Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

Aira’s POV

The sun rises in the morning, giving the earth a peaceful glow.

But there was nothing peaceful about this morning for me.

I could not even get an ounce of sleep last night. I kept going through the pictures of Alexander and me all over the news.

Ana is always online, so surely she would have definitely seen it by now.

I hear some shuffling outside my room and hop off my bed. Throwing the door to my room open, I practically sprint downstairs. My eyes fall on Alexander fixing a bowl of cereal for himself in the kitchen.

“What is this?” I ask, showing him one of the pictures of us on Instagram.

“Good morning to you too, Aira,” he says, still not looking at the photo I am showing him.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I roll my eyes as he shoves a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. I am going to be honest; if someone had told me that I would be walking into a kitchen with Alexander in it and not feel an ounce of fear in my bones, then I probably would have thought they were insane.

We have grown some sort of comradeship without even knowing it.

I guess all those nights we spent up on the balcony and in the garden did prove to be useful.

“Look at this; there are pictures of us everywhere,” I say, and he casually takes my phone from my hands and inspects the photo.

He shakes his head before handing the phone back to me. “They couldn’t even get my angles right.”

My jaw dropped.

“That is not the issue at hand here!” I scream, and he raises a brow slowly.

“Then please tell me what the issue is so we can get it fixed as soon as possible. I do not really entertain screaming women first thing in the morning,” he says before taking another spoon full of his cereal.

“Why are we everywhere?” I demand, and he looks at me with disbelief and a mix of annoyance.

“I remember vividly that I told you I was a big shot in this city. I have people watching my every move, so of course once I step foot outside, there will be people taking pictures,” he explains, and my shoulders slump.

I admit he did say that, but I did not think it would be this serious. I mean, we are on every local news channel there is.

His eyes drill holes into my skull as he stares at me while lost in thought. And then he says, “Most women would be excited to find themselves on the news. Why are things always different with you?”

Sliding my tongue over my bottom lip, I shrug. “I just don’t like being seen on social media.”

Alexander pushes himself off his seat and comes to stand right in front of me. His eyes are so menacing; they appear to be looking right into my soul.

“Unfortunately, I do not believe you. There is a reason you are freaking out about this. Are you scared of someone being aware of your presence here?”

Ah, how could I forget who I was talking to?

Alexander is one of the smartest people I have ever met. If I ever slipped up even a little bit, he would figure out everything. I can’t let him do that. Not now.

“What? No. I just got freaked out because, well, it’s not every day you wake up and find your face everywhere,” I lie, and his eyelids narrow. For a second, he doesn’t say anything; he just stares at me.

He knows I am lying, doesn’t he?

I have to keep myself from sighing with relief when he shrugs and returns to his seat and cereal. “Well, then you better get used to it because I am taking you everywhere while we are in this town.”

Great.

I do not know what to say, so I just turn on my heel to go back to my room. I freeze mid-way when Alexander says something that makes my heart flutter and sends a wave of fear through me at the same time.

“And if you are lying to me and someone is coming after you, I assure you they will be dead before they get even a foot close to you.”

A shiver runs down my spine, but I manage to muster up a tight smile before offering him a tight smile over my shoulder. “You don’t have to get blood on your hands because of me.”

He meets my eyes, and there isn’t an ounce of emotion within them when he says, “I will.”

He takes the last bit of his cereal and leaves the dish in the sink before leaving.

Suddenly, I feel terrified of Jace and Ana finding me. not because of what they will do to me, but because of what Alexander would do to them. Joan: Hey, can we meet up, please? We miss you so much.

I stare at the message from the girl I once called my best friend with no expression on my face. I do not know how long I have been staring at it; perhaps I was having a hard time actually believing that it was real.

It has barely been an hour since Alexander gave me more reason to fear him. Right now, I lay on my stomach in my bedroom, watching some Instagram reels, when Joan’s text came in. and I have been dumbfounded ever since.

My mind travels back to the day I needed her most. I needed her, Ray, and Sam that day. And what did they do? They threw me out in the street.

Joan: I know you are upset with us, but we really do miss you.

My eyelids narrow, and I stare at her second marriage. The girls and I have been friends for years, or so I thought. And one thing I know about them is that they do not miss the people they cut off. I always knew I was the weakest link among them. I should have known from the very beginning that they would cut me off.

Ray: Hey, we heard you are back in town. Please let us see Michelo’s ice cream parlor. You know, just like in old times.

I should have known.

I can’t believe that I didn’t realize this earlier. They must have seen the pictures of Alexander and me. Now they want me back because I was seen patrolling with a high-ranking alpha.

It disgusts me to say this, but I always knew they were power- and attention-seeking women. They only got rid of me when they saw I would not be beneficial to them. Now they want me back.

I will show them.

I texted both of them back.

Me: sure.

I hop off my bed and pick one of the best outfits Carla helped me pack. It was a black pair of jeans with a white chain design on them. I paired it with a white crop top and sneakers before tying my hair up in a bun.

Stepping out of my room, I head down the stairs to find Alexander speaking to a few guards. He pauses once he sees me and takes in my outfit.

“I am going out,” I inform him, and I watch as his eyebrow slowly elevates.

“And who gave you permission to do that?”

Placing my hands on my hips, I tilt my chin at him and say, “Isn’t this the reason you gave me a phone? So you can always track me? Besides, where I am going isn’t too far from here. I just want to go see some old friends.”

“You are not going anywhere,” he says with finality. I scowl at him.

“You don’t want your date to the ball tonight to show up in tears and cause a scene, now do you?” I shoot back at him, and he remains silent. He looks at me like I have gone mad before shaking his head in disbelief.

“You have grown quite stubborn,” he mutters beneath his breath. “These two will go with you,” he says, referring to the two guards he is speaking to.

I shrug. “Fair enough.”

He turns to the guards, and even though his words were not exactly directed at me, they still sent a shiver down my spine.

“If you lose sight of her for even a second, I will have your eyeballs.”

The two men gulped.

With their escort, we drive down to the ice cream parlor, and I make sure to do what is needed on my phone before going in. and then I see them.

The three girls I once would have done anything for, the three girls I once thought were my friends.

Joan is rocking a tight, fitted thigh-high dress. On her dress is a sleek leather jacket, and on her feet are ankle-high boots. The dark outfits complement her dark hair and demeanor.

Samantha, on the other hand, is wearing a yellow sundress and white sandals that also just so happen to match her blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes.

Then there is Ray, the redhead of the group. She is chewing loudly on a piece of gum that never seems to leave her mouth. She is wearing a two-piece gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, along with a pair of slides.

Funny how they all looked differently on the outside but were disgustingly the same on the inside. I almost wanted to cry at the sight of them. Almost.

Their eyes fall on me, and the smiles on their faces are fake.

“Oh my God, Aira!”

“Hey girl!”

“You look so beautiful!”

They all hug me, and I only manage to hum. I free myself from their grip and take a step back. I cannot even stand to have them touch me right now.

“Come on, sit; we have a lot to talk about,” Joan says, taking my hands and pulling me down to their booth.

“How have you been?” Ray asks, leaning over the table with that fake happiness she always seemed to muster on her face.

“I have been pretty good for someone who got kicked out by her friends,” I spit out, and the smiles on their faces slowly fades.

“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you are still upset about that,” Samantha says with a wave of her hand.

“We were only doing what was best for our image; I mean, if people saw us with you after what happened between you and Jace that day, it would have been so embarrassing,” Joan says casually, and a dry laugh leaves my lips.

“Trust me, I know the feeling.” Joan and Samanatha look at me in confusion. A grin lifts my lips when I watch all the color drain from Ray’s face.

“You guys…” she says slowly before turning her phone for Joan and Sam to see. I am barely able to hold back my laughter as I watch the both of them drop their jaws as they watch the video on Ray’s phone.

It was an old video of us from early last year at one of the clubs we used to hang out at. This video was taken on the night Joan was invited to the owner’s office, and she refused to go in without taking the rest of us.

The video shows Joan and Ray being half naked and on top of the owner of the club, Mr. Channon. He is a popular figure in this city, known to be happily married with his wife and kids. The two girls are clearly doing everything to please him, while Sam is seen dancing on the pole with nothing but her pants on.

My drunken laughter can be heard in the background. I was still a bit too shy to join them and knew I would feel guilty considering I was still with Jace at the time.

My intention was to get a video of myself, but I mistakenly took a video of them instead.

Placing a hand over my chest, I push myself off the table for a more dramatic effect.

“Oh my God, this is so embarrassing. I can’t be seen with you guys; you guys are only going to bring me shame.” I repeat Sam’s exact words from that day, and a realization dawns in their eyes.

“It was you,” Ray seethes. “You are the one that leaked that video!”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe it was. But surely you guys understand that I cannot have you around; you will tarnish my image in the eyes of the public,” I say mockingly.

Joan’s eyes turned a bright shade of amber, and I just knew she was pissed. She hops off the table and closes the distance between us with blood lust written all over her eyes.

“I am going to-”

“You are going to what?”

I watch all the color drain from their eyes as they stare at something behind me.

Or someone.

Joan takes a step back. And I instantly knew who was standing behind me.

Alexander.