Chapter 10

Chapter 10
LILA'S POV

“Lila!” She calls in a fake singsong voice, rushing to hug me.

I stand unmoving with an unmasked face of confusion as I stare at her after she pulls away, still smiling at me.

Why was she here, and why was she hugging me like we were suddenly best of sisters?

“What are you doing here?” I voice, and she giggles like I just told a joke, turning to motion to my mate.

“Excuse me, Alpha, but my sister here is so funny, you know?” Kael doesn't react to anything she says, and she pulls me into her side in an awkward hug I would rather not partake in at all.

“Camille here said she wanted to visit; I was just about to send someone to come find you. Where were you even?”

God forbid he had actually sent someone, and they had found Alec and me like that.

Camille? Want to visit?

Whatever my twin was here for wasn't any good.

Associating Camille with good things was hard.

“Why aren't you saying anything, Lila? Haven't you missed me too? I mean, we were together and have basically been best friends all our lives, haven't we?” She lies perfectly again.

If I had been someone else, I wouldn't doubt all she was spewing out from how believable she was.

Camille was an expert manipulator and liar.

Today was just another one of her performances.

Judging by how great my family was at lying and pretending too, Kael, as well as many neighboring packs, must've thought the relationship between us was good.

From Kael's calm position and lack of hostility towards Camille, he had bought the lie too.

“Hello Camille, it's nice to see you, but you didn't have to really…" I trail off.

She scoffs, brushing it off and hugging me some more.

"I'm to get an inside on the hellhole you've found yourself in… From what I heard, you might not last long…" She whispers harshly into my ear before pulling away from the hug.

“And the young man who came with you?” Kael interrupts, and I frown even more, the confusion doubling.

“Ohh, my mate, Adrian… Can he come in, Alpha?” She bats her lashes with a mini pout directed at Kael.

Adrian?

Wasn't it bad enough that she had dropped by here unannounced, and now she had the audacity to bring Adrian too?

My ex-boyfriend she had stolen as her mate?

My heart clenches from the memory of their betrayal, and I'd rather be anywhere but here at the moment.

“Are you friends with this Adrian too, Lila?” Kael meets my eyes in question.

He was asking just because, as an alpha, it was his duty to ensure anyone that came into the pack wasn't a total stranger.

It couldn't be because he cared about my feelings, no?

“He's Camille's mate.” I keep my answer vague.

Calling Camille my sister brought a bitter taste to my mouth.

Nothing about how I had spent years under her shadow and the maltreatment sounded sisterly.

And calling Adrian my friend felt even worse.

'Tell him the truth; he'll kick them out immediately.' Neela presses.

I couldn't.

It wasn't like me to do something like that.

Such acts were a specialty of Camille's.

“Have him come inside.” Kael nods to a guard standing by the side, and he walks off.

Making his way to me, he pushes past Camille and comes to face me, standing between me and her.

The wave of emotions from seeing her suddenly must've washed away the previous smell of my arousal, thankfully.

But from the way the alpha's eyes darkened dangerously, I suspected he could still catch a whiff of his brother's scent on me.

He didn't look pleased about that.

“Where were you earlier?” He asks, standing impossibly close.

Camille is forgotten in the background, watching us like a hawk.

“I-I took a walk through the maze garden… I was looking for you.” I mutter the last part.

It wasn't a lie, though.

But it wasn't the entire truth.

The diversion I had wanted my statement to make works because the rage in his eyes dies a bit as he arches a questioning brow at me.

“Looking for me? You do know that you can easily mind-link me whenever, Lila?” He reminds me of eyes softening.

I nod, averting my eyes as I push my hair behind my ear.

“It skipped my mind… I haven't seen you since the other day…" My voice is low but not so much that he can't hear me.

He raises his hand to my face, cupping my cheek.

The image of his hand wrapped around my neck flashes through my mind.

The effect is immediate, my arousal peaking.

He must've smelled it too, his eyes darkening and his wolf pushing at the edge of his self-control.

“I'll start bringing you along to the board meetings soon.” He replies, staring distractedly at the stray piece of hair that had escaped my ponytail.

“Excuse me? Here he is, Alpha.” Her voice is laced with bitterness and a hint of something else as she interrupts us.

Forced to pull away, we turn to see Camille all over Adrian, who must've just arrived.

Our eyes meet for the briefest of moments, and he covers up his scowl with a fake smile.

“Lila, how are you?” He greets taking a step closer, but then Kael stands in front of me, blocking his way.

“She's my wife, and that makes her the Luna of my pack. When you address her, you do so with respect.” He growls at Adrian, the strength of his alpha voice forcing them to bow their heads.

It was because of the blood bond between him and me that I had been able to withstand the urge to bow too.

“I'm asking again what exactly brought you two here?” He spits out with a blank expression.

The both of them exchange suspicious glances before smiling.

“It's our birthday the day after tomorrow, Alpha. Lila and I have never done it apart, and so I thought to come so we could celebrate together.” Camille rushes out.

Yes, it was indeed my birthday the day after tomorrow, but why did she suddenly want to celebrate with me?

Something that hadn't happened in all our years, a privilege only she got to enjoy, and now she was claiming it was 'our' birthday?

She was up to something.