Chapter 30

“Are you certain she would want to do this?” I asked Skylar while we waited for Clover. She had this master plan and I swore to help her through everything as long as in the end, I had my mate back in my arms.

It felt like someone poured acid in my stomach yesterday when I watched her walk hand in hand with Valens. My wolf clawed at me and fought to get out but I promised Skylar I wouldn’t do anything to blow our cover. I had to make it seem like I’d given up on her so Valens would take his eyes off me.

“I saw the look in her eyes when Valens arrived yesterday,” Skylar replied, tucking her hair behind her ears. She looked subdued today. As if it only just dawned on her the hurdle we had to scale to get what we wanted.

They’d gone public with their relationship. The next thing would be to make it official with a ceremony. If they went through that ceremony, they’d be bound together as mates and more.

“What look?” I asked her.

“The same look you have in your eyes. The look fought to get out but I promised Skylar I wouldn’t do anything to blow our cover. I had to make it seem like I’d given up on her so Valens would take his eyes off me.

“I saw the look in her eyes when Valens arrived yesterday,” Skylar replied, tucking her hair behind her ears. She looked subdued today. As if it only just dawned on her the hurdle we had to scale to get what we wanted.

They’d gone public with their relationship. The next thing would be to make it official with a ceremony. If they went through that ceremony, they’d be bound together as mates and more.

“What look?” I asked her.

The same look you have in your eyes. The look of someone who feels the goddess dealt them a bad hand.” A kindred spirit then.

Why hadn’t I noticed it? Oh, right. I’d been too focused on my mate then. I couldn’t believe my father had tried arresting Aysel.

It bothered a part of me that I couldn’t see past my mate to think of the amount of trouble my father just got himself into. As the Beta of the debased Alpha, they had a critical eye on him, waiting for a small slip up to get rid of him and he just did the worst thing he could have done.

I could only think of him as a walking corpse now.

We’d never really been close as father and son because I chose to side with Aysel but it didn’t excuse my lack of empathy for him. Aysel consumed my mind now so much that I couldn’t even think of my father’s life which was hanging on the line.

“There she is.” I looked at where Skylar indicated as a beautiful girl walked out of a car and took off her shades. She looked left and right before catching sight of us.

She was beautiful in every way of the world. A few weeks ago, I’d be struck by her beauty but these days, I’d become obsessed with Aysel. No -one looked as beautiful as she did. No one ,caught my interest but her.

“You’re Skylar and Lucien?” She asked but she already knew. She had an air of mystery about her that would appeal to most guys and the way she carried herself, it was obvious that she knew her appeal.

“You’re audacious,” she took a seat beside me while addressing Skylar.

“Big gains require big risks or what it is the motivational speakers like to say,” Skylar replied.

“You’re Aysel’s ex, right?” She turned to me with a smile I did not understand. “He hates your guts.” Good, he felt threatened. “A friendly piece of advice; watch your back.”

“I’m not looking for advice.” I wasn’t because I knew that already.

“Fair enough.” To Skylar, she said, “I entertained your request to meet because I wanted to see the fools that dare go against Valens with my own eyes. You’re both foolish if you think you’d ever get between Valens and the woman he has searched for over a century.”

She stood.

“I don’t like liars,” Skylar said in a quiet voice.

She sounded tired. I spared her a glance and saw the dark circles surrounding her eyes. A flare of protectiveness awakened in my ch3st at her tired look.

“I beg your pardon?” Clover’s voice went cold and deadly.

“I said I hate liars.” Skylar looked her in the eye.

“You’re not here because you want to see some fools. You want to know if we are worth the risk. You want the same things we want but unlike us, you don’t have an ally.” Clover burst into laughter.

“Valens is my best friend. He has been my best friend since I was a child. You don’t understand how long that is, seeing as you are both kids but I won’t betray Valens in this life or the next”

“Who said anything about betrayal?” Skylar gave her a gloating smile. “You want Valens. I’m telling you that you can have him.”

“I have Valens. He is my best friend.” She smiled again.

“No, you don’t. He won’t be your best friend in a year. Heck, in a few months, you’ll be irrelevant to him. You’ll no longer be the only woman in his life.”

“Unlike you fools, I’m not selfish and I know better than to plot nonsense. Whether or not I’m the only woman in his life doesn’t matter.

I value his friendship.”

“And you think Aysel would be comfortable with you still being friends with her mate?”

Skylar scoffed. I fidgeted at the negative way she spoke about my Aysel. “Do you really think she’d want you around her mate considering you’ve been intimate with him? She’s going to get rid of you the same way Valens got rid of Lucien. You’re going to suffer the same fate if you don’t do anything now.” The more Skylar spoke, the redder Clover got. I feared she would snap at her or worse, cry.

To my surprise, she blinked and her expression brightened. No trace of the redness lingered on her face. She smiled at us as if we were children who didn’t understand how the universe worked.

“Do you think a lifetime of friendship can be so easily terminated?”

“If you’re so sure that your relationship with Valens won’t suffer now that he has no use for you, then there’s no need for you to be here.”

When I finally spoke, my voice was cold and my tone rude.

“I hope you know I’m reporting this to Valens the minute I get back.” She sneered.

“That’s your loss. You’d be the one who was hanging out with traitors. We have lost everything. There is nothing more we can lose.

You, on the other hand, will lose his trust,” I reminded her just as Skylar said;

“That’s if you don’t walk in on him buried in his mate and having the time of his life while you love him from behind and watch him birth kids that look like that disgusting omega.”

“Skylar!” We both exclaimed at the same time.

The girl merely rolled her eyes with abandon.

“One day, I will have a good reason to bash your face in.” She vowed, smiling through her anger as she walked away.

I buried my face in my palms after she left.

“Was that your great plan!?” I exclaimed when I raised my head. The visual she had put in my head about the prince and my mate together made my heart ache. I felt tears sting my eyes as I thought about them together. The more time they spent together, the harder it would be to break them apart.

I couldn’t bear to think of my Aysel carrying that bastard’s child!

“Don’t be ridiculous. Did you really expect her to agree immediately because we asked?” She laughed without humour. Her face had gotter thinner and I only just noticed.

Were things too hard for her? I couldn’t get myself to care about anything asides from the bloss of my better half so I didn’t ask her about her appearance.

“What was the point of inviting her here if you didn’t expect her to agree!?” I exclaimed.

“To plant a seed. There is no way she would not do anything to keep Valens. She’d act first and when she realizes she can’t break them apart on her own, she’ll come seeking us out.”

She sounded certain as if she controlled the future and had made it so.

“Whatever you do,” I started with a sigh, “just make sure Aysel isn’t hurt.”

“Losing her mate would hurt. I told you already,

I don’t care about your omega. When we succeed in breaking them up, Valens will be wakened and then I can take him down from his high horse.”

“Your plans seem bigger than you’re letting me on,” I accused her. She never mentioned anything about dethroning Valens until today.

“They are. One step at a time, one puzzle piece at a time, the entire puzzle will come together.

You don’t have to worry. You’ll get your omega land I will certainly avenge my father for his humiliation. Valens will not rule over Redville pack for a long time,” She vowed.