Chapter 365: Fucking Pussy.
Kael.
This was the third meeting I was being forced to sit through today, and while the other two meetings were, you know, relatively easier to attend, this one was the absolute worst.
Why?
Because there was Micah and his very infuriating father sitting just across from my brothers and I, and smirking like they’d just won a jackpot.
A couple of weeks after Micah’s possessed- slashed- funny display at Gavin’s engagement party some weeks ago, he had moved out of NYC with his father, and while I had hoped that they had moved out for real, I had just come to realize that they simply left because they’d wanted the whole buzz around the embarrassing moment to come to an end.
And now, they were back like the cockroaches that they were, wrecking havoc and causing mayhem in the pack, as well as our company where they had somehow, through the back doors, acquired some major shares.
I sighed whilst glaring at the paperwork in front of me, then I muttered; "This doesn’t look plausible. We cannot invest in this project, especially since the Mac’Leann’s are infamous for their scammy practices."
As soon as I said those words, a few people nodded in agreement. Well, that is besides the father and son duo who looked like they’d just been fed dog poop.
The mere looks on their faces was enough to give me constipation, but shrugging off all the ill feelings I harbored towards them, I hissed;
"So, in other words, we won’t do it."
"But I want us to!" Micah snarled, causing my eyebrows to shoot into my hairline. "I am a major shareholder in this company, and for that reason, I should have a say in this matter, am I right?"
"You are right," Zevran answered, sounding so cold, his voice could literally freeze fire. A couple of people turned to look at him, including Micah who seemed as though he couldn’t believe his ears.
He continued; "Exactly! And I say we should take the risk! It is attractive and cheap, and—"
"You said you are a major shareholder, am I right?" Zevran cut in again, and this time, Micah could only nod like a fool.
He looked like he was about to say something but stopped when Zevran began to speak. He drawled; "And what is the total number of shares you own? Five? Seven?"
"Eight!" Micah hissed defensively.
"Good. I own twenty-one, Kael owns twenty-three and Caelum owns, twenty. But you do not see us yapping about it. Do you?"
"Well, I think that’s a you problem."
"It is." Zevran agreed easily— too easily, and then glanced once at the crowd before continuing; "And in this case, we have all agreed not to work with the Mac’Leann’s. So if you want to work with them, it is a YOU problem as well. We are the major shareholders, not you."
A small smile touched my face at his words, and as if to further make me feel good, he added; "Moreover, how are we so sure that you know what you want?"
Micah blanched. "Huh?"
"I mean, all of us here know that you have times when you go crazy. We’ve all not forgotten how you twerked and danced and displayed all your shenanigans at our acting Beta, Gavin’s, engagement party... or have we?" He asked,
And do you know what happened next?
Everyone shook their heads in unison!
They agreed with Zevran and successfully embarrassed Micah even more!
"For all we know, you may still be mentally unwell, and thus, the only reason you wish to work with people with a bad reputation is because you do not know right from wrong. Am I correct?"
Silence.
I had expected Micah to fire back at him. Had expected him to not let that slide so easily. But to my utmost surprise, he simply rose to his feet, fuming with anger and stormed out of the room.
His father followed next, equally just as furious, but I didn’t miss the words they’d said under their breaths before they disappeared into the hallway...
They’d said; "Just keep being smug and prideful, but soon, we will take everything from you!"
As much as I tried to shrug off those words, I couldn’t.
I could never.
—
Leilani.
As soon as I said those words, she threw her head back and laughed loudly. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she was mad.
But I knew better.
And I knew that that thing that flickered in her eyes for a very brief moment after that said that was panic and not courage. And I knew this because I saw the way her hands shook not so slightly. I know because of the tremor I’d felt running up her body... and because for some reason now, she could no longer meet my eyes. She snickered;
"You’re bluffing."
"You should unchain me and see if I am bluffing." I hissed back, mustering all the disdain I could into my voice.
When she wouldn’t move away or say another word, I continued; "Also, you said I killed your daughter. I have never even met her."
I saw the moment those words settled into her head. Saw the moment the fear in her eyes morphed into madness. She pushed forward and grabbed my neck in her hands, squeezing tightly as she hissed into my face; "You do not have the right to talk about her."
"The same way you do not have the right to accuse me without proof." I snapped back.
For a moment, I wondered where my courage was coming from. I wondered why despite being in the face of danger, I felt nothing but an overwhelming sense of anger, plus the need to protect myself.
I wanted to shrug but because my arms were clasped behind my back, it only came out as a pathetic shake. She snarled; "Jarek’s love for you made him so blind, he refused to see me or my daughter!"
I rolled my eyes.
Oh, not this again...!
"He loved you. He wanted to protect you from me, and for that reason, he cut off all ties with me and threw me out of the city! And when my daughter got sick and I needed his help, he didn’t come to my aid. He never responded to all of my emails and mails... and that’s all because of you!"
For a moment, I considered telling her that the only reason she couldn’t reach Jarek was because he’d been going through a hard time himself, but upon realizing that she would probably never believe that, I shrugged— or shook— again and sighed.
"That sounds like a you and him problem. Not me. So why the hell are you blaming me?"
As soon as I said that, her face twisted so much, she looked like she was about to combust. Even the hand on my neck tightened Intel could barely feel my face anymore.
She seethed; "Because you’re the reason he ignored me!"
"And you... you are the reason you lost his trust in the first place."
Keisha’s eyes darkened when I said that and with a flick of her wrist, she threw me to the ground so hard that my ribs struck the hard floor.
The pain made my vision go blurry for a brief moment, and when I finally came to, I began to cough violently, shaking and writhing when an immense pain wracked through my entire body.
"If... if... you’re indeed what you say you are and aren’t scared, then take these chains off my hands!" I croaked, not missing the way her nostrils flared before she shrugged.
"Even if I take them off, there’s nothing you can do. You’ve been shot with a high dose of Moonveil draught."
And those words, those carelessly said words, made me see red.
I hated the way fear clawed its way up my spine at the mention of the drug that had rendered me useless for most of my life. But do you know what I hated more than that?
The fact that she intended to use my fear against me.
The fact that she was smirking at me as if certain that she had broken me.
Despite the pain in my body, I forced myself to meet her piercing gaze and then I spat; "Well, since you’re so sure, unchain me."
But she didn’t do it.
She didn’t even move.
The fucking pussy!