Liora's POV
I almost gasped but had to hold it in. How in the Moon Goddess's name was this possible?
How did Caelum become Alpha Zand's son? We have dated for five years, but I am just getting to know this now?
No, I must be mistaken.
"Liora?" the way he called my name made my throat tighten, trying all I could not to look him in the eyes. "Liora, is it really you?"
Without answering his question or giving him more chance to speak, I walked out of the living room.
The last thing I want is to hurt him again. I can't imagine how hurt he would have felt to know I left him for his father, no matter the reason!
Like a nightmare, he is no longer in my head but right in front of me. Right in the same house with me.
The same man that I have been imagining touching me, holding me roughly like he was never going to let me go and fucking me.
But all that imagination shattered the moment he walked in, and every word I said to him three years ago replayed in my head.
A sharp knock on my door snapped me out of my thoughts.
I hesitated before walking up to the door, praying deep down it wasn't Caelum.
I can't bring myself to look him in the eyes.
"Luna Li—"
"As your Luna, I am instructing you not to ever mention my name for as long as the Alpha's son is in this house," I instructed, silencing my personal assistant who was staring weirdly at me.
"Okay, Luna," she replied with her gaze lowered. "You have a scheduled meeting with the pack members—"
"I am not going to that meeting," I interrupted her, trying not to have a repeat of the shit they did to me in the last meeting I attended.
They dared say I was nothing but just a caged bird. They spelled out my miserable life right in front of me and how I am undeserving of this position… I almost fought those widemouths.
"The meeting isn't one you can miss out on. Alpha Zand specified you attend the meeting as it is for the preparation of the Moonfest festival," she muttered, making me give up on trying to argue.
It had always been like this for three years. All he ever cared about was my position as the Luna of this pack. A Luna without an heir. A Luna he would never touch.
An Omega who was an exchange for her father's debt.
"Luna, I already talked with the people from the lab; they are still trying to create a new heat suppressant for you," my assistant's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Thank the Moon Goddess. I just hope it reaches me quickly…" before I fall into my very own temptation.
Caelum.
"I would leave you to get ready for the meeting, Luna Li…" she quickly stopped herself from saying my name.
She bowed before leaving my room.
I exhaled deeply, trying to wrap my head around a way out, but I couldn't think of one. With Caelum right here in this house when my heat suppressant has just finished, I have to be extra careful.
I am no longer that Liora he used to know. My family's protection and my duty as the Luna of this pack come first before anything else.
I snapped out of the chaos consuming me, then took off my dress before leaving for the bathroom.
Throughout my bath, all I could think of was how I am going to live under the same roof with Caelum.
Why on earth would my husband's son turn out to be him? Just why?
I stepped out of the bathroom, dried off my skin, about to apply the lotion on my body until a loud knock thundered on my door.
Knowing it is another schedule announcement, I stood up, reached for my towel before tying it across my chest.
I opened the door, about to vent my frustration on my assistant, but a soft gasp tore out of my lips instead.
Caelum was standing right in front of me!
It took me a minute before I was able to catch my breath, feeling my towel about to lose off my chest.
"Why are you here?" I finally found my voice, trying to act as cold as I could.
"Liora—"
"I am sorry, you got the wrong…" the last word got stuck in my throat the moment he closed the gap between us.
He lowered his height to mine, forcing our gaze to lock, my eyes now piercing through those onyx eyes which used to be bright but not now.
The look on his face was totally different from the way he used to look at me before we broke up.
It was as if he was boring a hole inside me. Undressing me. Melting me down for the wrong reason!
"Liora, even in the middle of the night, even with sleepy eyes, I can tell it is you. Either now or even in a hundred years to come," the voice which used to be so warm was now cold, broken, and crawling deep inside me. Awakening the guilt I had hidden just to be as selfish as I wanted to be. "Don't lie to me, Liora."
Hearing him call me by my name instead of 'my moonshine' made me feel like bursting into tears.
Why does it hurt watching him act cold towards me? It's been three years for the goddess's sake…!
"What if I am Liora? Would that change the fact that I am now your father's wife? Your stepmother! And the Luna of this pack!" I yelled out, my voice betraying me. Failing to convey my goal;
To provoke him.
"If you are the Liora who dumped me three years ago, I would make you regret that day. I would make every living day that went by for you a wish to go back to how things were three years ago," the man who used to be sweet was now dangerously tempting. Every word that rolled out of his lips was like a dagger, breaking the feelings I thought I had frozen. "You are going to beg to have what you threw away."
"I won't," the two words managed to force themselves out. "I am now your stepmother. The Luna of this pack."