3. Barging in

LILIAN

At first, I was confused as to why the door would close shut like that. I ran towards the door and banged my fist repeatedly against the frame.

"Darcy! Darcy! Can you hear me?"

There was no response.

Pounding harder, I called frantically. "Darcy... Darcy, please help me. I think the door closed shut."

Once more, my voice was met with silence.

Then, it dawned on me. Darcy had fucking locked me in. I thought she was bonding with me, I already felt the friendship vibe coming from her, so why the hell did she do this to me?

My chest rose and fell in trepidation. Everyone knows I hate darkness so much. I have always found the dark creepy and it made me feel so vulnerable.

Oh crap!

"It is going to be fine, Lilian." I schooled myself. "Breath, woman, exhale! In, out, in, out."

Afterward, I held down the knob and tried to open it. The door rattled on the hinges but didn't open.

Bile was starting to rise in my throat and panic surged through my vein. I slipped slowly to the floor, thinking hard about why Darcy would lock me.

Tears were filling my eyes. My lips quivered in fear. I looked around, but despite my eyes peering through the darkness, it was void and empty. I could not see a damn thing.

Thinking I heard something, I jolted to my feet once more and banged on the door. Maybe Darcy didn't leave, perhaps she was also trying to open the door, I thought to myself.

Feeling hopeful, I continued to bang on the door. "Darcy, Darcy...please open the door. I am not fond of the dark. I beg you this instant to open the door for me."

But when I kept quiet, I met with shrilling silence.

Memories of how Darcy and I met at the terrace surged to the forefront of my brain, and a loud gasp escaped my lips. How could I have been so stupid? Of course, Damon sent her to lock me in the room.

It was obvious, considering the way she bumped into me and held my wrist afterward. She was not interested in being friends with me. All that little act of hers has been a charade, I just didn't realize it earlier.

Who knows, the story of her mom could be a fucking lie too. No wonder mom always taught me not to trust anyone. She said wolves are dangerous, especially the friendly ones. So how come I repeated the same mistake without remembering what I have been taught all my life?

Damn, Darcy!

Several thoughts began to make my mind run amok, my heart was pounding rapidly against my chest, at this rate; it might as well jump right out of it. What if they never came back for me? I thought to myself.

What if Damon left me here to rot, without anyone realizing that? No wonder everyone termed him as the ruthless Alpha. No no no, hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I can't die like this, I really can't!

I shuffled to my feet once more, so I could call out to anyone around the place.

Just then, I heard the sound of something, like there was another presence in the room, coming towards me.

I froze.

Cold sensation sprang up from the sole of my feet, weakened my knees then spiraled into my veins. My pulse quickened.

More tears rolled down my cheeks, and I clenched the hem of the fabric of my dress in fear. I waited, trying to picture where the movement could come from. With my stomach jabbing in trepidation, I tried to peer through the darkness, hoping to make out anything. But I failed miserably.

After a couple of minutes, the whole place became oddly quiet. I no longer heard any sound, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

Maybe it was just my mind playing games with me because of my fear of darkness."It is just you in the room, Lilian." I muttered under my breath and my nerves soon began to relax.

Before I could come to realize what was happening, something hit me very hard on my head and I crashed to the floor with a loud thud. A lone tear escaped my eye, and then darkness consumed me.

★

"Ow!"

Groaning in pain, I brought my hand to my throbbing head and rubbed against the surface. I was sprawled on the floor like a wild cat ran over by a carriage.

Memories of everything that took place last night surged to the forefront of my brain and I jolted to a sitting position with a gasp.

I looked around frantically, but this time, the once-dark room was filled with light and I could see everything. The room was empty, with no sign of bed or property whatsoever.

So why the hell did Darcy bring me into this room? It was obvious she didn't intend to find somewhere for me to sleep from the start, I remembered, thinking it was orchestrated by Damon and I shuffled to my feet.

For a split second, my vision blurred and my knees wobbled. I pressed my weight against the wall to support my stance, after I felt relaxed, I resumed my attention on the door.

I didn't even yank the door hard before it creaked open. My pupils dilated in shock. As of last night, the door was like a boulder. It felt as though I was trying to pull a rock from an enclosed space.

So how the fuck was this door open?

Did Darcy feel bad, then she came back to open it? I asked myself.

Without putting much thought into it, I darted out of the room, into the large hall, then out of the door.

My blood was boiling with seething rage. I need to give that Motherfucking son of a bitch called Damon, a piece of my mind.

He had to know I wasn't some sort of girl, he could push around and do whatever he deemed fit.

I stomped through the terrace, scanning around for Darcy. She had better avoid me too because the moment I set my eyes on her, it would seem as though she has been given a death sentence.

After rounding up several corners, I got to the room and yanked it open forcefully. But it was empty and there was no sight of Damon anywhere.

At that moment, an omega walked up to me, she bowed in deference. "Greetings, Luna."

"Greetings," I responded sharply. "Where is Damon?"

She managed to look at me, then brought her gaze back to the floor. "He is at the meeting with the elders, Luna."

I huffed. "Where is the meeting hall?"

She gestured in that direction. "Follow that corner and take two left turns, you'd see the hall, Luna."

Without uttering any more words to her, I darted toward the direction she described. Behold, there was a hall situated in the middle of the courtyard.

Sauntering to the hall, I got there and the guards blocked my way from entering. Feeling disgusted, I tossed them a questioning look.

The daunting one spoke. "I am sorry, Luna. There is a meeting going on, and you cannot be allowed into the building."

I was taken aback by his statement. "What?" I scoffed.

He cleared his throat and made to repeat it once more. "There is a meet—"

Tossing my hand in the air, I stopped him mid-sentence. "I don't fucking give a damn about that, I demand entry right now!" I yelled, stomping my right foot angrily.

The second guard bowed, "Luna, you sh—"

"Just stop!" I huffed. "I want to see Damon at this moment, and if there is nothing you can do then let me in."

When I noticed they weren't ready to let me into the building, I licked my lower lip and thought of a quick idea.

"Oh, my head" I groaned. "My head hurts so much."

One of the guards rushed towards me, "Luna, Luna are you okay?" he asked with concern and curiosity evident in his tone, while the other one cast me a quizzical look.

Biting down on my lower lip, I stomped on his right foot and rushed into the building before the second one could think of stopping me.

Deep down, I felt bad for doing that to the guard, but an urgent situation calls for urgent measures.

Everyone in the meeting room snapped their head in my direction. Damon was inclusive.

Damon glared at me with his eyes flickering with rage. "I thought you were told not to come in?" He asked. His deep voice reverberated across the large room.

"You are so stupid for that utterance." I blurted out loud.

Everyone in the room gasped in shock.

Folding my arms neatly beneath my chest in akimbo, I glared at him. "You mother fucking son of a gun kicked me out of the room last night," I said between gritted teeth.

The elders kept mute. Instead, they were looking from me to Damon.

"As if that wasn't enough for you." My voice cracked and I cleared my throat. "You locked me in a dark room without a bed or anything!"

A loud gasp resonated through the hall once more.

Damon stared blankly at me.

"Oh, you are playing the innocent card now?" I questioned angrily. "You sent someone to lock me up, thinking that would make me scared?" I burst into a series of raucous laughter.

But deep down, I wasn't happy. It was that kind of laugh you make in mockery just to feel good about yourself. However, it didn't reach my eyes.

"You failed, Damon. Better luck next time." I sneered. "And if you think I am going to be scared of you just because of these stupid little tricks, think again. And I promise to make you pay for what you did to me last night, it's not like I wanted to be mated to you anyway, but it happened. Do not dare me, Damon!" I warned then stomped out of the room, ignoring the murmurs uprising amongst the elders.