Chapter 6
1871 Words
••• Leicia’s POV •••
When I arrived at the Whitemaw Tails Pack, Emma blocked the doorway before I could step inside.
Arms folded and chin tilted up. She looked like she’d been waiting all morning just for this moment. Kind of like a badly trained guard dog if I were to be honest.
“What are you still doing here?” she sneered. “You’re not part of this pack anymore, rogue.”
I stared at her for a long, quiet moment, just long enough to make it uncomfortable. Then I moved to walk past her.
She moved to block me, smirking.
Bad move…
Her hand shot out, aiming for my wrist.
But I was faster.
I caught her wrist mid-air, twisting her hand slightly, my gaze sharpening until her smirk turned into a grimace.
“You don’t have the right to touch me,” I said, my voice low and calm but cold enough to pierce steel. I leaned closer. “If you want to know why I’m here, ask your brother and his mistress.”
She yanked her hand back, fuming. "You’re just a rogue now. A fallen Luna. No one wants you."
I tilted my head slightly, eyes narrowing. "Funny. For a rogue, I certainly did a lot for you. I guess being unwanted is still more useful than being you."
Her face twisted. “You think you’re better than me just because—”
Crack.
My hand connected with her cheek before she could finish. A clean, sharp slap. Her head whipped to the side, her hair flying with it. I was sick of hearing her voice.
She gasped, staggered back a step, and clutched her face in shock.
Annisa gasped softly behind me. I didn’t look back.
“I suggest,” I said, my voice soft as silk and twice as dangerous, “you remember who had raised you like a daughter for the past year.”
Emma’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Her hand trembled against her cheek, but I was already walking past her.
“Don’t block my way again, Emma,” I said coolly. “I’m not in the mood to discipline children today.”
I didn’t bother to go to the shared bedroom. I walked to my office instead—the one place I ever had to myself in this house—because I couldn’t step into that bedroom. Not where I was supposed to share a life with a man who came home carrying someone else.
Annisa followed in silence, her head lowered. I didn’t blame her for being quiet. I needed the silence, and after being with me for so long, she knew my every mood and need.
We passed the living room where once I had sat beside Matthew’s mother, spoon-feeding her medicine while she could barely lift her arms. I wondered if the woman knew her son had betrayed the only person keeping her alive.
Once I reached my office and the door clicked shut, I walked straight to the desk and unlocked the drawer. It was time to take inventory.
“Annisa, sit.” I gestured to the seat opposite mine, and she quickly obeyed. I showed her the ledger, confusing her. “We’ll need to start listing everything that is mine in this place. Paintings, books, the blue porcelain vase, all of it. We’re not leaving anything behind,” I explained.
Her eyes widened. "Luna... Are we moving?"
"We are."
She hesitated, but as always, she just nodded and began jotting things down.
As we worked together, I mindlinked Kyle. “Are you available?”
“For you? Always, Luna,” came his immediate reply. “Want me to come over?”
“Yes. Meet me in my office.” Then I closed the mindlinked. I didn’t worry Kyle wouldn’t be welcomed. Everyone knew how important he was for Hilda’s health. What they didn’t know was that Kyle only did it for me.
Less than ten minutes passed before Kyle entered, quietly shutting the door behind him.
"We’re going back," I said before he could ask. "To our old pack."
He and Annisa exchanged the same worried glance that the Alpha King and Luna Queen had given me.
Kyle’s brows pulled together. "Are you sure? That place… It’s where your family—"
"I know," I said, cutting him off gently. "But it’s my home. I need to go back."
Before they could ask anything else, the office door burst open. Matthew strode in, Lydia on his heels, eyes blazing.
"What’s your connection to the Alpha King and Luna Queen?” Matthew demanded. “Why did they support you? What did you promise them?"
I didn’t even blink. I leaned back in the chair and rested my chin on my knuckles.
"Does it bother you that they chose to support me? That they believed me instead of you and your... companion?"
Matthew’s jaw tightened. Lydia crossed her arms, her nose wrinkled like she’d stepped in something foul. Which, considering her company, was rather ironic.
"Answer the damn question," he barked.
I let the silence stretch before speaking, “Tell me, Matthew. If you knew who I was back then and what my family meant to the royal pack, would you have kept your pants on?"
Matthew growled, fists clenched.
“Mind your words,” Lydia hissed.
I turned my gaze to her. “You’re speaking again?”
She bristled. “You really think you’re something special, don’t you?”
“Not special,” I shrugged. “Just honest. Unlike the two of you.”
Just when the room had begun to brim with tension, the door slammed open again.
Emma barged in, cheeks flushed with fury. “She slapped me!” she cried, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “Matthew, I was only telling her the truth and she hit me!”
Matthew blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“She struck me across the face the moment she arrived!” Emma wailed. “In front of the Omegas!”
“I tapped you,” I corrected coldly. “The fact you’re still standing proves it.”
“You think that makes you strong?” Emma snapped. “You think you're still Luna here?”
“No,” I said, glancing at my nails. “But it was my money that built this place. So I’d watch my mouth before I ask for interest.”
“You—!”
“Enough.” Matthew raised his voice, finally stepping between them. “Emma, get out.”
Emma reeled. “What?! You’re taking her side—after she hit me?”
“I said out,” he snapped.
Emma gave me one last venomous glare, but I smirked inwardly. Even her own brother was sick of her spoiled-child behavior.
Emma stormed out with a slam, and the door rattled behind her.
Lydia scowled at me. “You dare lay a hand on Matthew’s sister. No wonder everyone hates you. Really, Leicia. What have you done this past year except making everyone furious?”
I said nothing.
Because I didn’t need to.
She would know it soon.
Lydia smirked smugly. “Can’t answer, huh? In the end, you are still unwanted and discarded.”
I gave her a slow, measured look. “And yet he still kept wearing my mark like a badge until I ripped it off him in front of the throne. If I’m discarded and unwanted, what does that make you?”
Lydia lunged forward. “You b***h—!”
Kyle stood protectively in front of me, but I held up a hand, still seated. “Don’t,” I said quietly. “Let her bark.”
Lydia froze. Rage twisted her features, but it was the helpless kind—like a child denied a toy.
“You think you’re so untouchable just because you have the support of the Alpha King and Luna Queen today? Don’t forget, you’re marked as a rogue. No one wants a she-wolf who got thrown away.”
I looked at her, eyes flat. “You're wrong,” I murmured. “I was never thrown away. I was the one who left.”
Matthew slammed his fist on the table. “You think you can walk out and humiliate me like this?”
“You humiliated yourselves the moment you lay together in secret while pretending to wear honor,” I said. “Don’t blame me for being the one who aired the dirty laundry.”
His face turned red, fists clenched. He growled—but it only made him look more like a dog thrown off a throne he never deserved.
Lydia, still trying to win the argument, looked me up and down. "Still acting high and mighty when even your wolf seems to have gone silent."
“When have I gone silent?” Belle protested in my mind.
“Let them be,” I told her.
"You know what’s funny?” I tilted my head. “Even without Belle’s voice, I still manage to silence a room. Must be a talent."
Belle snickered in my head. “Great choice of words…even though you lied.”
I ignored her.
“You’re going to regret this,” he snarled.
“I already did,” I said calmly. “When I said yes to you.”
His fists clenched. His face turned crimson, veins bulging at his neck.
“You ungrateful b***h,” he snarled suddenly, voice sharp enough to silence the room. “After everything I—!”
“Matthew!” Kyle’s voice thundered beside me, but I didn’t raise a hand to stop him this time.
I stood and took a step forward instead, voice like frost on a blade. “You’ve done enough. Don’t embarrass yourself further.”
Lydia tugged his arm. “She’s just bitter because no one wants her anymore! That’s why she’s trying to look all-powerful now!”
I tilted my head, letting my gaze rake her from head to toe. “You speak like a woman proud of being chosen after someone else rejected him.”
Her face flushed violently. “You—!”
Matthew finally yanked his arm free from her and spun on his heel, storming out of the office with his wolf snarling in rage. Lydia, who shot me with a venomous glare, followed him, kicking over a vase near the doorway.
It shattered. I didn’t even flinch.
Silence settled, and I exhaled slowly.
“Let’s take a walk,” I told Annisa.
We walked out of the pack until we reached a garden.
I sat in silence on one of the benches, enjoying the peaceful quiet.
Annisa stood behind me like a quiet shadow.
I didn’t move, but I sensed it—a presence approaching. A shadow loomed over me, tall and steady, blocking the light.
I looked up and saw the man from earlier—the one with light green eyes.
Only now, he was clean-shaven. His golden-brown hair swept back. Dressed in a dark suit, he looked less like a warrior and more like a prince.
My breath hitched.
"You..."
He smiled. "Hello, Leicia."
- Writer
