Chapter 9

Kayla

When I finally collected myself and walked out of the room, Ava was waiting for me, her eyes filled with concern. She immediately noticed that something was off, just like she always did.

“Kayla, is everything alright?” she asked gently.

I forced a smile, trying to mask the whirlwind of emotions coursing through me. “I’m fine, Ava. Just a bit overwhelmed, that’s all.”

But she wasn’t convinced. Ava put her arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a comforting side hug. “Oh, sweetheart, don’t let what the media says get to you. They’re just a bunch of paid trolls looking for their next scandal.”

I frowned and leaned back. “Wait, what media?”

Ava looked a bit surprised. “Oh… You haven’t seen it yet? Oh, nevermind, actually—”

But it was too late. I could see her phone open on the table behind her, displaying a photograph of me and Nicholas with big, bold font underneath. Gasping, I rushed over and picked it up. I immediately felt sick.

“Alpha Nicholas’s Shocking Scandal,” the massive headline read. “An Illicit Affair with His Stepbrother’s Fiancée!?” Then, below it was an article titled, “Man-Hungry Kayla Sterling Flirts with the Reynolds Brothers…”

My jaw dropped. “What the fuck?!” I blurted out, practically screaming.

Fury bubbled up inside of me like hot lava as I skimmed through the article. The tabloids had gotten ahold of the pictures of Nicholas driving me away from the media frenzy yesterday and had used them to fabricate outrageous lies—claiming that I was engaging in inappropriate behavior with Nicholas in his car, describing in… lurid… detail things that had never happened.

It was written so convincingly, as if they had actually witnessed events that were pure fiction.

“This is absurd!” I exclaimed, my hands shaking as I gripped the phone. “How can they print such blatant lies? We never—I never—”

Ava placed a reassuring hand on my arm. “They thrive on scandal, Kayla. The more sensational, the better for their sales.”

I was seething. “Ava, we have to handle this right away. They can’t get away with this. I mean…” I shook my head, my face reddening as I saw the words on the screen. The damn so-called ‘journalists’ even went into detail on the supposed positions we were ‘caught’ doing.

Positions!

Ava nodded. “I’ll contact our public relations team immediately. We’ll issue a statement refuting these claims. Don’t worry.

Just as I was about to hand the phone back to her, Nicholas appeared beside me, his presence as commanding as ever. “What’s going on now?” he asked, looking confused. “I heard shouting. Why are you so angry?”

My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively went to hide the phone behind my back. I wasn’t sure if I was more anxious about him seeing the scandalous article or the possibility of repeating our earlier tense encounter. But before I could hide it, he deftly took the phone from my hands.

“Hey!” I protested, jumping for it, but he held it just out of my grasp.

His eyes scanned the screen, and a slow, amused smile spread across his face as he read the articles.

“Well, this is... colorful,” he remarked, arching an eyebrow. He began reading some of the more outrageous excerpts.

Out loud.

“‘Caught in a passionate embrace,’” he read, dancing around the room to keep me from taking the phone back. “‘Missionary in the backseat, cowgirl in the front…’”

I felt like I was going to die. “Stop it!” snapped, mortified. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Stop reading it out loud!”

He just chuckled, clearly entertained. “These journalists do have quite the imagination, don’t they?” he asked, winking at Ava. She blushed and chuckled, although she tried to hide it behind her hand.

“You’re both animals,” I hissed, finally managing to snatch the phone back from him. I hurried away without so much as a ‘goodbye’, my heels clicking sharply against the polished floor.

Beast! I thought. He was not a gentleman, but a pure beast.

Behind me, I could still hear Nicholas’s laughter echoing down the hall. The sound of it sent a shiver down my spine—not of anger, but of something else I didn’t want to admit.

My legs felt unsteady, a familiar warmth spreading through me as unbidden images flashed through my mind. I hated that a part of me wondered what it would be like if there was any truth to those fabricated stories.

Ava caught up with me as I reached the exit. “Are you okay?” she asked, grabbing my shoulder. “He was just making light of it—”

“I’m fine,” I said, not wanting to hang around any longer. “I just want to go home.”

We got into the car to return to the pack. The ride was quiet at first, the hum of the engine filling the silence. After a few minutes, Ava glanced over at me. “Your face is awfully red, Kayla. Are you feeling alright?”

I waved off her worry. “It’s just been a long couple of days.”

She studied me for a moment before nodding. “If you say so.” Then, hesitating slightly, she added, “You know, if you want to talk to your father about it, he might be able to hear you. Maybe you should head over there when you’re able.”

“I… probably should,” I murmured, feeling tears prick my eyes. Wanting to change the subject, I said, “I wanted to let you know that I’ll be moving to the Nightshade Pack to live with Nicholas for a while.”

Ava’s eyebrows shot up. “So soon?”

“It seems necessary,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “There’s a lot to sort out, and it makes sense for me to be there.”

She looked a bit sad but nodded in understanding. “I see. Well, I’ll help you pack your things when we get back.”

“Thank you, Ava.”

When we arrived at home, an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. As I stepped out of the car, I noticed the other pack members watching me. Their gazes were cold, some even hostile. They worked for me as my staff, gardeners and housekeepers and security officers, but it was only out of happenstance. Truthfully, they were my father’s employees. Not mine.

To them, I was just the loser of a daughter.

The wolfless nobody who couldn’t lead their pack if my life depended on it.

I squared my shoulders, trying to appear unaffected by their hostile stares. But inside, each glance was like a dagger in my heart. The respect they held for my father did not extend to me. They’d doubted me from the beginning, and now they believed I had dishonored our family.

It hurt more than I cared to admit, and I hurried straight to my room.

Once inside my room, I began gathering my belongings. As I was folding clothes into a suitcase, a sudden sensation washed over me—a tingling at the back of my mind. A Mindlink, but it wasn’t Henry.

“Two hours from now, I’ll be at the Bluemoon Pack to help you move,” Nicholas’s voice resonated through the Mindlink.

I nearly dropped the blouse I was holding. So, the bond was real. We had truly formed a connection after all.

I responded hesitantly, “That’s too soon! I’m not ready to leave home yet.”

“We need to prepare for a party in three days,” he replied. “It will be our second public appearance as Nightshade Pack’s Alpha and Luna, and everyone will be there: even Liam and Isabella.”

“Liam and—”

“Don’t worry. They’ll be kept under control. It’s only for appearances.”

I swallowed hard, hating the thought of seeing either of them. But deep down, I knew Nicholas was right. If we didn’t make a public appearance quickly, then the media would twist the narrative again. It was better to take the bull by the horns and make our first public appearance as a couple work for us, not the other way around.

“Alright,” I finally said. “But I have to visit my father before I go. I’ll send you the address for the hospital.”

A pause, then: “Okay.”

Just as I thought the conversation was over, he added, “Oh, and Kayla?”

“Yes?”

“We need to show them how happy and in love we are now. Don’t disappoint me.”