CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 90 PLAN

I chewed the food in my mouth slowly as I watched my step sister slowly losing her sanity. It was not her fault, even I was taken aback by Damon’s behaviour.

Maddie stopped laughing, chuckling softly. It would have been super awkward if she had stopped laughing instantly. Not that it made it any less awkward.

She dropped the fork in her hand on the napkin laid on her side of the table. "I never knew Alpha Damon was the type to show affection publicly. I thought you couldn’t touch women?" At her last question, Evelyn slightly brushed her shoulder with hers to caution her.

’So this bitch also knew that Damon could not touch women?’ I continued with my food, occasionally glancing over at Damon.

Damon cut his steak graciously before putting it in his mouth. Seconds turned into minutes, yet he didn’t utter a word.

Alpha Caelen cleared his throat. "Alpha Damon, I hope the meal suits your taste." he asked to break the silent awkwardness that covered the hall like a blanket.

"It could be better." he answered nonchalantly.

"Really? But we brought the best chef in the pack to prepare it specially for you." Evelyn smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. It seems like the comment was a huge blow to her ego.

"It’s not good enough.’ He dropped his fork and knife, before dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "My pet loves food very much. You can see the way she is eating as if she is asking the food if she should eat it. She devours food. So it is not good enough since you can’t make her get lost in it." He pushed the chair backward, making it scratch against the floor.

"Ember, come let’s go." He ordered.

’What? Who said the food wasn’t good tasting. I’m only trying to act demure in front of them. And I’m not full yet.’ I looked up at him with a flabbergasted expression.

His eyes narrowed at me as if he was saying I shouldn’t make him repeat himself.

I quickly took one last bite. I stood up. "It is true, the food doesn’t taste good, the one made in the Bloodshade pack tastes better." I said after swallowing the food.

My eyes locked with Evelyn, whose eyes creased. but I knew that smile was all fake. I bet she must feel very bittered now, because it just shows how incompetent how she was as Luna.

’Anyway, kudos to the chef.’

I followed Damon like a dog following its owner. Alaric stood up, thanking them for the food, before making his way towards us.

"Did you really have to say that?" Alaric chimed before tucking his hand inside his pocket.

"Did I say anything wrong?" He deliberately slowed down so Alaric can catch up to him.

"Not really. It’s just that Luna Evenlyn is not too happy with your comment." Alaric walked side by side to him.

"Was I supposed to cater to her feelings?"

"I never said so." Alaric quickly denied.

......

(Third person POV)

After Damon, Ember, and Alaric left, the dining room fell into a strange silence. The tension hung in the air like thick smoke. Maddie’s face twitched, her fists clenched beside her plate. Then, without a word, she pushed back her chair so hard it nearly toppled. Her footsteps echoed sharply as she stormed out of the room.

Evelyn exchanged a quick look with Alpha Caelen, her jaw tight. Without waiting for permission, she rose and followed Maddie out. Meanwhile, Sebastian calmly reached for another piece of meat, chewing as if nothing had happened.

The hallway was quiet except for the sound of Maddie’s heels striking the floor. She disappeared into her room, and Evelyn arrived just seconds after, opening the door without knocking.

Glass shattered against the wall.

Maddie stood in the middle of the room, her breathing ragged, hair disheveled, and eyes burning with rage. A vase lay in pieces on the floor. She picked up a framed portrait of her family and hurled it next, watching it break with a loud, satisfying crack.

"Why her?!" she screamed, her voice hoarse with frustration.

Evelyn stepped inside cautiously, her hands raised slightly. "Maddie..."

"She took everything!" Maddie yelled, turning to face her mother. "I was supposed to be the Luna. I was the one meant to sit beside Alpha Damon. Not... not her." Her voice shook at the last word.

Evelyn frowned, closing the door behind her. "You’re losing control."

Maddie laughed dryly, wiping the corner of her mouth. "I lost control the moment he pulled out a chair for her. When he called her his pet. When he touched her in front of everyone like she was, like she was someone precious."

She began pacing, her feet crunching over the shattered glass. "Do you know how long I’ve loved him, Mother? Since I was sixteen. I waited, I obeyed, I kept myself pure for him. And now... now he looks at her like she’s his world." Her voice broke with a sob, but she kept talking.

"She’s nothing! A lowly girl who shouldn’t even be allowed to walk beside him. Why is she the one receiving his affection? Why is she the one sitting beside him like she belongs there?"

Evelyn stepped forward carefully, reaching out to calm her. "Maddie, we can fix this..."

"No!" Maddie slapped her mother’s hand away. "I want to strangle her. I want to rip her apart and watch her beg me for mercy." Her face twisted with hatred as her body trembled. "Every time she opens her mouth, I want to shut it permanently."

Evelyn remained quiet, her gaze hardening. She had never seen Maddie so raw, and unhinged. This wasn’t just jealousy. It was an obsession. And it was growing out of control.

Maddie sank to her knees on the floor, hands trembling as they hovered over the broken glass. "I hate her, Mother. I hate her so much."

Evelyn stared at her daughter for a long moment. Then she quietly bent down and began picking up the shards. "Then you need to stop crying and start thinking. Because hate and anger without control? That’s how you lose everything."