Lucy’s POV
Of course, I couldn’t avoid those men for long. Their insistence knew no bounds. At every chance they got, they tried to speak to me about our newfound connection-which I still denied.
Ahmad clearly knew nothing about this, so when he called for another meeting, I nearly cursed his entire existence. I wanted to fake that I was sick or something, but being cowardly left a bad taste in my mouth
Before leaving, I made sure to quickly make something for Tessa when she woke up. She was a deep sleeper, and we had been up for most of the night trading night-time stories. So she likely wasn’t going to be up until the sun was higher up in the sky.
As for me, I ensured to double-check the dress that had been bought for me by my personal attendant, making sure that there was no kind of slit present on it before I put it on. This dress was frilly and reminded me of my time as a little girl-innocent and naive. Not unlike now that I had been . . . soiled and dirtied by the hands of Daven. There used to be a time where I longed to find my mate that I would give myself to wholly, but all those dreams had been dashed when I turned 18 and found no mate, and when I turned 19 and watched my whole pack get razed to the ground by Daven.
Thinking about the past filled me with a new resolve: no matter what had happened in that hallway, I couldn’t give in to those triplets. They weren’t my mates, and they never would be. I had a mission to save my people, and nothing was going to push me off course.
Ahmad was already there, along with Scott and Seth. I immediately noticed the absence of Shaun, but it wasn’t my place to say anything about it, not did I want to.
I took a seat after mumbling a greeting to all those present. Wearing a comfortable dress was truly an underrated thing.
Ahmad finished writing inside his booklet and turned to us with a grim look on his face. “Where’s Shaun?” he asked the present brothers.
They shared a fleeting glance. “He should be joining us shortly, I believe,” said Seth. “He had some things to sort out this morning.”
“Something more important than the issues concerning his pack?” Ahmad’s incredulous expression said more than enough words about his displeasure at such news.
“It has to do with the pack. He didn’t tell us much about it, but we don’t have a reason to question his word. But that aside, why was this meeting called?”
“It’s something important that we all have to commit to. Taking care of a pack is no small feat, and I need each and every one of you to take it with all seriousness.”
“No one asked for this responsibility, Ahmad. If you like it so much, you can become the Alpha,” said Seth, “you’re already doing a great job at it. I’m not even sure what you need us for.” He stood up from his seat and walked to the desk at the front of the room where Ahmad sat. “You told us that we’re the ones in charge of Moongrowl right now, but from what I’ve been seeing, you’re the one doing all the work. You meet all the important leaders, keep everything in check, and simply report to us. Either you’re a workaholic, or you’re trying to keep something from us.”
“Mind how you talk to me, Seth. I don’t like these conjectures you’re cooking up.” He cleared his throat. “I work because I would hatw to see all that your father has built come crumbling to the ground, and I’m the only one present with enough knowledge of all the key details of his dealings when he lived, to take care of things now that he is no more.”
Seth crossed his arms, his face devoid of his usual smile. “And at what point are we going to be brought into the loop?”
“When you are ready,” Ahmad stated. Just like that, the conversation had come to an end. His tone left no room for argument, and Seth didn’t seem like one to press an issue.
With a sigh, Seth returned to his seat, but his face remained impassive.
He caught my gaze and winked. I looked away immediately, hiding my inner mortification at being caught staring.
“Now, to the main order of the day, I called you all here to inform you of recent developments regarding the search for Alpha Daven’s murderer. The interrogations carried out on the Bloodbath slaves yielded no fruit, which means we have to search elsewhere.”
At the words ‘Bloodbath slaves’ I lost what was left of my patience with everyone that still didn’t see us as people worthy of proper acknowledgement. I should have bitten my tongue, but I was just tired of it all.
“Can you for once refer to them as people instead of slaves?” I gritted out, looking down at my feet, because I was certain thatbonce I raised my head, the fire in my eyes would be evident.
I felt eyes fall on my body. “But that’s just what they are, Slaves. They aren’t here as mere pack members like the rest of us, they are here to serve us.”
“Just like I ‘served’ your fucking Alpha?” I rose to my feet, shaking wih anger. “How far up in your ass does your head have to be for you to be blind to how unspeakably evil you have been towards my people? Can’t you see how they’re suffering? We did absolutely nothing! Nothing! And we got our pack raided and burnt down to the ground.”
“I didn’t expect this from you, Lucy. Daven would be disappointed-”
I stomped my foot so hard I was sure I felt the ground reverberate-or maybe the force shook my bones. “Fuck Daven! You all turned a blind eye to your 40-plus Alpha taking an 18 year old girl as his wife. You all acted blind when it was obvious what he was doing to me. No one dared to speak at the injustice meted out to the people of Bloodbath Pack, instead, you all were happy to have us as slaves.” I lifted my finger to his face. “Now that he’s dead, just admit that you’re still in charge because you’re scared of what will happen once power is out of your hands.” Once I was done I was breathing heavily, the implications of my words descending upon me with every passing moment.
The silence that followed burned into my ears, and I was expecting guards to rush in and pull me out of the room for my blatant heresy.
None of such happened.
“I had been wondering when you would finally show your fangs,” Ahmad finally said, a small smirk on his lips. “And it’s truly admirable, but ultimately, it will lead you nowhere. You pack wasn’t, and isn’t innocent, and I’ll tell you why.” He got out of his chair and walked over to the window overlooking the villa. “The raid happened because someone from your pack had the guts to infiltrate OUR home, and murder the Luna of this pack. Don’t you think that called for a little retribution?”
“W-what?”
Ahmad turned back halfway. “Yes. A pack for a Luna seemed like a fair trade, albeit a little . . . over the top at the time. Fortunately, we kept some of you alive. At least, it was a better fate than death.”
“This is not living,” I spat. “And no matter how much you try ro rationalise your actions or Daven’s, none of it was right. In burning down our pack, I want to bet that the murderer was never found, was he?”
“And why do you think that?”
“If he had been found, he would have been made an example. I was there, remember? You had a raid, took prisoners, and yet, nothing else happened. If you found the person who killed your Luna, it would have been a spectacle to show other packs who would dare to cross Moongrowl.”
Ahmad turned back to the window. “You’re wise. I can see now why he kept you around.”
–
Leaving a room had never felt so good before. If I had been confined ther for another second I would have combusted. My heels clacked against the tiled floors with purpose as I made my way back to my room.
“Lucy, wait.”
“Leave me alone,” I said without looking back. “Just leave me be!”
Seth’s face fell. “Look, we didn’t know-”
I scoffed. “I don’t need your pity, Seth. You and your brothers already made up your minds about me right from the moment you stepped on these grounds. What’s changed? Because you heard some sob-story and now you feel like I didn’t deserve it?”
“We were wrong about you,” he said quietly, green eyes full of apology. “We didn’t mean-”
I whirled around, coming face to face with him. “That’s a lie and you know it. You and your brothers meant every single thing you have done to me so far.” I pressed a palm to his chest and shoved him a few steps back. My cheeks were hot with anger. “Now you’re here trying to do the very first thing you should have done-gotten to know me. But what does it matter, hm? After all, I’m just a whore who wormed her way into your father’s bed.” I waved my gaze over to Scott as well, who couldn’t even look me in the eyes.
“The fact that you would treat a person as badly as you guys did me without even knowing the slightest thing about them states a whole lot about your mentality. I don’t need your pity, and I definitely don’t need your companionship,” I added with a tone of finality, before continuing on my way and leaving both brothers speechless.