CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: KEEP GOING

HARLEIGH’S POV:

The unexpected turn of events happened at the moment I least expected it.

Philip and Lance offered me an alliance: they’ll help me bring down Atticus and Damian and, in return, I will give them my blood samples for their experiment. They claim they don’t want any other pack conducting the same experiment and eventually becoming their rival or nemesis once it succeeds.

The offer is tempting, but I’m not foolish enough to believe them.

Once Atticus and Damian are out of the way, they’ll just take over me and keep me hostage. There’s no way they’ll ever give me my freedom.

The only way to win against both sides is to outsmart them and use them against each other.

A slow smirk forms on my lips as my next plans begin to take shape in my head.

Suddenly,...

A loud commotion downstairs snaps me out of my thoughts.

I hurry to the lobby, and find Damian completely wasted. He shoves the Gammas aside and forces himself to stagger toward me.

"Where were you last night?" he slurs, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"In my bedroom. I had my dinner there too. Why?" I answer.

His brow furrows in confusion. "You weren’t at the bar with me?"

"What am I gonna do there?" I ask back with equal confusion.

A heavy sigh of disappointment and frustration escapes him. "Nothing. Just forget it." He then holds my hand and directs me towards the dining hall, "I’m hungry. Let’s have breakfast together."

Damian is many things, but careless with his emotions is not one of them. For him to get drunk to that extent... It means that what I’ve done so far is pushing him over the edge.

At the dining table, Cassandra and Atticus are already seated.

As soon as we join them, Atticus turns to me and demands, "What did Alpha Philip and Alpha Lance want from you? Don’t you dare lie to me!"

Tension rises immediately.

"Me," I answer without hesitation. But my explanation is half truth and half lie. "They want me to come with them. They said I’ll have a better life than here. They won’t force me to marry Lance anymore. And my child and I will have a high position in their council."

"And you’re believing them?" Damian asks, his voice harsh.

"Look, my hellish life with them didn’t start until I caught Lance cheating on me. From the time they adopted me and Harper until my disastrous wedding with Lance, they treated us just fine," I explain.

"Regardless, Alpha Philip killed your parents, then lied to you and your sister just so he could take advantage of you," Damian counters, fear flickering in his eyes.

Atticus eats his breakfast, mumbling, "Even if you try to go with them, I won’t let you. Don’t forget, you’re still in my territory, and therefore, I still control and own you. And there’s nothing they can do about it."

"They’re aware of that," I say flatly. "That’s why they’re persuading the other packs’ leaders to rise up against you. Once you’re weakened, they’ll have me."

Atticus tosses his silver cutleries, the metal rattling loudly against the ceramic plate. His growl echoes, his glare sharpening.

My wolf chuckles inside me, urging me to keep going. "If I were you, I’d stop them while you still can."

Atticus ponders hard.

Of course he’s not going to make a reckless decision and kill the Dunebourne wolves inside his territory while the other packs are watching. His pride may be enormous, but he isn’t that foolish, not when every move is being scrutinized by his so-called allied packs waiting for the perfect excuse to finally turn against him.

But,...

The more paranoid he becomes, the easier he will be to break.

As I’m about to finish my breakfast, Dr. Reyes comes rushing in in jagged breaths. "It’s mistletoes and winter aconites! Those are the plants mixed into the wines and poisoned the ones who drank it!"

I almost choke, quickly grabbing a glass of water as I try to stay calm.

"There are no such plants near the wine factories, so this is more likely not an accident but a deliberate act of rebellion," one of the Gammas standing guard says.

"Our investigation should narrow down to the gardeners and the Omegas who were serving the wines," another adds.

Atticus smirks wickedly, not bothered at all by his Gammas’ words. "Good. Now I want you to discreetly put those plants in Alpha Philip’s, his son’s, and his wife’s hotel rooms, cars, and luggage. I don’t care how you’ll do it, just do it without anyone seeing you. Then we’ll put all the blame on them and arrest them."

Though I’m relieved that Francheska won’t be investigated, I can’t let Atticus and Damian become the victims here. I don’t mind if they arrest or even kill Philip and Lance, but the other packs’ distrust toward them should remain.

Damian is extremely quiet, as if he no longer cares about all of this.

When we’re finally alone in my bedroom, he suddenly hugs me, murmuring, "I’m sorry. I thought she was you."

I don’t understand what he means, and honestly, I don’t care, so I don’t bother asking for details.

"Not only was I delusional enough to think you finally accepted me again last night, but now you’re considering going back to the Dunebourne wolves, even when there’s no guarantee you’ll be better with them, but solely because you hate being with me more than anyone else."

"Aside from your freedom, which I’m not prepared to give, what else can I offer you to make you love me again?" he continues, voice low and miserable.

Your life! I want you dead!

I fake a smile and reply, "Let’s wind up. Let’s go book a yacht for a night, like you wanted before. No Gammas tailing me. Just the two of us."

He smiles back, hopeful. "I’d love that."

Before lunchtime, he and I travel to the business district and book a private yacht for ourselves.

He holds my hand the entire time, as if afraid I might slip away the moment he lets go.

I keep my expression soft, my voice gentle, playing the role he desperately wants me to play. But inside, I’m calculating my next move.

As the musicians play alluring music, Damian and I dance. His longing gaze barely blinks away from me, his hands steady on my waist. When he lowers his lips to plant soft kisses on my neck and shoulder, I freeze. I wanna push him away, but I can’t.

"I love you, Harleigh. If I have to wait a lifetime for you to love me back, I will," he whispers, his warm breath against my skin making me shiver.

Then,...

He kisses my lips, and I’m forced to kiss him back. He pushes his tongue into my mouth, making me moan. But when his hands begin squeezing my b.utt and my b.reasts while the musicians and servers are watching, I finally push him away.

"Maybe tonight when it’s dark?" I say through my jagged breath.

He smiles, licking his lips. "That’s a promise then."

I nod nervously.

Night comes. Dinner arrives: kebabs, seafood pasta, ceviche. He has a mojito while I get an orange juice. Fireworks splash across the sky, but I barely enjoy them. My mind is too preoccupied with something else.

Afterward, we take a dip in the pool. Wearing only his speedo, his perfectly sculpted body flexes with every movement. The female servers hide in a corner, blushing and giggling while ogling at him.

"Shall we ask everyone to leave now?" Damian asks seductively.

"No, they can stay. But they have to turn around and not watch us," I reply.

Immediately, he motions for them to leave the pool deck. And they obey.

Then,...

He lifts my leg, kissing and licking it, then sucks my toes like they’re candies. Next, he presses his hard front between my legs, clearly aroused. He slides two fingers beneath my swimsuit to tease me down there.

I moan, biting my lip.

But,...

Just before he can insert his fingers inside me, he suddenly groans in pain.

"What happened?!" I ask.

"I... suddenly feel... unease, sick," he manages.

I frantically call the staff to help me get Damian out of the pool.

"He’s probably drunk a lot of mojito. He just needs to rest. I’ll take care of him," I say.

So they leave the yacht and let him rest.

But in reality, he’s not just drunk. I secretly put a large amount of ground mistletoes and winter aconites into his mojito, hopefully enough to kill him, when no one was looking.

Damian lifts his hand toward me, trying to reach me, as if begging for something. A medic, perhaps? Comfort?

But I stay still. My tears glisten as I watch him suffer.

You killed Torrin. You stole him from me and my baby. Now it’s your time to be gone forever.

I’m sorry, Torrin. I’m a little too late. But at least I finally found my courage to try and do it again.