Tasting 21

21-I Want To Be Your Stepdaughter Again

Nora:

“Hello,” I murmured, sniffing back tears. My heart felt like a turbulent sea, heavy with emotions

stirred up by recent events, which seemed like a massive trap orchestrated by the moon goddess

herself. Was she playing games with me now?

“Did you hear what I said?” he asked, and I nodded, even though I knew he couldn’t see me

through the phone screen.

“I believe you,” he repeated himself when met with silence.

“Why? Why do you believe me now?” I questioned, restlessly pacing around the bathroom. My eyes

kept darting to the door, expecting Alpha Ryker to burst in at any moment, or perhaps he was

waiting outside for me.

“I did my own research. I found your phone on a call with Nash when he had told me you were on

call with your friends. The entire night, you two stayed on call. There is no way you two are that

good of friends to be talking so much,” he said, impressing me with his investigative skills and even

calling out his own sons for lying.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t just let me take the fall for your son’s actions. It’s true what I said that day,”

I took a deep breath, feeling comforted by the fact that someone was actively supporting and

shielding me from lies. To be honest, I wasn’t even his responsibility, but he was taking good care of

me.

21 Went To Be Your Stepdaughter Again

“He locked me in the cold bathroom and then stole my speech. That call was just so that I could

hear everyone badmouth me for not making it to the gathering that was specifically held for me,” I

confessed, waiting anxiously for his response. His decision would change my life.

“I want you to come back home, and this time, even if things happen, you should stay. When you

call someone family, you don’t just leave them the moment an argument erupts. I can allow you to

be upset and lock yourself in the bedroom or ask the maids to serve you there only But to leave the

mansion at the very first sign of trouble is just too much. I don’t want my stepdaughter to turn out

like my sons, unreliable,” his words deeply affected me. I had never been treated with such care,

and the effort an alpha king was putting into making me a part of his family was truly remarkable.

“Okay, I will come back, but at a cost,” I said, growing more anxious with every passing minute.

There was no way Ryker wouldn’t catch me in my lies.

“What is it? Tell me, I am ready to do anything,” he sounded desperate. I didn’t understand why an

alpha king would desperately want a daughter.

“You need to come pick me up from school,” I felt guilty for requesting him to leave all his work

behind and come pick me up. If it was about fighting for myself, I would have done it in a heartbeat.

But I had to maintain the facade of a powerless creature. That’s why I was so hurt the other night

because I couldn’t break down the bathroom door, or else my strength would be questioned.

“Are they bullying you again?” he asked, concern evident in his

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voice.

“Sort of, I admitted, rubbing my neck and waiting for his response.

“I am coming,” he responded angrily, enraged that I was still being bullied.

He hung up the call, and now the wait began. I changed back into my baggy jeans and oversized

sweater. I was not joining the group for any more exercises until this issue was resolved. That’s

when the door opened, and a girl stepped inside.

“The principal is asking to see you,” she informed, hurrying out as if she had somewhere else to be.

“That must be Lord Atwood; that’s how he came to see me last time. So, I assumed it was him,” I

thought to myself.

I grabbed my bag and adjusted the strap over my shoulder. But as soon as I stepped out of the

bathroom, I realized I had been deceived. Alpha Ryker was standing right behind the door and

grabbed hold of me when he saw me.

“Ouch!” I winced, but he didn’t care. He started dragging me towards the back exit of the school.

“Let me go, have you gone mad?” I complained, trying to free my arm from his grasp, but he had

already taken me to the exit and into the backyard.

“You better start talking when I ask you questions,” he hissed, throwing me to the ground behind a

big tree.

I sat back, trying to put some distance between us. He seemed

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furious, almost as if he was on the brink of unleashing his wolf

on me.

“What was that earlier?” he muttered, intensifying his gaze as he stopped in front of me and leaned

down.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I feigned ignorance.

“You have a wolf,” he hissed. “You lied about yourself. Why did you hide your wolf from us?” His

anger was increasing, his eyes growing deeper, and the frown on his forehead deepening.

“I don’t have a wolf. Are you sure it was my wolf that you sensed?” I pretended to be completely

clueless, knowing it was only fueling his frustration.

“You maintain that facade even when we corner you with angry rogues and demand you fight back.

Let’s see how you can keep your wolf in hiding then,” he wagged his finger in my face, issuing a

threat.

“What do you want?” I felt uneasy with his threat. I’d heard about my stepbrothers and knew they

could be ruthless if they wanted something done. I feared he might indeed throw me into a cage to

prove his point.

“You’re going to tell Dad that you lied,” he hissed. “Everyone should know what a horrible person

you are, not some meek, wolfless creature who needs saving,” he warned me.

As he was threatening me, we heard a loud announcement over the speaker that only made things

worse.

“Nora! Lord Atwood is visiting you.”

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