The Shattered Dawn — Harvey Price novel Chapter 19

19Keep the trash.

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19/Keep the trash.

Lilith pov

Seraphina.

As I stared at her, a rush of emotions hit me all at once-hatred, anger, disbelief and my grip tightened around the notepad and pen as my smile slipped away.

She sat there, staring at me with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Dressed in a pink dress, her hair perfectly styled, she seemed to glow.

“Lilith,” she said, her hand moving slowly, deliberately, to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. My gaze instinctively flickered to the shiny object on her finger, and my eyes narrowed.

Her engagement ring.

As I stared at it, my heart ached for the briefest moment when I recognized the design. It was the exact same ring I had once seen on I*******m and casually showed Kael, joking that if we ever got married, he should get me that ring because I liked it.

I was stunned that he had remembered because when it came to me, he rarely remembered anything. Not my birthday. Not our anniversaries. But this? He had remembered… and it wasn’t for me.

My hands tightened around the notepad as I tried not to let it get to me, but then her sickly sweet voice cut through my thoughts.

“Lilith, how are you doing?” Seraphina’s smile widened, her eyes glinting with obvious gloating as she looked at me. “I wanted to see you and make up for last time, so I asked Kael where you worked. I knew your situation wasn’t great, but…”

Her gaze swept over the restaurant, then down to my clothes, her tone dripping with fake concern.

“I didn’t know it was this bad. You actually work in this rundown place?”

When I didn’t respond, she sighed and leaned forward on the table, resting her chin on her hand, her manicured nails brushing against her lips.

“This is sad. I’m actually starting to feel bad for you, Lilith. I mean, you were the late Beta’s daughter, and now you’ve been reduced to….this? I almost feel terrible for making Kael choose that day.”

My body trembled at her jabs, the pen digging into my palm as I watched her.

She had come here to taunt and gloat. Even though I had decided not to pay them any attention, I couldn’t believe Kael had told his mate where I worked despite everything.

Did they really think I wanted to see either of them?

The familiar rage from that day surged through me as Seraphina continued, ignoring my silence.

“How is your mother? Is she still alive?” she asked. When I harrowed my eyes at her, she parted her lips and gave a small, mocking chuckle.

“Oh, sorry. I meant, were you able to get the money for the surgery-”

“Good morning, ma’am. What would you like to have?” I cut her off before she could finish, forcing a professional, overly bright smile onto my face as I lifted the notepad and pen. “Please tell me what you’d like, and I’ll bring your food right away.”

The moment those words left my mouth, her eyes widened slightly, surprise flashing across her face.

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“W-what?” she stammered in confusion, and my smile only widened as I calmly reached for the menu on the table, holding it out for her to see.

“In the mornings, we serve breakfast meals. Please, pick what you want, and the chef will have it ready in minutes,” I said smoothly, waiting for her response.

For the briefest moment, her confusion twisted into clear disdain. She let out a low, mocking chuckle and leaned back in her seat.

“Oh goddess, look at you, Lilith. You’re even acting like a proper little waitress. I can’t believe you’re the same girl who used to hold her head so high, the girl everyone praised and adored. But look at you now, you’re just a waitress in this tiny restaurant,” she sneered, her voice deliberately louder this time.

I could feel the weight of everyone’s gazes shifting toward us, the usual chatter fading as Seraphina’s smug smile grew wider.

“And I’m sure being wolfless isn’t helping you either, is it? You really are unlucky. I almost feel sorry for you. I’m certain the late Beta Jayden would be heartbroken if he saw his daughter like this.”

The moment she mentioned my father, a ripple of whispers spread through the room.

“Wow, is that Beta Jayden’s daughter? She’s working here? someone murmured behind me.

“I think so. I heard she’s wolfless, and her mother drank wolfsbane. Ever since the previous beta died, it’s like their family has been cursed. No one wants anything to do with them,” another voice added.

“I feel bad, though. The last beta Jayden saved my son during one of the rogue battles. I can’t believe his mate drank wolfsbane… where would she even get it?”

Seraphina’s grin widened as she listened, watching me with greedy satisfaction, eager to see me break.

But my face didn’t change.

The same calm smile stayed right where it was as I held the menu closer to her and repeated,

“Would you like anything to order, ma’am?”

I watched as her smile dropped faster than lightning, and she frowned when she saw my expression remain unchanged. But in the next second, her eyes lit up, and she reached into her bag for something. When she brought it out, she held it for me to see, but my gaze stayed locked on her eyes.

“Lilith, take this. This is Kael and my wedding invitation. I came here to give it to you,” she said with a smile. “I know that after everything that happened, you might feel betrayed, but Kael is my mate, and I hope you understand that and attend. I’m sure he would feel less guilty if he sees you there.”

She held it out closer for me to take.

At that moment, everything blurred-the voices of the customers, the part of me that always told me to smile, to pretend I couldn’t see the taunting or hear the words.

But before I could stop myself, I let the menu drop onto the table. Seraphina’s eyes widened as I slowly leaned forward, closing the distance between us, my smile still fixed in place as I whispered just under my breath,

“What do you want from me?” I asked, my voice low as I held her gaze.

Her breath hitched almost instantly, and she stared at me i shock as she stammered,

“W-what do you mean-

“Why are you here? Why are you bothering me? Do you want to gloat that badly? Are you that happy you got

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Kael?” I muttered, my words sharp but quiet, meant only for her.

My eyes were cold, though my smile remained intact as I lifted a brow.

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. In the blink of an eye, her face flushed bright pink at being called out so openly.

“What do you mean? Y-you, what are you saying—””

I cut her off again.

“I’ve cut off all ties with that man, so why are you here? You must be thrilled you’re marrying him, and you know what? I’m happy too that you came into the picture. Because, at the end of the day, we were never going to last. I would’ve kept clinging to whatever mess we had, wasting my time. So thank you for coming along to take the trash from me. I’ve spent enough time with him, now you can have my leftovers.”

A gasp escaped her at my words. I leaned in closer, tilting my head slightly, stretching my smile so wide the corners of my lips began to ache.

“But what you shouldn’t do, Seraphina, is come here and bother me. I won’t accept that. Let this be the last time you ever try something like this, because next time… you’ll regret it. Don’t forget, I might be wolfless, but I’m a good fighter. Because after all-” my gaze sharpened, and for a brief moment, my voice thickened, darker, almost as though it was mixed with someone else’s entirely.

“I am beta’s Jayden daughter.” (1

The moment I uttered those words, her mouth fell open, and I froze, startled by the way I had sounded. But the next second, when I caught the fear in her eyes, I leaned back and lowered my head slightly.

“It seems you’re not ready to order, ma’am. I’ll take my leave. You can call for me when you’re ready,” I said, and without wasting another precious second, I turned around and walked away.

I could feel everyone’s gazes on me, their whispers cutting through the air, but I blocked them out as I headed to the kitchen, my smile dropping and my gaze turning icy cold.

People seemed to forget one thing about me after my father’s death. Yes, my life had turned upside down, and I was barely making ends meet while paying for my mother’s hospital bills. And yes, I was wolfless but I wasn’t weak.

Before my eighteenth birthday, before I even anticipated gaining a wolf, I had been trained by my father, one of the strongest and deadliest men after the late Alpha and the Alpha triplets. Though he had been nothing but a kind father to me, he was strict when he trained me. He taught me how to fight without relying on a wolf.

So, even though Seraphina had a wolf, as she sat there tauning me, I knew this much: I could have easily snapped her head with my bare fists.

It didn’t take long for me to notice that Seraphina had left the restaurant, and according to the waitress who’d called me, she said Seraphina practically fled, almost tripping over herself before even reaching the door.

I was glad my threats had worked because the only reason I spoke that way was to make sure she understood she couldn’t keep coming here and causing drama in Theodore restaurant. The man had already done so much for me, and I refused to bring my problems into his work.

After that, time seemed to blur, and as usual, it stayed busy until the end of my day shift. Now, as I walked home at night, I stared at the thick envelope of cash in my hand with a complicated expression.

Theodore and Jason had been adamant about giving me the noney, saying they wouldn’t take it back, so I had no choice but to accept. Still, I planned to keep it and return ito them on their wedding day.

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I couldn’t keep accepting their help like this. They had already done so much, they were the only ones willing to take me in when everyone else refused, claiming I would bring bad luck to them.

I sighed, tucked the envelope back into my bag, and pulled out my phone, wanting to text Ella, one of the receptionists at the hospital, to ask about my mother’s health. But before I could unlock my phone, a sharp yell echoed through the air, and I froze, stopping in my tracks as my eyes landed on the scene before me.

A tall man, his hoodie pulled low to cover half his face, stood in front of my house, struggling against an elderly woman… No-wait, that was Mrs. Sherry, one of my neighbors.

She clung tightly to the sleeves of his shirt as she screamed at him.

“You thief! I’ve caught you today. You’re the one who’s always stealing around the neighborhood, aren’t you? You came to steal from Lilith, didn’t you? I won’t let you!”

She held onto the towering man with surprising strength, and even though it looked like he could toss her aside with a flick of his hand, he only scoffed and laughed incredulously.

“Me? A thief? Do you even know who I am? Let go of me, you damn old woman!” the man hissed dangerously, but Sherry didn’t flinch.

“I know who you are! You’re a thief! You came to steal from Lilith’s house!”

She shot back, and the man actually laughed, as if she had told him the funniest joke.

“Steal? Why would I steal when I can buy this whole neighborhood? What am I saying, I own the whole neighborhood.”

I stared in disbelief, almost imagining him rolling his eyes at her words.

“Y-you-” Sherry stammered, but the man spat back,

“And I own you too, old woman. If you knew who I am, you’d probably have a heart attack for daring to treat me like this.”

My eye twitched at his arrogance, and even Sherry looked beyond shocked, but I snapped out of my daze, realizing she might actually be in danger. I had to help her!

Without hesitation, I grabbed my bag, raising it high before rushing toward the bastard, yelling,

“You thief! Let go of her!”

At that moment, both of them turned to me. I wasn’t even sure why I said “let go” since it was Sherry clinging to his hoodie, but I didn’t stop. As Sherry moved out of the way, I charged at him, bag raised, ready to smack him.

But as I got close and finally saw his face clearly, I froze.

My breath hitched. The bag slipped from my hand. My eyes widened, and I slapped a hand over my mouth as a gasp escaped me.

No way.

There was no way this man was here.

But as I stared at the breathtaking man before me, the work seemed to stop. Those piercing white eyes locked on mine, and a slow, dangerous smirk curved his lips.

And then…

“Oh hey, she-wolf,” he hummed lowly.

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19/keep the trash

A-Alpha Claude?

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