Chapter 58
Anastasia
I blurted out, unknowingly hurling a werewolf insult that made all the laughing stop. I was seething in rage, hating the fact that I was more powerful than these stupid human women but had to restrict myself from exposing myself.
There had often been times where I felt the human world stifling but luckily nobody had bullied me like this mean girl.
Charlotte’s face was now sporting an ugly scowl that made her look even more cunning than I had assumed her to be.
She raised a hand and tried to slap me but I was quick so I grabbed her hand and twisted it before pushing it behind her back.
“Ow, ow, my arm” she was howling in a second as I used just a fraction of my werewolf strength on her dainty arms that had never picked a knife or killed someone.
She began screaming for help and yelled at her cronies to stop me but they all knew better than to attack me.
I twisted her arm a bit more and she screeched like a banshee, making all the other girls step back a good five feet away from us.
“Enough of your nonsense. Now shut the fuck up!” I screamed and Charlotte immediately closed her mouth.
“This is for threatening to hurt my daughter,” I said, twisting her arm until her eyes grew watery.
“You have no fucking business trying to act like the world revolves around you, you spoiled rat because it does not. And if you or anybody else dares to even get near my daughter, I am going to skin you alive and then blow you up into pieces.”
I said, glaring at the women who all huddled together and were staring at me as if I were a demon. I could be one for my daughter and would fight even Satan if need be.
My simmering rage calmed down a little when my phone rang in my purse. I checked to see that it was Julian.
I remembered that we were still at a school and there was a function to attend. Lea was probably missing me.
So, I just let go of Charlotte who gingerly held her arm with the other as if I had just torn it into two and stared at me with her eyeliner sending streams of black tears down her face.
“Now, just go and live your life while I live mine.”
I said to no one in particular and walked out of that small room, banging the door on my way out.
I took a few deep breaths before trying to find Lea and Julian. I was worked up, stressed, and very angry and I did not want to meet Lea in such a state.
It was her special day today and I wished to play with her. Thus, I headed towards the washroom and washed my face, calmed myself a little before heading towards my daughter.
She was playing on a swing with Julian and laughing heartily as he pushed the swing up, her laughter rising with every push.
For a second, I just observed the two bonding together. Julian was smiling too, laughing and probably making some jokes to make her giggle uncontrollably.
I smiled, letting my anger disappear as I saw my daughter happy and playing with her father. Julian saw me and I smiled at him, the first real smile I ever gave him since meeting him after 5 years again.
When he smiled, not his customary one but the real, pearly smile, my heart always fluttered. It was rare to see him smile and laugh genuinely and it just brought back past memories again.
I walked over to Lea who beamed on seeing me.
“Having fun without mummy, I see” I commented and Lea wasted no time and began sharing everything she had done while I was away.
I had not even realized Charlotte and her minions had eaten an hour of my time because no way had Lea done so many things in five minutes which I thought was the time it took me to return to her.
Lea jumped down from the swing and was bouncing on her heels while she held my pinkie finger with one hand and began sharing what she had done.
I listened to her attentively and asked, “Are you hungry? Maybe, we should eat something?”
She nodded and I began walking but she stopped and turned around.
“Come on, hurry”
She said to Julian who looked at me for approval and I nodded. She held his pinkie finger with her other hand and we were walking towards the
refreshment stalls when somebody stopped us.
“Hello, would you please mind posing for a minute? We are doing some photos for the school magazine.”
A young man holding a camera and wearing a hat asked me.
I was about to say no when Julian spontaneously added, “Why not?”
Julian only motioned for me to go ahead and take some pics with Lea which I agreed to reluctantly.
The photographer smiled and asked us to come over to a specially designed booth that had images of the sky and other backgrounds for the photos. “Please hold your beautiful daughter in your arms,” He said and I did as said. “Please, turn your head to the right slightly, mam,” He said and again I did as instructed.
“Perfect”
He took a few pics and I was about to walk away when he said, “Hmm, the pictures are nice but something is missing.”
He scratched his head and looked around for some props to add but Julian stepped beside me and asked,
“Now is it fine?”
The photographer smiled and said, “It is perfect”
“No, that’s not…” I began walking away but Julian reached for my hand and gently held it, making me turn around to look at him in surprise.
The photographer’s camera began to click rapidly as Julian pulled me close and put a hand on my waist.
“That is even better” The photographer cheered and took a few more pics while I tried to find a way to walk away.
“Mam, now can you please hold the daughter in between both of you?”
I was holding Lea on my right side while Julian was standing on the left. But after the photographer’s instruction, I switched sides and now Lea was in between us.
“That is nice. Now, can you please kiss your child on the check? That will make for an awesome family picture.”
I looked at Julian who seemed to have no hesitation and nodded readily. My wolf’s words rang in my mind.
Why was he not commenting anything about Lea being his daughter if he knew it? Or had he assumed that her father was someone else and still accepted it?
“Mam, please” The photographer brought me back to the present and Lea pulled me towards her.
I kissed her cheek on one side while Julian did on the other. But suddenly, Lea jumped down from my hands when she spotted a huge mickey mouse walk in through the main entrance along with a few more cartoon characters.
Her jump made me accidentally lean forward and I felt a ripple of electric. current course through me when Julian’s lips brushed mine.
My eyes went wide when I felt his lips on mine and Julian’s eyes flared with a primal hunger. I was too stunned to move, to even breathe as I saw his face inches away from mine.
His face was still the most gorgeous one I had ever seen and those lips were the only ones I would yearn for every night on my skin while I was married to him.
And I did not even realize I had missed those lips, missed that spark in my life when his lips brushed upon mine.
His eyes were searching as he looked at me tenderly and then I felt his fingers on my face. He raised his left hand to caress my face, the pad of his thumb stroking my skin ever so slightly.
A shiver ran down my spine, jolting me back to reality. My frozen body suddenly found the strength to make a movement but his other hand went around my waist, steadying me.
“Hey” he whispered and leaned forward again but I put a hand on his chest, putting some distance between us.
This was not right. This was not what was supposed to happen.
It had not been a kiss, just a slight brush of lips but it still made my skin tingle. My wolf roared in my head at the contact, reminding me of just how good it felt to be kissed and held by this man.
It was difficult when my wolf was forcing me to lean forward but she had animal instincts so I could not blame her. I only used my willpower to the fullest to take a step back, much to my wolf’s dismay.
But she was not the only one who was frowning. Julian’s expressions changed too. One minute he was staring into my eyes, his lips partly open and wanting to take more but then I saw his ears twitch.
And then his brows furrowed as he snapped his neck to the side in the direction which Lea had gone running towards.
Before I could ask what happened, he was running forward, running away from me and towards Lea.
I only managed to take a step forward as a loud explosion rocked the school premises out of nowhere.