show it. His poker face concealed whatever might be going on in his mind right now.

“Yes, I did,“

“So it's true, then. You really can see the future,“

“Yes, it's my gift. I was born with it. But then, what I saw about you and Logan were vague, blur flashes, not like the vivid visions I usually get,”

“Why was it vague?”

”Because our powers don't work outside the pack and I wasn't supposed to be seeing anything at all. But I kept having those flashes, and I knew I had to seek help. So I told my father about them, I had to know if my power might have been working outside the pack. But the only explanations I got for it all was that my powers might be going through a glitch and I shouldn't be concerned about what I saw,“

“But you were concerned, and that's why you became nice to me?“

He scrunched his face and writhed slightly like my words had struck a nerve.

“If I had been nice to you, I wouldn't be feeling this much guilt. I just merely defended you on some occasions. I couldn't explain it to Logan, as I didn't understand it myself. I just knew there might be something between you two and tried to stop him from hurting you,”

“You know, Charles, if your intentions were as innocent as you say, then why did you make a bet with Logan?” Down my tears went again. It's gonna take a long while for me to talk about this incident without tearing up.

”No, it's not what you think. Logan wanted to have you by force, like what he tried doing to you at Henry's party. Fighting him off that night and every other night he tried coming into your room wasn't doing the trick. It only made him think I wanted to take a shot at you,“

“Why didn't you just tell him about your visions?“

“My Father said I was having a glitch. He never told me that they confirmed it to be true, so I couldn't tell Logan about It. And even if I did, he'll never buy it.“

“So what was the bet?” I was eager to know, but why? To break my heart even more? Still, I needed to know.

”I was gonna give pay him up if he fucks you because you begged for it, not because he forced himself on you. I thought with all the coldness he's shown you, it'll be impossible for you to beg him to fuck you. But Logan loves to win, he'll wager anything, he'll do whatever it takes. And in your case, he manipulated you. All those times he avoided you and made you miss him, that was his strategy to win the bet. I was gonna warn you about it, but it's a bet, and if I did, that'd be cheating. So I just stayed out of the way but hoped you were smarter. But yeah, love fucks us up big-time,”

“What do you know about love?“ I snorted.

“Yeah, you right. I don't know shit about it, I just see what it does to its victims. When I heard your screams of pleasure that night, my heart broke for you. The video was just a tease by Logan, it was never part of the bet.”

”Have you paid him up?“

“Yeah, I have. I'm sorry, Daisy. And about last night, I tried to stop him from coming out to reject you, but he wouldn't listen to me. So I had to inform father and the Alpha king,“

”Who else knows about the rejection?“

“Just me and the guys.”

I nodded. Again, I wiped at my tears, stiffened my back, and looked at him with revamped boldness. “Nothing changes, Charles. You guys made my life a living hell and I can never forget that. I can't forgive it either. You just gonna have to live with the guilt and pray it doesn't kill you.“

He ran his tongue over his lips, ruffled his hair and lowered his gaze to the ground. Then he looked up at me, “I understand. And your friend?”

“What about her?”

”You not gonna say goodbye to her?“

“Suzy hasn't spoken nicely to me ever since she watched the video. So I can't say goodbyes to her even if I wanted to.“

I rummaged through my backpack and took out the neatly, folded paper. I handed it over to him.

”What is this?“

“The Greek genealogy project. The non-fiction remake story of Medusa,”

”Nice. Uh, who was the muse behind the story?”

”Me. Because just like her, I was once innocent and it was taken away from me and toyed with. I don't know what my pains are gonna turn me into, but I perfectly resonate with Medusa's story. Do turn it in for me, send my apologies too for turning it in too late.”

I hung my backpack and with my fingers curled around my clutch, I turned around to head to the car.

“I'm sorry, Daisy. Really am.“

I didn't spare him a glance and just hurried to the car. The chauffeur opened the car door, and Beta Xariel walked out of the gate immediately. He joined me inside the car and we zoomed off. To my new life.