Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Leila’s POV
Shocked didn’t even begin to cover it.
I wasn’t ready for him. Not now. Not ever. Not when I’d finally started putting my life back together.
Okay, maybe “put together” was an exaggeration. After all, I was in a huge debt with a dangerous organization that had just threatened to kill my son if I didn’t catch up on the payments I owed them.
But I’d finally shoved him deep into the back of my mind, filed him under painful mistakes and things I wished away. And now, there he was—standing right in front of me like a ghost from a past I had fought hard to bury, unraveling every fragile stitch of progress I’d made in five years.
Thank goodness I’d slapped on an extra layer of blush this morning. Without it, I’d look as pale as the ghost he’d become in my nightmares.
Luca Vaughn.
Imposingly tall, broad-shouldered, and impossibly perfect in that tailored suit. His dark hair was a little longer than I remembered, and more tousled. But those eyes, those steel gray, soul-scouring eyes were exactly the same. And they were staring right back at me.
There was a flicker. It was barely there, but I caught it—a flash of recognition, of disbelief, and the kind of hate reserved for a traitor. He wasn’t just shocked. He looked at me like betrayal had a face—and it was mine.
And for a moment, neither of us breathed.
After a few months together, I’d started to spot the cracks in his cold, stoic demeanor.
My chest tightened. Heat surged through me like wildfire. Maybe anger, maybe something else. I was betting on the latter, because my skin tingled, like it remembered the way his fingers used to trace my curves.
“Leila,” Elena said sweetly, and I startled slightly, only just realizing she’d been standing there the whole time, like some perfectly manicured ghost in designer heels. I turned toward her slowly.
“Hmm?”
“You mentioned your mother was human and your father was a shifter?” she asked, head tilting like a curious child. But her tone? That wasn’t curiosity. That was curiosity’s meaner, better-dressed cousin.
Of course, she’d latch onto that detail. People always did. Like I’d confessed to having a contagious condition.
I gave her a single nod. “Yes.”
“So that makes you, what? A half blood?” Her nose crinkled, delicate and deliberate, like the words left a bad taste on her tongue. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a half blood before. What’s that like? Do you get half everything—half senses, half shifting, half brain power?”
The smile I gave her was all teeth and zero warmth. “We’re perfectly normal, Elena. But thanks for your concern.”
I made the mistake of looking at him again. I felt my wolf stir inside me, rising to the surface, threatening to reach out and embrace the man standing before us. That angered me. It confused me. Because she should know better. He was the devil we’d danced with once, and that dance left scars.
My confusion stemmed from the memory of his cold rejection, the words that had shattered me.
There had been no emotion in his eyes, no hesitation in discarding me like trash.
I’d felt the bond tear apart, a pain that was death and agony all at once, as if my very soul was being ripped.
That was supposed to be the proof that the bond was dead.
So why the hell did I still feel exactly the same way I did the first time I saw him? Drawn in.
“Well,” Elena said, her upper lip curling like she’d just caught the faintest whiff of something rotten. She edged closer to Luca, practically melting into his side like she was auditioning to become part of his ribcage.
“On your résumé, you mentioned you went to school in Manhattan,” she continued, her voice like polished disdain and silk-covered claws.
Her hand moved up to brush a non-existent speck of lint from Luca’s lapel, slow and possessive.
“Luca here is the Alpha heir to the Manhattan pack. But I suppose you wouldn’t run in those circles. ”
I wanted to shut down that condescending statement by telling her that I did, in fact, used to run in those circles.
Five years ago, I hadn’t just been Luca’s employee.
Unfortunately, I’d been his lover, too. But I ultimately decided that wasn’t necessary.
Having known Luca wasn’t something to brag about, considering he’d shattered me once.
That painful thought jarred me back to the present. Back to the cold, hard fact that I was here to plan a wedding.
And the groom?
My Mate.
Wiping my clammy palm on my skirt, I shoved the chaos into a deep pit inside of me and forced out a smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Vaughn.”
When Luca‘s large, warm hands closed around mine, a jolt shot through me—electric, familiar, and utterly forbidden. His grip was firm, possessive. His grip was firm, like he didn’t just want to hold my hand, but keep it.
He held on too long. His thumb brushed over my fingers, slow and sure, like he was reminding me I used to be his.
Yanking my hand back, I turned my gaze to Elena. “Would he be joining us for the meeting?”
“I don’t think—”
“Yes.” Luca’s voice cut her off, smooth and sharp.
Then, as though remembering something, he turned to one of the servants in the area. “Make sure Alpha Sterling is informed that I’ll follow up with him later. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear I’m joining his daughter’s wedding planning meeting.”
The servant nodded and went away.
He turned to me, his eyes gleaming with that mischief that used to drive me mad.
Did he think this was funny?
Elena blinked, clearly thrown. She leaned in toward him, her voice hushed. “But I asked you less than twenty minutes ago. You said you weren’t interested in anything to do with the wedding planning.”
I figured she didn’t want me to hear, hence the whisper. Or maybe she thought I couldn’t hear her. After all, she’d made that sly comment earlier about my “half-human” senses—like I was some kind of defective wolf shifter.
But I heard her.
I heard everything. And it made me wonder. Was he not interested in the planning…or the wedding itself? He didn’t exactly look like a man counting the days to say “I do”. Then again, if there was anyone who could bury his feelings under a well-pressed suit, it was Luca Vaughn.
He still didn’t look at her, even as she stared up at him expectantly.
“I’m interested now,” Luca said, eyes locked on mine like we were the only two people in the room.
Something cold and electric slid down my spine.
She led the way to the double cushion sofa and settled beside Luca. I took the single sofa across from them, acutely aware of Luca’s gaze burning into me.
“Would you like something to drink, Leila?” Elena asked, her voice light.
My throat felt like sandpaper—dry, tight, begging for something cold to ease the tension. But I wanted to be done with this meeting as quickly as possible, so I shook my head.
Ignoring the weight of his stare, I reached into my bag, pulling out a notebook and pen. I was ready to dive into this meeting and get it over with.
I closed my eyes for a brief second, inhaling slowly to summon the version of me I needed right now—Leila, the events planner.
When I spoke again, my voice was even, controlled. Professional. Like I hadn’t spent three lying nights awake, wondering if this meeting would end with Elena cursing at me to get out of her presence because of how unworthy I was.
“Before we talk about champagne fountains and appetizer rounds,” I began. “Let’s get to the heart of it. What does your wedding feel like? An intimate elopement in a snowbound forest? Or something with…say, a thousand guests and a fireworks finale?”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. But I had to.
Elena glanced at Luca, who didn’t smile back. “I was thinking…something bigger.”
Bigger than a thousand guests and fireworks?!
“I want it to be the most talked about event across Manhattan, the Bronx, and beyond,” she said.
“I know you haven’t handled anything this extravagant, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure you could pull it off, honestly.
But when I saw your designs? They weren’t just creative—they felt emotional.
Bold but…raw. It’s rare to find someone who can do more than just order flowers and hire a band. ”
She said it like a compliment, but it felt more like a surprise. Or a test I wasn’t expected to pass.
”And besides,” she added, flipping her impeccably styled blonde hair. “I thought this would be a good way to empower the women in the Bronx. You know…lift up small people.”
Ah. There it was. The real reason I was hired. I was a charity project. A convenient PR moment.
She smiled, perfectly poised. “Luca and I—well, we’re people of significant status. And our love story has that certain…flair. You know what I mean?”
I felt a sharp pang in my chest, but nodded. “Yes, I do.”
I most definitely did.
Luca belonged to a world built on power and legacy, where names carried weight and wealth was generational. He was the Alpha’s heir, and if his brooding presence and personality didn’t already command attention, that title certainly did.
And Elena? Alpha born. Full blooded. Groomed for Lunahood like it was her birthright. She was everything his world respected.
And me? I was half blood raised by a drunk father who offered more damage than guidance. My last name didn’t open doors. It barely got me invited in.
It should come as no surprise that Luca had chosen a woman like her. She was what he was raised to want.
And I had never been that.
My gaze caught Luca’s for a brief second before I dropped it to the notebook in my lap. I scribbled down a few notes, willing my hand to stay steady, then looked back up.
“Do you have a location in mind?”
“For the ceremony?” Elena tilted her head. “No. We were hoping you could find something that could accommodate that many guests.”