Chapter 118

Chapter 118
Samara's POV

Lilian scoffed and stood in front of Aeron. "Fine. You don't want us reading the books. We'll leave. No one has to know about this. It will be our little secret—all three of us. I mean, the pack is already going through so much. Why add to it by turning us in?"

Aeron raised an eyebrow. "So now you're begging me?"

"No, no, no. I am not begging you to keep us out of trouble. I would never. I have committed a crime, and I own it. But I think it will do you more good."

"Lilian, you are such a narcissist. Why am I just realizing that now?"

Lilian took a few steps back and stood beside me. Then she whispered loudly, "I've tried my luck. Now it's up to you to get us out of this."

Aeron's eyes burned into mine. He knew that with just a hard stare, I would give in and confess. But not today. I did not just need to get out of trouble now—I needed to find a way to actually read the contents of the dragon book. I needed to know what had happened to the other dragon wolf, if there had ever been a situation where he lost contact with his inner wolf and could not talk to them.

So I looked at Aeron and asked, "What is so different about the books that they must be kept hidden? Will reading them unlock, like, some superpower?"

Aeron shrugged. "I don't know, but I have a feeling whoever is so insistent on reading them might be hiding a secret."

"A secret like what?" I asked him.

"Like they are the dragon wolf?"

My heart stopped, literally. He had just called me out, and now it was up to me to figure out if he was playing me, goading me, or if he was completely clueless as to what I really was.

It was Lilian who saved me. She laughed loudly from the pit of her stomach. "So everyone who is curious about some book is a dragon wolf? Are you listening to yourself right now, Aeron? Maybe those who keep it locked away from every other person... maybe they are the dragon wolf."

Aeron's eyes darkened. "You think if we were the dragon wolves, we'd be worried about the rogue attacks?"

"Why not?" Lilian shrugged. "You could be using the attacks to get rid of the people you do not want."

Aeron had a look on his face that said he was not sure what to do about Lilian. She was very crafty and devious in the way she constructed her words.

They had a stare-down in front of me, and I knew that if I did not intervene, neither of them would give up.

"You are not reading those books," Aeron said. "Those who read things their eyes are not meant to see usually end up in trouble."

"Trouble? How? They are just words on paper."

"Don't, Lilian. I've had enough of this."

Lilian shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. If you say so, we'll leave."

She grabbed my hand firmly in hers, and we began to walk out of the library.

But Aeron called us back. "And don't think of going into the woods for that adventure you've been talking about."

We turned sharply to stare at him. "Have you been spying on us?" we asked at the same time.

Aeron shrugged. "The pair of you are rather interesting."

"That is creepy, Aeron. You do know that, right?"

He had his hands in his pockets and a laid-back expression on his face. "Creepy? Spy? What other names can you call me? I am guilty of them all."

Lilian rolled her eyes, and we tried leaving the library again, but Aeron was not going to allow us to leave just like that.

"The next time I catch the both of you plotting something just because you think everyone is so distracted by the rogue attacks—"

Lilian finished it off for him. "What are you going to do then? You can't just make empty threats, Aeron. And if you make a threat, you had better be ready to follow through with it."

Aeron's eyes darkened as he stared at Lilian. I sensed a vibe between the two of them. They had a certain chemistry, the way they went back and forth with each other. It all felt almost like I was the third wheel here, and I was intruding on something that was rather intimate. But that was Aeron. He was a fuckboy, after all. There was literally no one he did not have chemistry with, including myself. I was not proud of it, but I did feel warm between my legs watching two attractive people yell at each other.

"Trust me, Lilian. I have every intention of following through with it."

The space between them closed. I was not sure who walked toward the other, but they were staring right into each other's eyes. They were literally having a moment right in front of me. I had to cough to remind them that there was someone here with them.

"Come, Samara." Lilian held my hand like I was a toddler. "And don't worry about Aeron. He will not be telling George about our little adventure."

But I was still worried, and I was sure it showed on my face, because she assured me, "I have a little secret of Aeron's that he does not want the Alpha to know. So we are pretty safe."

And with that, we walked out of the library, and Lilian was sure to kick the door with her leg, slamming it so the sound reverberated through the hallway.

"Are you sure it is safe to do that?" I asked Lilian, worried that while Aeron might not retaliate against her, he might against me, and I had no protection at all.

"Of course," she said. "Don't worry. I'll take care of Aeron myself."

And just before we could disappear into the winding hallway, the light door to the library opened, and even without turning back, I knew Aeron was on our heels.

"I never told the both of you to leave." His voice was loud and meant to be scary.

But Lilian had no fear, and so I followed her cue. I may be scared on the inside, but I was not going to show it.

"What is it now?" she asked him in a sassy tone.

"The books that you stole from the other library. I need them."

Lilian paused. A smirk formed on her lips, and she raised an eyebrow. "What books? What do you mean? Are they not the same books that are right there?"

There was no smile on Aeron's face. "I am not joking with you, Lilian. I mean it. Where did you keep them?"

She merely shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you speak of, Aeron."

"Don't play funny with me. We just established that the both of you stole—"

"Ha! That is where you are wrong," Lilian said. "We never admitted to anything."

Aeron looked like he was about to lose his shit. His fists were clenched firmly beside him, and I was worried he was going to lunge forward and punch us right in our faces.

Aeron shifted his gaze from Lilian to me, and I shuddered under his hot gaze. "You are still a slave here, Samara. I hope you know that. If it is found out that you stole royal property, I am sure George can think of many ways with which to torture you, and you would not like any of them. They would all leave you screaming for—"

"Oh, please stop it," Lilian snapped. "We both know you're not going to rat us out."

Aeron looked at Lilian, amused. "And what makes you think so? You think that what you have over me is enough to—"

"Aeron, Aeron, Aeron. We've played this game long enough—this back and forth we always do—and yet we always arrive at the same place. You are not going to rat us out, and we are not going to give you those books. And by the way, we do not have those books you speak of."

Aeron chuckled darkly. "Lilian, if I choose to turn on you, you would not like it. You would hate me."

"I already hate you, so that's not a problem."

He shifted his gaze to me again, thinking that while he may not be able to break Lilian, I was easier prey.

"I don't know anything about any books," I said, raising my hands up, and it was true.

Aeron took a few steps in my direction so he could look into my eyes more closely, perhaps to see if I was lying. When he saw that I was not, he directed his gaze again toward Lilian. "I know you two stole the books together. So where are they?"

Lilian shrugged. "What you know and what is real are two different things. You can know all you want, but the truth is not going to change."

"And what truth would that be?"

"We do not know what you speak of, Aeron."

"Lilian, you just confessed."

"I never confessed to anything. If you will excuse us, we have a lot to do." She tried to walk off, holding my hand again, but Aeron grabbed both of our hands from behind and separated us.

His touch on my skin was so hot it threatened to burn me. I almost flat-out confessed to breaking into one of the most secure places in the pack and stealing a book right in front of at least fifty people.

"If I wanted to, I could banish you from this pack, and then you would have to take your chances with the rogue wolves," Aeron threatened.

Lilian stared at him without fear. "If you banish me from your pack, I could return to mine, where there are no rogue attacks at all. So what is it going to be?"

"You forget that it is a long journey to your pack. The chances of you making it back safely and alive are almost zero."

Again, the heat between the two was palpable.

"Enough!" I screamed at both of them. I looked at Aeron, my gaze serious. "We do not have the books you speak of." And then to Lilian, I said, "We must leave now. We have many duties to perform before I have to tend to Alpha George again."

When we were finally able to get out of Aeron's presence, we both looked at each other and began laughing.

"You are quite the liar, Samara," Lilian said.

I smiled back at her. "I think you are rubbing off on me."

And we both laughed harder.