Hellbound Souls: The Lycan Heir's Mate

8. Family Drama

Raine POV

I opened the door only to come face to face with one of the rudest maids in the entire house. Normally her mouth was twisted into a permanent scowl whenever she saw me. But today, she was smiling. Smiling. The sight of it alone gave me the biggest ick.

“The Beta says we have a very important guest who arrived way too early than expected,” she announced, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.

Then her eyes slid past me and landed on Zariah. “He also says you must present yourself in your finest dress and make sure to look presentable… including your maid.” She gave a condescending smile that was meant to stab, and it worked for a second because I saw Zariah stiffen.

That pissed me off, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I pasted on my sweetest fake smile and nodded. The moment she turned her back, I slammed the door shut right in her face so hard that the echo rang down the hallway.

I turned to Zariah. “That must be my grandpa.”

Zariah blinked. “Wait, how do you know that? How are you so sure? It could be the Alpha or anybody else.”

“Oh, please,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “You think Liam Evernight would bother to tell me to present myself properly? Hell no. That man doesn’t give a damn about me. And when has that silly maid ever smiled at me before, huh? Just the other day she almost threw Bella’s dirty foot-wash water right in my face. If I hadn’t ducked, I’d have been smelling like rotten toes all night. She doesn’t see me as relevant. But today she’s smiling? That only means one thing—my grandpa is here.”

I clapped my hands once, sharp and decisive. “Bring out the most wretched outfit in the closet, Zariah!”

Zariah froze and looked at me like I had grown horns. Still, she obeyed and began rummaging through the closet. I watched her dig and dig until she turned back to me, her hands empty.

“Where is it, Zariah?” I demanded, arching a brow.

“You are wearing it,” she said without blinking.

It took me a second to catch the joke, and then the corner of my lips twitched. Within moments, the two of us burst out laughing so hard we had to lean on the dresser for support.

“Fine,” I said, wiping a tear from my eye. “Point taken. Now shall we be on our way?”

“Not yet,” I replied before she could open the door. “Hell no. We have to be the last ones to walk in. You know… to spike Father and his mistress’s adrenaline levels. Let them sweat a little before I arrive.”

By the time we finally made our entrance into the dining hall, the long table was already filled. I stepped in with my head high and Zariah right behind me. Every pair of eyes in the room turned at once. And just like I had planned, they froze.

My father’s lips parted in horror. Elaris, dressed in one of her extravagant gowns, nearly choked on her wine. The maids who had once sneered at me now looked at me like I was some sort of insult to fashion itself. I didn’t care. Their petrified expressions were the sweetest wine I had ever tasted.

Because while they sat dressed like royalty, I strolled in with the most hideous, ill fitting dress I could find. The seams were loose, the color was washed out, and the fabric looked like it had been chewed by moths. If I had added soot to my cheeks, I would have looked like a beggar.

But I owned it. I strutted forward like I was walking the runway.

And then my eyes found him.

At the head of the table sat an old man surrounded by guards. His presence filled the room even without saying a word. His hair was gray, his jaw sharp despite the wrinkles, and his eyes sharp as knives. There was no doubt in my mind—that was my grandpa.

Bella gasped from the doorway. She was dressed in silk and jewels, looking every bit the perfect daughter of the mansion. Her eyes swept over me in my shabby clothes, and her lips curved into a smug smile.

“Father, how could you let her show up like this in front of an important guest?” she said sweetly, but her words dripped with poison.

I smirked. “All dressed up, Bella… yet you still look empty.”

My heart gave an unfamiliar squeeze. For a moment, I forgot myself. A smile stretched across my face as I ran forward, faster than I meant to.

“Grandpa… it’s me, Raine!” I said, my voice lighter than it had been in years.

The old man turned his gaze on me. His sharp eyes scanned me from head to toe, and then widened. His hands began to tremble.

“How… how is this possible?” he rasped. His hand shot up to clutch the back of his neck. His face went pale, almost ghostly, and before I could take another step forward, he wailed and collapsed backward in his chair.

“Grandpa!” I cried, rushing forward, but his guards were faster.

The entire table erupted into chaos.

My father’s face went white as chalk. Elaris’s fake smile fell clean off her face. And the room that once looked so polished and composed was now filled with panic.

And me? I stood there in the middle of it all, in my hideous dress, watching the pieces fall exactly where I wanted them to.

Father advanced towards me with fury in his eyes and being.

He didn’t waste time. He dragged me aside, his grip digging painfully into my arm. “Raine,” he spat, his voice sharp with panic. “Tell me. Did you get the message I sent for you?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice calm. “And this,” I gestured down at my outfit, “is the best one in my wardrobe. Maybe if you hadn’t cut off all my cards, I could have shown up in something better. Something befitting.”

His chest heaved, rage making his body tremble. “If you wanted to disgrace me, Raine, you succeeded. You have perfectly succeeded!”

I gave him a cold smile. “No. You disgraced yourself, Father. You neglected your wife while you kept your mistress under the same roof, as if she deserves the place of a Queen. You let your wife waste away in her bed, while your own daughter was treated like trash by her own pack. And now you want to blame me for your shame? No. This is what you get.”

His hand twitched. I saw it. He wanted to hit me so badly.

And that was when she spoke.

“Raine,” Elaris said in her soft, sweet tone, the kind she only used when she wanted to stir trouble. She moved closer, curling herself against Father’s side as though she was the one wronged. “You cannot speak to your father like that. It isn’t proper.”

I turned slowly to her, my eyes narrowing. “Since when do mistresses get a say? Can’t you see we’re having a father to daughter talk here?”

Her cheeks reddened at my words, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she clung tighter to Father, as though daring me to take him away.

“How dare you speak to her like that?” Father thundered, his voice echoing across the hall. He raised his hand high, ready to strike me in front of everyone.

The crowd held their breath. Some looked away, others leaned forward, hungry for the scandal.

I didn’t flinch. I lifted my chin and stared straight into his eyes.

And then it came.

The voice that shook the very walls.

“If you make one more move,” the words boomed, dripping with authority, “if your finger grazes her skin the slightest bit, you will regret waking up this morning, Liam Evernight!”

The room went dead silent. Guards stiffened. Servants froze in place.

I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

It was Grandpa.