CHAPTER 117: TROUBLE I DON’T NEED BEFORE BREAKFAST

I didn’t even blink when Jesmine tried to drag my origin out into the open. My expression stayed flat, unbothered, as if her words couldn’t touch me.

"Yes," I answered without a second thought. "I came from Levian pack, and I was the breeder of Alpha Finn."

The word left a sting on my tongue. Breeder. Jesmine clearly wanted to see me flinch under it, but I wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction.

"You were chosen to be a breeder," Rion corrected. "You weren’t officially one yet. The rite was never done."

Jesmine blinked at him, her lips parting as if she hadn’t expected Rion to intervene on my behalf. "Oh! I thought you were already official."

I smiled then, keeping my tone light, though my words carried their own edge. "It’s fine. Since you’re so curious about me, it makes me realize you haven’t even introduced yourselves yet. I suppose the talk outside must be very distracting, since you went straight to asking about me before remembering proper introductions."

The table went quiet for half a second. My smile didn’t waver, but I let the sharpness settle just beneath the surface, like a knife hidden in silk.

Jesmine’s cheeks colored faintly, and she gave a little laugh that sounded forced.

"Oh dear, how rude of me." She pressed her hand against her chest, feigning regret like a bad actress on stage.

Mira broke the tension with a laugh of her own, more confident, like she thought she was clever for catching my barb. "Right! We’ve heard so much about you already that we forgot we weren’t introduced. I’m Mira, daughter of Elder Ruthold. He’s one of the Alpha’s most trusted councilors."

Her lips curved proudly, as if her father’s name was worth more than her own.

Jesmine quickly followed, her voice delicate and sweet. "And I’m Jesmine, daughter of Councilor Deston. He’s a retired Gamma, also a close aide to the Alpha even now."

I wanted to laugh. Not at their introductions—at the fact that they couldn’t even say their names without dragging their fathers’ titles in with them. Like their entire worth was tied to someone else’s shadow.

Sure, their fathers were men of standing. The names of Elder Ruthold and Councilor Deston carried weight in Undercity, no doubt. But this wasn’t a formal meeting where pedigrees mattered. We were at a dining table, eating breakfast. Knowing their names should have been enough.

But of course, that wasn’t the point. They wanted to remind me of where I stood—some girl Rion had taken in, someone they thought was here out of pity or for the Alpha’s convenience. Meanwhile, they flaunted their lineage like a banner, daring me to compare myself.

It wasn’t subtle. It was intimidation wrapped up in polite smiles.

And I’d seen this exact dance too many times before. Women circling for attention, puffing themselves up with borrowed importance, desperate to be envied, desperate to be noticed. Their smiles never reached their eyes, and their words were always knives hidden in compliments.

Honestly? It was exhausting.

It was one of the things I didn’t miss when I was reduced to a servant.

"Nice to meet you, Jesmine, Mira," I said, brushing off my thoughts and forcing politeness into my voice.

My lips curved in a small smile, though my mind was already filing them under trouble I don’t need before breakfast.

Jesmine leaned forward slightly, her lashes lowering in what I guessed was supposed to look sympathetic.

"It must have been hard for you, being chosen as a breeder against your will. I’m sorry."

Sorry? Her voice was soft, but it rang hollow. I couldn’t tell if she actually meant it or if she was just trying to jab the wound, see how deep it went.

The word itself—breeder—scraped at the edges of old memories I tried not to touch. Finn’s shadow loomed just for a heartbeat, the weight of his power, the suffocating way he had stripped choices from me.

My chest tightened, but I kept my expression perfectly smooth. If Jesmine wanted a reaction, she wasn’t going to get one.

"Life is like that," I said simply, my tone calm, almost dismissive. "You stumble into bad luck, and sometimes you stumble into good. I was lucky to receive Alpha Rion’s help." I set my fork down gently, making sure my words carried just the right weight. "Now, I live in his home and get treated decently almost without doing anything. So you don’t have to feel sorry. I’m doing great now, and my past? I’ve already put it behind me."

It was a polite enough answer, but the meaning was clear. I wanted them to hear it, wanted them to choke a little on it: I was here, in Rion’s home, under his protection, sitting at the same table as them. The place they envied, the place they wanted to be.

The sour twist of their expressions was almost enough to make me grin. Jesmine’s polite mask cracked for a second, and Mira’s lips pulled tight.

But it didn’t last long. Mira’s smirk slithered back into place, sharper than before. Her eyes glinted, red lips curving like a knife.

"How can you put your past behind so easily, though?" she asked sweetly, though the venom underneath was obvious. "On my way back to the Undercity, I heard something interesting. Aboveground’s Unified Alliance wants you executed for disrespecting a sacred rite and betraying your Alpha."

Her smirk widened. "There’s a bounty on your head, Vivien. And your people? They will keep coming here for you."

My jaw tightened. So that’s how she wanted to play this. Forget politeness, Mira didn’t even bother with the pretense now. She looked at me like she’d already won, like she was the one with the advantage just because she carried her father’s name like armor.

In her eyes, I was just a stray cat Rion had tossed scraps to, a curiosity he kept around for now. She must have thought that gave her the right to be rude.