Chapter 7

• Jaxon
• My house had been in chaos since the night of my engagement party, and my parents were furious with me. They believed I had ruined the whole event by running off.
• My father and mother had been giving me the silent treatment since I ran out of the party to meet Lexa, and I had been trying to get them to say something to me, but they wouldn't budge.
• We were currently having dinner in the dining room when my phone pinged. I picked it up and saw it was a message from Lexa.
• “Hi, Jaxon darling. How have you been doing? I've been unable to reach you, so I'm just sending you this text to let you know what has been going on over here.”
• “Elysia has declared herself an orphan and said she is no longer a member of our family. And she just left the house last night. When I went to the shopping mall to get a dress for the gala on Saturday, I saw her there and she was spending money lavishly. It seems she is sleeping around to make some cash now.”
• My face hardened when I read the text. “What does Elysia think she's doing?” I muttered under my breath.
• I heard someone snort, and I raised my head to see my father glaring at me. That was the most reaction I had gotten out of him within the last few days.
• “Why do you care about what she's doing right now? You should've cared earlier before you ran out of the engagement party! How could you have left just like that?!”
• My mother dropped her fork with a sigh. “You shouldn't have left the engagement party like that, Jaxon. What were you thinking when you did that? Elysia is the real daughter of the Ashbournes. We needed her.”
• I looked at my parents coldly. “She might be their biological daughter, but she's not the real heiress! Lexa is the only one they recognize as their daughter now.”
• “Do you really think I care about that?!” my father snapped as he slammed his hand on the table. “Elysia holds a position and authority in the pack council, and it is very important. That is the only thing that matters to us. That position will be beneficial to us if she marries into our family, you idiot!”
• The dining room went completely silent, so much so that one could hear if a pin dropped.
• That was when this whole marriage arrangement with the Ashbournes clicked to me. Why I had to marry Elysia even though we barely had anything in common. Why I had to get with her even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
• I met my father's gaze with confidence, my hands balled into fists. “I promise I'm going to fix everything, Dad. I'll apologize to Elysia for leaving her at the engagement party. She has always liked me. I'm sure she'll forgive me.”
• My father's gaze softened as he leaned back in his chair. “Good. You go ahead and fix it. I better hear good news.”
• I had planned to ignore Elysia, to leave her alone and let her reflect on the things she did wrong. To let her reflect on why she called off the engagement.
• But I hadn't expected that she would cut ties with her family just like that. Much less run away from home.
• I excused myself from the dining room and sent apology messages to her number. I made my tone sound as gentle and remorseful as possible, hoping she would fall for it.
• “Elysia, I'm so sorry about what happened that day. I was not thinking straight.”
• “I shouldn't have left our engagement party like that. I just realized how much I love and care about you. Please give me a chance to right my wrongs.”
• I stared at the screen for several minutes, waiting for a response, but I never got one. When I finally got tired of waiting, I tried calling her... Only for me to find out I had been blocked!
• I punched the wall close to me, breathing heavily as anger clouded my vision. “Fucking hell! How dare she block me? Does she really think she can get rid of me that easily? She must be foolish!”
• [Saturday]
• Elysia
• It was the night of the charity gala.
• The night I had been waiting for with anxiety and excitement.
• Anxiety because I didn't know what to expect. Excitement because I was looking forward to it.
• Kade had hired makeup artists to glam me up for the event.
• And I was wearing the red dress I bought at the boutique.
• My hair was put up in a Dutch braid updo to show off the dress.
• I wore gold jewelry, gold shoes, and a gold purse.
• When I was done getting ready, I walked out of the bedroom and headed downstairs.
• Kade was sitting on a couch, waiting for me.
• “I'm ready,” I called from the foot of the stairs, and he turned to look at me.
• His eyes widened, and it was almost like he was amazed by my appearance.
• “You look breathtaking,” he said, and I smiled softly.
• “Thank you,” I responded, gazing at him.
• He was wearing a black tuxedo.
• “You look good, too,” I told him, and he grinned, doing a fake courtesy.
• “Thank you, Milady. Shall we go now?” he asked, extending his arm for me to take.
• I took his hand, chuckling at how dramatic he was. “Yes, My Lord. We shall go.”
• We both walked out of the house, struggling to hold back our laughter.
• ***
• A wide smile was on my face as I walked into the Moonspire Citadel with Kade, an ancient fortress built into the side of the mountain. It was beautifully decorated and bubbling with life as lots of high-ranking werewolves gathered together.
• Chatters broke out amongst the crowd as soon as we stepped inside, hand in hand. And all eyes turned to look at us.
• “Elysia!” I heard somebody call my name, and I looked to see Jaxon coming towards me. The smile on my face fell immediately.
• Behind him were the Ashbournes. Their eyes were on me, and they appeared shocked to see me.
• I didn't bother to grace Jaxon with a response, and I turned to the Ashbournes with a small smile. “This is such a pleasant surprise. I never thought I'd see you guys so soon.”
• “I need to talk to you, Elysia,” Jaxon uttered, and I pinned him with a glare.
• “There's nothing to talk about, Jaxon. As far as I know, the engagement is off and there's nothing more between us.”
• Lexa walked over to us with a smile which I knew was fake, like everything else about her. “How can you say that, Elysia? Jaxon has been desperately looking for you!”
• “Really? Was he looking for me or for my position?” I asked with a smile that seemed to catch every one of them off guard.
• I walked away with Kade after that.
• The only reason I came to this gala was to shake up the Ashbournes, and it seemed like I had succeeded without even doing much.
• Kade leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Are you happy?”
• I nodded, grinning happily. “I am. This is just the beginning.”
• Kade let out a low chuckle, a smile on his face. “Whatever you choose to do, just know I have your back.”
• I smiled up at him when he said that, and the interaction caught the eyes of many of the guests in attendance as they started whispering amongst themselves.
• “I can't believe Elysia came to the gala with Alpha Kade. What a move!”
• “I bet Alpha Jaxon regrets his decision by now. He shouldn't have chosen Lexa over her.”
• “Stop talking, guys! They're right there!”