Clarissa:I woke up exhausted. I looked out of the window and light barely came from it. It was evening. I couldn't believe how the day had gone by so fast.I turned around and rubbed the space on the bed. Lorenzo had disappeared the same way he did back in my room at Erica's house.I sighed sadly and grabbed the pillow that he lay on. It still smelled like him. I pulled it closer and relished the scent of his expensive perfume on the bed sheets.I had a wonderful afternoon with him and I was a fool to think that if I slept off, I would wake up with him by my side. He had made it very clear that he had no interest in me and that he wanted me to be his slut, his side piece. It was a fact that he would never put me above Erica. He fucked me but Erica had a place in his life and didn't even understand why.I had watched them for years and they never acted like two people there were about to get married. There was love in their life but it wasn't as expressive as I thought it would be.In
Erica:“Dante, I…”Ring! Ring! Ring!I was stopped mid-sentence by my phone ringing loudly on the bedside table. I stretched over and picked it up and saw that it was the landline number from my house.I gasped silently. My kids were calling me! I couldn't believe that I had been so engrossed with Dante that I forgot that I had left them home alone and given Clarissa an entire week off of work.I looked at Dante skeptically and my mind was kicked into motion. I couldn't let him know that my kids were calling me. I couldn't let him put two and two together and figure out that the triplets were his children. I didn't even want him to know that he had children.I grabbed my phone grabbed my shirt and held it against my chest.“I need to take this call privately. It's something important about work.”I scurried into the bathroom and closed the door but I was careful to look through the keyhole to make sure that Dante wasn't eavesdropping on my conversation.“Hello?”“Mom!”The sound of my
Erica:I glared at him and he looked at me with equal intensity. My heart was beating rapidly. I was this close to being exposed. If Lorenzo had been on that call he would have known that I was with Dante.I raised my hand to slap him across his cheek was he caught my hand in mid-air and pulled me close to him.“Erica, I do not know why you continue to resist me and frolic with him!”I tried to retaliate with my left hand but he caught that as well and all I could do was stand still, while he held me, and glared furiously at him.“That ‘him’ you are referring to is my fiance and I will marry him. Face it, Dante, you lost me and you will never get me back. I will never be your Luna; I will never be your woman. I will never belong to someone as selfish and cruel as you. You had me in your life and now you lost me. It's someone else's turn. He was there for me when you were not, for 6 years. And you can't even lie that you missed me because you never attempted to look for me all those ye
Erica:I glared at Pearl from head to toe and she did the same to me. We were stuck in a deadlock and I could feel the heated tension in the room. I could hear her breath heaving angrily as her eyes fluttered in their sockets in anger.“How are you doing, Pearl?”“Oh for fuck's sake!” She yelled angrily.She looked over my shoulder at Dante furiously.“How the hell could you bring her over again?! Wasn't bringing her to one party not enough? I didn't think that I would have to see her poor, ugly face here in our house! And I don't understand why you are without a shirt, Dante! Did you sleep with her?!”I rolled my eyes nonchalantly and readjusted my bag on my shoulder.“I think I shall be going now …”“Like fuck you are! You aren't going anywhere !”I scoffed in anger and tried my best to keep my rage from rising.“I doubt you are comfortable seeing my face in your home. So why not allow me to do you the favor of seeing myself out .”She tossed her bag to the sofa beside her and walke
Clarissa:I was at the mall in sunglasses.Even though it was evening, I couldn't risk anyone recognizing me. Only the Goddess knew how many people knew Erica and my affiliation to her.I already had a lot of shopping in my arms. I bought as many stylish clothes and bags as I could.I had the feeling that I had visited every designer and bought at least one of the outfits: Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Givenchy, Gucci, you name it.I even surprised myself by buying things that I never thought I would ever be able to wear. I had lingerie, high-heeled shoes, and sexy bathing suits in my shopping.I stopped at another store and a dress caught my attention. I adored it on the mannequin and wondered if Lorenzo would think it was pretty on me.I looked at my phone and saw that I had barely scratched my budget and I could fit in a few extra things.I walked into the store and was greeted warmly by the shop attendant.“Good evening, Miss. Welcome to Lady Fashion. What would you like to buy
Erica:Pulled up to the driveway and sat in the car. I was exhausted. My dress was torn and it had a bloody hole in the middle.I reached over to the back but couldn't find my coat, Lorenzo's coat, that I had worn to the party. Where was it?I sighed and found an old shirt in the back and pulled it over my head. It covered the hole well enough and I planned to dash upstairs before the kids could see it.I got out of the car and went inside and the kids were excited to see me. The house wasn't as messy as I thought it would be and I gave them all a big kiss for being so responsible.Elma didn't hesitate to jump into my arms, much to her brother and sister's dismay. They asked her to leave me alone so that I could rest but she clung to me like a koala.“I guess we are all ready to go out."“Yes!!"The cheer was loud and unanimous. Even Elma was excited.I excused myself and headed up to my room to change. I dashed up the stairs as fast as I could so that Elma wouldn't catch up to me.I s
Erica:“Erica? Erica ?”I was pulled out of my thoughts by Javier staring at me, as well as the kids. I gave a nervous laugh and tried my best to collect my thoughts.I didn't want Javier coming with us, but at the same time, I didn't want to seem rude. He seemed like a nice guy and I was certain that there was not going to be an incident where I would end up fucking him.If anything, he was way better company than Dante. Maybe that was what I needed: some good company.“Hey, Erica,” he started softly. “You seem a little hesitant about me coming along with you and the children. I don't want to force your decision. I can go if you like. I have…”“No, no, no,” I said, holding his arm tenderly.I looked up at him and was once again captivated by his warm golden eyes and his handsome face.“I would be delighted for you to come along with the kids and me. I've been stuck in some bad meetings this week and some good company would do me a lot of good.”I watched his lips curl into a smile a
Erica:I paid for the toys and we finally left the store. My stomach growled and so did the kids.“It seems that you all are hungry. I know a great Chinese place where we can have something to eat.”Javier offered to take us and I was so happy that the kids didn't say anything to him, though I could tell that they were excited to go.“You know that you don't have to, Javier. I can take the kids out to get something to eat. We wouldn't want to burden you any more than we already have .”Despite how happy I was that he offered to take us out for dinner, I didn't want to be a burden to him. We only just met at a party and he had already followed me and the kids to the toy store.“Nonsense. I wouldn't mind taking you and the kids out. It would be my treat and besides, you could share some of your architectural ideas with me over dinner. And I know a place where the children can play a little while we talk. I doubt they would want to be bored with business discussions.”I turned to look at
Laura’s POVI watched as Lisa and her father breezed through the crowd. It wasn’t difficult to tell that she was thoroughly bored. I couldn’t blame her. Her father looked like a stuffy stuck-up man.I turned my head and caught sight of Rusev watching me like a hawk. I grumbled. I hated him. Why did my mate think it a good idea to leave me stuck with him?I shadowed Mr. Hans as he dragged his daughter along, greeting dignitaries and other stuck-up people like himself.A waiter passed me and I grabbed another glass of champagne. How was I going to get Lisa away from her old man?My mind kicked into overdrive, and soon, an idea hit me. I sighed and winced in disgust as it continued to take shape in my head. It wasn’t pleasant but I had to do it. I guess that was one other purpose of the dress I wore.I took another sip of my champagne and strutted sexily towards Mr. Hans. He caught a glimpse of me through the corner of his eye and was soon fully facing my direction.A dirt smirk crept on
Erica’s POVThe guards stopped him before he could come any closer.“What are you doing here?!” My mother yelled as the guards blocked Dante’s path towards me.“I need to see Erica. This is important.”My mother’s eyes bore down on him. I turned away; I could barely look at him. Did he come here to ruin my fathers funeral as well? Wasn’t he tired of ruining my life?“Guards! Take him away!”They stormed up to him and Dante began to back away.“Erica! I need to talk to you! Tell them to stop!”His voice calling my name was driving me insane. It was because of him that my life was ruined. Couldn’t he just stop meddling in my life.“Erica!”The guards grabbed him and began to drag him away. I watched him as he struggled and yelled at me. The guests all watched in awe. I already had more than enough gossip circling around me. I didn’t want anymore.“Erica!”There was a gasp and the guards were on the floor. Dante had broken free and was dashing towards me. My knees began to shake. I wante
Laura’s POV“Room service!”I put on my bathrobe and walked to the door. I didn’t order room service. I clutched my robe tighter to my body and opened the door just a crack.A lady stood there with a box in her hands. Was that a delivery for me?“Are you Miss Laura?”“Yes.”I felt a little emboldened and opened the door a little wider. The lady was dressed in formal wear, a little too formal for her to be in the room service business.“I have a package for you.”She handed it to me, and I looked at the tag attached to it. I couldn't help but smile.“I may not be with you, but I want all eyes to be on you and for every man to drool at the sight of you and wish you were theirs. But they can’t have you. You are MINE. Mate.”I smiled and felt a warm fuzzy feeling bubble inside of me. He wasn’t here, but he knew how to make me feel like he was.“Thank you.”I hurried back into my room, trying my best not to squeal like an excited seven-year-old. I hadn’t expected a dress for the party. I
Erica’s POVMy fingers were trembling as I did Ethan's bow tie. I had tried not to cry. It had been hard to keep my emotions in check while we planned the funeral. Everyone was still scared of me but the condolences they gave brought tears to my eyes every time I heard them.Today would be the first time in weeks that I would lay eyes on my father’s body and would never see it again.“Don’t be sad, Mom.”Ethan pulled me into a hug as soon as I lifted my fingers from his bowtie. He was such a sweet boy.“I am fine, love.-”I stroked his hair and kissed it.“-Go and find your sisters while I get ready.”He hurried away and I was left alone in my room. I looked at the mirror one more time and noticed the tears in my eyes starting to fall. My mascara was slightly smudged and I hurriedly wiped my face and did a fresh application.My thoughts were weighed down by thoughts of my father. It was draining. I couldn't imagine how disappointed he was in me. Mom kept telling me that it wasn’t true
Clarissa's POV“Lorenzo, please wake up."I sat beside him as he lay on the living room couch with his head on my lap. His forehead was covered in sweat and his eyes were blank and white.My heart was racing. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to give him CPR, but I didn't know if what he had was infectious.I couldn't count the number of times I had placed my head on his chest to make sure that his heart was still beating. His breath was faint, and his skin was clammy and cold.I couldn't take this anymore. I should have called for help sooner and damned the fact that the entire pack probably hated us.My fingers shook as I grabbed my phone and began to dial the numbers.Suddenly, Lorenzo gasped and his eyes cleared up slowly. My fingers shook even more as I watched him silently take in the room.“Lorenzo," I whispered, terrified to the core.His eyes finally fell and focused on me. I held my breath.“Rissa?"He tried to sit up but I slowly eased his head back into my lap.“Don't try
Erica's POVThe meeting finally came to an end and I was grateful. I remained seated with my mother and we watched the counselors leave.Counselor Rufus gave me a death stare before he left the room. I turned to look at my mother and her face was impassive until we could no longer see his fake hair through the open door.“Good riddance!" she exclaimed, and her face relaxed, and she smiled at me.I returned with a nervous grin though my fingers were knotting frantically on my lap.“It's going to be alright, Erica. I will not let the counselors treat you like trash. They are just a bunch of old fools that are stuck in the past. I believe that you will make a good Luna."Her words made my nervous smile fade.“You know that I won't be a good, Luna. You saw how they looked at me. Everyone is afraid of me. I can't even get through the hallway without a maid or guard seeing me and flinching.”I lowered my head and heard my mother sigh. Her fingers intertwined with mine, stopping my frantical
Clarissa's POVMy eyes watered as I chopped up the onions. I set the knife down and paced around the counter as the broth bubbled in the pot.As I stared at the boiling pot, a flash of Erica came into my mind. Her monstrous form and the death of her father. The purple hue on his skin was exactly the same as that on Lorenzo's arm.It just didn't make sense. I asked my assassin to kill Erica. Why didn't he do it? Was he a fraud?I had tried to contact him severally, but his phone rang, and there was no answer. Had I been duped?I gritted my teeth at the thought and turned my attention to the bubbling broth. It was time to put the vegetables.The onion went in first, and then the carrots and peppers.This was my first time in Lorenzo's home back at our pack. It was beautiful. Luxurious, nothing like my home back at the pack Erica was sent to.My watery eyes scanned the room and I exhaled. There had been so much drama in just a few days.A shiver ran down my spine. I didn't expect to see
Erica's POVI walked to the meeting hall and felt my breath being hitched in my throat. The maids, as they walked past me, gave me terrified greetings and hurried off in the other direction.It did nothing for my nerves. I could only imagine what the council was going to say.I soon reached the door that led to the hall and stood outside of it for a while. My heart was racing, and I was clutching it with my left hand as if it would do something to make it calm down.“Easy, Erica. Easy. This is just a meeting. Nothing more."I pushed the glossy black wooden door open and finally walked into the room. As soon as I was guided across the carpet to My spot beside my mother, I could feel all eyes on me.It was so hard to fight the urge to look over the room. A few of the counselors were whispering as I walked in, and above three were staring at me, their faces white with fear.I sat down next to my mother and the seven counselors stood in greeting. The man who sat at my left-hand side was f
Erica's POVI lay in bed quietly. The silence in the house was thick, but I could hear the whispers of the maids as they passed my room door.They were all scared and I couldn't blame them.I had asked my mother to watch the kids for me while I got some time to rest. This all felt extremely overwhelming for me.I felt strange being here. My father was gone, and it was like a big chunk of the pack house had been ripped off.I buried myself deeper into my covers, the comforter soaking up my silent tears as they rolled down my cheeks.“I miss you, Dad. I am so sorry that I failed you. I… I was just so weak and I didn't know what to do…”The tears choked my words and soon burst out but were muffled by the comforter.If only he was alive, he would probably know what to do. I wasn't even sure about how to get the Living Gem. Worst of all, I didn't even know what to do with it once I got it.A cold draft of wind blew through the window, chilled my fingers, and dried up my tears, leaving stre