Tonight Is Going To Be Different, Part I

~ Krynaristov ~

Lilith approached me with a confident smile, her presence commanding the attention of everyone on the ground floor. If there had been a single pair of eyes that wasn't already on us, her entrance made sure that wasn't the case anymore. The room seemed to hold its breath as she came to a stop beside me, her gaze falling on the woman at my side.

The woman was trembling, tears streaking her cheeks as she continued to plead. Lilith's smile faded, replaced by a look of cold disdain. Without a word, she moved toward the crying woman, each click of her stilettos on the marble floor like a drumbeat in the silence.

"Raise your head and look at me," Lilith commanded, her voice sharp and unyielding. The head manager, a quivering mess, shook her head, more desperate pleas spilling from her lips as she avoided Lilith's gaze.

Lilith's patience was paper-thin. "I won't ask a third time. Raise your head and look at me."

The woman hesitated, fear written all over her face, but eventually, she obeyed. Her eyes darted everywhere but to Lilith, her lips trembling as she struggled to keep herself together.

Lilith didn't give her any more time to compose herself. "You're fired," she said, the words cutting through the air like a blade. The manager's eyes went wide with shock, and she fell to her knees, her cries growing louder, more frantic.

"Please, Ms. Lilith, please!" she begged, reaching for Lilith's stilettos as if they were a lifeline. "I'm the breadwinner of my family. I went through hell to get this job—I can't lose it, please."

Lilith stepped back, a cruel smirk playing on her lips as she watched the woman grovel. "Do you want to know why?" she asked, her voice dripping with condescension. "We need confident and self-respecting employees at this corporation. When you make a mistake, you get up, apologize, and strive to do better. You don't fall apart completely like you just did."

She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in. "It's Ms. Darmaz, isn't it? Well, Ms. Darmaz, please leave this empire. You're no longer an employee at this establishment."

Lilith didn't spare the woman another glance as she turned back to me, sliding an arm around my waist and pulling me away from the scene. As we walked, I caught a glimpse of Luca giving Ms. Darmaz an apologetic smile, but it did nothing to soften the devastation in her eyes.

With Lilith's grip firm on me, we moved through the crowd, leaving the woman's sobs echoing in the distance.

~ ~ ~ ~

The night was thick with tension, the kind that settles between people who know each other too well. As soon as we got into the car, a white limousine, I could feel it—Lilith's simmering anger, Luna's quiet defiance. I slid into the back seat between the both of them, trying to keep the peace before the storm broke.

"Luca," Lilith started, her voice dripping with false sweetness, "you seem unusually quiet. Nervous about tonight?"

Luca didn't even glance at her. "No, Lilith. Just thinking about the mating ritual. It's a big night, after all."

Lilith snorted. "Big night, sure. Just don't get your hopes up too high."

I could feel a headache forming, right behind my eyes. Before I could tell them both to knock it off, Luca, sitting next to me, leaned over.

"Krynaristov, you need to take this seriously," Luca said, his voice low and urgent. "The Goddess wouldn't want you to be alone forever."

I shot him a look. "Luca, we've been over this. I'm not sure attending the mating ceremony is really the right thing for me, atleast for now."

Luca sighed, rubbing his forehead like he was trying to figure out how to get through to me. "This isn't just about you, Krynaristov. It's about the pack, about what the Goddess wants. She doesn't want you to be alone forever, you've already been for far too long."

Beside me, Lilith's eyes narrowed, jealousy radiating off her like heat from a flame. "What Krynaristov needs is someone who actually understands him," she snapped, cutting a glance at Luca. "Not some random wolf from a bond."

Luca didn't back down. "This isn't about what *you* want, Lilith. It's about what's best for the pack. What's best for *him*."

"That's enough," I said sharply, cutting through their argument. My voice was louder than I intended, but I didn't care. Lilith scowled but fell silent, crossing her arms as she turned to glare out the window.

The drive continued in tense silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Lilith's anger was a tangible thing, thickening the air between us, while Luca kept glancing at me like he wanted to say more but knew better than to push it.

By the time we arrived at the mating ritual grounds, I was more than ready to get out of the car. The moon hung high in the sky, casting everything in an ethereal glow that made the sacred grounds seem almost otherworldly.

As we stepped out, my eyes caught sight of a familiar face standing alone at the edge of the gathering. A young man, tall and serious, with an air of quiet determination about him. It took me a moment to place him—Koen Teagan, son of Alpha Mordek Teagan.

The memory of that morning flashed through my mind. Alpha Mordek, looking as if he had one foot in the grave, had made the journey to see me despite his illness. His wolf had been injured during the last full moon, and the moon healers hadn't been able to do much. But even in his weakened state, he had insisted on introducing his heir, Koen, to me. I had seen the worry in Mordek's eyes, the way his hand had trembled when he'd clasped mine in respect.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of raised voices nearby. A family was arguing on the far side of the grounds, their words sharp and angry. But what caught my attention wasn't the argument itself—it was the way they were looking at their daughter. The sheer hatred and disgust in their eyes was something I hadn't seen in a long time. It twisted something deep inside me.

"This isn't the place for that," I muttered to myself, more annoyed than anything. I motioned to one of the officials. "Go over there and tell them to knock it off, or they're out. This is sacred ground, not their personal battleground."

The official nodded and hurried off to do my bid.