Five Fears Waiting, I Was Just a Lie Chapter 04

The next morning, Serena had me meet her at a private members-only lounge.

She didn’t look surprised to see me. Not even a little.

“Maeve.”

“I knew who you were the second I saw you at Pack Command.”

I froze.

Her voice was steady.

“I knew about you before I ever bonded with Harlan.”

“In families like ours, it’s not unusual for an Alpha to have someone on the side. If anything, Harlan’s been restrained.”

“At least it’s only ever been you.”

I shot back before I could think.

“I’m not his side piece.”

“What you call yourself doesn’t matter.”

Serena’s lip curled. She slid a fresh healer’s ultrasound report across the table.

“What matters is that I’m carrying his pup. This pup ties the Ashford and Blackwood packs together.”

“I wasn’t planning to bother with you. But you blew up PackNet, so here we are.”

She set two more things in front of me: a confidentiality agreement and a blank check.

“Sign the agreement.”

“Record a public apology.”

“Be out of Southvale in two days.”

“Write whatever number you want on the check.”

I pushed it all back and stood up.

Serena’s voice stopped me at the door.

“Maeve.”

“You won’t survive here.”

“When you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Serena was right.

I spent the whole morning going to every pack-affiliated office I could find, résumé in hand. Every recruiter took one look at my file and turned me away.

The reason was always the same.

“Reputation concerns.”

“Bad for the pack’s image.”

One of them didn’t even bother being polite.

“You got involved with the Alpha Commander, and now you’re out here looking for work? Really?”

Photos of me walking into offices showed up on PackNet. Someone tagged Harlan’s official account.

Almost instantly, Harlan called.

“Maeve, how long are you going to keep this up?”

“I set up a job for you and you didn’t take it. Now you’re out there making a fool of yourself?”

“Enough. Just stop.”

I stood in the biting Southvale cold, the wind cutting into my face.

“Harlan.”

“Is that what I am to you? The mistress?”

The line went quiet.

When he finally spoke, his voice had dropped.

“Maeve, I…”

I didn’t want to hear it. I hung up.

It wasn’t long before my phone went off again.

My mother was on the other end, screaming and sobbing so hard she could barely speak.

“Maeve!”

“I raised you better than this!”

“Five years! You were someone’s mistress for five years!”

“Your father had a heart attack. They’re trying to save him at the pack hospital right now.”

“The upfront payment is eight hundred grand. We don’t have it, Maeve. We don’t have anything close.”

A snowball hit the side of my head.

Two kids were pointing at me, shouting.

“She’s the bad lady!”

“Get her!”

More snowballs followed. They ran off laughing, turning back to make faces at me.

I sank to my knees in the snow.

Tears hit the phone screen.

My hands were shaking as I dialed.

Serena answered on the first ring.

“That was fast.”

My voice was raw.

“I’ll do it.”

Serena arranged a slot at a PackNet media studio.

I signed the confidentiality agreement and sat down in front of the camera. Every word they’d written for me tasted like ash.

“Hello everyone, my name is Maeve Vale.”

“I want to publicly and sincerely apologize to Luna Serena and Alpha Commander Harlan for the false information I recently posted on PackNet.”

“The chat records were fabricated. I did it for attention.”

“Alpha Commander Harlan and I are nothing more than former classmates from the warrior academy.”

The view count exploded.

The live chat was a wall of hate. Every other message told me to get out of Southvale.

All of PackNet had already made up its mind, and the weight of it was suffocating.

By the time it was over, I couldn’t feel anything at all.

When the stream ended, Serena pulled out stacks of cash and tossed them at my feet.

“Oops. My hand slipped.”

“You don’t mind picking that up yourself, do you?”

Bills scattered across the floor.

My head snapped up.

“Don’t push me, Serena.”

I took a step toward her.

Two security guards grabbed me from behind. A boot slammed into the back of my knee and my legs buckled.

I went down hard, both knees hitting the floor.

I tried to fight them off. A hand shoved my head down.

In front of everyone watching, they shoved my face against the floor.

Laughter erupted around me. Phones were everywhere, all of them pointed at me.

Serena crouched down and grabbed a fistful of my hair.

“Take the money and disappear.”

“Don’t ever come at me again.”

She let go, straightened up, and pulled out her phone. Her voice shifted, light and sweet, like nothing had happened.

“Harlan. It’s all handled.”

“Tell me I did good.”

His reply came through the speaker, soft.

“You did great, Serena.”

I stayed on my knees. I picked up the bills, one by one.

This was the money that would save my father’s life.

After the crowd cleared out, a pair of polished black boots stopped in front of me.

“Maeve.”

“Since when do you need money badly enough to crawl for it?”

Harlan grabbed my wrist and hauled me to my feet. He dragged me downstairs and pressed a bank card into my hand.

“If you need money, you come to me. Don’t do this to yourself.”

He drove me back himself. His voice had softened.

“Maeve.”

“I got you a place outside the city. You’ll move in tomorrow.”

“Once this blows over, I’ll set you up with a position at Command again.”

“We won’t have to do long-distance anymore.”

I didn’t say a word. I sat there counting the bills in my hands.

When I got out, Harlan pulled me into a hug. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

“Maeve.”

“I know the last five years haven’t been fair to you. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Serena went a little too far today. Don’t hold it against her.”

Shortly after, I was at the airport with my suitcase.

A notification lit up my screen. Harlan and Serena, side by side at the Southvale Command gala.

[The most enviable Alpha-Luna couple in Southvale.]

And me? I was still the woman PackNet couldn’t stop hating.

Right before I boarded, Harlan sent the address of the new apartment.

I didn’t hesitate.

[We’re done, Harlan.]

The message sent. I blocked every way he had to reach me.

I didn’t question him. I didn’t accuse him.

Five years of lies. It was finally over.

Five Fears Waiting, I Was Just a Lie Chapter 04 End