CHAPTER 91: 91-HE SAID YES TO THE DARE

Iris:

"Oh," Lara gasped, and I briefly looked at her. She didn’t seem shocked or upset, just very excited, probably even hopeful.

"What kind of dare is that?" Kash asked harshly. He reacted quickly, in a way I guessed Lara had expected, or maybe not.

"Why? It’s the easiest dare. It won’t make you lose anything," Lara said, her tone shifting from excited to slightly disappointed.

"Guys, I’m just going to go rest now," Scarlett said, who had been in the middle of all this, probably expecting a fun game.

She finally realized it was getting too serious. Still, she lingered, likely because she had to report back to my mother.

"I will reject Iris when I think It’s suitable, not because of a dare," Kash hissed at Lara, who looked very upset.

"So you’re accepting your defeat then?" Luca asked him.

I watched Kash clench his fists and look at me.

The stare he gave me seemed to be asking what I would do now, what he should do now, more like challenging me, showing what was happening because of this stupid game.

I had nothing to say. I had told him I had moved on, but the minute the rejection was mentioned, I felt uncomfortable.

"Or I have another dare for you," Luca suddenly changed his mind. "Either reject Iris, or make me an alpha of a fallen pack."

Luca hit him with another dare, giving him a choice. This time, Kash wasn’t the only one glaring at Luca.

Even I, Scarlett, and Lara stared at him in confusion and shock.

It was a huge deal. What he was asking meant giving him power.

Even if he was asking for a fallen pack, once Luca becomes an alpha, the pack will revive.

"What happened? Is it too much?" Luca asked, smirking.

"Done!" That was all Kash said, and my head snapped back at him in bewilderment.

"Kash, why would you pick it? You should have just rejected her." Lara immediately questioned him, gesturing for Luca not to take theanswer yet.

"Well, I guess he already made his choice," Luca remarked. "And it’s not like I’m asking him to demote some other alpha and give me his place. I’m asking for one of those packs that have recently lost their alphas."

Luca began to explain, and I wondered if he had planned this all along, waiting for the right moment to play his cards.

"Kash, come on, you cannot do this. He’s just a rogue," Lara hissed at Kash, who had not moved a muscle in the last fifteen minutes.

"I made my decision. Now, the game is over," Kash said, finally getting up.

Lara looked at Luca and then back at Kash before running after him into the tent to continue arguing.

Scarlett finally got up to leave for the cabin. Now it was just Luca and me.

"Aren’t you happy? Look, I got us a place to live," Luca remarked, making me laugh sarcastically at him for thinking he could fool me.

"Don’t act like you did anything for us. There is no ’us.’ You cleverly took the opportunity to grab yourself a crown, using me in the process." I shook my head, still bitter about it.

After how he had helped us with the cave, I didn’t expect him to turn out this way.

For a while, I thought maybe I had misjudged him, but I should have known he was just as bad as my mother.

All these people used me whenever they could to get what they wanted.

Tonight, Luca used my relationship and the rejection to get Kash to give him a pack.

And then there was Kash. I didn’t understand why he just gave him a pack like that.

If rejecting me was so hard, why did he cheat on me in the first place?

"I did not use you," Luca argued. The pride in his posture started to shake.

I began to get up, but he held my hand. "Come on, sit with me. I want to talk."

"I don’t want to speak with you, Luca. Thank you for making me realize that you really are a bad person and an opportunist," I snapped, freeing myself from his grasp.

"Come on, that is not fair. We Lycans don’t have a pack. So what if we got one? Imagine how helpful it will be once Colin is cured," Luca pressed, following me toward the tent.

"What made you think I’d want to stay in your pack after my son is cured?" I asked, turning to him.

"You will have to go somewhere, don’t you?" he countered.

"Luca, you don’t even know where I want to go. For all you know, I could return to the Lycan community. Just admit it. You used me, and my rejection, to get Kash to comply," I hissed, pointing at his chest.

"You’re taking it wrong," he said, clicking his tongue and making excuses, but I was done listening.

I had a tiring day and just wanted to sleep and get back home to give my mother the cure. The freedom was just one day away.

"You don’t need to keep explaining yourself to me. Your actions spoke louder than your words. I suggest you go back to the cabin and rest. This conversation is over," I warned him, making my decision clear as I stepped into the tent.

I zipped up the tent and noticed Luca standing outside, his silhouette still for a few minutes before he finally walked away.

I didn’t know why I was so angry. I should have known he was here for his own benefit.

But Kash’s reaction, so aggressive against rejecting me and giving Luca a full pack, was what truly annoyed me.

Why was he resisting so hard? He had jeopardized my relationship with him by bringing Lara into the equation but rejecting me was hard for him?

It made me recall what Kash had said about Lara, that their relationship was strictly for the Blue River.

But why? Why was the Blue River so important that cheating on me was justified? It seemed that his priorities placed the Blue River above everything else.