Kamari's Point of View
"Are you out of your fucking mind! He will never go for that! He rejected me! Besides, how the fuck will that help us to clean out his bank accounts? I am not willing to steal for you!" Hysterical didn't even begin to describe how I felt. The thought of sleeping with Arik was a tempting one. But it was wrong to steal and I would only stoop so low.
Blinking, Zayan forced a smile to his lips. "Do you kiss your mother with that potty mouth?"
He got hooked on the wrong things I had said. Made a mockery of my words when in reality, I barely used such harsh language. It wasn't fitting for an Omega, seeing as I had to respect everyone that was above me. Which was, honestly, everyone in the pack.
Huffing, I crossed my arms across my chest. Glared at him the best I could. "Actually, no. Luna Rachel isn't around to hear those words from my lips. But you should have known that, seeing as you got so much information about me." It was meant to disarm him.
It did exactly that.
"Nolan didn't tell me your mother is dead."
"Oh, so you and Nolan are friends. I am going to give that boy a piece of my mind when I see him again, I swear," I blinked slowly. Forced a small smile to my lips. "But my mother isn't dead. She just disowned me because I was a Black Wolf. A blight on her precious pack." I couldn't stop the twinge of sadness from running into my voice. From my eyes aching to shed more tears.
Zayan's smile faltered for a moment. Even the revenge in his eyes dimmed. "I- I didn't-"
"Didn't know I was a curse? Nolan leave that part out as well? Sorry to hear but from your expression, I assume you no longer want to do business with me." I moved my legs to the side, ready to stand up and leave at a moment's notice.
I knew hearing him out was a bad idea. Steal from Arik? Fucking hell. Never. Being an omega might have been a life sentence but I bet an actual prison was much worse.
Bracing my hand on the table, I aimed to stand but Zayan placed his hand over mine. Stared at me with a newfound sense of amusement.
"I knew there was something different about you. An underlying fire that I couldn't put my finger on. Truly an outcast..." His smile turned into a smirk. Eyes darkened. I swallowed hard. "The most beautiful curse I had ever seen, if I do say so myself." He was resorting to flattery.
Rolling my eyes, I cocked my head towards him.
"I am not stealing from anyone. Seducing him, sure, I can still do that. But not steal. I won't look good in orange."
"I bet you look good in nothing," This made my jaw drop. Zayan chuckled in response and leaned back. His hand finally slipped off of mine and I could breathe again. "But we won't be stealing anything. There is an old werewolf law that if a fated pair sleep together even once and then one of them rejects the other, the female gets half of everything. Even if you sleep together after being rejected. This was to make sure that females weren't impregnated and left to care for a child on their own. And various other reasons."
I was skeptical. If this was the truth, then my father should have given half of what he owned to my mother. But that never happened. Or maybe it did and that was why we could barely make ends meet. Traditionally, children went to the women. My father defied all odds, then.
"And how do you know this worked?"
"Because Eris did it to me." His tone was flat. Hollow. Even after all these years, she was still a point of pain.
Hell, that explained why he wanted so badly for me to do this. Get revenge on the two people who hurt him more than anything. Get back his family's money in the process. I nodded.
We were two broken people sitting in a cafe discussing how to bring about the downfall of those who hurt us. Somewhere inside my soul, I wanted nothing to do with this. Karma was a bitch when she wanted to be. Would bite us both in the ass when we least expected it.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Once. Twice. It was my dad's set ringtone. A message. I held up a finger at Zayan and pulled the device out. Fatherlord blinked on the screen above a photo of the two of us.
'Where are you? It is getting late and I am worried. Call me.'
"I need to go. My dad is looking for me. I'll get in touch with you through Nolan and let you know what I think." Before Zayan could protest, I was already standing up. Moving out of the booth.
Like before, he stood as well. Moved faster than I could and blocked me off. His hand settled on my hip and I wanted to fling it off. Bite him out for always touching me when I never asked him to. But Zayan seemed oblivious.
"Give me your number. That way we can stay in touch. Whether you want to go through with it or not."
I was too rushed to think about the consequences of giving it to him. "623-781-2611. Now I have to go." I barely gave him enough time to rip out his phone and type. Pulled away from him the moment his grip faltered and sauntered past him.
I never did drink that tequila.
***
"I'm home!" I called and dropped my keys in the basket beside the door.
"In the kitchen!"
The house smelled of bread and bagels. A hobby my dad had taken up a few months ago and made extra money with. Most of the time I would eat it before he could sell it. On those days, he would make extra, just to make sure his daughter had more of her favorite snacks.
Gaelan was standing with his hands in bread dough. Kneading and plopping it about. But his eyes instantly lit up when he saw me. A soft smile spread over his lips. His beard was becoming more salt than pepper lately.
"How was work?" He called it work to make me less depressed about what I had to do. We all knew it was punishment for being different more than anything else.
"It was fine... But something happened and I need you to sit down for this one." I said whilst leaning against the wall closest to him.
Gaelan didn't miss a beat. His smile only faltered. Became a frown. "Nolan told me everything. Are you okay?"
"Nolan fucking Grey! He really needs to stop running his mouth."
"He is only looking out for you, sweetheart, you know that," His kneading stopped. Eyes locked with mine. It was the most intense stare I had ever seen on my dad's face. "What did Zayan propose you do?"
"He told you about that as well?" I whined, stomping my foot like a toddler. This left my father with a fit of laughter. Blue eyes sparkling again. My phone dinged. I looked down at it. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. "I don't know if I want to go through with what he has planned. It just wouldn't feel right, you know?"
"At the end of the day, sweetheart, it is your choice."
Kamari's Point of ViewHere I thought women were the needy ones in life. Zayan refused to stop texting me throughout the day. Even when I had my hands so deep inside a toilet I might as well have asked it permission first, he carried on texting me. Having your phone with you whilst working was already a transgression. Texting back would earn me an extra three weeks' worth of working extra hours."The patrol came up clean. No rogues in sight. But we are worried that one of the other packs might be thinking about taking over Crescent Shine. We got our sources on the inside and things aren't looking good." Quinten said and moved his papers closer to him. Arik sat closest to me. Kept tapping his pen on the table in irritation.When Eris had asked me to clean this boardroom specifically, I hadn't imagined there would be a meeting in progress. Maybe this was her way of shoving the rejection in my face. Showing me that Arik had no intention of paying me any mind. It was cruel.But I was he
Kamari's Point of ViewI could see him following me on the sides of the road. See his wolf weave in and out of the tree line. It was tragic to watch but gave me a small sense of comfort. Safety. Zayan refused to take no for an answer and I was starting to get that into my head.Gripping my steering wheel, I settled on rather going to the park than to my house. It was in the town not too far from us, meaning only humans. No one would know about the exiled heir. Or even care that two people were there. But I needed to talk to Zayan again. If we were to do this, there had to be boundaries.I slipped my car into a parking not far from a few benches. At this time of the night, no one was around to see the wolf slide out of the woods on the other side. Or see that very same wolf turn into a human. At least Zayan had brought some clothes along. "You know harassing me won't get me to sign up for your cause any faster," I said and leaned against the bonnet of my car. By the time he got halfwa
Kamari's Point of View"Do you trust him?" My dad had asked me this several times already. Kept hammering on the fact that I didn't know Zayan. But my dad knew his father from before he was exiled. Knew him to be a good enough Alpha that cared greatly for his people.But my dad wanted me to make up my own mind about Zayan. Just because he grew up with the old Alpha, didn't mean Zayan was to be trusted."Yes. I do. And even if I didn't, what is the worst that could happen to me if he paid for my release? I leave this place and never look back? Sign me up then." I replied and slammed the door shut behind me.The sun was barely out behind the mountains. The world was still asleep and silent. But I had to be at work and my dad wanted to get this conversation with Arik over and done with. My dad only shrugged and squinted in my direction. Stopped a good few feet in front of the pack house. He looked older in this light. More worn out. The days of being stuck here had started to show. He w
Kamari's Point of View'Meet me at the park.' The text was short and sweet. Nearly made me trip over stones as I rushed to my car. But I wanted to go. Zayan would know what it meant. I needed to vent. To scream.Arik wanted to keep me here just because he could. Because he felt entitled to me even after rejecting me. It was a slap to my face. Something I would never forget."Where are you going?" Arik called from behind me. It was still early. I still had a full day of cleaning ahead of me. For the first time since being branded as an omega, I was outright defying him. To hell with whatever consequence would follow."I am leaving for the day!" I screamed back and fumbled with my keys. There was a ping on my phone but I didn't dare look down. Didn't dare give the Alpha another moment to catch up. "I didn't dismiss you! You still belong to me!" Arik screamed back. I could hear his footsteps on the gravel behind me. Hear him approaching at an alarming rate. My keys refused to correct th
Zayan's Point of ViewShe reminded me of myself. There was another level to her personality. Entrenched inside her soul. For some, it would have been too deep to try and find. But I adored a challenge and Kamari seemed like the toughest one yet. Kamari wasn't gone for long before Nolan showed up. Before my heart started aching slightly. It was the same cramp I felt whenever Eris would leave, only subtler. Stranger. I couldn't figure out whether I hated the feeling or missed it."How much?" I asked when my friend approached. His eyebrows were set into a firm line. "Zayan, are you sure you want to go through with this? Kamari looked like a mess earlier. I don't think she will be able to stomach any of it." Nolan said and stood in front of me. His dark brown hair was tossed in every direction. He had run here, some of it on foot, from the looks of it.Steeling my jaw, I looked him square in the eyes. Made it clear that there was no turning back now. Whatever happened, Kamari would deal
Kamari's Point of View'It is a new day. A new start. Just keep your head down. Take in a deep breath. You got this. You can do this.'The mantra repeated itself in my mind. Over and over again like a broken record. Each word gained more emphasis than the first. As if I could beat it into me. Make my body believe it to be true.I stood in front of the pack house, glaring up at it as if it would swallow me whole. My dad had tried his best to fix what I had broken. Tried to reason with Arik. But there was no getting around this. I had to get back to work, whether I liked it or not.Zayan had promised to pay whatever Arik demanded. Although I knew the price was extremely steep. Never before had someone bought their freedom for 500 thousand dollars. It just highlighted what Arik had said.He wouldn't make it easy for me to leave. Or even fucking bearable. "Kamari!" Eris screamed from inside the house. I clenched my jaw. Ground my teeth against each other. 'Another day. Brand new. We can
Kamari's Point of View"So when are we getting married? I never even asked you how many children you want to have. Or where you wanted to live." I blabbered. Nolan was driving me home in my beat-up Fiesta. Glanced at me from the corner of his eye.This was my lame attempt at breaking the tension in the car. At getting him to smile. But I felt the way he looked. Torn up. Chewed up. Spat back out.Luckily for me, Nolan decided to try and cut the tension as well. He smiled and tilted his head away from me. "I think about a year-long proposal will do. I want one kid and that is it. Doesn't matter if it is a boy or a girl. Fuck the gender stereotypes that only a boy can carry on the family name. As for living..." He seemed to think of an answer. His gaze softened when he looked at me again. Small smile on his lips. "Wherever you are." He mumbled.I blinked. Blinked again. He seemed sincere. As if he would move with me wherever I went. It was a sweet sentiment but one I didn't share. Nolan
Kamari's Point of ViewWhenever tragedy struck, my dad always tried to compensate for it. When I had just gotten kicked out by my mother, he bought me a large stuffed horse that I still had. That I still cuddled. When his parents passed away in an accident at thirteen, I got a new phone.Not that he ever compensated his love with gifts. Sometimes I just thought he might have a hard time with his own emotions and that he couldn't help me fix my own. I understood that to a certain degree.He always tried his best. Made me who I was today. Now my mother wanted to sweep me away and take all the glory for herself. Although I doubted that was the entire story. From how ragged he had looked when we entered the house, she must have proposed something else as well.At least this time around, my dad had no time to buy me anything. All he could do was bake us some bread, bagels, and muffins. Which I was grateful for. Which I adored.Nolan had suggested a movie night in, with the three of us buil