Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A Familiar Scent

Holding the tray of food for Alpha Lawrence, I swallowed the lump in my throat before I pushed the door open. He was already staying at Calgary's house, healing the injuries and wounds he got from defending my mother's grave.

It was awkward when our eyes met, but he was the first one to look away as if he didn't want to see my rims that always reminds him of my mother. When the door shut behind me, I placed his food on the small table sitting on the corner near the door that was leading towards the veranda.

"Calgary left to investigate," I said as soon as I turned to face him.

He let out a heavy breath. "You're supposed to address him as Alpha. It's disrespectul to call someone of authority by their first name."

"I haven't submitted to him yet. Technically, you are still my Alpha considering that Luhence is nowhere to be found," I replied. For the first time in my life, I was able to speak to him that long, as if a part of me was sure that he was no longer capable of hurting me as long as I was in Claivan.

"Zenios has already fallen. Either you'll go on your own or you will be part of Claivan." He looked at me with a familiar cold expression written in his eyes. "I won't fight for you anyway."

His words felt like daggers piercing through my heart but I still decided to help him get on his feet when I saw him struggling to pull himself up. I felt his shame, as if he couldn't believe that after everything he had done to me, I still had the heart to help him when he needed someone the most.

Alpha Lawrence kept his lips pursed until he finally settled on the chair. When I was about to leave him, he suddenly heaved a sigh before he pulled the extra chair. "This is a lot. You don't look like you're eating that much lately." He cleared his throat as he looked away, embarrassed of his own offer. "Help me finish it all."

I was left frozen in my spot for a few moments until he finally put the fork on my side of the table. Left with no choice, I decided to take the seat and eat with him, but my chest tightened and my eyes turned bloodshot when we began eating.

Alpha Lawrence stared at me with a wrinkled forehead. "I'm not even hurting you."

I sniffed. "You're not."

"Then why the fuck are you crying?" he asked, sounding so irritated.

I looked him in the eye before I spoke. "Because we never shared a meal after my parents died. I was never allowed to join the pack meals. You get angry whenever I insist that I should sit on my parents' spot, and now here you are, sharing your food to me."

His jaw clenched as he looked away, unable to answer my question so I bowed my head and continued.

"Everytime I see you when we're having a meal at the pack house when my parents are still alive, I always wanted to sit next to you. There's something about you that draws me, but you never really looked me in the eyes until my mother died and you blamed me. I don't understand. I was a child who looks up at the man who's brave enough to lead our pack, but all you did is blame me for every little thing." I wiped the tears that fell on my cheeks. "You never gave me a chance to show you that I am also one of your people..."

My voice finally cracked, and before I lose control of my emotions in front of him, I stood up and stormed outside. I went straight to my own room where I locked myself until I felt better. Damn it. Why did I get so emotional because of a freaking meal? That was so pathetic of me, but maybe that was better than keeping it all to myself. Didn't I look forward to the day when I can finally tell Alpha Lawrence that I used to look up to him when I was a child? That even when he was avoiding me when I was little, I still go around just to see him do his job as Alpha?

I let out the heavy air in my lungs before I went out. Maybe I could help in the kitchen while Calgary was still looking for clues about where we could possibly find my parents' remains intead of stay here and have all the time to think of what happened.

After making sure that there were no traces of tears on my face, I went out, only to find Lindsey downstairs. Her eyes narrowed at me when she spotted me on top of the staircase. This girl wouldn't stop, would she? I can't believe I had to deal with this again all the damn time.

She stormed towards me as if I was her husband's mistress. "How dare you kiss Alpha Calgary? That filthy mouth doesn't have the right--"

"Kissed him?" I smirked. "Maybe you should get your eyes checked because I'm pretty sure we both know that it's the other way around."

Her eyes squinted at me. "And you think so full of yourself." She smirked at me. "Fine. He kissed you first, only because he knew I was there."

"Exactly." My brow shot up. "To prove that you two are not in a relationship."

She laughed, a very annoying one. "And you really think that we're not a thing, hmm?" She pulled something out from her jeans' pocket, and when I realized it was my collar, my heart almost stopped from beating. "So how come he left this in my bedroom then?" A devilish smile found its way to her lips. "That's right. You are nothing but a dummy. Ahma will never approve me so Cal is using you as an alibi to pursuade the council to let him choose his own Luna without me needing to fight for it."

My face turned pale. "That's not true..."

Her brow shot up as if she had sensed that her words affected me. "If I were you, I'll start saving myself from embarrassment. Cal will never choose an outsider."

She grabbed my hand and put the collar in my palm before she left while I was left nailed in my spot with a raging wolf.

My eyes shut as I took a deep breath. "It's okay, Nadine. You're Luhence's Luna in the first place..." I whispered to myself before I decided to go down, but the moment I reached the end of the staircase, my eyes turned gold when I suddenly smelled a familiar scent from a distance.

"Luhence?"