Chapter 15
1329words
"Kate?" I called out, then forgetting for a moment that she was the one who had pushed herself off, I raced down the steps to her.
Paris was already by her side, cradling her bleeding head in his legs, calling for help,
"Someone get me first aid!" he called out desperately and I watched as Kate struggled to open her eyes,
"Paris? Is that you?" she said, sounding strained,
"It's me. Hang in there," he said and looked up as a younger boy, one of the waiters of the banquet, came running with a first aid box.
"do you know how to use it sir?" the boy asked, and Paris nodded.
I watched how he tended to Kate's wound. Already, there was a crowd around us. Just the ways Kate had envisioned it, I supposed. As my shock wore off, I began to see clearly why Kate had done what she just did.
Paris's attention. It all boiled out to Paris in the end.
"Thank you," she said weakly. Once Paris had cleaned up her wound,
"Is she going to be okay?" one of the women present asked, and Paris nodded. We were wolves after all and the healing process of wolves was quite accelerated.
"Oh, thank Goodness," she said and sighed,
"What happened?" Paris asked as he helped her sit up,
"oh Paris, you wouldn't believe it, it was Ember. I know that I had an attitude when I apologized to her earlier, and simply wanted to talk to her peacefully. But she wasn't having it. So there I was, trying to chase after her, and when we got to the edge of the stairs, I suppose she lost it for a moment and pushed me. It must have been a spur-of-the-moment thing. She probably just had a temper fit." Kate said innocently and rested her head against Paris' chest.
Paris looked at me and raised a brow, as though asking me to confirm the story, but I ignored him and looked at Kate, who was smiling impishly from where she lay her head,
"You can't stop, can you, Kate?" I asked, sure that the woman was not just obsessed, she had also completely lost, "Just what tricks are you playing at this time?"
"tricks? I'm not playing any tricks." Kate said in a childlike tone, and snuggled closer into Paris, "Paris, I'm so glad you were here when I needed you. I would have simply bled and lost a lot of blood. What good would that be to our puppy?"
The mention of the word puppy was like a switch flick for Paris, and I watched him draw Kate closer. It was a subtle move, but I saw It anyway.
"You believe her, don't you?" I asked quietly, and I couldn't believe I was sad just then.
This was not the first time she had pulled such a trick. In the first year of Paris finding Kate, Kate had done something similar. There had been a party, and because Paris had been giving me more attention, she fell face flat in a barrel of water and claimed I had pushed her. And just as she did now, she innocently tried to make an excuse for why I had done it. But I didn't.
It did not matter whether or not I did it though, because Paris had believed her. The same way he believed her now.
"how long will you continue to let her deceive you like this?" I asked searching his eyes,
"It doesn't matter whether or not I believe her, all I know is that my mate is hurt, and I have to stay by her side till she is better." was his reply and carried her into his arms, and stood.
"Excuse me?" he said to the people blocking his path, and I watched as he carried her away to a quiet spot.
I was dumbfounded. But more than that, I was angry. Angry at Kate, but much angry at Paris for believing her.
"Again," I said weakly, and finally turned away, walking to the bar to get myself another glass of wine. Because once again, he was choosing Kate and her lies over me.
"sucks, doesn't it?"
I looked up to find a man sitting across from me at my table,
"What?"
"it sucks, being lied about like that, doesn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, and took a sip from my glass,
"Let's just say, I watched the woman chase you down. Watched her smile, and pushed herself down. And I happen to have gotten it on video."
I slowly brought my glass from my lips to the table,
"Why did you catch that on video if I may ask?"
The man shrugged, "the real question is, do you want it? And how much are you willing to pay for it?"
I tilted my head and calculated the situation. It was odd that some random man had taken to catching that event on camera. But if he had, like he says he had. Then I wanted it. I didn't care about getting Paris back, but I was done letting Kate spit on my name. I was done letting her get away with it.
"Twenty thousand dollars."
"sold." the man said happily, and slipped the phone across the table, "you can even keep the phone," he said happily,
"I haven't even paid you."
"But you will," he said and winked.
And I did, after I'd watched the video of Kate and I. I should have been worried that he was a stalker, but I was too pleased with the outcome.
I looked over at Kate and Paris, and smiled, before making my way to them.
"You still think your mate Is a saint, don’t you? here," I said without preamble when I reached their table and shoved the phone under Paris's nose.
He looked up at me before taking the phone and I watched him watch the truth. When the video was over he looked at Kate who sat beside him completely ashen,
"that isn't what it looks like," she rushed to say,
"what it looks like is that you threw yourself down the stairs and made Ember take the blame."
"But, she did! She did push me down the stairs!" Kate whined, and I rolled my eyes. Even when the evidence was right before us all, she still did what she did best. Lie.
“The video is pretty clear, don’t you think?”
“She’s just trying to make me look bad. She’s been doing that all night.” Kate said, looking on the brink of tears.
"I've had enough of this, Kate," he said, and got up, but I was already walking away.
"Ember! Wait," he said, catching up with me.
"for what?" I said, stopping to face him, "So you can apologize? I didn't do this as an apology. An apology can't fix everything, Paris."
"Then let me try to make it up to you."
I stood there, quietly waiting for him to say what he had in mind,
"I know an apology isn't enough to fix this. So, I'm offering you two hundred million dollars. You can take all that, as well as the place by my side. You'll be my Luna again. A part of my pack."
I looked at him like had grown a second head. Two hundred million dollars? That was a hell of a lot of money. More like bribery. But it was inviting. All that, and to be his Luna again. And for what? Simply to go back to being an emotional punchbag to his mother and sister.
In any case, he wasn't doing it for himself, he was doing it to amend Kate's wrong. In the end, it was all still about Kate.
I shook my head,
"save it, Paris. I'm not interested." I said and walked away. At least I had cleared my name. That was all that mattered to me.
