Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Santiago's POV

Ahhh!” someone screamed.

The sound snapped me out of my daze. I opened my eyes and turned toward the door, only to see her.

What the hell is she doing here?

The moment I saw her rushing out, panic flickered through me. I immediately pushed the woman kneeling between my legs away.

“Leave,” I ordered coldly.

Without wasting another second, I pulled my pants back on and hurried out of the room.

But when I reached the hallway, she was gone. Not even a trace of her. She must’ve run downstairs, she was fast, much faster than I expected.

I didn’t bother chasing after her; it was pointless now. With a deep breath, I turned back toward the room.

Thankfully, the other girl had already disappeared too. She must have taken the hint when I told her to leave.

I slipped my shirt on, buttoning it halfway as I glanced around. Maximus and Alex were already dressed, but neither of them looked like they planned to leave anytime soon.

“Aren’t you guys going?” I asked, heading toward the door without looking back.

They both followed me out, one on each side, silent.

I stopped abruptly and faced them. “What’s going on?”

They exchanged a quick look, and I could tell something was up. Normally, these two wouldn’t hang around unless they had something to say.

Alex gave me that familiar smirk of his, cocky and careless. “Relax, man. We’re not up to anything crazy.”

I shot him a cold look. “Then what do you want?”

Even though he tried to sound casual, I stayed on guard. I knew how unpredictable Alex could be.

“Uh, that person who walked in on us just now, who was it?” Alex asked suddenly.

I raised a brow at him. “You didn’t see? Why are you asking me?”

“Come on, don’t be like that,” he said with a playful grin. “Just tell me who she was.”

I folded my arms. “Why do you want to know?”

Knowing Alex, he never cared who saw him or what they thought. He was the last person to care about things like privacy. Hearing him ask this now was almost laughable.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Maximus said he saw that new girl go upstairs, but I told him I didn’t see anyone. I thought maybe he was mistaken.”

His tone was light, but I could see the concern behind his words. I stayed quiet for a few seconds before answering flatly, “He wasn’t wrong. She was here.”

Then I walked away, heading downstairs, my footsteps echoing on the wooden stairs.

As I reached the lower floor, I saw a small figure curled up on the couch.

It was her.

Didn’t she just run off earlier? I thought she would’ve left by now.

I walked calmly to the living room and sat at the far end of the couch. From here, I could see that she had already fallen asleep.

I didn’t move closer. I didn’t even bother looking at her again. Instead, I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through the news, pretending she wasn’t even there.

A few minutes later, I heard footsteps behind me. Only the three of us and that girl were in the house, so I didn’t have to guess who it was, Alex and Maximus.

“Eii, she’s asleep,” Alex whispered, his voice barely audible.

I frowned and turned sharply toward him. “Why are you whispering? Don’t tell me it’s because of her?”

Of course it was. He was trying not to wake her, and that alone irritated me even more.

I let out a sharp breath and fixed him with a hard stare. “Do you even know what you’re doing?”

That girl, she wasn’t someone he should be paying attention to. Not even a little.

I had to warn him before he got himself into trouble he couldn’t walk away from.

“Calm down, you shouldn’t be getting all serious,” Maximus said as he sat down casually, his tone light but his eyes sharp.

“Serious in this matter? Of course, I am, and I’ll continue to be,” I replied firmly, my voice low but unwavering.

Maximus chuckled, leaning back. “Then tell me, what exactly are you planning to do about the elders? They’ve already accepted her as our Luna. You know what our situation is, right?”

The moment he said that, I felt a dull ache build in my head. Of course, I knew. How could I not? For years, rumors had been spreading across the pack, and even beyond it. The biggest one of all was that one of us would die on his twenty-fourth birthday if we didn’t find our mate.

But what they didn’t know was that it wasn’t just one of us. If we failed to find our destined mate, all three of us would die. That was why we’d spent years searching, traveling from place to place, hoping to find her.

But as if that wasn’t enough, the moon goddess had decided to make things worse, she’d declared that our mate must also be our Luna.

At first, it hadn’t seemed like a problem. I didn’t care who became Luna. I wasn’t picky, and I didn’t have anyone in mind for the position. But it couldn’t be her.

The first time I learned she had a weak wolf, I rejected her existence silently, but what truly sealed it for me was discovering she was a divorcee.

And after that meeting with her ex-husband, the one she missed because she’d fainted, I’d heard enough to confirm everything. The man had said plenty about her, and most of it wasn’t good.

How could I allow a woman like that to become the Luna of the Beadblood Pack?

Maximus and Alex were letting their emotions cloud their judgment, which was strange for them, but I wasn’t going to bend. If they couldn’t see things clearly, that was their problem, not mine. My decision would not change.

“Are you really holding on to this?” Alex asked, frowning.

“Before, I thought you were just objecting a little, but from your tone today, I can tell you’re completely against it.”

I heard him, but I didn’t respond. If that’s what he wanted to believe, then so be it.

“Santiago, stop pretending to be dumb!” he snapped, clearly losing his patience.

I turned to him slowly, meeting his gaze with calm, uncaring eyes. That expression alone was enough to irritate him further.

“Don’t think that just because you’re the oldest, you can make decisions for all of us,” he gritted out, his voice tight with anger.

I sneered, leaning back slightly. “Do you like her?” I asked suddenly, my tone sharp.

His brows furrowed, and I watched him closely, waiting for a reaction.

Unfortunately, Maximus decided to interfere. “That’s enough. Don’t start a fight right in front of the girl,” he warned, his voice firm.

I rolled my eyes. “She’s asleep, isn’t she? Why all this unnecessary pretense?”

First, Alex had been whispering earlier, worried about waking her, and now Maximus was trying to keep the peace for her sake. It was ridiculous.

These two were getting on my nerves.

I was just about to stand up and leave when I noticed movement from the couch. The girl stirred, her eyes squeezing tightly before slowly fluttering open.

I snorted and sat back down. “You finally woke up. I almost called the maids to drag you out,” I said coldly.

Her cheeks flushed with anger as she looked at me, but before she could say a word, Maximus cut in.

“You shouldn’t talk to her like that. She just woke up,” he said, his tone calm and reasonable, but I knew what he was really thinking.

I snorted again and looked away, uninterested in their pointless defense.

The girl blinked, realizing where she was, and quickly stood up, still disoriented.

“I’m sorry,” she stuttered, “I meant to wait for you here, but I didn’t realize when I fell asleep.”

I wasn’t interested in her apology, but her words caught my attention. “Wait for me? Why?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“Judy resigned,” she said quietly.

“Who’s Judy?” I asked blankly.

“Judy is my personal maid,” she explained, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, your personal maid resigned, and your first thought was to come to me?” I asked mockingly.

“Of course not, I… I—” She stumbled over her words, unable to continue.

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Amira’s POV

I clenched my jaw, struggling to hold myself together. What exactly was he trying to do? Was this all just some game to him? The way he laughed, it was like he wanted to get a reaction out of me.

“You know exactly why I’m here, and you’re doing this on purpose,” I muttered under my breath, trying to keep my voice steady.

He shrugged, his tone annoyingly calm. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

That mocking tone snapped something inside me. I glared at him, completely forgetting my place. “Fine! Since you don’t want to admit it, I’ll say it. You came back and decided to fire Judy!”

My voice came out louder than I intended, trembling with frustration. Maybe it was the unfairness of it all, or maybe it was just the thought that Judy might never come back.

He had the nerve to chuckle. “Oh? If you’re so sure, then tell me, what reason would I have to waste my time personally firing some lowly maid?” he shot back, voice cool and sharp.

“I…” The words caught in my throat.

He was right. I didn’t have proof. I was only going off suspicion, anger, and worry.

And even if I did have proof, what difference would it make?

This was his house. Everyone here worked for him and lived under his rules. Whether his actions were fair or not didn’t matter. He had the final say in everything.

Even if he fired someone unjustly, I had no right to question it.