chapter 75
Lily POV
We wait patiently for Aria to get off the phone and serve the lecture I know I am about to receive. She places her phone down on the bedside table before turning to me.
“Just Reid wanting to make sure we got here alright” She tells me. I nod before laying back down on the bed. Aria kicks off her shoes before lying beside me.
“No, lecture?” I ask.
“No, I mainly wanted to find out how you are doing with this whole stepchild thing?” She states.
I think for a few minutes and we lay in silence, Amber pulls out her phone and starts playing on it, pretending to ignore us but I know she is listening.
“Everything is fine, it is what it is. I can’t change it, so why dwell on it?” I tell her.
“I know it hurts, I also know you saved yourself for your mate Lily, I know you said you didn’t want one but if you didn’t why did you save yourself?” She asks and I look at her.
I didn’t want a mate, yet every chance I had to lose my virginity I turned it down and not just because Layla would refuse but because I didn’t feel anyone was deserving of taking it, so maybe I really was waiting for my mate. I didn’t say anything. I had no decent argument because deep down I knew she was right.
“So why haven’t you mated yet, why don’t you bear his mark?” She asked curiously.
“Because once we do there is no turning back Aria. I never wanted this, any of it. Then I found out he got another wolf pregnant which just solidifies we aren’t compatible like the goddess thought,” I tell her.
“So it has nothing to do with fearing actually having a mate. You convinced yourself you were undeserving of one for so many years and now you have one you still don’t feel good enough. Mates are equals. Each half to a whole”
“I’m not whole Aria, you know that”
“Yes, you are, you just need to believe it and trust Damien when he tells you he accepts you. You do not know, but he didn’t care if you were broken Lily, he said he would declare war if we didn’t let him take you even though I could have killed him where he stood and he didn’t fear the outcome of his words, he just knew he wanted his mate. To him you’re not broken, to me you’re not. The only person who thinks you have a broken wolf is you”
“We have been good? Haven’t we, Lily?” Says Layla, eavesdropping in my head.
“Please just give in, let him mark us” She pleads. Layla wants this more than anything.
“After the baby is born” I tell her, wanting to make sure I wasn’t going to be pushed to the side afterwards. Layla nods her head.
“Just think about it Lily, I love you and so does he. Don’t ruin your chances at happiness because you don’t feel good enough for him” Aria says sitting up before kissing my head.
When she goes to get up, I wrap my arms around her waist, and she brushes my hair with her fingers. I let her go, and she hops up walking to the door, only to stop when she notices the walk-in door open.
“Yeesh, hate to be the laundry lady here?” She states and I chuckle.
“Alpha’s” Both Aria and Amber say at the same time. Aria shakes her head, walking out.
“I know you are both sneaking out by the way, No drinking. And I am not getting involved if your mate kills you” She yells from the stairs. Getting up, I rummage through my cupboard and grab some clothes. Following Amber to her room, we both get changed.
Once we are dressed, I decide to take Amber to visit Callie. Walking downstairs Aria is waiting by the door. She gives us her keys.
“I will let you, but no drinking and be back before eight. The Alpha said he should be home by then,”
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
“Natalia is going to show me how to make those stuffed capsicin she made yesterday for lunch” She tells me. Grabbing her keys, we ran to her car before taking off.
“Where is the bottle shop?” Asks Amber.
“We are both underage” I tell her, knowing Damien’s pack is way too strict to sell grog to minors.
Amber rummages through her bag and pulls out a card. “I got a fake ID” She says, a grin on her face.
“We can ditch the car at your friends for the night” She says,
“Maybe you really are the destructive influence” I tell her before driving toward the bottle shop.
Amber runs in and brings out three bottles of Vodka and a bottle of whisky.
“I can’t believe it worked”
“I know, it never works back home!” She said.
“Probably because everyone back home knows you” I chuckle before driving toward Callies.
“You’re not going to snitch are you, Layla” I ask her, knowing she has a direct line to Darian now.
“No, we can have some fun for once” She states and my face lights up. Maybe we weren’t so different after all.
Getting to Callie’s she comes out to see who’s strange car pulled into the driveway. When I hop out, she relaxes.
“You’re out of the hospital, Does Alpha know you’re here?”
“No, but my sister does, this is Amber, Amber this is Callie” They both say hi to each other and I could tell they were going to get along simply great. Especially when Amber pulled the bottles out. Callie’s face lit up.
“I will order pizza, girl’s night?” We both nod, walking inside.
“I like her,” Amber murmurs.
“Yeah, she reminds me a bit of you,” I tell her, grabbing the bottle of Vodka and going to grab some glasses.
Damien’s POV
It was eleven o’clock when I got a call from Aria. We were supposed to be back by eight, but with David’s help we got information from one of the rogues we caught. One thing we had in common was our appetite for torture, shared the same thrill of watching them squirm in fear.
We found out that Kade was behind the attacks, so I was already angry before I got the call. But when Aria said Lily and Amber took off and hadn’t returned, I was livid.
“Why did you let them leave, she just got out of hospital?” I growl through the phone.
“They are young Damien, and I could tell she wanted a night off from the dramas I expected them back by eight”
Hanging up the phone, turning to David who had his hands inside the rogue stomach pulling out his intestines. The rogue screamed as his body kept trying to heal before he went unconscious.
“We need to go, I will drop you off back at the pack house”
“Lily?” David asks, and I nod. He cleans his hand on a towel.
“What about him?” David asks. We got everything we needed from him so we walked over to him. I snap his neck. His eyes looking up at me hollow as I walk toward the door.
Dropping David off, I know Lily would have gone to the only place I know she feels comfortable, and that is Callie’s. I pull up out the front and Max is sitting on the porch steps.
“They’re inside” He says nodding toward the door. Walking past him, I step inside and am instantly hit with her scent. All three of them are dancing to music playing on the radio. Lily was so intoxicated she couldn’t even sense I was in the house. Sniffing the air, my eyes snap to her leg. Blood seeping through the side of her jeans, making me growl at her carelessness. I can tell her wounds had opened up on her leg.
Callie spotted me standing in the doorway freezing, her eyes going wide before Amber and Lily looked at me before looking at each other. They both burst out laughing before Callie nudges Amber in warning. I growl and Callie turns her head in submission and so does Amber. Lily however gets an attitude.
“Great, the fun police have arrived” She giggles, stumbling into the couch. I grab her, steadying her before she smacks my hand away. Tugging her to me, I hold her against me, she smells strongly of vodka.
“Get in the car” I growl at Amber.
“You, I will deal with tomorrow” I tell Callie and her face pales.
“Don’t talk to them like that” Lily says in anger, her words are slurred and she can barely stay upright.
“You have disobeyed me for the last time, Love” I growl into her ear. She tugged herself away from me.
“No, you can’t treat people like that. We did nothing wrong” She argues back.
“Callie knows exactly why this behaviour isn’t permitted at the moment and so does fucking Amber. Now get in the fucking car Lily” I yell at her.
“No” She screams before falling back on the lounge. I can feel that Darian is just as angry with her and Layla is blocking him out. Going to the lounge I rip her up, she fights against me but in her drunken stupor just ends up tripping over her own feet. Dragging her outside, I shove her into the passenger seat. Amber quietly sits in the back.
“Max, drive Aria’s car to the pack house” I tell him before rummaging through Lily’s jean pocket and retrieving the keys and tossing them to him.
“You haven’t been drinking?” I ask.
“No, Alpha, I came home from patrol and they were like that” He tells me. I nod before pulling out of the driveway. I see Max following behind. On the drive back, both Amber and Lily pass out. Aria is waiting outside when we pull up and she doesn’t look happy. She rips the back door open and pulls Amber out, jostling her awake.
“Get in my car, I can’t believe you would disobey me” She snaps at Amber.
“I’m sorry Alpha, I think it is best we leave. Clearly I have made things worse by coming here,” She says.
“Wait till morning, Lily will want to say goodbye” I said looking toward the car where Lily was slumped in the passenger seat.
“No, we will be fine, David agrees. I will come back soon with the kids. Once you have everything sorted with Lily. I will ring her in the morning so can you please give her back her phone” I nod. David places their bags in their cars and Amber has passed out in the passenger seat of Aria’s car again. Aria shakes her head at her before walking over and opening the passenger door of mine and kissing Lily’s head.
“You are your own worst enemy Lily” She whispers brushing her hair from her face. Lily stirs but doesn’t wake. Everyone leaves. Leaving me alone with Lily. I pick her up and carry her inside before dumping her on the bed.
She squeals loudly before squinting at the lights and rolls over. I pull her clothes off when she wakes.
“Leave me alone” She says as I pull her jeans off. Blood seeping into the towel placed underneath her. Grabbing the first aid kit, I pull the dressing off before redressing it. Most of her wounds are healed, and the bruising has settled except for the gash on her leg and side.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
Lily tries pushing me away wanting to sleep but I growl at her in warning.
“Don’t growl at me” She whines, throwing her arm over her face to block the light.
“I am going to do more than growl at you in a minute” I tell her, making her eyes snap open and go to mine.