[Nivera’s POV]
My eyes shut close the moment the Alpha stepped inside the bedroom and I pretended to be asleep, when truly, I had waited till he got back before deciding to go to bed.
“I know you aren’t asleep,” he said in a husky voice as he stood directly in front of the mattress where I laid.
I could tell he was staring at me with that piercing gaze of his and gave in, opening my eyes instantly and sitting up. “Good evening, Alpha Tyler,” I greeted.
“Why did you pretend to be asleep?” he fired at me instead of responding to my greeting.
“I thought you wouldn’t want to see me awake by this time of the night,” I replied.
He said nothing in response and merely sat on the edge of the bed. “You know what tomorrow is, right?” he inquired.
I nodded my head in the affirmative. “Yes, your highness. Tomorrow is the full moon, the day I would say yes to your rejection,” I answered, appearing unperturbed.
He stared at me for quite some time before speaking again. “You don’t seem sad about it anymore. In fact, you seem eager. Why? What changed?” he demanded.
My heart skipped a beat as a memory of Lucien flashed in my mind. I shook off the memory and maintained a straight face as I looked at the Alpha. “I believe it’s because I realised it is stupid of me to want to be with someone that doesn’t want to be with me. Love is something that can’t be forced, and I would rather be with someone who genuinely loves me than be with someone who is forced to be with me,” I explained.
An impressive smile appeared on his face. “I’m glad you finally understand, and I’m happy we’d be parting ways amicably,” he said.
He seemed really happy… in fact, all too happy to get out of being mated to me, and as much as I didn’t want it to, it actually did bother me. “Yes, it’s all for the best,” I said, choosing not to say more than that and just laid back down on the mattress.
To my surprise, he crouched and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Goodnight and sleep well,” he said.
I gave him a small smile, and soon drifted off to sleep in my exhaustion.
A few hours later, my eyes flew open and I began to inhale deeply, pleased that what I had just experienced was all a dream and I was okay, along with the stranger that always saved my life every single time.
For some reason, during my stay in Lucien’s house, I hadn’t dreamt of the stranger, but my dreams resurfaced when I came back to the Crescent pack. Perhaps, there was some sort of spell Celeste had done there to ward off evil spirits and nightmares.
I wondered how Lucien was doing. Did he think about me from time to time? Did he miss me? Had he already found another lookalike of Eloise and gotten preoccupied with her? Honestly, I had thought he would come to spy on me to see if I was okay even if he wasn’t going to appear right in front of me, but so far, I hadn’t experienced anything out of the usual.
I sat up, then slowly stood to my feet, wiping away some of the sleep still left in my eyes with my palms. I walked over to the window and just stood there with folded arms. I glanced at the Alpha and heaved a sigh. After the rejection process is completed, what would happen to me? Would I go back to being tortured for being an Omega? Would I be sent out of the pack? What did the future hold for me? I wish that there was a way I could know that.
Suddenly, I heard whistling in the far distance. I didn’t care too much at first, but as it went on, I was reminded of it. It was a familiar tune, and my heart leaped upon putting two and two together and figuring out that it was the exact same tune that Lucien had been playing with me on the piano.
I looked out the window, my eyes darting from place to place, and that was when I saw it. It was the shadow of a very tall person, definitely Lucien’s 6’4 height, holding something. I didn’t see who it was, but from the shadow, I could clearly tell it was Lucien.
I didn’t hesitate before dashing outside. The guards positioned at the door were sleeping deeply and ignoring them, I quickly took to my heels and ran as fast as my legs could carry me, outside the Alpha’s chambers and faster till I got to the point where I had seen his shadow. He, however, was not present and as I walked around in the darkness searching for him, I began to wonder if I had been mistaken.
I was barefooted, and all I had on was the satin nightgown I had packed when leaving Lucien’s house, and I hadn’t even bothered to wear the robe over it, so I hugged myself feeling quite cold in the chilly weather.
“Lucien,” I whispered, not wanting to shout so as not to be heard by anyone.
Had I missed him so much to the point that what I had seen had been just a mere figment of my imagination? But why? It had all seemed too real.
“Who’s there? Show your face!” a guard, holding up a lantern shouted in the opposite direction.
I was making up excuses in my head when suddenly, someone pulled me by the hand and swiftly into the stables. I wanted to say something, but he was quick to place his hand over my mouth and instead of protesting, I just kept mute. It wasn’t because I was weak; it was because I recognised his scent, the feel of his hands and his breath.
My heart began to beat more rapidly than usual and a sudden rush of happiness surged through me as I just stood calmly in front of him till the guard walked past, probably still looking for the person he had seen.
“You can let me go now,” I mumbled unclearly.
He immediately removed the hand he had placed over my mouth, stopped holding me and drew away from me as though I was a plague.
“Lucien…” I started.
“Before you say anything, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have come here, but I was walking past a bookshop and I couldn’t help but notice that the final book in the billionaire trilogy you were reading was out. I wanted to give it to you and…”
“Oh, Lucien,” I said warmly and moved to embrace him really tightly, like I was never ever going to let him go again.
He just stood there, words left hanging in the air, probably filled with surprise that I was hugging him after explicitly telling him to stay away from me. Somehow, being with him made me realise how much I had missed him within the few days we had been apart.
After several minutes had passed by, he pulled me even tighter to his chest and wrapped his arms firmly around me, hugging me back and cradling me in his warmth.
“I missed you so much, Lucien,” I said.
I heard him chuckle softly. “I’m glad you did because I missed you as well, and this book was the only excuse I could use to see you,” he said.
I lessened my grip on his back. “Then, why did you hide when I came outside?”
“I… I was worried you’d not want to see me,” he said.
“That’s nonsense. Why would you think so?” I inquired.
Before he could give me a response, Alpha Tyler’s thunderous voice was heard all over the place. “Nivera! Nivera!” he called in a loud tone.
I disentangled myself from his embrace and was shaken, but quickly got a hold of myself. “You should go. He’s the Alpha, he’ll surely catch your scent and know you’re here,” I said to him in a whisper.
“I can handle him, you know that,” he said.
“I know, but you said you’d come for him if he lays a finger on me and he has been nothing but nice, so leave now and don’t create a scene,” I said.
“Nivera!” the Alpha’s voice was louder and he was approaching the stables.
I made to leave when Lucien pulled me back. “After you reject him during the full moon, can I come back for you?” Lucien asked.
Tears welled up in my eyes as my heart melted due to what he had said. I had been confused as to how I was to keep on living in the Crescent pack anyway after the whole embarrassment and shame from the rejection, but I also wasn’t sure if I wanted to be with him.
“Nivera!” the Alpha said, barging into the stables and jarring me from my thoughts.
This was going to be the greatest showdown mankind had ever seen.