Chapter 165: One Month Later

Oril

Later that night, I was lying flat on my back in the middle of my bedroom, staring up at the ceiling.

My room was a nostalgic, cluttered sanctuary with the walls lined with sleek wooden shelves displaying polished brass trophies from my younger days as a popstar, interspersed with faded, pinned-up posters of vintage rock bands and pop icons.

I had my laptop balanced precariously on my chest, the blue light reflecting in my tired eyes as I filled out yet another digital job application form. My fingers flew across the keyboard with aggressive, furious strikes.

Back on the job hunt. I typed in my contact details for the hundredth time today. All because of Lorali. I swear to God that woman is a witch. She ruins everything she touches.

The door to my room clicked open softly. I looked over screen to see Walter step inside, holding a small, clear plastic container with a modest piece of drugstore chocolate cake inside, complete with a tiny red plastic fork stuck into the top.

"I got you a cake from the drugstore to celebrate your first day!" Walter said brightly, offering me a gentle, supportive smile as he walked over. "How was it?"

I didn’t even look up from my laptop, letting out a low, pathetic grumble. "Well... I didn’t take the job."

Walter stopped dead in his tracks, his smile instant vanishing into sheer confusion. "Why didn’t you take the job? I thought you were happy! What happened?"

He walked over to the side of my bed, setting the little cake box on my nightstand before sitting down on the edge of the mattress.

I slammed my laptop shut, sitting up and rubbing my face with both hands. "Well... I’m an assistant manager to Lorali, of all people! I can’t do that, Walter! I will never be an assistant manager to her!"

Walter blinked, staring at me for a beat before his eyes suddenly widened. "Wait... you’re the assistant manager to Lorali? Oril, this is perfect! Why didn’t you take the job?!"

"Because I don’t like her!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. "Have we not established that?! Have I not spent the last few weeks talking about how terrible she is?!"

Walter let out a long, heavy sigh, reaching over to pat my knee soothingly. "Oril, you need to let it go. I don’t understand why you hate her so much. Yes, she lied about you here and there, but just let it go. This job pays really well, and you said you wanted to stop living in Torin’s shadow. Just take the job... or go work at our parents’ company. It’s either those two."

I sank back against my pillows, staring blankly at the wall.

Right now, working at my parents’ company really doesn’t seem that bad. I’ll do that. Even if I have to work under some strict executive, it’s a thousand times better than working with or under Lorali and putting up with her bratty, arrogant behavior every single day.

Walter watched my face closely, leaning in slightly. "Look... she’s not that bad. And honestly? She’s not even going to be in the pack for a long time."

I paused, turning my head to glare at him in utter confusion. "What does that even mean?"

Walter looked down at his hands, his expression turning quiet, solemn, and strangely resolved. "Well... she asked me to find her a pack better than Spade. She said she will leave this pack if I find her a pack better than Spade. And as much as I don’t want her to leave... I feel like I’ll do it. It’s the right thing to do. And I have to find a way to break her venomous bond."

My jaw dropped. "Seriously? She said that? She promised that?"

"Yeah," Walter nodded slowly, his voice laced with a bittersweet edge. "That’s the only way she’ll ever forgive me... is if I find her a pack better than Spade to live in."

I sat in silence for a moment, my mind racing as I opened my laptop back up. The screen flared to life, showing the half-filled 30th job application of the day.

If Walter is actually going to find her a new pack... I thought, my thumb hovering over the touchpad. Walter is scarily good at finding things and organizing meetings. Which means... I won’t actually have to put up with her for very long. And I really, really don’t want to go back into this soul-crushing job market.

"Maybe I can put up with her," I muttered aloud, staring at the application screen. "I don’t know... I might keep the job. I might not."

Walter smiled softly, standing up from the edge of my bed and tapping the plastic cake container on the nightstand. "If I were you, I would just take the job, Oril. It pays well, and you’d be doing something productive with your time rather than sitting in here being all depressed."

I looked at the little drugstore cake, then back at Walter, letting out a long, reluctant breath.

"I’ll think about it," I grumbled, pulling the laptop back onto my lap. "I’ll think about it."

Lorali - One Month Later

"I can give you everything you want, Lorali. Everything you desire," the man purred across the white linen tablecloth, swirling his crystal glass of sparkling water as if he were holding the keys to the entire universe. "We are the richest pack in the East. We have gold, we have diamonds, we have vaults full of raw rubies. You will be draped head-to-toe in top-deck rubies, and every single dream you’ve ever harbored will instantly become your reality."

I leaned my chin on my hand, tilting my head with what I hoped looked like wide-eyed, awe-struck fascination.

In reality, a laugh was bubbling up in my chest so hard I had to physically bite the inside of my cheek to keep from losing it right there.

Alpha Tariq of the Sun-Gilded Dune Pack was a spectacle. He sat there in his tailored silk suit, his broad shoulders practically busting the seams, sporting a dark beard trimmed so sharply it looked like it had been drawn on with a permanent marker. He leaned forward, flashing a row of blindingly white teeth, his arrogance radiating off him in suffocating waves.

"As you can clearly see," Tariq continued, puffing his chest out like a rooster preening in the sun, "I am a very handsome, very powerful man. And my pack consists of four ridiculously hot alphas and an incredibly calm, sensible delta. We will love you, we will cherish you, and we will pamper you beyond belief. All we ask... is that you quit your figure skating. That is it. That is all. That is the one single requirement, and in exchange, you will have everything you could ever desire."

This arrogant little bastard, I thought, my mind practically spitting venom while my lips maintained a sweet, delicate smile. Who in the hell does he think he is?! Give up my thriving career? For him?! Heck, I just came in second place in the qualifiers for regionals! I am going to win the entire championship!

Sure, first place in the qualifiers went to Zetana, because of course it did, but that was beside the point. I was on track to win a national title. I had swept first place in every single competition I entered this season (in the matches where Zetana wasn’t involved, obviously). I wasn’t just some pretty face on the ice; I was a household name. I was the first omega making serious, undeniable waves in modern athletic sports, not just in figure skating, but in sports in general! I was consistently out-skating alphas and betas alike.

And this delusional, oiled-up peacock thought I was going to throw my entire life’s work into the trash for a couple of shiny rocks?

Oh my gosh, I screamed internally, keeping my eyes wide and innocent. Who are these people Walter keeps setting me up with?! Where is he even finding them?!

For the past month, ever since I gave Walter the green light to find me a pack better than Spade, my calendar had been a endless nightmare of speed-dating. Walter took his job way too seriously. Every single weekend, I was being shipped off to fancy lunch spots to sit across from wealthy, high-ranking pack leaders who thought an omega’s only function in life was to look pretty on an armchair and pop out heirs.

I dropped my eyelids slightly, putting on my best helpless, hesitant expression. "Oh... I don’t know, Alpha Tariq. I’m not sure I can do that. I really, really like my career."

Tariq chuckled, a deep, condescending sound as he leaned across the table. "But you really like diamonds, don’t you, little piece?"

Gross. I felt a literal wave of nausea roll through my stomach. I was absolutely disgusted by this man. Watching him puff out his chest, it suddenly made total sense why the Sun-Gilded Dune Pack hadn’t managed to secure an omega in over ten years. Who could stand being in the same room as this walking, talking ego for more than five minutes?

Alright, I thought, a mischievous spark lighting up in my brain. Time to end this.

"Well..." I sighed softly, batting my eyelashes. "If that’s the case... I suppose I could quit my job and let you take me away to your territory. And I’ll get to have so many diamonds, right?"

"As many as your heart desires," Tariq declared smoothly, practically puffing up like a balloon.

"Good! Because I want forty-five million worth of uncut diamonds directly deposited into a private vault under my name on day one," I said without missing a beat, keeping my tone entirely serious. "Oh, and also... I’m sure a progressive, wealthy man like you doesn’t have a single problem with the fact that I am currently pregnant."

Tariq froze. The suave, dashing smile slid off his face so fast it almost gave me whiplash. "What?"