Chapter 8 The Call
1474 Words
Lyra
The event blurred after that—I even forgot how I managed to deal with fake pleasantries, handling the drinks they had given to me as they tried to get close to me for Alpha Zane.
When the car pulled up outside Mira’s apartment, Zane glanced at me once more.
“Tomorrow, nine o’clock sharp. No suppressants.”
I froze and looked at him with widened eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Relax,” he said simply. “I want to see the wolf you keep caged and you know, it’s not good to rely on supressants and always caging your wolf. If you want to work with me, I want you to learn how to breathe properly.”
Do I look like not breathing properly?
“Yes.” As if he read my mind, he answered.
Before I could open my mouth to reason out, he waved his hands. “Goodnight, Miss Vale.”
The door shut softly behind me, leaving me standing under the faint glow of the streetlamp. I held my palm to my face and sighed deeply.
I don’t know if he was playing with me—does he want to tarnish his company for accepting someone with a bad reputation like me?
Ah, I don’t know anymore.
As I went back to the apartment, it happened that Mira had been waiting for me in the living room. Upon seeing me, she put down the book she’s reading and jogged towards me.
“How was the event?”
I smiled at her. “Just so-so. Not bad.”
Mira pouted. “You didn’t enjoy it?”
I just smiled and choose not to answer. Well, I don’t really feel it was bad but it was not good either.
Mira let out a heavy sigh. “By the way, have you found a new apartment to stay? If you still haven’t, you can keep staying here for a week.”
I paused and looked at her who had guilt in those eyes. The corner of my lips raised and hugged her. “Don’t feel bad, I’m really okay and besides, I have a job now so I can’t keep bothering you two. I’ll find an apartment once I’m free.”
Mira took a deep breath and hugged me back. “As much as I wanted you to stay here… you know…”
I nodded. I know that her mate doesn’t want her to get involve with me further, afraid that she might get dragged with me and I understand it. After all, who would want to associate with a branded murderer, a slut who drugged the Alpha to climb her way to become his mate…a disgraced Luna who had been targeted by the Moonfang.
And besides, I don’t want to cause more trouble for them. I’m already grateful that they let me stay for days.
“Enough with this, I’ll go and take a bath now.” I chuckled and patted her back before I let go.
“You won’t eat?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I’ve already eaten.”
~
By the morning, I was already inside of Zane’s office that smelled like coffee. When he gestured to the chair across from his desk.
“Sit,” he said, not looking up from a stack of papers while a cup of coffee was next to him.
I took the chair and folded my hands in my lap. The badge on my blazer still felt foreign to me—a small rectangle that said I belonged to Silvercrest.
“You wanted to see me?” I asked.
He set the file down, the sound was deliberate. When he finally looked up, his eyes were slow. “Do you remember Alpha Renn?”
The name made my jaw tighten. Of course, how could I forget the same man who approached me with clear lustful intentions as if in his eyes, I was an easy woman who would spread her legs to any Alpha.
The thought of it made my stomach churned.
“Yeah, I remembered him.” I calmly answered while supressing the acid in my throat.
Zane’s mouth curved up but his eyes were cold as he folded his hands on the desk. “I’ve hard the news last night that Renn had been found in the alley with broken ribs, missing tooths, and a crushed…well… eggs.”
Realizing the latter he meant with his brows furrowed, clearly feeling the same pain that a fellow men like him do but then shake it off and looked at me with a teasing smile.
“Who do you think did it?”
I was about to say that I didn’t know when he suddenly shook the money on me.
“If you guess correctly, the money will be yours,” he teased, clearly enjoying this.
I stared at him in frustration then to the stack of money in his hands before resigning to fate. I never thought that thre would be one day that I would give in easily because of money.
“The Moonfang?”
“Specific.”
“Kyle.”
The corner of his lips raised. “Correct! You got it right.”
I ignored his teasing and handed my hand. “The prize.”
He chuckled and handed the stack of money which I hurriedly tucked it in my pocket before he would tell me to hand it back to him.
“Not gonna ask why?” I heard him asked.
“No. I’m not curious.”
“But I do,” he smirked and sighed. “Men like him don’t confess things that would shame them.”
I looked at him helplessly . “Why are you telling me this?”
Zane’s gaze softened fractioanally. “Who knows either? Maybe because I saw something interesting—that he’d break lines for you even if he couldn’t show it?”
Those words come out strange, but I didn’t say anything. The past had already happened and there’s no way to fix it. I’m already living my present life now and I don’t want to know his thoughts, what he have done or what.
Besides, I refuse to believe that he did it for me. The same Alpha that always looked down on me—who looked at me with contempt and disgust as if I were worse than a trash.
I just shrugged my shoulder and stood up. “Is there anything else I could do for you, Mr. Zane?”
Zane looked at me in the eyes—as if he was scrutinizing if I still had feelings or hope left for Kyle and when he saw that there was none, the corner of his mouth raised as he waved his hand.
“Just help me pile the stacks of document and arrange to make it easier for me to find.”
After I finished my back, I went back to Mira’s place again. My shoulder’s were heavy and my whole body was drained after spending my time working. Even my waist were sore from sitting for a long time.
As soon as I arrived, Mira greeted me—and it happened that his mate had arrived this time from his business trip.
Upon seeing me, he paused. “You’ve been here for a while, Lyra. Didn’t you say temporary until you found a job?”
“I know. I’m saving—I’ll make sure to move out soon once I get my payment this week.”
He made a noise that might have een relief or irritation. “Good. Because with you here complicate us. Keeping a famous family’s Luna in your home draws attention—we don’t want to be targeted. Please excuse me for saying this.”
I smiled softly and nodded my head. “I know. I’ll start finding an apartment. I’ve already told my sister about it earlier.”
Mira’s hand brushed my arm. “Don’t force yourself if you still can’t. You can stay here for a week at most.”
I looked at her and smiled. “I know. Thank you for keeping me under.”
As soon as I get back to my room, I started looking up online for affordable apartments that is far from any of Moonfang’s establishments.
The apartments I found were mostly pricey, or if low-budgeted, they had a lot of tenants and the place—isn’t comfortable for me. I took a heavy sigh as I started scribbling numbers and dates. I could afford one month’s rent with what I have saved—plus the money I won as a prize from Mr. Zane earlier.
Halfway through the third page, I almost dropped my phone when the screen lit up with a name I didn’t expect to call.
Matriarch Seraphina. Kyle’s grandmother.
- Writer
