Reborn Supporting Girl Won't Cater: Vampire Godfather, Rut Half-Wolf & CEO Lose Control

The freezing rain battered my broken body. Blood pooled around my fingertips, washing away into the dark gutter.

"Is this it?" I whispered to the empty street, my voice barely a rasp over the storm.

Six years.

I gave six years of my life to Lucca Moretti, Kael Arden, and Silas Hale.

What did it get me? My family bankrupt. My parents dead. Me, bleeding out alone in an alley, discarded like trash after they took everything my family owned.

The roaring engine of the car that hit me faded into a dull hum. My vision blackened.

Then, the cold vanished.

A blinding light pierced my eyelids. The smell of expensive champagne and fresh roses hit my nose.

"Elowen? Are you even listening to me?"

I gasped, my eyes snapping open.

I wasn't in the alley. I stood in the center of a grand ballroom, surrounded by crystal chandeliers and towering floral arrangements.

"Earth to the birthday girl," Chloe Mercer snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Lucca just walked in."

I touched my cheek. Warm. Smooth. No scars.

I looked down at the emerald silk gown clinging to my frame. My eighteenth birthday dress.

I was alive.

"You made sure they served his favorite whiskey," Chloe reminded me, fixing a stray curl near my temple. "You even bribed the DJ to play that song he likes. Go get your man."

I lifted my chin and looked across the room.

The crowd parted effortlessly for them.

Lucca Moretti stood at the center, looking bored and arrogant in his tailored suit. Kael Arden checked his silver watch, radiating impatience. Silas Hale swirled a glass of whiskey, flashing a charismatic smile at a passing heiress.

My stomach turned. The lengths I had gone to for a man who despised me.

"Cancel the DJ," I told Chloe.

Chloe blinked, her hand freezing in mid-air. "What?"

"You heard me," I said, keeping my eyes on the three men. "Tell him to play whatever he wants. And tell the bartender to dump that specific whiskey down the drain."

Chloe stared at me like I had grown a second head. "Are you insane? Lucca will be furious."

"Let him be."

I stepped forward. The ballroom hushed immediately.

Elite vultures loved a good show, and Elowen Voss humiliating herself for Lucca was their favorite rerun.

Lucca didn't even bother to look at me as I approached. He kept his gaze fixed on the balcony doors.

"You're late to your own party, El," Lucca stated, his tone flat.

Kael scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "She was probably fixing her makeup for an hour just to impress you, Luc."

Silas offered a mocking grin. "Be nice, boys. It's her big day. Let the girl have her moment."

I stopped three feet away from them.

The silence stretched, thick and heavy.

Lucca finally turned his head, an irritated frown forming on his perfect face.

"Well?" he demanded. "Aren't you going to ask me to dance?"

I stared at him. Really looked at the man who would eventually order the hostile takeover of my father's company.

A laugh bubbled up from my throat. It sounded harsh, foreign to my own ears.

Lucca's jaw tightened. "What's so funny?"

"You," I replied, my voice steady and cold. "The absolute arrogance of you."

Gasps rippled through the nearby guests. Someone dropped a champagne flute. It shattered against the marble floor.

Kael dropped his arms, stepping closer. "Have you lost your mind, Elowen?"

"I think I just found it," I told him, holding his stare until he blinked first.

Silas stepped forward, his charming facade slipping to reveal the manipulator underneath.

"El, you're making a scene," Silas murmured, reaching for my arm. "Apologize to Lucca."

I yanked my arm back before his fingers could brush my skin.

"Apologize?" I met Silas's eyes, remembering how he lied to the press to ruin my mother's reputation. "For what? Not wagging my tail on command?"

Lucca stepped into my space, towering over me. The air around him grew dangerous.

"You're embarrassing yourself, El," Lucca warned, his voice dropping to a lethal pitch. "You think acting out is going to make me want you?"

"Want me?" I tilted my head, feigning confusion. "Lucca, I wouldn't want you if you were the last man on earth."

Whispers erupted across the ballroom.

Kael sneered, his face flushing red. "She's drunk. Get her a water."

"Stone cold sober, Kael," I shot back. "Unlike you, who needs a drink in his hand to tolerate his own reflection."

Kael opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Silas tried to play peacemaker again, a role he used to mask his cruelty. "El, sweetheart. Let's go to the balcony and talk this out. You're overwhelmed."

"Don't call me sweetheart," I snapped. "And don't pretend you care. None of you do."

Lucca's eyes narrowed into dark slits.

"Elowen. Stop this tantrum right now. Come here."

He held out his hand. An order. A command I had obeyed a thousand times before.

I looked at his outstretched palm, then up at his furious expression.

"The old Elowen Voss would chase after you," I said, making sure my voice carried across the silent ballroom.

I paused, letting the weight of my words sink into their thick skulls.

"But now... I'm out."

I spun on my heel, my emerald skirt flaring around my legs.

"Elowen!" Lucca barked.

I walked toward the grand double doors. The crowd parted for me like I was contagious, their faces painted with shock.

Behind me, I heard Kael swear under his breath.

"Let her go," Lucca's voice cracked like a whip through the room. "She'll be begging outside my door by morning."

A bitter smile touched my lips. Keep dreaming, Lucca.

I pushed the heavy oak doors open and stepped into the cool night air.

Freedom tasted sweet. The suffocating grip of my past life was finally gone.

I marched down the marble steps, eager to leave the estate and figure out my next move.

But as I reached the bottom, a tall figure stepped out from the shadows of the garden hedges, blocking my path.

"Leaving your own party so soon, Miss Voss?"

I froze.

That voice didn't belong to Lucca, Kael, or Silas.

A man leaned against a black town car, tossing a silver lighter between his fingers.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my muscles tensing.

He stepped into the moonlight, revealing sharp features and eyes that held too many secrets.

"Someone who knows exactly what you're running from," he replied, catching the lighter in his fist. "And someone who knows how to destroy them."