25. Larisa's POV (1)
LARISA'S POV
~<>-
She was supposed to be dead.
She wasn't supposed to return looking healthier than she was even before she left the pack.
Fuck!
I was going to kill her.
She wasn't supposed to be alive and I'd make sure she remained dead. She has to die after what she did to me in the restroom. The humiliation. Goddess! I'd kill that bitch.
I tried to look at anyone else but her as I shoved dinner down my throat, my hands shaking despite my efforts to relax. There was no way I'd give her the chance to see me rattled. She was nothing but a man snatcher, a useless bitch who would do anything to keep my Raiden was mine and he's forever be mine. I'd go to any extent for him.
man.
Thankfully, dinner ended and I was able to excuse myself while most of the pack members and our guests remained in the dining hall. My blood was boiling like lava as I walked down the dark corridors that led to the kitchen where I knew the servants would be, cleaning up after everyone else.
My nostrils flared when I stepped into the kitchen. There were a couple of them around and their fear invaded my nostrils but I wasn't here for all of them... just one.
"Get out! All of you but her!" I barked out orders, anger pumping into my chest as flashes of what Aurelia did to me in the restroom bombarded my mind.
Fuck! I'd kill her.
The servants in the kitchen rushed past me, escaping my wrath and leaving just one of them behind. She trembled before me even though she was the head of every servant in the pack. Nina. Stupid silly Nina.
"How dare you disobey me and ruin my perfect plan?" I bellowed, pulling at my hair as I drew closer to where Nina was standing, her head bowed. "Answer me!"
She dared not look me in the eyes as she stuttered, "I d-did as y-you told me, Princess Larisa."
Princess Larisa?
The rage within me crackled like electric sparks as those two words hit my eardrums. Nina was digging her grave deeper by annoying me even more. "How many times do I've to tell you that I'm not a princess? I'm your Luna dammit!" "Forgive m-me, Luna. It was a slip of the tongue-" Nina gave me her silly excuse but that didn't stop my hand from landing on her already bruised cheeks.
Do I care that she was bruised? Hell no!
That's what she gets for not carrying out my order.
Nina stumbled backward, her eyes still glued to the kitchen floor. I pushed her chin upward so she could look into my eyes as I spelled out her mistake. "I told you to dump the soup on the bitch's face, Nina not her damn hand. I told you where she would be sitting and my instructions were clear, weren't they?"
Nina fidgetted, her eyeballs red, "You didn't tell me it was her, Luna. I didn't expect it to be Aurelia. She was-"
"What difference does that make? Do you think she's still your Luna because I haven't been installed officially?" I yelled out my fear in Nina's face.
Every pack member must be thinking they could stomp all over me just because Raiden has refused to make me his Luna, mate with me, and marry me despite all I have done and sacrificed for him. If only he knew the length I had gone just to return to him six years ago. "No, Luna. I was just shocked to see her and the plate fell out of my hands before I could pull myself together." Nina explained to me, avoiding my gaze despite the presence of my fingers under her chin.
I sucked in a breath, trying to regain my composure but it was hard to keep the fact that Aurelia was back out of my mind and it was messing with me.
"P-please forgive me, Luna. I'll do better next time." Nina pleaded to be spared from the brunt of the punishment she knew I would dish out to her.
"How am I supposed to trust you next time?" How was I supposed to even trust anyone after Aurelia showed up alive when I precisely ordered her death... when I was told that her head was served from her neck to make sure she didn't miraculously come back to life? Heck! Those assassins clearly lied to me.
And I would have loved to find them just to make them pay for deceiving me but that wouldn't be possible because I had them killed the second they confirmed Aurelia's death. I stupidly thought killing those assassins would keep Aurelia buried forever. But now, she was back and she had the effrontery to threaten me in the bathroom.
"I know how to get Aurelia. I've studied her for many years even before she mated with the Alpha and I'll help you get rid of her. Please trust me." Nina promised.
Yet her promise wasn't enough to ease my mind.
Aurelia has changed. She wasn't the same woman Nina knew and there was no way Nina could destroy Aurelia alone.
However, I nodded, "Your last chance, Nina and if you fail, your heart will fail as well."
Nina's eyes widened in fear but she nodded regardless. "Understood, Luna."
I left the kitchen after that but rather than return to the feast, go home, or start preparing for the games that would be starting tomorrow, I ventured into the pitch-black night, heading to the one person I knew I I could always rely on during difficult times like this.
He'll help me just like he helped me return to the pack six years ago even though Raiden's parents did
me
everything in their power to keep away from Raiden and the pack. It's a good thing Raiden's parents haven't been around since my
return... they would have revealed
my lies to Raiden.
I pushed the door of our secret meeting place and entered. He was already waiting for me. He voiced before I could speak, "We have a problem."
"Yes, we do. Aurelia is back and although he denies it, Raiden is wavering. We can't let them be together-" I started saying.
But my secret helper interrupted sharply, "Her return isn't the only problem, Larisa. There is more and I'm here to warn you." Curiosity colluded with fear in the depths of my stomach but I managed to whisper, "Tell me everything."