Filed To Story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
I shirked out of his reach and zipped up my suitcase, deciding I had packed enough. I went to my desk instead, moving the papers on top of the pouch I used to keep the money I saved here and there. It definitely wasn’t enough to start over, or whatever the hell I was supposed to do now, but it was better than nothing.”Please, just listen,” he pleaded.”Listen to what? You had plenty of opportunity to say something back there, and you didn’t.””You don’t understand,” he insisted. “If it were just up to me, it would be different, but…””But what?” I challenged. “There has to be a unanimous vote to turn your back on the woman you were happy enough to claim as your mate a few days ago? Is that how it works?”
He frowned, but he didn’t deny that either. “No one saw this coming. But we have a responsibility greater than what we want as individuals. To each other, to the pack, to the goddess. We could never ascend to your father’s position with a hybrid as a mate.””Right. Nothing personal, just business. I was just a perk of the job, so now I’m nothing. I get it. You don’t need to spell it out.””It’s not that,” he insisted, grabbing me by the shoulders. There was more intensity in his gaze than I’d ever seen there before. Too bad it had to be like this. “Your father is… He’s not good for the pack. There are things you couldn’t possibly understand, things you’ve been sheltered from, but Redstone won’t survive another year with him at the helm without either fracturing or going to war.”
I frowned, not sure if his words made no fucking sense to me because of everything that was happening, or simply because they didn’t make sense at all. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?””He doesn’t want to step down,” he said quietly. “Without his blood to continue the line, he finally has an excuse to hold on to the reins of power. And you have no idea what that means for the pack if he does.””Then enlighten me.” Not that it really made a difference as far as I was concerned, but I was curious, in spite of myself, and this was probably the only chance I would ever have to get answers that would surely plague me later if I didn’t take the opportunity.
Liam hesitated, glancing down the hall before he pulled the door shut like he was afraid someone might be eavesdropping. He looked down at me, his face a mask of conflict. “There’s too much to explain right now. Too much you don’t understand. You can’t. But I’m sure you’ve gotten something of an idea, living as his daughter all these years.”
I grimaced.
Living as his daughter.
He made it sound like it was just some trick I’d been pulling on everyone. Like I hadn’t had the rug ripped out from beneath my entire world.”The closer we’ve gotten to him handing over control, the antsier he’s become. I’m sure you’ve noticed that to a degree,” Liam continued. He paused, as if waiting for me to answer. When he realized I wasn’t going to give him the pleasure, he sighed and went on. “He’s been looking for any excuse to avoid it. Now he found one. Don’t you think that’s a bit convenient?”
I frowned. “Are you saying he knew?” I demanded. “You think he knew I wasn’t his kid and kept his secret all this time for what?””Leverage,” Liam said with a shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t pretend to know everything that goes on in his mind, and I don’t want to, but I know his endgame. He wants to set himself up as alpha for a lifetime–and he’s willing to do anything to achieve that goal.””That’s bullshit,” I protested. “He can’t do that.””And who’s going to stop him, if not us?” he challenged.
I clenched my jaw, not wanting to listen to this. Then again, I hadn’t wanted anything that had happened over the last seventy-two hours. “I don’t know what you want from me. Approval? You want me to say everything is fine and there are no hard feelings?””No,” he said, lowering his head in shame. His voice grew soft as he said, “No. Of course not. I don’t expect you to understand. I don’t have the right to ask that, but I can’t just let you leave like this.””What other choice do I have?” I asked. “I got my eviction notice, you were there.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash that was thick enough to make my eyes bulge.
What the hell?
I recoiled, filled with fresh rage. “You think you can pay me off to soothe your guilty conscience?” I asked in disbelief.”I’m not trying to pay you off,” he insisted. “I’m trying to take care of you. I know pride is what made you refuse his offer, but you don’t understand what it’s like out there.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, a dry, bitter sound that scraped my throat on the way out. “I don’t want your fucking money any more than I wanted his.”
He gave me a weary look, as if I was being a stubborn child. “I’m serious, Lavinia. If you don’t want to take his help, that’s fine, but at least letme help you.”
My heart was pounding again with pure, blinding rage. Somehow, his offer of charity stung more than anything my father or Jax had thrown out of me in their sheer callousness. “I’ll take my chances with the gutter,” I said, stalking past him down the hall.”Lavinia!” Liam cried, running after me.
I ignored him and stormed down the steps, refusing to turn back until I got to the front door. He was strong, but I was fast. The one benefit that came with a smaller stature. He caught up eventually, though, just in time to slam the front door out of my grasp.”I’m not letting you leave without this,” he growled.
I scoffed. “I think you might find keeping me here a bit inconvenient for your secret little coup or whatever the hell it is you’re planning.” I must have said that a bit too loud, because he looked over his shoulder again. He breathed a sigh of exasperation as he turned back to me. He took the cash, took my hand, and forced it into my palm, wrapping my fingers around it. “Just take the goddamn money.”
I leaned in close, closer than I had dared to get to him before, and he froze. I wondered if his heart was pounding as hard as mine was. Even now, the scent of him filled me with painful nostalgia.
I whispered, “Go fuck yourself, Liam. I don’t want your money, and I don’t want to see you ever again.?”
With that, I stepped back and dropped the cash at his feet. This time, he just stood there, staring blankly like he didn’t know what to do. I took it that he hadn’t expected quite that much resistance. If he wanted to soothe himself, though, he would have to find another way to do it. I wasn’t taking shit from him.
Before he could make this any more torturous than it already was, I walked outside to find a car waiting for me at the curb. Guess that was Dad’s final parting “gift.” It figured it would be a one-way trip out of the pack.