07. You Are Nothing

I leaned back on the chair. “You have not changed a bit. You are still good at using people to your advantage. Why does everybody treat me like trash?” I mumbled.

Glancing at me and returning his eyes to the road ahead of him, Alpha Lennox replied, “Because you allowed people to treat you one. Do you know what I remember about you? An omega who let anyone trample her. Weak. Cry baby and hide at Father’s side whenever you have the chance too. The confusing part was Alpha John kept on siding with you and defending you against your bullies. The more you ask for his help, the more I hate you. He keeps on ordering me to defend you from our packmates. But I did not listen to them. That time, I was a jerk who allowed those bullies to continue their hostilities."

Those were one of the endless reasons why he rejected me? Was it my fault that Alpha John was the only kind person who knows my struggle?

"Congratulations on your photographic memory," I said with sarcasm. “You only see my weakness and never any positive traits.”

So what if that was the only thing he remembered about me? It was not that I was thirsty for his attention. 

No freaking way!

“Keira. I am doing this for the sake of my Father. If not for him, I would never dare to look for you and ask you to marry me. You are not the person I want to marry. Plus, I have a lot of work and business to attend to. I already wasted a lot of time on this.”

“So, it was not a chance that you happened to visit the club where I was dancing. You wasted your time looking for me.”

His hands tensed as if he remembered what had happened in that place which I did not understand why. 

"Never go back to that place again. I mean it. Well, don’t when our agreement is in full effect."

I scoffed. "You cannot dictate to me with anything on what I do or don’t. The only thing I approved is to return to the Stonewind Pack in exchange for your protection and marry you while I settle everything with Salvacion. If he dies, our agreement is also done."

I hope everything will go back to normal. For once, I wanted to find peace. 

"He? What about the other Salvacion?"

I looked away and shifted my attention outside. I had no idea where we were going, but if it meant being far away from danger, I would gladly accept Alpha Lennox protection for now. 

"The other one died. Remember? You said it yourself."

My jaw clenched.

I would be happy to kill him myself. Over and over again after what he did to me. 

Alpha Lennox cleared his throat. "Right. He did. But I was serious when I said you are no longer allowed to go back to the strip club. For Pete’s sake, you don’t even know how to dance. It’s cringy to look."

I inhaled deeply as the urge to punch him in the jaw was strong.

“The last thing I know, they did not look for a good dancer. As proof of that, they hired me.” How dare he make fun of the way I danced? 

Alpha Lennox exhaled. “Just don’t visit that place again. Remember, when we get married, you will be carrying my name. You will become a temporary Luna of the Stonewind Pack. Don’t taint my name.”

“Yeah. Yeah. And also, stop being an asshole for the time being.”

“I want you to give me your promise.”

“Why?"

“You may not know it, but that club is also…dangerous.” Alpha Lennox gripped the steering wheel.  “Different kinds of bloodthirsty men are present.” 

“Oh, please. Please include yourself.” I was about to say more, when he suddenly pulled to a stop when the traffic light flashed red, giving us enough time to breathe.

"You are not taking this seriously, are you? Those men are lusting over you. Their eyes told me they would do anything to have you—a virgin. The more you resist, the more they will be challenged to own you. Keira. You don't know how men's minds work. Be careful."

I inhaled deeply, becoming irritated at his act of  “kindness”. 

Leaning on the door, I asked, "I don't get it. Why are you suddenly acting as if you cared about me? Did you regret rejecting me?"

"As if. Rejecting you is for the best. I don't want a weak Luna. That time, you easily cry. You don't fight back. That image is not good for the pack. Alpha John built the pack and transformed it into one of the strongest packs in the country.”

I was not expecting Alpha Lennox would change his mind about rejecting me, but damn. The disappointment was biting me back.

"I don't want to create more fights by fighting back."

"That's not the right way to stop your bullies."

What then? 

The traffic light signaled green. Alpha Lennox started the engine again and continued driving. 

"Where are you taking me again?"

"My house," he answered in reply. 

"You have a house in the human world? Good for you."

Suddenly, the air entered the car and when I looked up, the roof was open. 

The fresh air was relaxing. The money would always bring comfort. 

"I bought it when the responsibility of being an alpha was already too much. Yeah. It was my escape."

Envy resurfaced. Why was it easy for him to achieve the things he wanted? Why did I have to crawl because of being poor that I even had to sell my body?

The Moon Goddess was blind to my suffering. I no longer believed in her. She was unfair. 

"What about your girlfriend? Will she get mad if I stay at your place?" I whispered. 

"She won't."

"Oh."

He had a girlfriend.

What do you expect? Wait for you? 

My heart tightened. He already moved on after the rejection and lived his life to the fullest while I suffered. 

"Did she know you are a werewolf?"

"She's a she-wolf. Let's not talk about her. She is not that important. As of now."

Touche. 

Scared that I will judge her?

I put both of my hands on my lap. "You...you must inform her that I will be staying with you and marrying you."

"That is no longer necessary. We will only be sleeping there, and the next morning, we will return to our pack. She is not required to know everything or Alpha John will know everything we are doing is only temporary. I don’t want him to die early than expected."

"It's your pack, Alpha Lennox. Let’s hope your girlfriend will not know about me."

“She won’t. I assure you. There will be no problem throughout this role-playing, Keira.”

I yawned. 

Damn. My eyelids feel heavy. 

"You can sleep for a while. I will be waking you when we get there. This will take another hour before we reach my place. Sleep, Keira."

----------------

I stirred in my sleep when I felt someone shaking my shoulders. Snapping my eyes open,  I saw it was Alpha Lennox, his face a mere distance from mine.

My heart beat wildly against my ribcage. My mind goes blank. He smelt so good that I wanted to sniff him. 

Alpha Lennox’s mouth opened and closed, but no words seemed to register in my mind. 

"Hey! Keira? You okay?"

Alpha Lennox's brows furrowed. 

I blinked a couple of times. He held his hand in the air as if he was supposed to slap me and that was enough to snap me out of it.

To my surprise, I shoved him away from me while my hands automatically looked at my seat belt.

Alpha Lennox cursed. “What was that for?”

I looked away for a moment, unbuckled my seat belt, and stepped out of the car, breathing fresh air. A few seconds later, Alpha Lennox was on my side. 

“Why did you push me earlier? That was not necessary.”

I inhaled deeply while clutching my chest. Why am I allowing this bastard to affect my body? And why was I the only one feeling it?  Our bonds were already severed so why? 

“I’m asking you, Keira.”

Sensing I was already ready to answer him, I faced him and said, “I am allergic whenever you are near. The hair on my body stood.”

He raised an eyebrow while folding his arms in front of his chest. “You are allergic to me, but you’re not when it comes to other men? If I were not there, you would be giving someone a lap dance.”

My eyes narrowed. “Is this about me dancing at the strip club, Alpha? Is it my fault that I was forced to dance in front of those hungry men while embarrassing myself because I thought that was the only way to pay my landlord? You know what? When I reached the human world, I was all alone with no one to help me. I had a hard time surviving in this unknown world. So don’t be a jerk and pretend as if you are clean yourself. Because of those women? They are kinder and better than you.”

I never had a conversation with the women. 

“We did not force you to run away.”

“I ran because the mate whom I waited for a long time to protect me rejected me in the end. You betrayed me from the very beginning. Your stupid ego could not accept the fact that I am your mate. So, please don’t act as if you have the right because you don’t,” I snapped. “You don’t.” 

My fist trembled and I had to hide it in my pack to stop myself from punching him. 

“I cannot force myself to like someone I don’t want,” he muttered and pulled out his hair.  The two of us had a staring contest, but in the end, he was defeated. “I don’t have any ill intentions.”

“You did to me.” 

I looked around. The car was already in a garage. “Is this your property?” I asked, changing the topic. It was a two-story townhouse. 

How I wished I could have a decent home like this. Something to call my own. Something that was not crampy and clean. No matter how hard I work, I would never achieve a luxurious home like this. 

“Yes. It is. Enough for me.”

“How much did you pay for this?”

Alpha Lennox scratched the back of his head. “Are you planning on buying your own? I can give this to you if you will do a great job of humoring Father. Make sure he will spend the rest of his days in happiness. Do the best job of acting in love during our marriage.”

My heart soared in happiness as I stared at his statement. The other statements no longer registered in my mind, but the property in front of me. 

Mine?

Tilting my head, I looked at him. He smirked. 

Happiness vanished from my heart. 

No! He was only using my state so that I would blindly follow whatever he wanted me to do.

“What do you think, Keira? Sounds good, right?”

I jumped away from him when he whispered those words in my ears. 

Wiping my ears, I responded, “That is so easy. Alpha John adores me.”

“We will see about that. Because of the time you left? He was heartbroken. You will have a hard time asking for his forgiveness again. For him, you betrayed him by running away.”

I groaned. “He is not my mate.”

“He treated you as his daughter. Though I don’t understand why. You are nothing but a slave in my eyes.”

“You are nothing but an asshole also.”