Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Elara

‘Aren’t you a whore?’

I scoff and kick him in the balls hard. He almost doubles over, and I use it to slap him.

‘Fuck you,’ I say and turn to walk away from him, but he grabs my waist and spins me to him. With one move, he presses me against his car. His handsome face is close to me. I glare at him.

‘You said it yourself that you’ve been with many men and women, so why are you offended,’ he speaks in my ear.

I hate how a delightful shiver runs down my body.

‘I’m not whore. And I was fucking teasing you, asshat!’ I bark and push him away from me. He doesn’t move. An emotion I’m unfamiliar with crosses his features, but I don’t ponder on it. I duck and go under his arms before making my way to the huge glass doors of the packhouse. I was fuming in anger. How dare he think of me as a whore.

As soon as I enter the packhouse, my mom’s mind links me to go to the salon. They must have heard what happened at the university.

However, when I reach the salon, I’m surprised to find my parents, Uncle Roman, and Aunty Kaley.

Roman is my father’s young brother, and Kaley is my Mom’s half-sister. She is mated to Alpha Layth, one of the prominent Alphas around, and my father’s cousin Nemises. Yep, It’s complicated.

‘Family affair? Where’s Khai and Killian?’ I ask, seeing my brothers are missing from the gathering.

Mom runs to me and gives me a warm hug. She pulls away and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

‘What is going on here?’ I ask, scrutinizing each one of them.

‘We’ve found a solution for what happened to you,’ Mom says. She seems ecstatic.

‘Okay?’ I say, unsure.

‘I know what I’ve been going through is hard, but if we can change the narrative to what we want it to be, the scandal will go away,’ Kaley says gently. Her voice is soft and soothing. She was a psychologist and had a way with people.

‘What narrative is that?’

I don’t know why I’m being apprehensive. There is a knot in my stomach. Something tells me I don’t like their ‘ narrative,’ is the cause of this.

‘Me too,’ Ara mumbles. But I know what happened hasn’t only been hard on me, but on them too.

‘We can say you were in bed with the man you love. You got carried away, and you two mated. Some stalker recorded you and posted those cruel things to ruin you after you rejected his proposal,’ My mom tells me. I’m unable to say a word for a moment. Even if we were to say that people weren’t fools, they wouldn’t believe that. I’d never been seen intimately with any man!

‘They will see through your lie, Mom,’

‘They won’t because you have a fiance!’ Dad says with a lopsided smile. I blink a few times, trying to comprehend this.

‘Fiance?’ A comes out as a whisper.

‘And you are to marry him within two weeks to show everyone how serious you are with this man,’ Mom was too confident. I shook my head. I’m not marrying anyone!

I take steps away from my mother and fold my arms against my chest in stubbornness.

‘Mom, what kind of madness is this? I’m only nineteen!’ I shout, unable to believe what she is saying to me. My eyes travel to my father, but it’s clear he’s on her side.

‘I know, sweetie, but these past few days have been horrible for you, and I just want everything to go back to normal,’ She doesn’t understand me. Nothing will be normal for me again. My mate constantly put me in pain by fucking other women, and I’m reminded of my rejection in the most brutal way. Getting me married won’t solve a thing.

‘I’m not getting married to anyone. Uncle Roma, you couldn’t agree with them,’ I go to my uncle. We had a special relationship, and I could get anything from him by batting my eyelashes.

He cups my face and kisses my forehead, ‘ We have exhausted every possible way. You’re a royal, and your reputation is too important, sweetie,’

‘I’m not your sweetie if you’re on their side!’ I snap. I’m huffing as I pace the room. Everyone watching me. My family has gone crazy!

‘And who is this man you want me to marry?’ I ask in a mocking tone.

Air gets caught in my throat as the door opens to reveal… Zuriel. Hell no. My wolf jumps in excitement, wagging her tail.

‘Zuriel Crawford,’ Mom says with a knowing look. She knew I was in love with him, but I’m over him now. I’m not sixteen anymore. Zuriel looks angry as he walks over here. I didn’t notice Halsey walking next to him with a huge smile on her rosy lips. The two looked regal, and elegant as always.