CHAPTER 7 Second Chance Mate

"I don't need money. My father needs money," Lily muttered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Garrett asked. He clearly heard her and was surprised by her brazenness.

"Nothing," Lily replied weakly.

Lily wanted to tell him no, tell him that he was ruining her life, and tell him that she did not need money. It was her family. She had never experienced something so shameful as her experiences before tonight. Lily wanted to reject him, but where would that leave her and her family?

"I wanted to apologize for what my brother did to you. I don't know why my parents agreed to this," Garrett remarked in a light tone.

He had no desire at all for her to be embarrassed in such a manner. Garrett just wanted to know if she was untouched. He knew a thorough physical examination occurred but it was so easy for results to be fabricated. Smelling her, confirmed for him that there was no question. Lily was untouch.

When Lily recalled being poked and prodded by the pack doctor and the pity she felt from him, she felt a chill run down her spine. All the questions that were asked still made her blush in embarrassment. She concluded that Garrett, not his mother and father, was the one who wanted this. It shocked her to hear otherwise.

Lily whispered her response, "It's all right." There was nothing she could do to defend herself. She couldn't complain because she knew her family needed the money, and why not be bound to him? Lily had already lost her mate and her family didn't want her. Nothing mattered. Lily merely wished this man did not turn out to be some sort of pervert. "All I ask is that you be gentle."

'This is wrong. She is in so much pain. I can hear her wolf crying. Your brother is a bastard,' Berric, Garrett's wolf, said to him. He was intrigued by Lily's smell. He couldn't quite place the scent, but as soon as he saw her, he knew that couldn't go through with rush mating with her. Lily was still healing mentally.

Lily withdrew her hand from his and stopped putting up a fight. She anticipated he would ravage her within the next second after he had already sprung upon her. However, she was surprised when Garrett covered her with a blanket.

Lily questioned, "What's the matter?"

"You wanted to wait until marriage. So, we will wait. When you're ready, we can continue," Garrett answered and exited the room.

As quickly as she could, Lily switched on the light since she had no idea if Garrett was teasing her or not. She had the intention of following him, but she didn't have the courage to do so. The only thing left of the man was his strong cologne.

The back of a chair close to the door was covered in a dress and Lily's jacket. She waited for a little over ten minutes to make sure that Garrett hadn't changed his mind.  After hastily putting on her clothes, Lily exited the room. She entered the elevator, ready to head to Tiffany's house. Lily couldn't go home.

'I'll just have my belongings delivered there. That way I won't have to face them,' she thought.

Unexpectedly, when the elevator doors opened, there was a huge group of reporters standing outside the entrance, waiting for her to appear. The sight of it made Lily's face go pale. Her image was going to be plastered all over the latest headlines. 'So much for word not spreading', Lily thought.

The flashing lights all landed on her at the same time, and the microphone was so near that it was almost touching her face. Lily covered her eyes with her hands until they diverted the light away from her face.

A reporter questioned in an aggressive manner, "We received a tip that you and Garrett Hunter, the second son of the Grey Blood Pack, are engaged. Is this true?"

Another reporter inquired, "Where is Garrett Hunter, and why didn't he come out with you?"

A third reporter approached Lily and asked, "You are here alone. Was Garrett disappointed in bed?"

This question was so disrespectful that Lily couldn't help but glare at the third reporter. It was common knowledge that Garrett was an unattractive man with little interest in finding his mate. People assumed it was due to some disability.

When Lily attempted to go back inside the elevator, she discovered that she could not reach the button to get the elevator door to open. Cornered, she had no choice but to respond to their inquiries.

The Hunter family was deeply involved in various political activities. By sending the reporters to this location, someone was obviously trying to target Garrett and put the Hunter family and their pack in a negative light.

'I have to be careful with what I say.' Lily reasoned to herself, 'I absolutely cannot botch this, or it will be all over the gossip magazines in the morning.'

The action that was taking place outside of the hotel could be seen clearly from a car that was parked directly across the street from the hotel. The driver watched the event play out before dialing someone on his cell phone.

The driver said, "Sir, it seems someone released information about your movements tonight. Do you want me to handle it?"

The individual on the other end of the line said, "Yes. Don't scare her."

Right at the moment when the driver stepped out of the car and began to walk across the street, Lily proceeded to confront the reporters. She quickly put on a calm demeanor and smiled at them.

Lily clarified, "Garrett had something to do, so he left first and let me rest. I couldn't get out of bed right after because my legs were so weak."

The reporters were shocked by Lily's forthrightness, as they had not anticipated receiving this response. It was almost to the point of obscenity, yet classily done.

"Then, Ms. Bray, the rumors regarding the appearance of Mr. Hunter, is it true that he is..." another reporter continued, but Lily swiftly cut him off.

"My fiance is naturally the most handsome wolf in the world, but have any of you seen his genuine face? My mate prefers to keep a low profile, and I am amazed that representatives of respected companies would stoop so low as to believe in unsubstantiated rumors," Lily chastised. "So, publish this. Ladies don't believe rumors; find out for yourself. You might miss out on a man who has a huge heart and will do anything for you."

Nobody would have thought Lily was being coerced into a marriage after she enthusiastically spoke of "her fiance."

In any case, considering that no one had ever seen the real Garrett, there was no one who could dispute what she said about him.

"Well, then that must mean you get around, Ms. Bray. You mated with Matthew Hunter no more than two days ago. You rejected him, and now you are engaged to Garrett Hunter. How could the Grey Blood Pack want such a promiscuous female in their pack?" one of the reporters said.