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Copyright © Shannon Maharaj
All rights reserved.
The right of Shannon Maharaj to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are fictional and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
“Thank you for all your help, Reid. I’m sorry that I took up a few hours of your day off.”
“It’s alright, I was more than happy to help you.”
“You’re such a sweetheart. Come by later and I’ll have a takeaway container for you, Reece and little Kodiak.”
“I appreciate it and will do. Laters.”
“Byebye.”
Lyra stepped off of the private jet and onto the cool black tarmac, even though it was closing in on summertime, she wore an oversized cerise coloured crew neck sweater.
It was nice to be back in her home country after being gone for a week (1) on vacation.
The only reason she went in the first place was that Benjamin and Serah gifted her a plane ticket to BoraBora for her birthday.
In her mind, she was far too busy to take anything longer than that and she was ready to get back to work.
She made her way over to the parked dark blue BMW and thanked the thrall who had brought her suitcases for her.
The pair got into the car together and backed out of the parking spot, making the drive back to the clubhouse.
It was about a three (3) hour-long drive and by the time they got back, it was around lunchtime meaning she was hungry.
The faux redhead decided to go to the kitchen and see what was made for everyone.
Greeting the people she saw as she walked past them, she walked through the open front door and for once it was quite serene.
The only sounds she could hear were the voices from a movie that some of them were watching in the lounge and the clacking of her heels on the wooden floor.
Entering what she liked to call, Ophelia’s Domain, she saw that Reid was standing with his back facing her and spooning some sort of soup into a bowl.
Walking over to her friend, she greeted him with a small poke to his cheek.
If anyone else were to see the sight, they would have found it extremely comical because of the massive height difference.
Even in five (5) inch heels, she was still barely past five feet and four inches (5′4), compared to the noirette’s towering frame of six feet and six inches (6′6).
“Oh, Lyra! You’re back! How was your vacation?”
“Yup, I am and it was amazing, I won’t lie. The Nilsson’s really know how to pick resorts like wow!”
“That’s great, I’m glad you’re back though! Everyone missed you, but Kodi declared yesterday that he missed you the most.”
“Aw, I love him. Well, honey, go get that food to your son and I’ll come to see you guys in a bit!”
Reid smiled, gave her a quick hug before picking up the cartoon dolphin bowl with its matching spoon and left.
Now she was alone in the kitchen and it was time for her to take out some food to eat.
Alexander Clarke walked down the wooden stairs with his stomach grumbling because he had not yet to eat anything for the day.
Once he got into the kitchen, he was met by the sight of a gorgeous woman, even though he could not see her face.
She was dressed in an oversized sweater that still did not cover her wide hips, tight skinny jeans that seemed as if she was poured into them.
He could tell she was short as fuck even in her shoes and it was extremely attractive to him.
The noirette knew he had never seen her before in the week that he had been back at the castle and he wanted her.
She had to be a horor because she wasn’t wearing a jacket with the club’s symbol and he assumed that.
Walking over to her, he placed his large hands on his waist and pulled her flush against his muscular form.
He felt her small body shiver and smirked widely, thinking that she would fall for him, but what happened next surprised him.
Lyra was so shocked when she was grabbed from behind and pulled up against someone, she barely registered what was happening for a second.
Finally gaining back her senses, she felt her blood turn red hot and whipped around with such speed that it could have given someone whiplash.
When her pale grey eyes met his charcoal black ones, she had to suppress her desire that flared up almost immediately for the first (1st) time in her life.
Her plump lips curled up into a sneer and shoves him off of her.
“Get the fuck off me.”
“Woah, a horor not wanting to do her job?”
“You fucking thought I was a fucking club whore!? I’m a member and the owner of one (1) of the businesses here, you fuck.”
“Damn, you must be a prude if you don’t want any of this, haha.”
The Swedish woman had only felt this level of rage once before in her life and that was when she had been kidnapped for Vinnie Kröw’s club.
She had gone through too much shit in her life to be fucking called a ‘prude’ because she would not put out.
Before Alexander could even register what was happening, she was no longer in front of him and was now behind him.
He could feel his hand get pulled to his back and then the floor came into contact with his chest.
His shoulder flared up with pain and he heard a loud crack when his body hit the ground.
The English man growled out a curse word and he could hear the mystery woman get up, leaving the kitchen.
The hairstylist rolled her eyes and grabbed her food because she was still hungry.
She continued on with her day as if nothing happened and went to check on her salon.
At certain points during the day, she would find herself thinking about how attractive the asshole was.
However, as quickly as those thoughts came, they’d leave because of many reasons, mainly that he was a fucking asshole and secondly (2nd), she had no time for romance.
Her life was finally going the way she wanted and she did not want anyone distracting her from her it.
Shaking her head to clear the memories of the situation that took place that morning, she unlocked her office and walked in.
Lyra stayed seated behind her wooden desk for the next few hours, going through emails, scheduling appointments and checking on shipments.
By the time everything was pretty much completed and organised, the sky had started to turn dark as the sun began to set.
Mumbling out a curse, she pressed her manicured hands down on the table to help her get up since she had been sitting down for so long, her legs were dead.
It took her a few moments for her to get her bearings straight, but soon she was off to join everyone who at with them, in the dining hall.
As she walked, she realised that she had gotten so focused on her work that she completely forgot to go visit Kodiak.
Her heart twinged with guilt and a frown appeared on her face, she knew he would not be upset, yet she could not help it.
Come to think of it, the faux redhead had not really spoken to anyone since she came back home, not even her own daughter.
Now she knew very well that not any one of them was going to berate her as they knew how work-oriented she was, it’s just that, they all did so much for her in the past year.
The least she could do is go see them after being gone for a week (1) and she just got back.
With the amount of time that she had spent inside of her own head, battling her thoughts, her legs had brought her all the way into the castle.
A familiar sense of happiness settled in her stomach, but also with a twinge of remorse.
The moment she walked through the large open doorway of the dining room, however, all those terrible musings and feelings were gone in a flash.
Hanging on the wall that was directly across from the entrance was a large banner saying, “WELCOME HOME, LYRA/MOM!”
Lyra’s light grey orbs filled with tears as she scanned the room and took in everyone’s faces.
They were all giving her smiles that could have rivalled the sun’s bright rays and she never felt more loved in her life.
“Thank you all, I love you guys so much.”
“We love you too.”
“Love you, Mum!”
“AUNTY LYRA, I LOVE YOU THE MOST!!!”
“I love you the most as well, Kodi.”
“HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME!?”
“Of course, Benjiman, you too.”
“YAY!”
