Apocalypse God Mode: Unlocked (Cecilia) novel Chapter 136

Chapter 136 Christmas

Lira’s POV:

Ever since that call, I hadn’t hit Kael up at all.

He tried calling me a couple times, but I just let it go to voicemail–no way I was picking up.

Finished

I couldn’t even explain why. Deep down, I knew I should trust him. But every time I grabbed my phone, my hand froze, and I’d set it back down like it was burning me.

Christmas Day rolled around, and I had a huge, fancy dinner with Enid, Derek, and a few others from the pack.

After we ate, we passed around gifts and chatted it up–laughter was bouncing off the walls the whole time.

I sat out in the yard, staring out at the empty mountains, and my mind went totally blank–in a good way. Calm, peaceful, like nothing could bother me.

This place? It’s the only spot where I could stop putting on a front and just be me.

My phone kept dinging with messages, and I didn’t even have to check to know what they were- Christmas greetings, all of them.

I fired off quick replies to every single one, then pulled up Twitter.

A while back, I’d posted a pic of the Hidmoon Pack’s valley and never thought twice about it. Now, though?

I was shocked to see how many comments were blowing up my feed-

[Ms. L, where the heck did you take this pic? I’ve been to practically every pack in the alliance, and I’ve never seen a spot this gorgeous!]

[Did you actually take this yourself, or is it a filter?]

[Pics or it didn’t happen. You won’t even show your face–bet it’s just a stock photo you pulled off the internet.]

[Fr! Probably just downloaded it and tried to pass it off as your own.]

[Some people are just hating because they can’t find a view that nice.]

[Facts! If you don’t like it, scroll on–ain’t nobody stopping you!]

[OMG! Did anyone peep the watch on her wrist?!]

[Someone spill–what is that?! I need it!]

It’s 50 nullion! And you can’t

[I know exactly what that is! It’s a Patek Philippe–made only for top noble werewolt descendants Every piece is over a million, and the one Ms. L’s wearing? I looked it up once- even buy it, even if you got the cash.]

[OMFG! What’s Ms. L’s actual vibe? She’s low-key balling!!

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Chapter 136 Christmas

[Bet someone bought it for her. No way she’s got that kind of money on her own.]

[…]

I scrolled through the comments, then glanced down at the watch on my wrist–total shock hit me. I had no clue it was worth that much, tens of millions.

Oh well, whatever. It’s just the cost of a rare stone, right? No biggie.

I shook the thought off, snapped a pic of the mountain night sky with my phone, and posted it on Twitter with a quick caption, “Merry Christmas, y’all.”

Then I let Lily take over my body–let her run wild in the valley, feel the wind, and just enjoy herself…

Third–Person Perspective:

Meanwhile, over at Thorne Manor in Thunder Pack, Christmas cheer was everywhere.

In the big living room on the first floor, Randy sat in the main chair. Sanford and Mary sat to his left, while Teresa and Seth took the seats to his right. They were all laughing and jawing, having a blast.

Arnold and Ruth were invited too–they’d come to spend Christmas with the Thorne family.

They’d just walked in and said their hellos when the butler came rushing in, bowing low and yelling happily to Randy, “Mr. Thorne! His Majesty has returned!”

As soon as he finished, a tall man strolled in, his steps steady as a rock.

He had on a long wine–red coat over a black turtleneck and black pants. His face was drop–dead gorgeous, with a hint of mystery, and he oozed nobility and elegance—but there was also this intense aura of power, like you didn’t wanna mess with him.

Randy looked at him walking in, fake–scowling. “You finally decided to come home? Don’t you own a clock?”

Mary smiled and cut in, “Kael, don’t listen to your grandpa. He’s been asking about you every five minutes -waited hours for you to show up.”

“Yeah,” Seth chimed in, grinning. “As soon as Grandpa heard you were coming home, he pulled out that fancy old wine he’s been hoarding for years.”

Randy laughed and glared at him. “You little troublemaker–stealing all my lines”

“C’mon, Dad,” Sanford said, smiling at Randy. “Kael barely comes home. Let’s get dinner going–he’s gotta be starving.”

Off to the side, Ruth stared at Kael, her heart practically skipping out of her chest. She could barely

breathe.

She knew she was head over heels for him. When she was a kid, she’d daydreamed about meeting fated mate–but the second she laid eyes on Kael, she knew. He was the only one she wanted, forever.

her

Chapter 136 Christmas

She stared at him, all googly–eyed, for what felt like forever–but he didn’t even glance her way.

Her heart sank, and she hung her head, feeling sad and left out.

Kael walked right past her, straight to Randy. “Grandpa, Merry Christmas.”

Randy nodded, looking pleased as punch. “Good, good.”

Pipshed

Then he pointed to the guy next to him and asked, “You remember Arnold?”

Kael looked at Arnold, his eyes turning ice–cold.

How could he forget all the dirty, messed–up stuff the Gritton family did to his parents…

Kael took a deep breath, fighting back the urge to let his wolf eyes glow.

If the Gritton family wasn’t so important for keeping the pack stable, he would’ve ordered them executed as an alpha a long time ago.

Arnold froze for a sec, then forced a smile. “Kael, look how grown you are–time flies.

“When you were a kid, I always knew you were gonna be something special. Knew you’d run the whole Pack Alliance someday. And now that you’re Lycan King? You’re killing it!” he added, sucking up hard when Kael didn’t say a word.

He knew Kael couldn’t stand him, but he didn’t care. As long as his daughter Ruth became Kael’s mate, all the bad blood would be gone.

Kael still didn’t say jack to his flattery.

Randy noticed how awkward it was and stepped in. “Don’t mind him–he’s always been this way, quiet and gruff.”

“No worries,” Arnold smiled, playing it cool. “Kael’s Lycan King now–I should be the one showing him respect.” Then he turned to Ruth. “Ruth, you’ve been asking me about Kael. He’s right here. You’re not even gonna say hello?”

Ruth snapped out of her daze, hung her head shyly, and whispered, “Hello, Kael.”

Kael glanced at her, his eyes still cold, then turned back to Randy like she wasn’t even there. “Grandpa, I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

That cold, totally ignoring vibe made Ruth’s face drop. The smile she had froze right on her face, all ugly and awkward.

Seth noticed, then stood up and yelled to the butler waiting by the door. “I’m starving too! Let’s get rolling already!

“It’s getting late–if we wait any longer, this dinner’s gonna be a waste.”

With that, he walked straight to the dining room.

Randy looked at Ruth, who looked like a kicked puppy, and said softly, “Kael’s always been like this

dinner

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Chapter 136 Christmas

liked chatting with girls, even when he was little. Don’t take it personally.”

Ruth forced a sad smile. “I won’t. It’s fine.”

Then everyone headed to the dining room.

Finished

When they sat down, Randy took the main seat. Kael sat right to his left. Ruth had wanted to sit next to Kael, but Seth plopped down there first.

Ruth didn’t even act awkward, though–she just sat next to Teresa instead.

Arnold followed Ruth’s gaze, then smiled and asked Kael, “Kael, you’ve been Lycan King for a while now. You gotta have found your mate by now, right?”

All of a sudden, everyone at the table turned to stare at Kael.

Kael chugged his glass of red wine in one go, his voice calm as ever. “It’s my personal matter–don’t ask. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”

Ruth’s face went pale, and she looked even more sad–like her heart got crushed.

She’d just worked up the nerve to talk to Kael when a phone started ringing.

Kael set his glass down, grabbed his phone, and answered right away. “Well? Did you find out?”

58

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Howl of Destiny: Alpha Lira’s Legend