A knock at my door brings me back to the present. Grateful to stop thinking about Santiago, I sit up just as Ivar’s personal maid peeks into my room with a little smile on her face. I wave her in. She’s so small and the first omega I meet outside of the ones in the packhouse. I have questions, but I don’t really know how to bring them up.
“My lady, there is a group of young ladies at the front gate asking for you. The one that buzzed in says her name is Kaylee Ashford.”
“Oh,” I nod and swing my legs over the bed.
“If you’re not up for it, I can tell them to go away. I’ll even blame it on Master Ivar,” she suggests.
“That asshole makes you call him Master Ivar?” I ask, completely taken aback by her statement.
“It’s a formality. The royal family has owned my family for centuries. It would be strange to call him by any other title,” she shrugs it off.
“You can let them in. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Kaylee. These are my friends,” I inform her.
“Very well. Would you like me to set you all up in the family room?”
“The gaming room would be better. I’ll be right down,” I nod.
“My lady,” she bows and walks away.
I change into something a little more comfortable. I wear baggy jeans and a hoodie to cover up the marks on my neck as much as I can without making it super obvious. I haven’t seen Kaylee since I told her that Santiago was coming back four and a half months ago. I slip my vans on and start making my way out.
I stop at the top of the stairs when I see them walking in through the front door. Kaylee looks up at me with a massive smile on her face. Lieza, Marianne, and Lucinda are with her. They’re all holding gifts, and what I am hoping is fast food because I can use something greasy at the moment.
“Is it my birthday?” I ask.
“If that’s a dig at me for missing it this year, I’m sorry. I’ve been busy,” Kaylee shrugs. “We both know why we’re all here.”
“Come on,” I motion them to follow me.
When they get to the top of the stairs, they each give me a hug. Lieza lingers a little more than the others. I didn’t think I’d see her until I got back to work, but I’m glad she’s here. We all walk over to my brother’s gaming room. I switch on the lights, and they immediately start placing what they brought on the study table, right in the center of the room.
“This is insane,” Lieza says, looking around. “Why did you get an apartment when you have a home this nice?”
“There are people here because the prince brought them, but there was just me before,” I shrug.
“I brought you burgers and fries,” Kaylee announces. “All of us actually. Even his highness. Is he here?”
“I have no idea where he went. I slept most of the day after the sedative I was given last night.”
“I bet it was something good,” Lucy smirks. “Come sit down and eat your grease.”
“Thanks for coming, guys,” I say, reaching for the fries Mary puts in front of me.
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3:57 pm PDD
Chapter 18
55 Vouchers
“I’m really sorry about last night,” Lieza says, sitting across from me. “Alpha Romano took that way too far. I never would have expected him to put his hands on you like that.”
“Have you seen the news?” Mary asks.
“I haven’t,” I shake my head. Kay opens one of the ranch cups and adds ketchup, then slides it over to me. She can’t meet my eyes, which tells me it’s bad. “What is it?”
“They’re blaming the Prince attacking him on you. It’s been written off as another omega scandal. The reports say that you were trying to come onto the alpha in front of his Luna, and the prince got upset because the two of you had been together all night,” Lieza explains. “There are pictures of you and the Prince playing beer pong. It looks legit.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” I admit.
“You should be more upset,” Mary scoffs.
“And what do you suggest I do? Everyone knows that I’m his mate. He’s blocked me from putting anything I own on the market here. If it weren’t for Ivar, he probably would have locked me in our apartment already for trying to leave.
“This is fucking with his head in the worst way. He made a choice, and he hasn’t realized how wrong it is yet. Luna Romano has her claws in him deep. Who knows what they’ve said or done to push him into what’s happened.”
“Why does it feel like you’re trying to defend his actions, Soph?” Kay shakes her head with disapproval.
“It’s not that I’m defending his actions. I don’t think I can ever forgive the things he’s done these past two weeks. I just-” I swallow the knot in my throat and set down my fries. “I can’t believe this is happening to me.
“I thought we were good. When he came back, he was so loving and ready for everything. There were no signs, or maybe I was too blind to see them. I always thought that he wasn’t very good at lying, but I was so fucking wrong.”
“Since we’re on the subject,” Mary raises her hand. “You were fucking blind.”
“What?” The others avoid my gaze when I look around the table. “What are you talking about?”
“Soph, the Romanos literally controlled everything about you. Last night was your first party, like ever,” Lieza points out.
“They didn’t want me to get into trouble,” I shrug. “It wasn’t a big deal to me.”
“Okay, have you ever noticed how when we were around, he was always upset?” Kay asks.
“Or when we were out, he would call you every fucking twenty minutes,” Mary adds.
“We’re not trying to add fuel to the fire here, but he’s really nothing to lose where it concerns you. If Poppy finally got what she wanted, let her have him. We’ll see how she fares when he turns his wrath on her.”
“Poppy is a fucking snake,” Lieza sighs. “I didn’t think she could ever stoop this low.”
“How did she get here?” Mary asks. “When the hell did she get under the Luna’s good graces?”
“She always has been,” I say. “Ever since I dropped out of the combat program at the end of Sophomore year, she was bumped up the beta female ranks.”
“She wouldn’t have even been at the Academy if you hadn’t given up your scholarship,” Lieza huffs. “My parents cut her off last year after she rejected Lucas. When she got married to the Alpha, they realized she had known it was going to happen for a long time.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I shrug. “At the end of the day, he agreed to it.”
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Chapter 19
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
