Chapter 3

• Chapter 3
• Elysia
• I turned to face my father. “I almost got abducted some minutes ago. Alana and I got attacked by rogues.”
• “What does that have to do with me, Elysia? You must've been doing something careless for you to get attacked by rogues. Why are you blaming me for it when I wasn't even there?” Lexa asked, tears still rolling down her face as her right hand held her cheek.
• I scoffed in disbelief. I couldn't believe Lexa still had the nerves to pretend and act innocent after what she did.
• “Lexa is right. It is not her fault that you got attacked by rogues. We've been here with her, there's no way she even knew you were going to get attacked,” my father spoke.
• “And she's your sister, why would she send rogues to attack you? How could she do such a thing?” my mother added.
• “Wow, you guys are still going to be on her side despite me telling you I got attacked? I could have gone missing by now. Worse still, they could have killed me!” I snapped, feeling angry about the whole situation. “I barely even escaped!”
• The last part of my statement was a lie, but they didn't need to know that.
• My eyes drifted off to Lexa, who was sitting quietly on the couch, and I was infuriated when I saw the smug smile on her face.
• “How are we supposed to believe you when you said something so outrageous? Like you already know, Lexa got hurt and we've been staying here with her. She'll never do such a thing,” Calden uttered.
• “Did she even get hurt? Why is she not at the pack infirmary getting treated if she is?!” I demanded.
• “Her hand was just burned, so we had the doctor come here and treat her. There was no need to go,” my father said, and I laughed.
• “See? This was all a part of her plan! She wanted to ruin the engagement and get rid of me. She touched the silver on purpose just so she can get you guys to come to her rescue and forget about me. But you all can't see that because she has brainwashed every single one of you!” I screamed.
• Lexa burst out crying when she heard my words, and my mother immediately ran to her side and embraced her in a hug.
• “Why are you saying this, Elysia? I would never do such a thing to you... You're my sister, and I love you… Why are you making me seem like a bad person?” Lexa spoke in between tears and hiccups.
• I rolled my eyes at the performance in front of me. “Oh, please, Lexa. Spare me the drama. You know what you did!”
• Lexa's wails increased, and her shoulders shook as she cried in my mother's arms. Mother scowled at me. “How can you be so wicked? Why are you making a sick girl cry? What did she ever do to you?”
• “I regret having you as a sister. Honestly, I don't even see you as my sister anymore. Lexa is the true daughter of this family,” Calden spoke.
• Those words broke my heart. And though it was something I had always known, it didn't hurt any less.
• I pushed aside the sadness I was feeling, and I looked at my parents coldly. “Mother, father, is this how you feel? Do you guys also think Lexa is the true daughter of this family?”
• Mother seethed. “She is the only daughter we recognize! Any daughter of ours could not have gone missing and suddenly come back after seven years. It's simply not possible!”
• “Your mother is right. You disgraced our family by running off to wherever you went, and it almost ruined our reputation! We only appreciate a daughter who has not stained the family's name,” father added.
• “Right… I see how it is,” I murmured, nodding my head slowly. “I can now see that you guys are openly choosing another person over your biological daughter. And I can now see I have no place in this family anymore. So I am going to leave for my own sake.”
• “I don't want to feel like I am an intruder in your otherwise perfect family,” I added before walking towards the door.
• Before I was out of earshot, I could hear Lexa saying, “Mom, Dad, should we go after her and tell her to come back? I should apologize to her for making her feel like I took her place. She's your daughter and my sister.”
• “There's no need to go after her! We have you, and you're the perfect daughter any family could ever ask for, we don't need her!” That was my father’s response.
• “Your father is right, darling. Elysia is nobody to us. You are the best daughter we could have ever asked for,” my mother responded.
• I stormed out of the sitting room, and banged the door behind me. I walked away from the house in anger.
• I didn't have it in me to feel sad. And it was probably because I hadn't had a bond with my family for a long time, so there was nothing to cry about.
• While I was deep in thought, I began to cross the road. I didn't notice the car coming in my direction till it came to a stop about three feet away from me.
• I only snapped out of my thoughts because of the loud screeching sound the car made as it suddenly pulled over.
• “Are you alright, miss? I should have driven more carefully. I'm so sorry!” The driver apologized profusely when he came out of the car.
• I looked at him in confusion for a few seconds before it clicked to me that the car would have hit me if the driver hadn't been careful.
• “Oh, it's okay, sir. I was the one who wasn't watching when I crossed. It's alright,” I quickly responded, but the driver kept apologizing.
• “What's going on?” a deep, masculine voice suddenly asked.
• I raised my head to see a man walking towards us. He was tall and strikingly handsome. He exuded an intimidating aura that immediately pulled me in. His green eyes shone under the moonlight, and his dark hair was styled to perfection.
• “Sir! I almost hit her with the car, and I was apologizing to her for making such a mistake,” the driver rambled.
• The strange man let out a sigh, and he barely spared me a glance. “Sorry about my driver, miss. Tell me how much you want for compensation and I'll write you a check,” he said as he took out his checkbook out of his suit pocket.
• Who the hell did he think he was?
• I was offended by his bluntness, but I held in my anger. “I don't need your money. But you'll certainly need it to treat yourself.”
• His eyes narrowed. “What could you possibly mean by that?”
• “There's poison in your system, a very strong one which has latched itself onto your bloodstream. Judging by how pale you are, how slow you walk, the bead of sweat on your forehead, and the tremor in your left hand, I can tell the poison is already taking hold.”
• “It'll only be a matter of months before it works completely. And you'll die when it does,” I finished, and the man's eyes widened in surprise.
• I could tell he was bewildered that I was able to diagnose him within such a short period of time.
• “Who are you, and how do you know what is wrong with me?” he asked.
• I threw my hands in the air dismissively. “I'm just a passerby, somebody you don't need to know. But what you do need to know is that you have to do something about that poison as soon as possible if you don't want to lose your life.”
• I was about to walk away after saying that, but his next words stopped me in my tracks.
• “I am Kade Blackridge, Alpha of the Stormridge Pack. I will give you whatever amount you ask for if you cure me.”
• I froze when the words registered in my head. I was about to turn him down, to tell him I wasn't a doctor, and that he should find somebody else to do it.
• But right as I opened my mouth to refuse, a bright idea came to my head.
• I stared at this man with determination shining in my eyes. “So you're Kade Blackridge? The alpha of the most powerful pack ever?”
• He gave a single nod to that.
• I grinned. “Well then, if I'm going to cure you, I don't want your money. But you will have to do me a small favour in return.”