Chapter 5

Chapter 5. The Beta Female Best Friend Goddess, she hated her. Roxy was looking at Ria with huge doe eyes in front of everyone and even shaking slightly to add some drama. She always did this. Their every meeting was a performance.

Riannon used to always be reserved towards her, leaving it her priority to supress her feelings and hide how hurt she was with the whole situation. And Roxy used it to her advantage masterfully, painting herself as the sweet girl and the Luna as the icy queen.

Well, Riannon wasn’t going to let her do this anymore. This pattern had to change. Luckily, she had just the best teacher –

Roxanne herself. She put her through so many awkward and humiliating situations in the past that now Ria was ready for everything.

Moreover, she knew that what she did before did not work.

So, she was going to try something else.

“I am so sorry, Luna,” Roxy prepared to fall to her knees again but Riannon rushed to her aid and gave her the biggest of hugs.

The two women froze together like this while the room filled with awkward silence. Someone dropped a fork and from the corner of her eye Ria noticed that it was her friend Maya.

“Roxy,” Riannon finally distanced herself and sighed with a sad smile on her face, “I can call you that, right? I want you to know that this is a safe place for you. No one will ever hurt you. We are nothing like the pack that you came from. You will always be treated nicely here since you are a member now. The hard days for you are over.”

She grazed her eyes quickly over the room to see stunned expressions on the faces of her pack mates. They did not expect that.

Back in her past life, she tried to ignore Roxanne as much as she could, while staying polite when they had to talk. Everyone understood but the more Roxy cried, the more they felt pity towards her. She found her way into people’s hearts. Over time, a lot of them stood on her side because she was, after all, their Alpha’s true mate and she had a hard life prior. Meanwhile, Riannon was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. And however great of a Luna she was, they thought that it wasn’t a big deal since she was born and trained to do it. No one understood how much she worked and what she sacrificed to reach this perfection.

Suddenly, Roxy threw herself in Ria’s arms again.

“Thank you!” she whined, making Riannon want to strangle her. If Onyx, her wolf, was here, it could have ended fast. But Onyx wasn’t close and she knew that this was a battle of acting skills now.

Meanwhile Roxy went on, “I was sure that the nightmare in which I lived in this whole time would repeat here as well! But you are so kind! I am ready to do any job! However hard it is...I’ll be your personal maid if I have to.”

At the head of the table, her husband Brayden was watching them with his lips clenched. It was hard for Ria to hold back a laugh, since she knew by the way he looked that he had been busy all night looking for the intruder. He hated that his mate was ready to become a cleaner. And on top of that, his wife did not behave the way he expected her to. She was sure that she shocked him for life now.

Get used to that, my love.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Roxy!” Ria gasped and even forced a small tear to roll down her cheek. After all, hugging her worst enemy was horrible and a part of her did want to cry. “You suffered enough and my heart goes for you. I will assign you work according to your abilities. And if they aren’t enough at the moment for a decent job, we will send you to study at the local college.

Everything will be fine, do not worry. You will not be mistreated here. Our pack is a fair one. Brayden and I were building it for years. Everybody gets what they deserve. And so will you.”

The omega frowned but quickly regained herself. Did she know that it was a promise?

“I am the luckiest girl alive,” she smiled innocently, flapping her eyelashes,“No wonder my mate... I mean, the Alpha is so in love with you, Luna. Now I see that what people say about you is true.”

“Oh, you will have to tell me later!” Ria giggled and pushed Roxy back to the chair she was sitting at prior. Luckily, she didn’t risk taking the Luna’s seat or the one right next to Bray. She would soon take it of course. But at least Ria didn’t have to deal with it today.

“I will be happy to!” Roxane shook her red locks and the oversized t-shirt that she was wearing fell off her shoulder “accidentally”, making Brayden look at her with eyes filled with lust. The damn mate bond was already working. And their time was slipping away.

“By the way,” Riannon took a sip of her coffee and it seemed more bitter than usual, “We need to assign a budget for Roxanne.”

Once again, the whole room went quiet.

“Are you sure, Luna?” Beta Asher spoke, “She is just an omega and...”

“She is not a simple omega,” Riannon raised her chin high and put a perfect smile on her face, “She is our Alpha’s mate. He did not reject her and she is a part of our pack now. She needs to look the part, so it’s time to throw away the worn-out t-shirts and jeans.”

“That’s very kind of you, Luna,” Maya couldn’t stay silent anymore, “Some would even say too kind. I mean, considering...”

“I do what I can,” Ria sent her best friend a warning gaze and as always, Maya understood her without words, “And let’s make this clear once and for all. I was very serious about Roxy being treated nicely here. I don’t want anyone to bully her just because the three of us are in a peculiar situation now. I wish her no harm and will have zero tolerance to the ones who try to do it.”

And with that, she started to eat her omelette as if nothing special happened, catching glances of her pack mates on her.

There they were. The looks they used to give to Roxy. Now they were rewarding Ria with those. Only that this time there was more respect than pity.

Back in the day, Ria did all the same things. But her mistake was not to announce it in front of everyone. And in the end, Roxy played them and made them believe that Ria mistreated her where she could.

She caught Brayden’s gaze on her and sent a small smile his way, startling him. At least she was getting exactly the reactions that she wanted. For the first day back, this was good.

Right after the breakfast Maya pulled her into the Luna office and made sure to lock the door properly. The room had sound isolation and they could talk in private without the fear of being overheard.

“What the hell are you doing?” she hissed at her friend, “You are welcoming his mate?! You should have insisted again and again on him rejecting her!”

“Oh, M,” Ria couldn’t help herself and hugged the girl once again. She still smelled of almonds and this made her broken heart warm again.

“Stupid perfect Luna! You can’t be this kind!” Maya almost sobbed, “You loved him all your life! He marked you for Goddess’s sake! What was he thinking?!”

“I know,” Ria sighed, stepping away, “But that ship has sailed. No one can fight the mate bond. That battle was lost the moment he met her and didn’t reject her.”

“You are so calm about it! I can’t believe this!” the girl shook her head, clear signs of worry on her face.

Ria contemplated for a few seconds but deep inside she knew, that if she could entrust this secret to anyone, it would be her best friend since childhood.

“I need to tell you something,” Riannon took Maya’s hands and led her to the armchair, sitting on the verge of her desk. “But I will need you to be open-minded about what I am about to say.”

She spoke and spoke, and the more she told her, the paler her friend became. She omitted the part about Maya’s own death.

There was no need for that. She knew that the small fragments she was ready to share now would be enough for her.

When she was done, Maya looked at her with red eyes, “It’s...”

“Unbelievable, I know,” Riannon sighed.

“Horrible!” her friend took her hands and gave them a tight squeeze, “Ria! That’s awful! What you had to go through...”

“Wait, you meant you have no doubts in what I said now?” the Luna raised her brow. She expected that she would need longer to persuade her bestie.

“You wouldn’t joke about it at a moment like that,” Maya leaned back on her chair, “And as far as I know, you were madly in love with Brayden just yesterday. But now... You are so calm that it’s frightening. So this explains a lot. You don’t get over love like that in one day.”

That was true. Riannon did not know for sure if all love she had for Brayden was gone, but she definitely wasn’t the same girl from before. She was twenty-five but it felt as if she lived much longer now. Suffering and broken heart could do that to people.

“And it doesn’t bother you how crazy that sounds?” Ria decided to make sure they were on the same page.

“I believe in the Moon Goddess,” Maya shook her shoulders, “She may have wanted Brayden to be with someone like that...

Roxanne. But I will never believe that she would want such a death for you! Anyone but you!”

“I missed you so much,” Ria couldn’t help herself and gave Maya another hug. She went quiet for a bit and I gave herself a promise that whatever happened, she would at least save her best friend. She was not going to lose her again.

“So, what’s the plan?” Maya went into the battle mode fast. She was one of those underappreciated wolves. They called her Luna’s assistant and both of them hated that. She had pure Beta blood and could take down an Alpha if she tried hard. Maybe not any Alpha but definitely most of them. They thought too much of themselves and always underestimated pretty girls.

“The plan is to divorce and take our pack back,” Ria smiled, knowing that she had a great ally on her side now, “The Pearl Moon.”

“Is this even possible?” Maya whistled, “I mean, if you quickly get pregnant with Brayden’s baby and then we kill him, we could get this all...”

“No, thank you,” Ria first with laughter, “Goddess you are so bloodthirsty!”

“My hands are just itching to cut his di...”

“I got you!” the Luna covered her face with her hands, trying to suppress another outburst of giggles.

“You know what, I have an idea!” Maya said all of a sudden, “How about we ask lycans for help?! This may actually...”

“Been there, done that. Their king is an a$shole,” Ria rolled her eyes.

“You what?!” her friend’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“I had one lycan who owed me and asked him to arrange a conversation with his king. But you have no idea how arrogant he is!” Ria explained.

“Worse than Brayden?” Maya chuckled.

“Worse than Brayden,” Ria confirmed.

“Okay then, what’s next?” the Beta female never gave up and this was one of the very many reasons they became friends in the first place.

“Simple, really. I need to get the support of as many Alphas as I can,” Riannon exhaled loudly, “So that when the divorce comes into force, they give me their votes when I raise the matter in the Alpha Counicl. And I will.”

“How many do you think will support you?” Maya asked bluntly, getting her cell our of her pocket, “Count on the alphas where mu cousins are Betas. I’ll take care of them.”

“Not sure yet, but I know where to strike first,” Ria tapped her fingers over the cold wood of her desk, waiting for Maya to tear her eyes off the phone and spare her a look.

“Do tell!” the girl seemed genuinely interested.

“The most important event of the year that is just around the corner,” Riannon smirked, “The annual Alpha ball”