Submitting to My Lycan Prince Mate

28 The Future Queen

"Ugh, those annoying pests again," Olivia commented. She also heard the commotion from them. She frowned in exasperation. "I can't stand the sight of them." I nodded in agreement. That group of girls were Cathy's lackeys. At first, they tried to cozy up to me, but I had no interest in attending their dull parties filled with comparison and gossip. After being rejected a few times, those girls seemed to grow resentful to me. So, they decide to befriend Cathy instead. Probably because everyone knew she was my arch-nemesis. Initially, I didn't pay much attention to it. But Cathy started instigating them to spread negative rumors about me in school and speak ill of me, and that's when I reached my breaking point. With Olivia and Kyle by my side, we confronted them in a corner of the school corridor and taught them a lesson. Well, Joe was there too, but before we could even act, he volunteered to be our lookout and disappeared faster than anyone else. Recalling that, I couldn't help but curl my lips into a mocking smile. I should have seen through that jerk ages ago, shouldn't I? "Hey, if you have the guts, say it to our faces!" Olivia sat up straight and yelled at them furiously. The crowd of onlookers fell into brief silence before erupting into even louder chatter. I had never seen the girl standing in front of them before. She was decked out in designer clothes, sporting a plethora of crystal bracelets that seemed to signify her unwavering belief in tarot and fortune-telling. On her back was a loosely-hanging Chanel 22 bag. When she noticed us staring at her, she blew a bubblegum bubble and flipped us the middle finger. A typical mean girl, I thought. Olivia smirked, promptly reciprocating the gesture. Curious, I asked, "Who is she?" "Lucy. Her boyfriend is the Alpha of the pack next to ours," Olivia explained. "Isn't he at least forty years old?" I exclaimed in surprise. "She's dating his third son," Olivia clarified, "but there are rumors that she's also fooling around with the school's basketball team captain. See that Chanel on her back? It was a gift from the basketball captain, and it cost thousands of dollars." I sighed, admiring Olivia's ability to gather gossip. She smiled mischievously, shrugging her shoulders at me. As we chatted, Lucy and her gang were already marching aggressively in our direction. Olivia's smile disappeared. We both stood up, locking eyes with Lucy. As I stood up, I caught a faint, peculiar scent in the air. It seemed to emanate from one of Lucy's bracelets. I couldn't help but furrow my brow. Yet, I assumed it was merely a perfume she purposely sprayed on herself and didn't think much of it. "Look who we have here?" Lucy strutted towards me, her tone dripping with saccharine sweetness. She gazed at me mockingly and said, "The renowned Claire Gambino. Heard you made quite a splash at the party a few days ago and caught the attention of Prince Louis. You must be feeling pretty pleased with yourself now, huh?" Her sharp tone and mocking look left me utterly puzzled. "Apologies," I politely inquired, "but my last name is no longer Gambino. And what does any of this have to do with you?" I genuinely expressed my confusion. However, for some reason, Lucy seemed to take offense, and her expression contorted into one of great derision. She appraised me with critical eyes and snorted, "With a woman like you, Louis's interest won't last more than a month at best. I'm waiting for the day you get kicked out of the pack and become homeless." I was even more bewildered. I had assumed she was here on Cathy's orders, trying to provoke me. But now, it seemed she was unaware of my departure from the pack. So, why was she bringing her gang here to bother us? I turned to Olivia, and she subtly winked at me. It was clear she knew the reason behind all this. "It seems the lesson we gave you wasn't enough," I was about to speak, but Olivia, being the good friend she was, stepped forward to confront them in her sarcastic manner. "And you, Lucy, do you think having a powerful boyfriend gives you the right to meddle in our affairs?" Seeing that Lucy wanted to respond, Olivia raised her voice to drown out the other girl's words, "Let me tell you, disrespecting the future Queen is a serious crime!" I started coughing violently, my cheeks flushed red. Olivia, on the other hand, seemed completely unaware that she had said anything inappropriate. She stood there triumphantly, hands on her hips, glaring at Lucy. But that title seemed to scare Lucy. She glared back at me and Olivia, grinding her teeth, and attempted to save face, "Do you really think I'll believe that? I know that Prince Louis loves his sister-in-law! His former mate! Claire Gambino, you're just a replacement—" "Shut up." I stared at her expressionlessly, my demeanor suddenly turning dangerous. "Lucy, I advise you to take back what you just said. If His Highness hears such fabricated gossip about his private life, do you think he'll take it lightly?" "No, he wouldn't. His Highness wouldn't care about such trivial matters..." As Lucy's face turned paler by the second, I snorted and casually revealed the handbag next to me. It was the one Alfred had given me before I left. Of course, that wasn't the focal point. The focal point was that there was a gold-embossed royal emblem on it. I didn't want to resort to this method. I'm not someone who enjoys showing off. But for now, it seemed like the only way to shut these people up. So, I grinned and flashed a brilliant smile at Lucy. "Is that so? Unfortunately, for the time being, I can make him care about 'such trivial matters.'" "Furthermore, friendly reminder, in about half an hour, I'll be meeting your beloved Prince Louis and having an afternoon tea at Tiffany on Fifth Avenue." Of course, the latter part was a lie. But I thought Lucy would never have the ability to debunk this lie. As my words fell, everyone witnessed Lucy's face go from white to green and then red. Amidst the silence, Olivia couldn't hold back a snicker.