Pleased, he patted her head. "That's good. Is anyone giving you trouble?"
Leah slowly looked at the Lunas holding their breaths before shaking her head.
"If anyone bullies me, I will just bully them back." Leah shrugged, pointedly looking at Clara and Luna Laurent, who were still kneeling on the cold floor.
"Good attitude." The Alpha King nodded with a satisfied smile. "This is the best way to deal with flies. If anyone under my rule bullies you, just tell Grandpa, and I will bully them."
Leah nodded.
Everyone pointedly looked at the mother-daughter pair.
Luna Laurent became even paler, but Clara quickly smiled. "Your Majesty, you can leave it to me. I always take care of Leah as her big sister."
The Alpha King glanced at her and chuckled. "Just come to Grandpa even if a room fly is buzzing around you."
Clara's smile froze, her lips parting to address Leah instead, when the Alpha King suddenly turned to Damon, who was frowning at his phone.
"Damon."
Clara bitterly swallowed her words.
Unaffected, it seemed Damon was above their conversation, indifferent to everything.
Hearing the Alpha King's call, Damon walked over.
"Your Majesty."
"Today is the first day of your wedding. Why haven't you visited her family pack yet?"
Damon pursed his lips, obviously unwilling. "We are leaving in a bit."
The Alpha King patted him on the shoulder. "Escort the Princess of the Royal House of Varkos like you are escorting my daughter."
Damon put his hand into his pocket, glanced at Leah, and walked back to his room slowly.
The ladies looked at each other, as they could tell the Alpha King was very protective of Leah. Furthermore, they saw that he did not like Clara.
In public, the Alpha King rebutted Luna Laurent and Clara, but supported the illegitimate daughter of the Wolfborn Pack fully. If this spread, no one would dare to bully Leah anymore, and everyone would have to respect her.
After all, the Alpha King was more dangerous than the reputation of the Royal House of Varkos.
"Go get ready too." The Alpha King patted her head. "Everyone should see I dote on my new daughter."
Leah reluctantly nodded and went back to the room quickly.
As she opened their walk-in closet door, she saw Damon picking out shirts, topless.
Leah's eyes widened, but she quickly looked away and walked to the closet to grab a beige purse and sandals to go with her white dress.
She buckled the sandals, taking support from the wall.
"Help me with the buttons."
A whisper in her ear startled her.
Yelping, Leah stumbled when an arm grabbed her, pulling her back against his bare chest.
An unfamiliar masculine scent made Leah's heart tremble. His body was... so warm.
Taking in a sharp breath, she clutched his arm. "Why?"
As if he couldn't hear her, he turned her around by the waist.
"The buttons."
Standing this close, she was eye to eye with the bronze muscles of his chest. She swallowed and tried to push him away, then quickly pulled back as if his skin burned. Heat rushed to her face, turning her cheeks bright red.
Damon squished her puffy cheek.
There was no doubt... she looked just like his fluff-ball bird.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Why... is this man acting like that?
That's not how things happened in their previous life. By the time she got up, he was getting out of the shower, glaring at her from time to time.
He probably doubted her by then.
She had been a blushing bride, and then Clara had come, perfectly incriminating her for drugging him.
Then he threw both of them out of his room and left. She never went to her family pack and was left to rot here for weeks before the Alpha King brought her to his house.
Despite the Alpha King's insistence, he didn't even bother looking at her.
Leah was dazed, but then came back to herself. He was the same man who left her to be humiliated for years in their marriage!
She straightened her back, her light blue eyes glaring up at him.
"Why should I?"
Damon grinned. With her round face puffed up, she looked just as threatening as a little chick.
"I hurt my arm."
"Wh-what?" Her mouth gaped open.
What nonsense is that? He was a pure-blooded lycan—even if you stabbed them to death, they would heal in a day!
She quickly grabbed his arm to inspect his hand, but his arms around her were like metal bars.
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness?" His brow hiked up.
Wasn't she bravely calling Damon earlier?
Quickly moving her eyes away, she huffed.
Her fingers brushed the firm warmth of his chest, the muscles beneath his bronze skin shifting slightly under her touch. Hesitantly, she swallowed.
He grabbed her hand, and her breath hitched.
"How did this happen?"
The hand he was holding had slight blisters. "I don't know..."
Could it be an allergic reaction to wolfsbane? In her last life, some wolfsbane had spilled on her, and she had blood-oozing blisters all over her chest.
Lycans could drink poison and only have a slight stomachache. Perhaps it was because she was half-human.
He stared at her, looking lost, and let her go, expecting her to bolt.
But her shaking hand buttoned his shirt, her gaze fixed on the neat line of buttons while her cheeks slowly turned warm.
She then pushed him away and quickly ran out.
Damon looked at the door and then squinted at a mirror close to him. Till last night, his wife was a blushing bride ready to jump his bones, and today she treated him like he had STDs.
What was her deal?
Leah had just sat on the bed to put her stuff in her bag when Clara's head peeked in.
Finding her alone, she flopped beside her.
"Leah!" She clasped her hands, but Leah quickly pulled them away, stepping back.
Clara took another step. Leah quickly stepped back again.
"Lee...?" Clara's lower lip wobbled apologetically. "I'm really sorry about my mother. She has a conservative view of women. Please forgive her. She's tough like a coconut on the outside but soft inside. You know that, right?"
Leah stared at her coldly before smiling.
"Of course, I know." Leah took a seat again and let her hold her hand this time. "What brought you here?"
For a second, Clara frowned at her dry reply, but quickly schooled her features.
"Oh, that..." Clara looked around shyly, rubbing her hand affectionately. "Auntie was worried about you. She was so anxious that you are young and going to start college soon, so I thought I would help you..."
She put a medicine packet in Leah's hand.
"What is it—"
Leah's hand froze. It was a Plan B pill. In her last life, Clara had tried to feed her pills too, but Leah had stubbornly refused and then... gotten pregnant.
This time, she took the medicine and chugged it down. "Is that all?"
Clara looked dazed when Leah took the contraceptive so readily. Her fingers tightened around Leah's hand.
"Is that all?" Clara echoed softly, her smile turning a little strained. "Leah… you're being so distant."
Leah wanted to beat that bitch bloody, but it wasn't the time. She was gonna play the same Clara played with her!
Leah smiled, looking confused. "I'm not. What makes you say that?" she asked lightly.
Clara squinted her eyes at her. "You are. You didn't even thank me properly. I rushed here because I was worried about you."
Her thumb brushed over the back of Leah's hand in a familiar gesture. "I have always taken care of you, haven't I?"
Leah lowered her gaze to their joined hands, watching that movement as if it belonged to a stranger.
Taken care of each other.
"Yes," she nodded. "You have."
Clara's shoulders eased slightly, relief flickering across her face. Of course, this vulgar girl was as stupid as ever! She leaned in, her voice softening.
"The day has been too much for us. Can we please put it behind us and be friends again?" she jutted her lower lip out cutely. "Please?"
Leah slowly pulled her hand free, pretending to be hurt.
"I don't know. Your mom was so rude, and today in the morning you..." Leah asked, looking up at her.
Clara sighed, her expression turning helpless. "Leah, you know I would never deliberately hurt you, right? The important thing is someone used wolfsbane on Daye."
She reached out again, but hesitated mid-air before gently placing her hand on Leah's shoulder instead.
"You don't need to worry. I'm quietly running an investigation to catch the culprit and clear your name," Clara said softly. "I care about you like a sister. No matter what happens, that won't change."
Leah held her gaze.
In her last life, she had believed those words so completely that she never once questioned the knife hidden beneath them.
"Of course," Leah said, her smile deepening. "You're my only friend, too."
Clara's lips curved back into a satisfied smile..
"That's more like it," she said warmly. "Don't overthink things, okay? How about we go for a spa day this weekend? I heard you have never been to one. I can invite other girls from the pack, and we can have a girls' day out."
Leah's eyes flickered for a moment, but still, she nodded obediently.
"Sure."
Clara beamed, clearly pleased, squeezing her shoulder once before stepping back.
"Okay, now! I'll go check if Auntie needs help," she said, already turning toward the door to see Leah coming out too.
Leah had lightly touched up her makeup, unlike the full-on goth look she usually did.
Clara paused at the doorway, glancing back with narrowed eyes, "...You are not going to touch up your makeup?"