The floor beneath me fell through, and I could do nothing but fall. My throat constricted, leaving me unable to create a sound. My heart raced a mile a second, buried emotions and memories forcing their way out. It was like ripping the scab off a wound that had barely begun to heal. In a split second, the heartache became raw again.
The room had long since melted away, leaving me watching as his shocked expression slowly morphed into disgust.
His gaze didn’t leave me as he sat at the only empty seat at the Alpha table. His mouth twisted with disdain. "You are that desperate, huh?" he questioned.
I blinked, unable to fathom what the question meant. What was Caesar D’Argent doing in the Lycan realm—much less at the Onyx Concord building?
My words came out lame. "What?" I swallowed, the lump in my throat so hard it hurt. "What are you doing here?" It was like looking at a stranger.
Gone was the roguishly attractive, charming boy who had turned into the man that ripped my heart out without a shred of remorse, only to leave my sister pregnant. Now, just when I was sure I’d never see him again, I saw him dressed like the rest of the Alphas, taking his seat at their table as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
This had to be the strangest dream—or my worst fucking nightmare.
He rolled his eyes at my question, gesturing to the others I had forgotten were there.
"What is this human doing here?" he asked an older Alpha, who looked almost as shocked as I was. "I thought humans were prohibited from stepping into this chamber." His eyes drifted to me, wrinkling his nose as if I stank. He scrutinized me like I was shit he had stepped in.
"What is this?" I demanded, still unable to wrap my mind around what was happening. My eyes narrowed, catching the light glinting off a fang I had never noticed. My eyes widened to saucers as it clicked slowly, painfully into place. Caesar was a Lycan.
I hadn’t realized the chamber had turned silent—you could’ve heard a mouse fart.
"What are you doing here?" I asked again, as if I didn’t already know the answer. He wasn’t just a Lycan; he was an Alpha.
He rolled his eyes. "Don’t play dumb, human," he replied snidely. The word human rolled off his tongue like a slur, which I was sure it was. "You got so fucking desperate you actually found a way into another realm. How many idiots did you fuck before—" Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel⦿fire.net
"Enough." Vladimir’s single word sliced through the air like a heated blade.
Every eye snapped to him. He wasn’t looking at me—his ice-cold gaze pinned Caesar into his seat. "Alpha Caesar, do you mind explaining to this council the reason you have been absent for four meetings and then proceed to not be punctual for the fifth?" Each syllable was clipped, scolding.
Caesar’s disgust momentarily melted into dread. "High Alpha, I can explain..." he muttered, his voice suddenly low.
Vladimir’s fingers drummed against the desk slowly, a rhythm that betrayed his simmering control.
"I have still been healing from the Alphas’ Duel," Caesar responded, rising from his seat. "It’s not been easy." His voice was low, but sharpened with irritation.
"But you knew the stakes, did you not?" Vladimir pressed. "You were awarded a year and a half to recuperate before you were officially recognized."
Vladimir’s fingers on the table quickened. "It’s been two years, Alpha Caesar." He deadpanned before glancing at me. "What is your relation to Lilith Brooks?"
Caesar’s mouth twisted into a smirk, venomous and mocking.
"She’s some human woman I got close to for a mission," he said with relish, his voice carrying across the chamber like a confession meant to shame. "A clinger. Couldn’t take a hint. I even gave her a ring so she’d let up a little. I left when the mission was done. I suppose she thought if she stumbled her way here, I’d take her back. Pathetic, really."
The chamber rippled with suppressed murmurs, a few Alphas shifting in their seats, their eyes darting between me and Vladimir. My ears burned from shame, laced with rage and disbelief.
When he cheated, I thought that was the extent of the person he hid beneath the mask he wore.
How wrong could I have possibly been?
"You bastard," I whispered, my voice trembling with fury. "You left my sister pregnant and dared—"
"Careful, human." He cut me off, words dipped in venom, green eyes flaring red.
I took a step back, my veins filling with ice.
"You have no standing here," he sneered. "Stay in your fucking place. Spreading lies will get you as far as spreading your legs..."
"Enough!" Vladimir growled.
Silence reigned as the temperature dropped deathly low.
Every Alpha, Luna, and Beta fixed their eyes anywhere but on Vladimir. His voice was low, steady, but sharp enough to cut through bone. "Lilith Brooks. What is your connection to Alpha Caesar?"
I blinked at him, a bitter laugh spilling out before I could stop it. "Connection?" My gaze flicked back to Caesar, and I let my lips curl into something between mockery and venom. "I didn’t know the man I dated for two years—the boy I thought I knew—was not only a Lycan, but an Alpha. Turns out the only thing he never hid was his talent for running his mouth with cheap insults. But he’s in the past." I shrugged, folding my arms. "And frankly, not worth the oxygen."
Caesar’s smirk faltered, replaced by a dangerous gleam. He scoffed, leaning back in his chair like my words hadn’t cut razor-deep. "Is that so? And yet you came here—into this chamber—for me."
I almost laughed. "For you? Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not worth the migraine, let alone the trouble."
His jaw ticked. His voice dropped, low and furious. "A human like you has no right to speak like that to a Lycan. Much less an Alpha."
"She is no human." Vladimir’s interruption landed like thunder. His eyes didn’t move from Caesar, every syllable calm but scorching. "She is a hybrid."