*Ciana*
Frustration boiled through my veins just thinking about Theo and how unreasonable he was acting, insisting on going back to the castle right now when my pack had such a crisis on our hands.
He, of all people, should have understood the importance of serving one’s people.
My feet carried to the pack house not far away from my ho. Mom and Dad had decided that we wouldn’t live in an enormous building. Instead, we had been living in a smaller ho with more privacy for the three of us, and the pack house was only used for etings and events.
Running directly into the pack house right now may not be a good idea. Like Theo said, if this was a trap, there could be danger awaiting . I decided that I’d stay near the building and see what I could find.
I’d just walked over to my favorite willow tree in the garden when I heard low voices coming from beyond the row of hedges across from .
Pausing, I drew in a deep breath and held it so that I could hear what they were talking about.
“I am just shocked she made it out of there alive,” a man said. “I thought for certain the Dark Prince would be the death of her.”
Another more composed voice responded, “Well, as I’ve said all along, we have to be careful about her. She is stronger than her diminutive size would indicate. It was a good plan, but even good plans may not work out sotis. That’s why we also have a plan B.”
The first one said, “You’re right. This ti, we’ll definitely take care of that spoiled little bitch.”
Spoiled little bitch? I’d thought for certain at first they were speaking about —going to the castle at all. But who thinks I’m a spoiled little bi—
“Beta Raymond, what would you like us to do now?” the second voice asked.
My stomach dropped to my feet. Then I heard the third person speak. This ti, it was a familiar voice, and I imdiately recognized that it belonged to Dad’s Beta, Raymond. “I’m not that worried about Ciana, but we’ve got to make sure Alpha doesn’t return.”
I had to place a hand over my mouth to keep in my shock. What was he getting at exactly? Bitterness and fury coursed through ; I was so angry that my body started to tremble.
How could Beta Raymond betray us like this?
Even though Susan had ntioned his unusual behavior, I didn’t want to co to the hasty conclusion that he was the culprit without solid evidence. After all, he was one of Dad’s most trusted subordinates. Growing up, he had been nice to , like a fatherly figure. But now, he was standing there, discussing our demise!
Raymond’s voice continued, “We need to make sure he dies out there sowhere, wherever the hell he’s at. Now, listen, here’s what we’re going to do...”
I wished I could see all of the other guys’ faces, so that I could let my father know, one way or another, exactly who was conspiring against him.
I leaned in a little closer to hear better, but I knew I couldn’t let them see . If they knew I was aware of their plans, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill .
As they continued to speak about how imperative it was that the entire family of the Alpha was no longer around to cause them trouble, the scent of the woods after a fresh rain hit my lungs.
Theo?! Where was he?
Sliding my hand around the trunk of the willow, I moved to my left, and then my hand hit sothing warm and hard. I peeked around the tree and there he was.
What in the world was he doing here? Hadn’t he said he was leaving, going back to the castle, done with all of this?
His dark eyes t mine, and I could see just how angry he was.
I wanted to shout at him, but I couldn’t. If I made a sound at all, the excellent hearing of the wolf shifters would pick up on it imdiately.
I took a step backward, away from Theo, but I was discombobulated because of the unexpected appearance of the prince, and my foot ca down on a twig. The loud snapping noise echoed through the garden. It couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.
“What the fuck was that?” one of the n said.
Theo looked at , seemingly a bit upset that I’d ruined the perfect eavesdropping opportunity. I mouthed at him, “Run!”
I didn’t even get the full word ford on my lips before his mouth ca crashing down on mine and he pulled to the ground. His arms encircled , and he climbed on top of , kissing almost as deeply as he had that ti in the pavilion when he’d been after my blood.
When he pulled away for a mont to suck in a breath, “What the hell are you doing?”
Quickly, he said, “Saving you. Go with it.” Then he crushed his lips on mine again.
I didn’t want to go with it, but a second later, I heard the footsteps co to a halt and the chuckle of a group of n who were standing on the other side of the willow tree, watching us.
“Get off!” I insisted, pushing Theo hard in the chest. If he didn’t comply, I’d have no other choice but to use my knee.
He did this ti, and as he stood, he took my hand and pulled to my feet.
My face was crimson, and it had nothing to do with the efforts Theo had put in. “Oh, hello, everyone,” I stamred.
“Ciana,” Raymond stepped forward, a bit surprised to see . “Well, I heard that you’re back. Sorry I haven’t gotten the chance to pay you a visit yet. I didn’t know you’d co to the pack house.”
“Uhm... it’s nice to see you again. I, uh, had sothing in my eye, and my servant... Thorn... was helping get it out.”
“Sothing in your eye?” Now I was able to put the nas to their faces. Larry was the one who was speaking. “More like sothing in your mouth.”
They all laughed at that, but when Raymond gave them a stern look, they abruptly stopped, as if his word was the law.
“No reason to be embarrassed, Miss Ciana,” Raymond said. “This boy is your manservant?” He looked Theo up and down, as if he were my father and he was trying to decide whether or not he was good enough for .
Had I not just heard what he’d said before, I might have thought that Raymond was watching out for because he had always been like a father figure to . But now all I could feel was disgust.
I couldn’t let him know that, though.
“He is my servant,” I said, trying to sound sure of myself.
“Well, no offense, Miss Ciana, but I think you can do a little better than that. I an, he’s a good-looking fellow, I suppose. But you’re an Alpha’s daughter, and he’s just an Oga.”
I could practically feel my blood beginning to boil as I fought the urge to rip Raymond’s throat out.
As if Theo felt my anger, he stepped forward and created a half barrier between and Raymond.
Was he worried that I would do sothing irrational?
Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to just attack Raymond. Then the threat would be handled, and I was fairly certain that Theo could take all five of those middle-aged n before they could even see what had hit them.
But I knew it wasn’t the right way to handle it. It may not be that hard to kill Raymond, but we’d be alerting our hidden enemies. It seed to that there were more people behind this, and I needed to get a full picture of exactly what was going on. And while Raymond deserved to be killed, he might have information we could use.
“We are not a couple,” I assured them. “I just had sothing in my eye.”
“If you insist,” Raymond said with a shrug. “Anyway, we’re so glad you’ve returned to the pack. I bet that was a trying ti, spending all of those weeks with Prince Theo, the Dark Prince. Thank goodness you are well.”
He spoke as if he were a true family friend. I couldn’t believe that he could lie to my face like that. The expression on my face must not have been very friendly. Raymond frowned and asked, “Ciana, are you alright?”
“Y-yes!” I tried to lower his guard. I had to say sothing to make him not suspect .
“I’m just happy to be back. It was just terrible,” I said, even though I knew I was throwing fuel on the fire in front of the prince. But I didn’t have ti to co up with anything else. And after what Theo had just done, I needed to aggravate him a little anyway. “Sohow I managed to endure it though. The prince is a nutjob.”
“Really?” Raymond’s eyes widened, and I thought I heard a low growl from the back of Theo’s throat.
“Oh, yes. Not only that, but he also slls—”
Theo cleared his throat and said, through clenched teeth, “Perhaps you should speak about sothing else, miss?”
“I don’t like to dwell on it, that’s true. Thorn knows that talking about the prince is upsetting,” I said.
“Because you weren’t chosen to be the next Luna Queen?” Larry asked.
“No, because of the odor.”
“Right.” Raymond laughed under his breath. “Well, we are glad you’re here. We hope that you will find your fated mate, soone... worthy of marrying an Alpha’s daughter.” He looked Theo up and down again, noting his servant’s clothes, no doubt. “You must set an example for the other won in the pack, after all. No need for such wonderful, noble won to sink so low.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” I didn’t want to insist Theo and I weren’t kissing again because these guys were not idiots, nor were they without the use of their eyes.
“We’ll be off now,” Raymond said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“I bet you do.” I heard the suspicious tone in my voice and imdiately laughed so he wouldn’t realize I was on to him. He twerked an eyebrow but then let it fall when I said, “I’m sure my father will thank you kindly when he returns for taking such good care of the pack in our absence.”
“I don’t do it for the glory,” he said, and I heard a hint of that malicious tone I’d picked up on before. “I do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
My stomach twisted. How I longed to tell him where he could go. Instead, I kept the smile pinned to my face and waited for him to leave.
When they were all gone, I wheeled to face Theo. With everything going on, I was in a horrible mood at the mont. “I can’t believe you did that to !”
“It was the best way to throw their suspicions off,” he said matter-of-factly.
I couldn’t help but point my finger at him. “You... you...” I couldn’t say much, because I knew he was right. So I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. “Never, ever kiss again! Ever! Especially not without my permission!”
“Believe , it wasn’t my plan.” He shrugged.
“Good!” I pushed him back against the tree and lost my balance while he was still standing still. Before I fell to the ground, his powerful arms pulled back to my feet.
He glared at , and I glared back at him. After a couple of seconds, I heard him ask, “So... never ever... or never without your permission?”
What did he say? I blinked a few tis before his words sank in.
He must be joking, right?!
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