Chapter 4 : Leora

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My fingernails scraped along the label of the wine bottle in my hands when silence descended after what Edith revealed.

The smug look on her face was one that would be forever burned into my mind, as well as the coy, satisfied smile on her mouth.

Her mate sat beside her, fighting back a smile as well as he appeared to wait for a reaction from Vakkar.

I didn't dare look at him now.

Those who had prepared the dinner, had spoken plenty to each other about Alpha Vakkar throughout the time I had been with them in the kitchen.

Conversations of the many battles he had been in, and the countless number of people he had killed throughout those battles had occurred over and over again, until my ears began to ring and the fear which had been written on their faces also became etched onto mine.

And now, Edith had revealed to this man who my father was. And by the self-satisfied expression on her features, I had an inkling that Vakkar and my father had not been, to put lightly, friends.

When silence was all that was heard, and remained that way for several long seconds, I decided to take a quick look at Vakkar.

His once dark grey eyes were completely blackened, and his strong jaw was tight. There was a strange, eerie stillness to his large body, and he had yet to look away from Edith.

I could almost feel the nervousness of those who stood around me, observing and experiencing the tension present.

And as Vakkar continued to look at Edith, black eyes so cold and so harsh, the smug expression on her face began to rapidly fade away, until she looked at me.

"Rhyan East left her at the borders of our pack, bound to a tree with some rope," She continued, holding my eyes throughout it all. Her smile was wide now, mocking, wicked.

And then, she revealed something I had wondered frequently throughout my life, and I automatically felt my body lock tight with her words,

"He left a note in her pocket. It just had her age, and that he no longer wanted to take care of her. The man said we were free to do what we wanted with her, and then signed his name at the bottom. Just like that, he abandoned her."

Edith's upper lip curled. "He gave you away easily, didn't he, Leora?"

I could feel the side of my face begin to burn, and without looking at Vakkar, I knew he was now watching me. My fingernails scraped along the label again, tearing the damp paper.

When I swallowed, a rusty, acidic taste burned my throat. I said nothing, but absorbed her words.

It was a confirmation to what I'd suspected; my father had cared very little for me, and by signing his name on that note many years ago, and leaving me in a pack which had once been ravaged by his own army, he had known the likelihood of the difficult life I would lead once I was discovered by the pack warriors, and they realized our relation.

It had not mattered that I had never carried out the acts my father did. The fact that I was his daughter was motivation enough for Edith and Rothman to treat me the way they did.

"I asked you a question, slave." Edith cooed, no gentleness in her voice. The mocking smile was still on her red painted lips, and as irritation sparked in me, the next words sprung from my mouth before I could stop them,

"I believe your question was rhetorical."

The male lycan beside Vakkar chuckled gruffly, and Rothman's head swung my way at my words. He scowled when Edith's gaze went to him, evidently looking for him to reprimand me.

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