Chapter 146

Lila’s POV I felt my soul leaving my body.

Everybody clapped as Cassidy-Ann turned to face me. I was off stage, so nobody saw me right away;

Enzo, who stood beside me, glanced at me sideways with a frown.

“I think that’s your cue,” he muttered.

“I...I can’t move...” I said under my breath, my entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Now everybody was looking around, wondering where I was. My entire body felt completely frozen.

“Lila?” Cassidy-Ann said with a timid frown, eyeing me from the stage. “Come to the stage, please.

Everybody is waiting.”

“I can’t move...” I said for only Enzo’s ears.

He frowned at me.

“You’re Lila... daughter of Alpha Bastien and Luna Selene. You can literally do anything.”

“I’ve never spoken to an audience this big before...”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Enzo shrugged, only this time he gave me a small nudge towards the stage.

I nearly tripped over myself and stumbled toward the stage. Now I gained almost everybody’s attention and they all spotted me walking towards Cassidy-Ann.

“Oh! It’s the girl from the banquet!”

“She was with that handsome Alpha!”

“She can really dance!”

I felt my face reddening as I stood next to Cassidy-Ann on the stage. She handed me the mic; with some hesitation, I eventually took it and tried to calm my trembling body down. But I couldn’t stop shaking.

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“Just tell everybody how you became interested in art.”

“I...uh...” I began just as the mic made a loud sound, making everybody wince.

“Position the microphone away from your mouth,” Cassidy-Ann said under her breath.

I adjusted my mic and cleared my throat, trying again.

“When I was around 5 years old, my grandfather showed me some artwork that my grandmother, who passed away before I was born, had drawn. I thought they were incredible, and he gave them to me. He would tell me stories about how she always wanted to travel and paint her adventures. To have everyone see the world through her paintings. I always found it incredibly sad that she was never able to pursue that dream. I wanted to take up art in her honor so that I could pursue that dream and make her proud....”

I paused when I saw that everyone was listening to my story with fascination on their faces. That alone made me feel nice; I even met Enzo’s eyes who watched me with admiration on his face. That was something I didn’t recognize from him.

“I know I never met my grandmother, but I always felt this connection with her when I paint and draw. I can see my mom light up whenever I have something new to show her and I wanted to keep that feeling going. I don’t do this because of just me but for everyone around me. Without art, life would be quite boring and colorless.”

I paused again just as hands were raised to ask questions.

Cassidy-Ann, who continued to stand next to me, pointed to a girl at the front door. She stood and bowed her head in our direction, allowing her curly locks of red hair to fall over her shoulders.

“What’s it like working for Cassidy-Ann?” The girl asked, peering up at me with big and curious eyes.

I heard some murmurs going around the room and I knew everyone was wondering the same thing. I glanced at Cassidy-Ann only briefly before turning my attention back to them and answering the question.

“It’s incredible,” I answered with a grin. “Cassidy-Ann is an amazing boss and I’m not just saying that because she pays well.”

I managed to get quite a few chuckles.

“But seriously, Cassidy-Ann saw my potential and knew that I could be a great artist with just a little bit of coaching. She’s taken me under her wing in more ways than I could count. I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity and I’m grateful to be able to stand in front of all of you in the International Academy in Monstro. This is honestly a dream come true for me. I’m not sure what more I could ever need.”

I looked at Enzo again who, this time, glanced at his feet.

“Are you selling any of your work?” Another student asked from the audience.

I went to open my mouth to answer but Cassidy-Ann spoke first.

“I’m actually featuring some of Lila’s artwork in next week’s exhibit. Of course, it will be for sale. So, if any of you are interested in purchasing a Lila exclusive, please come to the art show and we can set something up.”

Everybody clapped and my face grew hot.

I had no idea I was selling some of my artwork. I thought they would just be on display.

“Are you the same Lila that lives in Elysium? Of the Nova Pack?” Someone else asked.

I heard some gasping at his question and others silenced completely as they waited for me to answer.

I nodded my head once.

“Yes, that’s me,” I said, unsure of why that mattered.

“Oh, my goddess! You’re Alpha Bastien’s daughter!”

I nodded my head again as the murmurs continued to grow louder.

Cassidy-Ann frowned; I could tell she was unsettled by how amped up everybody was growing upon finding out my identity.

Enzo was also about to jump on stage to get me out of there and I think Cassidy-Ann could sense that.

“I think that’s all the questions we have for right now,” she said, stepping in front of me.

“But we have more questions! What’s it like being Bastien’s daughter?”

“Did he really kill Alpha Blaise?!”

“Are you a Volana wolf like your mother? That would explain why your eyes look like that!!”

My heart was racing against my chest and now Enzo was rushing onto the stage to get me out of there.

“I think it’s better if we wrapped this up,” Enzo muttered to Cassidy-Ann who agreed right away.

Cassidy turned to the audience and started with her closing statement just as Enzo grabbed my arm and led me out of the assembly room.

I was relieved when we entered an empty hallway. But I worried that it wouldn’t last for long. It wouldn’t take long before everybody left the assembly room and came to find me. I needed to get out of here.

Enzo escorted me outside and I saw his car in the distance; only a little further and we would be out of there.

However, he paused when his phone started to ring.

“Give me a second,” he said, staring at the screen. “It’s my mom.”

He walked further away so he could take his call without me overhearing.

“Lila?” I heard my name being called from a distance.

My entire body froze as I heard my name. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. I recognized his voice, and I was dreading speaking to him after our last conversation.

“Professor Leroy,” I said with a plastered smile, turning around to face him. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to apologize for how disrespectful I was. I shouldn’t have offered you that scholarship only because you are Volana Wolf, and it makes our school look good. That wasn’t fair to you and Alpha Enzo had every right to intervene.”

“I appreciate the apology sir... thank you,” I said, slightly hesitant.

“After you both left my office the other day, I did a little digging. I got your transcripts from your current school, and I went through literally everything. I even spoke to some of your teachers as a reference and it seems they really enjoy having you as a student. They all say you have a good head on your shoulders, you’re intelligent, talented, strong, and most everyone likes you. Your grades are also incredible, and you do a lot of volunteer work. That’s quite impressive.”

I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I smiled anyway.

I just wanted to get out of there before everyone left the assembly room. I glanced over at Enzo who was still on the phone.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I shouldn’t have offered you this scholarship because of what you are, I should have offered it to you because you truly deserve it, and you’ve certainly earned it.”

I raised my brows at him.

“Thank you so much,” I said to him. “That means a lot.”

“So, with that being said, if you would still consider us, I can draw up another enrollment form and you can fill it out. I’d like to officially offer you a scholarship for my academy, Lila. You more than deserve it and it would be an honor to have you as a student here.”