Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 74

Lance sighs. He is not sure that he will be able to clean up this mess for his son. Just as he is about to stand up again, his phone on the table rings.

He sighs heavily as he looks at the caller ID.

"Alpha Adrian, what can I do for you?"

"I just thought I would ring to inform you of the rumors going around after the ball last night"

Lance looks at the time, it is still so early and yet this is all starting already. He has only just heard the news himself, he hasn't had a chance to speak to Gabriel, there is still a situation to attend to in the pack and the phone calls have already started. It is going to be a longggggg day.

Lance is actually thankful that Jameson came to him, it would be so bad to have to deal with Adrian without even knowing what had happened. At least he knows that Jameson is truthful and impartial, unlike Adrian who just wants to spit venom at him. "Before you start, rumors are rarely the truth"

"Truth is what can be viewed with the eyes and heard with the ears. All I can say is, that after last night, there is a lot of truth that was seen by a lot of people"

"Get to the point"

"People are starting to question when there will be an investigation about Gabriel's wrong doings"

Lance grits his teeth, rubbing his temples as he grabs for another phone that is sitting under the desk in a hidden drawer.

"And why exactly would there be an investigation?"

"People are saying that Gabriel threw away his fated mate like that, that he wanted her to die"

"That is pure speculation"

"I'm just telling you what I heard. The most interesting part is that they are unsure who is going to conduct the investigation, since the team that would usually be sent out to do such things is one of the parties involved and the rest of the team is so protective of her that they will hand down the death sentence without hearing any facts"

Adrian laughs hard, but there is no joy, only coldness.

"It makes me laugh so hard that your son so callously threw away the most desired she wolf of this generation and Alpha Storm, who has taken our world by storm, much fitting his name I may add, has snapped her up in two seconds flat. They say the boy has infinite wisdom and it seems that it is true. I've heard from reliable sources that they have been seeing each other for quite a number of months. He even took her to a meeting of the Alpha six months ago, stating that she was an arranged bride" Adrian has been busy researching all night readying himself for this phone call, something that he has wanted to make for so many years.

"Adrian, I know there's not much affection between us, but do not add validity to any of these rumors. They are all false" "Much affection?"

Adrian snorts condescendingly, thinking back to his torturous childhood and thinking about the happiest day of his life when he got to leave the half moon pack.

"That is a nice way of putting it"

Lance shakes his head and hangs up the phone. Adrian is his half brother, the same father, a different mother. Adrian is four years younger than him and Lance didn't let him have a peaceful day, ridiculing him non-stop for being the mistresses son, accusing him as being a ladder climber just like his dead and pathetic mother.

Of course, Adrian would gloat now, but he can only gloat for so long, because if things keep going the way they are, Lance will have something big over Adrian and then Adrian won't dare to be so proud. Lance keeps the hidden phone in his pocket, not to be used just yet. He will go out and see the situation and only use it if necessary, but with the way things are looking it will be.

Astrid dashes out to reach Maggie with a small vial of clear liquid gripped tightly in her palm. She only just manages to make it just in front of Gabriel, barely two steps in front of the angry alpha who storms out of the pack house looking like a man on a mission. Astrid already has the stopper popped and before Maggie can even open her mouth properly to say anything, she looks up at her mother with tear-filled eyes. Astrid wastes no time before she forces Maggie's lips open and pours the clear liquid straight into her mouth.

Astrid is from Alpha bloodlines, so her movements are incredibly quick as she tucks the empty vial straight into her pocket and quickly embraces Maggie, tears pouring down her face as she does.

"My poor baby, my poor beautiful daughter. What happened to you? Why are you like this?"

Simon walks over with his hands in his pockets with a lot more casual gate than his mate. He knows from Astrid's posture that she managed to deliver the liquid. So no matter what happens from here, the secret will not be found out and, as long as the secret can be kept, then there is a hope that Gabriel will keep on with the wedding, which is what is important.

Both Maggie and Astrid look up at Gabriel with pleading eyes. Maggie's confidence has tripled since she felt the cool liquid travel down her throat. She has no idea what she just consumed, but she knows her father well enough to know that he cares more about this union than even she does.

"What did I do? Gabriel, why do you treat me like this?"

Astrid looks even more pitiful. Her face is still the definition of beautiful, somehow looking even more unique and more beautiful than her daughter's much younger face. Tears well in her light blue eyes.

"I don't know what she did Gabriel. I don't know what she did to offend you, but you can't treat her like this. It isn't fair. If anyone has to take punishment, I will take it for her"

Gabriel stares down at the middle-aged woman who has the hint of fire and confidence, even bravery that he has never noticed in her dull eyes before.

He has never really thought much of Astrid not actually paying that much attention to the dull and meek-looking woman. But right now she looks like so much more than that. He has heard his father say that she used to be quite a catch but something happened to break her. He never inquired further because it matters little to him, but now he is thinking that maybe the words are true.

Looking at the mother and daughter side by side, he fails to see any sort of similarity between the two.

"Get up Astrid. I have no interest in disciplining you on behalf of your daughter. That is not the way the world works. She did wrong. She gets the punishment. This is the half moon pack business not amber pack business" "But she is still technically still amber pack"

Gabriel stands back with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyebrows slightly raised, a condescending smirk plays on his lips.

"Oh I'm sorry. Is this not the girl that is meant to be Luna of the half moon pack in under two weeks time? Was it all in my imagination for the last nearly nine years? Just a dream and Maggie has not been striving for this, she hasn't been strutting around the half moon pack as the luna, exercising such rights as the luna for countless years. She has actually just been a busy member of the amber pack and has nothing to do with the half moon pack?"

Simon has to save his mate before she says something stupid, even more stupid than she just said. Is she really trying to kill Maggie? Does she want Maggie removed from the pack this instant? Trying to cut off association with the half moon pack is stopping everything they have worked toward. Maggie has acted as the luna for so long, everyone knows they have just been waiting for Gabriel's mark. Maggie hardly returns to the amber pack, assimilating in the half moon pack completely and treating it as her own. Of course, Gabriel would take offence to Astrid dissociating Maggie from the pack when it suits, when up until now, Maggie has enjoyed the rights of Luna without having to do a scrap to earn such a title.

"Of course, don't listen to Astrid, some women have no good ideas and don't know how to hold their tongue, some, like my beautiful mate, are a lot better seen and not heard"

Astrid clenches her fists as she looks at the ground, the fact that Simon can degrade her in front of so many people, she was only trying to defend their daughter, isn't that what Simon wanted? Does he have to treat her this way? She used to be a luna with respect, with a say, with a partner.

Now she can only be a luna with a pretty face and no opinions, with a master.