Chapter 20
Chapter 20:
The Next Morning
The next morning, I woke up with a sense of dread, knowing I had to face my mom, Jason, and Ryder again. As I entered the kitchen, I was met with a familiar sight—Stephanie, an apron tied around her body, her blonde hair in a tight bun, already busy cooking. Noticing my arrival, she flashed me a look, her eyes gleaming with competitive fire. Fvck it! To think Jason was trying to make me compete with this bitch?
“You should learn to wake up earlier,” she lectured, and I almost snorted. The kitchen smelled of burnt bacon—so much for her lecture when she couldn’t even prepare one meal without something getting scorched.
“Since we’ll be living together, I’ll need some assistance,” she added, her back turned to me while she stirred the pot of whatever mess she was making. I gave her a stern look. Jason hasn’t even married her officially, and yet she’s already acting this bossy.
I wonder how she would feel when Jason announces to her that he has zero intentions of making her his Luna.
A knot formed in my stomach, knowing that staying in the pack meant constant competition with her. I didn’t even want to think about how she would find ways to make my life miserable, yet I was supposed to stay. If I stayed, it would be a never-ending cycle, and I was tired of being trapped.
Ignoring her, I did my best to salvage the mess she’d made—charred bacon, watery oats… Jason would have to learn to adapt, I thought with a smirk. In no time, breakfast was served. Usually, breakfast was a quiet affair, but today it felt like a ticking time bomb. Ryder wasn’t around, and I found myself slightly relieved, even though part of me wanted to see him.
Jason avoided my gaze, but I could tell he was angry from the way he picked at his food. Mom, who had been staring at me throughout the meal, finally broke the silence. Her voice made me lose the little appetite I had, the food suddenly losing its taste and appeal. A feeling of nausea washed over me as I forced down what I had already swallowed.
“Have you made up your mind?” she asked, her eyes boring into mine.
I was caught off guard, my mind trying to come up with a response. I knew that saying no would only lead to disaster, ruining the fragile peace at the breakfast table. I was stuck, my thoughts tangled in a web of uncertainty. A part of me wanted to scream “no,” to walk away from the pack and the pressure it brought. But another part—a smaller, weaker part—was afraid of disappointing my parents.
gⱯlnσν𝓮ℓs․cóm is your escape
Mom’s words from yesterday still echoed in my head. A lot had already been sacrificed for my sake, but did that justify me sacrificing their happiness for them?
“I have…” I stuttered, trying to find the right words, when the door suddenly burst open. Ryder’s tall, intimidating figure filled the entrance. His posture was confident, but it only seemed to horrify my parents. Their faces fell, and I could sense the fear radiating from them.
The clattering of cutlery stopped. The only person who seemed even slightly composed was Jason. He held his head high and sat up straight, staring at Ryder with defiance, gripping his fork tightly.
I gulped hard. What did Ryder want this time? His presence was like a dark cloud, casting a shadow over our already tumultuous lives. I felt my heart sink, bracing myself for the impact of his words.
I had only one question in my mind: What was going to happen?
My body went still as I watched in unease, Ryder’s deep blue eyes locking with mine. His eyes seethed with the anger from yesterday, I assumed, an intensity that made me lose focus on everything around me; it held me captive. With a confident stride, he walked toward the table, his posture commanding attention. His gaze flicked from mine and shifted to my parents.
“You know you weren’t invited to breakfast. What the fuck are you doing here, Ryder?” Jason asked, his voice steely and full of hostility. The table knife in his hands was held low but angled in Ryder’s direction.
Ryder’s eyes narrowed at the knife, a scoffing expression crossing his face. Tilting his chin slightly, his eyes fixed on my mother, an unreadable expression on his face. “Actually,” he cocked his head proudly at Jason, a small smile on his lips, “she begged me to always join you for breakfast,” he said, his rich voice dripping with sarcasm.