Outcast: The Alpha King's Beloved

Chapter 148: The Competition 

Skylar's POV:

"Skylar, are you in there?"

I was sitting in my room and Jerome was knocking at the door.

"Yeah, come in," I called out.

There was a click as the door opened.

Jerome walked in slowly with a cautious look.

Then, he held out a gift bag.

I took a cold glance at it.

There seemed to be a dress inside the bag.But why would Jerome buy me a dress all of a sudden?

"Honey, I want you to be my date at the dinner party," Jerome said, holding my hand.

"You know what? Elder Tony came back with two friends.They were soldiers from Osman Kingdom.They had a narrow escape with death on the battlefield before they met Tony by accident.Today, they came to the Rainbow House and Mr.Jones recognized them.It was a wonderful moment."

Jerome's tone was sincere, and his eyes glinted with determination.

"Fate is really an amazing thing.It was also fate that made us cross paths.Skylar, I will cherish our precious relationship and every single moment that we are together."

"Really?"

I couldn't bring myself to say anything else, and just forced a bitter smile.

If it had been in the past, hearing such sweet words from Jerome's lips would have shot me over the moon.

I would have been too happy to even fall asleep.

But today, these words barely made a dent on my bad mood.

I could only force a smile, because I didn't want to embarrass him.

I took the gift bag and put on the dress that Jerome had bought for me.

His eyes lit up as soon as he saw me wearing the dress, and he even leaned in to kiss me, but I dodged subconsciously.

"Let's go to the dinner party together."

Jerome coughed to ease the awkward atmosphere. I nodded and held his arm.

With a smile, he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me tight.

There were a lot of guests at the dinner party. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

When Jerome and I showed up hand in hand, all eyes turned to us.

"This is my mate, Skylar, the only love of my life,"

Jerome announced, publicly introducing me as his mate.

The crowd burst into a long round of applause, and they extended their blessings to us.

"Congratulations to the future Alpha.Skylar is so beautiful.You two are a perfect match."

I could feel Jerome's love for me.Tears sprang to my eyes.

A part of me couldn't help but hesitate.He was treating me so well.

Should I still leave him? I had long fallen in love with Jerome.

Giving up on him was the most difficult thing in the world for me.

But the existence of Linda and Andy was like a thorn in my flesh.

It made me want to leave him so that he could be with Linda.

After all, they had a child together and deserved to live like a happy family.

I was the third party here.

Needless to say, Linda was also in attendance at the dinner party with her lovely child, Andy.

When I inadvertently met her gaze, I saw a hint of provocation in her eyes.

Feeling taken aback, I quickly looked away.

For some reason, the look in Linda's eyes was not kind and gentle like it usually was.

But after thinking about it, I realized that it was only logical.

After all, in her eyes, I was the one who had broken up her family.

Which woman would be nice to a home-wrecker? Soon, the dinner party began.

Seated at the large dining table, the guests watched the song and dance show.

The atmosphere was quite harmonious.I was sitting next to Jerome, as per his wishes.

Everyone raised a toast to Gary and Dana.They were the friends of Tony's that Jerome had mentioned earlier.

"I sincerely thank the two of you for saving Tony's life.You must have a good time today."

Stepping into his future role of the Alpha of the Rainbow Pack, Jerome formally expressed his gratitude to them.

Although the ceremony to officially appoint him as the Alpha hadn't been held yet, all the werewolves in the Rainbow Pack already considered him as the Alpha.

It was a beautiful night.It was rare for such a big gathering to be held.

Watching everyone socialize and have a good time, my mood gradually improved a little.

While having dinner, Jerome eagerly kept picking up food for me.

"Honey, this is the deep-sea eel and the king crab that were just air freighted here.Have a taste,"

Jerome said as he put the food into my bowl.

Today, he kept calling me "honey," even with other people around.

In the past, he would always feel too embarrassed to utter such a nickname.

Watching him take such good care of me and dote on me only made me more confused.

I wanted to accept his care and concern.

After all, he was my mate.

But the truth was, I didn't have any appetite.Linda's hostile glances from time to time left me unnerved.

Her gaze was ice-cold, as if she wanted to remind me that I was occupying a place that actually belonged to her.

Linda's POV:

After failing to seduce Jerome, I realized that he didn't care about me at all, which made me feel even more desperate.

But at this point, whether Jerome loved me or not didn't matter.It was okay as long as he could give me and Andy a family.

But the only way to achieve that was by forcing Skylar to leave Jerome, by any means possible.

I wanted that bitch to never appear in front of my eyes again.

The plan I had was vicious and manipulative, but I had to act now, because I was tired of tip-toeing around like this.

I led Andy to Skylar and proposed a toast to her.

"Skylar, you and Jerome are a perfect match.I believe you will be a good Luna for him."

"Thank you, Linda."

After clinking her glass with mine, Skylar drank the wine.I could see that she was absent-minded.Was there something wrong between her and Jerome?

"Daddy."

At this moment, Andy pulled Jerome's sleeve and pouted at him.

"Daddy, I want to sit with you."

Jerome picked up Andy and let him sit on his lap.

"What do you want to eat?"

Andy pointed at the shrimp in front of him, and Jerome patiently shelled it for him.

Sitting like this, the two of them really looked like father and son.It was a picture-perfect scene.

"Daddy, we need you.Please don't abandon me and Mommy."

While eating, Andy suddenly burst into tears.

Jerome hurriedly held Andy in his arms and coaxed him.

This scene should be enough to irritate Skylar, right? I stole a glance at Skylar, hoping to find a trace of displeasure on her face.

"I need to go to the restroom."

Sure enough, Skylar pulled a long face.

Jerome, who was stuck trying to comfort Andy, couldn't focus on Skylar for the time being.

His attention, along with everyone else's, was on the little boy.

It was the perfect opportunity for me.

I slipped away from the dinner party and followed Skylar to the restroom, where I saw her leaning against the wall with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry.Andy is an insensible kid.You won't mind it, will you?"

I handed Skylar a piece of tissue.

There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes, and she hesitated before taking the tissue paper.

"I want to talk to you,"

I continued, coming straight to the point.

"Linda, if you have something to say, just say it.There is no need to beat around the bush,"

Skylar said, dabbing the tears from her eyes.

"Fine.As you know very well, Andy needs a father.And the truth is, I also need a husband.Jerome and I used to be head over heels for each other.We were a perfect couple.I firmly believe that as long as you're out of the picture, he, Andy, and I could be a happy family."

I hoped that she could be wise enough to give up on Jerome on her own.Skylar stiffened and pressed her lips together, as if reluctant to respond.

"Why do you insist on taking away my happiness?"

I pressed, pretending to be pitiful.

"I'm not. When I fell in love with Jerome, I had no idea that you were still alive."

Skylar's voice was getting softer and weaker.

"Well, I'm alive.I'm safe and sound.Can't you see? It's time for you to give back what belongs to me," I told her sharply.

"You are a cruel woman.You're ruining my life as well as that poor boy's! Skylar, how can you live with yourself?" I cried.

But secretly, I was observing her expression.

I saw her face change completely.

It seemed that I had successfully made her believe that it was her fault, and that she was the bad guy.

"I will stay with Jerome for the sake of our child.Skylar, please understand a mother's heart.Of course, if you can accept it, I'm willing to share Jerome with you.That will be a win-win situation."

I was expecting Skylar to agree with me, at least for the time being, but she refused without hesitation.

"That's too absurd! What are you talking about? Jerome is a person, not an object.He can't be shared."

"Then it's all the more reason that you should think it over.Are you going to come in between me and Jerome? I just want to give my son a complete family.What's wrong with that?"

After saying those words, I stormed out of the restroom and went back to the hall, leaving Skylar to ponder over my words alone.

The last thing I saw before leaving was her slide down to the floor, looking dejected and helpless.I hoped that she would be persuaded by my words to leave as soon as possible.

Otherwise, I would not be polite to her any longer.In order to get Jerome back, I was willing to do anything.