Chapter 9

　　Lucas' POV

　　"Mother, please speak slowly and clearly. I'm going through a tunnel now."

　　I talked to my mother through the in-car speaker.

　　Even though her voice was shattered, I could still tell that she was furious.

　　"Did you reject that bitch?!"

　　"Mother, what are you talking about?"

　　"Leah! That bitch! Did you reject her?"

　　"Yes, Mother. How did you know about it?" I frowned.

　　"She's here with someone! She's such a bitch! She..." My mother's hurling became weak because the signal was poor.

　　Leah came back?! And she was with someone?! Was it the man in the limo who had physical contact with her?!

　　"Stop the car," I told the driver, my Beta Jorah.

　　"Alpha, we're in the middle of the highway..."

　　"Stop the car, right now." I reiterated.

　　Jorah sighed silently and steered the wheel.

　　As soon as my limo parked on the side of the road, I pushed the door open and got out of the car.

　　"Mother, can you hear me now?" I raised my voice at the speaker.

　　"Yes, Luke. Loud and clear now."

　　"Who was with Leah? Was it a man? Why did she come back? Did she come back to see me? Where is she right now?" I shot out a string of questions.

　　My mother became overwhelmed on the other end of the line.

　　"Luke, what's the matter with you? Since when did you become so interested in a bitch like her?"

　　"Mother, answer me," I raised my voice impatiently.

　　"She was here with a very rude redheaded girl! They were being so disrespectful to me!" My mother's answer soothed me down immediately.

　　She was with another girl. Not a man. Good.

　　My mother continued, "She came back to get some of her stuff left in our house, and she told me that you rejected her. Good for you, son! I know I have said it before, but I'll say it again, you shouldn't have married that girl in the first place! Now you've got a second chance, so you have to pick your next Luna very carefully. And, one more thing. Did she extort you? Did she ask for a lot of money from you?"

　　"No, Mother. There was no extortion going on. I rejected her and she accepted it. She didn't ask for anything."

　　"Good, because you're forbidden to give that bitch any dime! She's such a shameless whore!" My mother's voice became high-pitched. She sounded indignant.

　　Where does this malice come from? I have always thought Leah was getting on well with my mother.

　　Was my mother one of the reasons for Leah's departure?

　　Feeling exasperated, I said, "Mother, she's the woman who used to be my wife. I would really appreciate it if you referred to her by her name solely instead of any other insulting names."

　　"Lucas, are you telling me what to do?"

　　"No, Mother. I'm telling you what not to do. I've really gotta go now. Talk to you later." I hung up the phone and stormed into the car.

　　"Are you in a bad mood, Alpha?" Jorah asked.

　　"How can you tell?" I looked absentmindedly out of the window.

　　"You kicked some stones before you got into the car, Alpha." He replied in an a-matter-of-fact voice.

　　"Are you complaining about me walking too loudly?" I stared into his eyes through the rear mirror.

　　"No, Alpha. I wouldn't dare to do that, especially when you're in a bad mood."

　　"I need to go back," I said.

　　"Alpha of the Zodiac Pack is waiting for you right now in an Italian Restaurant. He hates Italian food, by the way."

　　"I can't function in a bad mood."

　　"Really? What's on your mind? I'm just asking. If you don't want to talk about it, I totally understand."

　　"I hate women," I said briefly.

　　"Wow, wow, wow. You've lost me from the first sentence right there." Jorah raised his arms above his head. "I mean, I don't understand. You've rejected her. You've got what you want. Now you're a free man."

　　I stretched my legs, leaned back, feeling exhausted.

　　"I miss Basil, Jorah. He would always know the right thing to do and stop me from making mistakes. With him, I've got a moral compass. Everything was just right." I sighed.

　　"Tell me about it, Alpha. There wasn't a day gone by that I stopped comparing myself to him and feeling like that I'm a pile of shit," Jorah grumbled.

　　"You're a great Beta, Jorah. I didn't mean to diminish you. It's just..." I took a long pause and asked, "Did I make a mistake by rejecting her?"

　　"OK, this is me, shutting up." Jorah zipped his lips.

　　"No, I mean, seriously. Do you think that I have made a huge mistake by rejecting her?" I pressed him.

　　At that time, my phone rang. It was my mother calling again.

　　I picked it up.

　　"Leah stole my jewelry! I need to report this to the police! I'll let them arrest her and throw her in jail with other thieves and whores!" My mother's voice sounded scratchy and anxious.

　　"Mother, what jewelry is missing?" I asked as patiently as I could.

　　"The Desert Rose! It was worth 20 million!"

　　"Mother, sometimes things just go missing and a few days later they pop up again. Anyway, it's just 20 million dollars. I'll wire it to you right now and you can buy yourself another one."

　　"It's a gift from your late grandfather! It was in my safe this morning, but it's gone after Leah came back! She must have taken it! Poor people do things like that! They see things that they can't afford and they just want to take them away!"

　　"She doesn't know the combination of your safe, Mother. And even if she took it, let me deal with it. Don't call the police. We don't want any unnecessary attention from human beings."

　　My mother was silent for a brief moment, and she said, "OK, I won't call the police. But this isn't over, I'm telling you!"