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Chapter Sixty-Six

Lilianna

I had stayed in the living room nest until I decided to go to bed early, wanting some time alone. I’d tossed and turned all night, but when I finally got to sleep in the early morning hours, yelling from outside woke me.

I bolted upright in bed, my heart hammering as angry voices carried through the windows. The bedroom was empty—wherever my alphas had gone, they'd left me to sleep. Yet, the shouting outside made it clear, sleep was no longer an option.

"—told you to stay away from our property!" That was Christopher's voice, cold and dangerous in a way I'd never heard before.

A woman's voice answered, shrill and familiar. "I have every right to see my daughter! You can't keep her prisoner here!"

My mother.

I scrambled out of bed, my legs shaky as I rushed to the window.

Below, I could see Christopher and Miles standing like sentinels at the edge of our driveway, blocking the path to the house.

My mother stood near a sleek black car, her perfectly styled hair and designer clothes looking out of place against the natural backdrop of our home.

Karen stood beside her, tablet clutched in her hands like a shield, her eyes darting nervously between the alphas. Behind them, I could see a man with a camera, partially hidden behind the car.

"She's not a prisoner," Miles said, his voice carrying that lethal calm that made my stomach clench. "She's a grown woman who chose to leave your house. There's a difference."

"My daughter was manipulated by you predators!" My mother's voice rose to a near shriek. "She was vulnerable, scared, and you took advantage of that!"

I pressed my face against the window, my breath fogging the glass. Where were Julian and Nicolaus? The thought of my mother being here, on our property, making these accusations where anyone could hear, made my skin crawl.

"The only manipulation here," Christopher said, taking a step forward, "was yours. We have the documentation to prove it too.”

“Which you could have easily falsified!” She yelled, and I tried to calm my breathing as it was unfolding before me.

I just wanted to be left alone. I am happy with them…

and she won’t let me. My eyes drifted over the room and landed on my phone and I got an idea.

It isn’t the best idea…but…it would be my choice.

Taking a deep breath I changed out of my pajamas and into a modest sundress before grabbing my phone, letting my blonde hair fall freely around me.

I clicked the app open with shaky hands before clicking the ‘Go live’ button.

I was doing this. Within seconds, viewers began joining the live stream.

The number climbed rapidly—fifty, then a hundred, then more.

I could see the little hearts floating across the screen as people reacted to seeing me.

"Hi everyone," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. I could still hear my mother's shrill accusations drifting up from outside. "I... I know some of you might have heard rumors about me recently. About my relationship, about my choices."

The viewer count was climbing faster now. Comments started flooding in, but I couldn't bring myself to read them. I kept my eyes focused on my own face in the small preview window.

"I wanted to address this myself because..." I paused, taking a shaky breath. "Because I'm tired of other people speaking for me. I'm tired of having my life dissected by people who don't know me."

My mother's voice carried through the window, my eyes glancing over, “My full name is Lilianna Wycliffe.” I moved closer to the window, letting the natural light illuminate my face as I kept the phone steady. The viewer count was climbing rapidly—hundreds, then thousands. My heart pounded, but I forced myself to continue. "You’ll probably recognize the woman screaming outside right now is my mother. She's here because she can't accept that she isn’t getting what she wants.” I took a deep breath as I was about to spill secrets I didn’t want to, but knew that needed to be shared.

“My mother and father set up a formal meeting with the Vale pack. They met me without my parents and gave me a choice after we met and talked. I could be courted by them…or they could find somewhere for me to go to get out from under my parents, who were basically trying to use me as a chess piece.”

The comments were flying by too fast to read, but I could see the heart reactions increasing. I caught glimpses of supportive messages mixed with the inevitable cruel ones.

"I want to be very clear about something," I continued, my voice steadying as I found my resolve after reading one of the cruel comments. "I was never kidnapped. I was never coerced. They gave me a choice.”

I leaned closer to the phone, my voice growing stronger. "For the first time in my life, someone gave me a choice. Not an ultimatum, not a demand—a choice. And I chose to stay because they treated me like a person, not a commodity."

The sounds from outside were getting louder, making me flitch.

"The woman outside spent years telling me I was worthless unless I could secure a beneficial mating for our family. They thought, having me mating with the Vale pack would give them power…money…and connections. The Vale pack didn’t let that happen once I was out of my parents grasp.

” I glanced out the window again, my mother was still arguing with all four alphas who seemed to be getting more irritated.

“They made sure that unless I wanted it, I wouldn’t have to have contact with my parents.

That they no longer have no say in my life anymore.

” I closed my eyes briefly as I was about to give more information I didn’t want to share, but knew it was important, “During my time with the Vale pack I learned…I learned to be myself. Not a puppet. I also learned things that my mother did to me, things that were not okay.”

I heard my mother give a screech like yell and knew I would have to go confront her, “I don’t have time to give you all the information now…

but by the end of this you may know it all.

I am going to go down there and set this up right before I go outside.

You can put the pieces together yourself.

If the men I love are taking advantage of me…

or is it my mother…my parents are the ones really trying to take advantage. ”

I opened the window, letting the breeze and the sound of voices through.

I could hear them clearly now. I propped my phone carefully against the window, angling it to capture the scene below.

With trembling hands, I adjusted the frame, making sure the driveway confrontation would be visible to my growing audience.

The viewership numbers were climbing into the thousands now—more people than I'd ever imagined would care about my life.

"I'm going down there," I told my viewers, my voice steadier than I felt. "You can watch and judge for yourselves who's trying to control me."

Before I could second-guess myself, I slipped on a pair of sandals and headed for the stairs. Each step down felt like I was shedding another layer of the timid, obedient omega I'd been raised to be. By the time I reached the front door, my heart was pounding, but my resolve had solidified.

I took one deep breath, then pushed the door open.

The moment I stepped outside, all eyes turned to me.

The argument halted mid-sentence as my mother's face twisted with a mixture of triumph and calculation.

The four men who had become my world formed a protective semicircle, their bodies instinctively shifting to shield me while still allowing me to speak.

"Lilianna," my mother called, her voice instantly transforming into the concerned, maternal tone she reserved for public performances. "Darling, I've been so worried about you."

I felt rather than saw the alphas tense around me, their protective instincts flaring at her false sweetness. I moved forward, placing a gentle hand on Christopher's arm as I passed him. His muscles were coiled tight beneath my touch, but he let me step forward.

"Mother," I said, my voice carrying across the lawn with surprising steadiness. "I think you should leave."

Her smile faltered for a second, “I am just worried about you….I have the right to be here to make sure you are alright.”

I held my ground, feeling, rather than seeing my alphas shifting protectively closer to me. The cameraman my mother had brought along swiveled to capture my appearance.

"Don't," I said, my voice carrying across the yard with unexpected strength. "Don't pretend this is about concern for me."

My mother's expression hardened for a fraction of a second before softening again, awareness of the camera clearly influencing her performance. "Sweetheart, you're confused. These men have—"

"Have done nothing but care and love me.” I told her and could see her lip curl slightly in annoyance. I knew she was taken aback by me arguing with her.

"These men have given me more respect in the past few months than you gave me in twenty-three years," I continued, my voice growing stronger with each word. "They asked what I wanted. They listened when I said no. They gave me space to heal from what you did to me."

My mother's mask slipped completely for a moment, her face twisting with fury before she caught herself. "What I did? Lilianna, I gave you everything—"

"You gave me nothing but criticism and control," I interrupted, shocking both of us.

I'd never cut her off before. "You told me I was worthless unless I could secure a beneficial mating. You put me on heat suppressants after my first heat and I haven’t had one since. Those suppressants were harmful to me. If I stayed on those I could have lost my ability to have children.”

My mother's face flushed with anger. "That's ridiculous! Those suppressants were prescribed by our family physician—"