Chapter 5 5
As soon as I heard that, a chill ran down my spine. This wasn't an opportunity; it was a public ambush designed to remind me of my place.
“Damn it...” I whispered through clenched teeth.
But before I could turn and run, Miriam intercepted me with a folder full of orders.
“Lyra, I need you to take care of the logistics in the square. It's the biggest event of the decade, and I'm counting on your precision to save our necks,” she said with a calmness that left no room for reply.
Once again, I was caught between a rock and a hard place. “Okay,” I replied with a fake smile that hurt my jaw.
“This is going to be crazy! They've even allowed us to wear ball gowns to serve, no uniforms!” exclaimed Isla, coming out of the kitchen with a huge smile on her lips.
"Exactly. Lyra, you have to wear that black dress we bought. It's so sexy that you're going to make those Alphas forget their own names!" added Sienna with a mischievous laugh.
They didn't understand anything. They didn't know that seeing those men again was like walking on hot coals. But I swallowed my anger, clenched my fists, and got to work.
Hours passed and my colleagues left, all dressed up for the big event. I got ready and stayed alone in the restaurant, supervising the delivery of the last trays to the tents in the main square.
The silence of the empty place was a relief, until a voice laden with venom made every muscle in my body tense.
“Well, well... if it isn't the traitor omega. I see that in the end, you were only good for being a domestic slave with a dirty apron.”
I turned slowly and found myself face to face with Wyatt's snake-like smile. He was leaning against the wooden column at the entrance, watching me with a lewdness that turned my stomach.
“I'm not a slave. I'm a woman who works hard and earns her place, something you wouldn't understand because all you know how to do is lick Silas' boots,” I snapped, keeping my chin up despite the panic.
Wyatt let out a dry laugh and approached me with slow steps, like a predator who knows his prey has no way out.
I backed away, but in two strides my back hit the cold kitchen wall. He invaded my space, resting his arm on one side of my head.
His breath, smelling of mint and arrogance, hit my face as his hand slid from my shoulder to my hip, squeezing the flesh with a possessive force that made me gasp in pain.
“I must admit that you are still the same useless human as always... but it seems that these attributes have grown considerably in the last five years,” he hissed, looking down at my chest with disgusting hunger.
“Perhaps the time has come for someone to really take advantage of them. It would be a perfect end to the night, don't you think, traitor?” he added boldly.
I felt his fingers digging viciously into my hip, forcing me to let out a moan of pain. “Let go of me!”
“What's the matter, traitor? Are you afraid that a real wolf will teach you what your body is for?” Wyatt hissed, his face lowering dangerously toward mine.
“Let me go, Wyatt. Don't you dare...” I tried to push him away, but it was like trying to move a mountain of granite.
Suddenly, his free hand moved up to the back of my neck, tangling his fingers in my ponytail and pulling my head back with brutal force. He forced me to expose my neck, leaving me defenseless.
“Shut up and enjoy it, little slut. You always wanted an Alpha to lay his hands on you, didn't you?” he said before pressing his lips against mine.
It was a disgusting kiss, full of violence and the smell of alcohol. I struggled, pounding his chest with my fists, feeling tears of pure rage burning my eyes.
But just when I felt like I was going to suffocate, the air in the restaurant seemed to become electrified.
BAM!
The kitchen door flew off its hinges, crashing into the steel shelves with a metallic clang that made the floor vibrate.
In the blink of an eye, a massive shadow crossed the space. Silas didn't walk; he flew over Wyatt. He grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and, with inhuman strength, ripped him off me, throwing him against the central prep table.
The wood creaked and silver trays flew through the air, scattering food and cutlery in utter chaos.
“I said don't touch her!” Silas's roar was not human; it was the cry of a beast who had just seen another male invade his territory.
Wyatt staggered to his feet, spitting blood, his eyes wide with panic. “Alpha... I was just...”
“Get out!” Silas roared, his pupils so dilated that his eyes were two black pits of rage. “If you lay a finger on her again, I won't care how many years we've fought together. I'll rip your heart out and feed it to the vultures!”
Wyatt didn't wait for a second warning. He stumbled out the back door, leaving a heavy, toxic silence in the kitchen.
I stood glued to the wall, trembling, trying to wipe Wyatt's trace from my lips with the back of my hand.
Silas turned to me. He didn't have the look of a hero; he had the look of an owner enraged that someone else had tried to play with his favorite toy.
With that dangerous, powerful aura, he walked toward me, cornering me again, his chest rising and falling erratically. He reached out his hand and, with his thumb, wiped my lower lip with a roughness that hurt, but his eyes never left my mouth.
“No one in this damn world can touch you but me, Lyra. Is that clear?” he whispered, his voice a mixture of hatred and a dark desire that made me tremble more than Wyatt himself.
I ran toward the kitchen, my heart hammering against my ribs. Hearing footsteps behind me, panic turned my blood to ice at the thought that Michael had followed me, but Sienna’s high-pitched voice pulled me back to reality.
"By the gods, Lyra! I’ve been looking for you all over the restaurant," she exclaimed, leaning against the counter as she looked me over. "It’s almost ten. You should be ready for the Valentine’s gala in the square. Aren't you going to take advantage of the fact that the town is crawling with Alphas so one finally notices you?"
"I’m not here for that, Sienna," I replied, trying to steady my breathing.
"Oh, you’re not? Well, I am. Especially for that imposing man in the black suit we saw yesterday. He had a presence that literally took my breath away!" she said with a mischievous spark in her eye.
I didn’t need her to describe him further to know she was talking about Silas. A knot of bitterness settled in my stomach at the memory of his face. Without saying another word, I gestured for us to hurry and change.
