Carol’s POV
"Miss Carol, the invitation card has been sent to the alpha." My secretary, Max informed me and a feeling of wicked satisfaction enveloped me.
I stood up and took elegant strides into the ballroom. It was as if the whole place went lit with my arrival as everyone turned to give me a standing ovation.
"Caro?" A voice asked behind me.
Even without turning, I knew it was him. How could I forget his voice when the pain of everything he had done to me was still fresh in my memory?
Almost immediately, the noise level in the ballroom rose as everyone was throwing their greetings at him.
"Welcome, Alpha and Luna!"
"It's really you." Eliza said beside him as I turned. She didn't bother to hide the hostility in her gaze. My eyes involuntarily slid from her face to her dress and that was when I noticed her protruding belly.
She was really pregnant? Could what the private investigator had told me be true? I gave her stomach a thorough scrutinizing search and realized she was really pregnant. It took all self control in me not to laugh at the irony of the situation.
Now, she was in the shoes I was in my past life and she didn't even think to spare my unborn child then. I wouldn't spare hers either!
"How may I help you?" My voice came out harsher than I had intended. It’s time to start putting them into their places.
"Help us?" Brandon almost shouted raking a hand through his hair as he beckoned to the security guards behind him.
"Seems like you're forgetting that I am the Alpha of this pack. How dare an omega like to host a party without taking the appropriate permission from the pack's government house?"
If he was going to use a verbally violent approach, I wasn't going to spare him any respect either. Amidst the noisy chatter of the guests, I raised my voice, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Alpha Brandon, I understand that you're lacking in your duties as Alpha, but you should at least know the fact that I paid my respect to the pack's house."
His facial expression changed immediately and I watched with delight as different emotions crossed his face.
First, it was shock, then embarrassment, then unbelief.
"So, a lowly omega like you would host this… extravagant ball party? I refuse to believe that!" Eliza’s voice had a trace of hysteria and mockery.
I gave them a dismissive look and turned to leave but a hand clamped over my wrist, stopping me. It was Brandon and an indecipherable expression crossed his face.
"Wait, Carol. I have something to say to you." Was it remorse I saw in his eyes? What tricks was he trying to play now?
He must still think I'm like the naive woman that I was in my past life.
"I apologize for rejecting you," he began. "I did it for the sake of the pack. More than you and I, you know that the pack comes first and it's not so nice to hear that an alpha got mated to an omega. I really am sorry."
I swallowed the laughter that threatened to tear out of my throat. If I hadn't seen him push me off the rooftop in my past life, I would have thought he was genuinely sorry right now.
I knew the cards he was trying to play. Brandon was a smart and thorough person and I knew that before coming here, he must have made his findings about me.
He must have learnt that I was wealthy but had wanted to see it for himself before believing it. A wry smile crawled up my face. "That's all in the past now, I don't see a need to dwell on that anymore."
He looked taken aback for a second before shrugging. "Anyway, you could come to the Palace after the…"
Eliza shifted uncomfortably beside him. Her face had gone pale with jealousy and anger as she cut him off sharply.
She raised her voice and addressed everyone present. "I got a report yesterday about a criminal sneaking past our security barriers. I guess a filthy omega will always remain a filthy omega no matter how much money they have! This woman here is a criminal who ran away from the pack four years ago!"
The ball room was thrown into a deafening silence before the guest started to engage in uncontrollable murmurs.
She had a smug expression on her as she gazed at me.
I was a little taken aback because I wasn't expecting her to bring up my past and even try to twist things. I guess I had underestimated her. But I chuckled at her accusation towards me.
Brandon on the other hand just stood by, unsure of what to do. He looked as though he was contemplating who to take sides with.
Before I could speak, Eliza was already speaking. "Guards, seize the criminal immediately and throw her into the dungeons!" She ordered the guard and they all charged towards me.
The noise of the loudspeaker crackling to life stopped them as everyone turned their head towards the big screen at the center of the room.
It was a video of Eliza lying shamelessly with another man. "Our private investigator just got his hands on the video." Felix explained quietly.
"Good." I commended as I patted his back in a friendly way.
"So, what are you going to tell the Alpha? What if he finds out that it's not his baby?" The man lying with Eliza in the video asked.
The ball room went up into an uproar as everyone started casting disgusting glances at her. She went into a frenzy.
"Put that thing off!" She screamed. "It's a deep fake video. I order you as your Luna to turn the damn screen off! I won't…"
"Shut the f**k up?" Brandon growled as he walked slowly to the front. "I want to watch everything till the end!"
"He won't know." Her voice drifted out of the speaker. "Brandon is only Alpha by luck. He's a pushover who is only interested in sleeping with me all day long. As long as I'm not depriving him of s*x, he will never find out that the baby isn't his."
I signaled to the operator to put the video out immediately and it was done. I took a deep breath, aching to watch how the drama between Eliza and Brandon would unfold.
"It's not true, babe. Someone is trying to set me up. You know I will never cheat on you. The baby belongs to you!" She was trembling with fury.
Just like I thought, he wouldn't have it.
He sprang at her and gave her a resounding slap that cut across the entire ballroom, plunging the whole room into quietness.
"How dare you still lie to me after what I just watched with my eyes!? You must have a death wish!"
"Guards!" He bellowed angrily. "Take this shameless piece of trash out of here and lock her up in the dungeons!"
"Please, baby! You can't do this to me. I can explain everything. It's the work of this omega b***h, Carol. It's not true please!"
She pleaded like a maniac as the guards dragged her out.
Brandon didn't pay listening ears to her at all as he approached me. I quickly walked to the front to avoid him.
"Hello Everyone. I'm Caroline , the exclusive designer of Z&R and Cosmetics Company and the host of this ball party. I want to announce to everyone that our company will be picking a new company here to partner with. So, I look forward to receiving your proposals."
"Cheers to that!" I grabbed a cup and raised it.
"Cheers!" They chorused.
I turned to leave but someone snagged at my wrist and slammed me against the wall. It was him and before I could comprehend what he was doing, his head descended towards mine.
Bastard! Now that he knows I'm wealthy, he was trying to toy with my feelings! I pushed him away but soon discovered he had grown more stronger than I'd known him to be in the past.
More stronger than I had prepared. He pinned me tightly against the wall as he tried to kiss me. I signaled to Felix to immediately calm my bodyguards.
All of a sudden, Brandon eyes constricted as he toppled backwards and fell to the floor.
I looked up to see who had saved me only to find myself staring into a pair of familiar sea blue eyes. He was the man I had met at the airport.
How did he get an invite? Wait a minute? He had said something about seeing me later then, had he been talking about this? Who exactly was he?
I opened my mouth just to voice out my question when I heard his voice over mine. "How dare you filthy animal lay your hands on my mate!?" He gritted out.
His voice seemed to make the entire room vibrate as silence fell on everyone.
I gasped in shock at his words. Mate? He must be kidding. Even if he had saved me earlier, he was going too far with this.
I could handle my own problems myself. I needed no one to interfere and cause more trouble for me. I regarded him coldly.
"Who the hell are you?"
He c****d his head, obviously amused by what I couldn't place my fingers on. "I'm Rad, the Lycan king of Sun pack, and your fated mate!"
I had barely processed his words when his arms wrapped possessively around my waist as he lowered his lips to mine, taking them in a hungry kiss.