Family Dinner

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CHAPTER 8

~Zara's POV~

What's he doing here?

Our eyes met, and for a second, I saw panic flicker in his eyes. Ivan wasn't expecting me. He hadn't prepared for this. His face was pale like he'd seen a ghost. 

Questions seemed to swirl in his eyes, but I turned away, pretending he was just another stranger, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. A smirk curled my lips.

But Ivan wasn't having it. He shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "Zara!" he hollered like a raging bull. "What the hell is going on?"

I scoffed. Before I could speak, he asked again, "Why are you with another man? You're my fiancée, goddammit! Why are you coming here with my uncle?"

Uncle?!

The words seemed to ring endlessly in my ears. Rather than respond, my smile broadened. Now this was just perfect!

Eyes glared in my direction. 

"Zara!" 

I met his stare head-on, my voice loud and clear enough for everyone in the room to hear. "Ex-fiancé, Ivan. We're done, remember?"

I could see the colour drain from his face and seconds later, anger flushed his cheeks. His gaze darted to Snow, who stood calmly beside me, unfazed by the ruckus.

"What the hell is this? What have you done?" Ivan demanded, his eyes darting between us. "What's going on here, Snow?"

His hand shot out and he lunged forward, trying to grab my wrist to everyone's surprise.

Before I could react, Snow moved between us like a shadow, his eyes flashing a dangerous red. I felt his wolf surged forward, ready to take over. 

"You do not touch my wife," Snow growled in a low voice deadly enough to make my skin prickle.

Ivan froze, his hand hovering mid-air, caught between anger and fear.

"She's my fiance! My woman, Snow, not yours. We were to be wed a few days ago!"

"Alpha Snow to you, pup." He hissed, his hold on Ivan's wrist tightening. 

Ivan gritted, bearing the pain. Since Snow wasn't someone he could mess with he turned his desperate gaze back to me. His voice broke. "Zara, you love me," he pleaded, almost begging. "Tell him. You don't want this."

A mocking laugh escaped my lips. "Love?" I echoed, feeling the word turn bitter in my mouth. "Did you consider love when you were screwing my cousin, Ivan?"

The room went silent briefly followed by stunned murmurings and a few gasps cutting through the tension. Ivan's face paled even more, and he seemed to shrink from my words. He swallowed hard, his lips trembling. "Zara… I…"

"Save it," I cut him off sharply. "We're done, Ivan. Whatever hold you thought you had over me, it's gone. I've moved on. Maybe you should, too."

"With him?" I nodded. "Anyone but my uncle, Zara." 

"Too late. There's no breaking off." 

Ivan's jaw clenched as he tried to process what was happening. "He is the one you married?" he spat, still unable to believe it.

"You're a little slow, aren't you, Ivan?" I shot back. "Yes, we're married. And before you make a bigger fool of yourself, maybe think about what you did… like crawling into bed with Clarissa for months."

His face went pale, his hand dropping to his side. "Zara, you still love me," he tried again, his voice weak. "You're only doing this out of hate or revenge. It's okay, I'll forgive you. Just leave him and no one would know. He can't force you."

"Force? Forgive me? Stop it, Ivan. I wasn't forced into this marriage neither did I do this to spite you. I didn't even recall you existed until I saw your face now, let alone know you were related."

Something changed in his eyes almost immediately and his facade fell.

He yanked his hand from Snow's grip. "You expect me to believe that shit? For all I can say, you're just an opportunist. Your heart is black, Zara."

I snickered, shaking my head. "I'm glad you realise you're no match for me."

"Zara I…"

"Stay away from my wife," Snow warned. "Or you'll regret it."

Ivan's jaw tightened. He wanted to say something but he stepped back, clearly realizing he was no match for Snow. 

A wave of satisfaction washed over me. I'd expected my confrontation with Ivan after my marriage to be tough, but I wasn't expecting it to feel so… liberating. I glanced up at Snow, and he gave me a slight nod.

Just then a presence walked into the dinning room and I felt Astrid shudder and retreat to the back of my mind. 

I glanced at the others and immediately they stood, their heads bowed. 

Only Snow had his head lifted as the sound of heavy boots reached our ear first, followed by the silhouette of the owner. 

At 6 feet 6 inches tall, an older version of Snow stepped inside, his height commanding attention.

"Alpha Storm," they chorused. I gulped my eyes g;ud to the man in question — the famous Alpha Storm Zephyr, the former ruler of the Ivory Moon Pack and most feared Alpha in the continent. 

He stepped down when Storm came of age so that his son could be the ruling Alpha of their pack.

Even now, I forgot to breathe until his piercing gaze darted in my direction. I gulped but my eyes remained glued on him. Whether or not it was fear or boldness, I wasn't sure.

He regarded me for a second — a mere second was all it took for him to assess me and averted his eyes to his son.

"She'll do, Snow." 

And then suddenly his eyes twinkled, the side of his lips pulling upward in a smile. "For now all I can say is this…Weldone"

I couldn't put my finger on it but after that, Snow nodded and dipped his head. Alpha Storm gave the order and everyone lifted their heads, sitting just after him. 

Snow and I took our seats right after. Even after I knew he was the CEO of Aurora Conglo… I did not put my mind to the fact that he was an Alpha and ruler of this pack until now.

Now I saw why Ivan thought I was an opportunist. I hadn't even dug my fingers into the market after I left him, but in haste, I picked well.

"Let dinner begin," Alpha Storm declared and everyone dug in.