Chapter 50 As friends?
Zara’s POV
“You’d been standing here,” she said, furrowing her brows at me.
My hands left the frame. I didn't act stealthily enough, and had let her catch me in this manner as though I was a thief looking for an item I could steal.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
“I just wanted to talk.”
Then I walked inside. I hadn't planned to go this far, but I found myself doing so, going with the flow of this moment as different ideas began to occur to me. I could pick from one of them, and things could still go in my favor.
“I just wanted to talk,” I explained.
“To talk… to talk about what?”
“To talk as a friend. I mean no harm to you.”
She wouldn't buy that, would she?
Her eyes were all over me as though she could see through my heart and had decided my coming to this room could never have a good meaning to her.
I smiled. “I just came here as a friend.”
“A friend… how is that?”
“Like a normal girl, talk.” I winked.
“But I don't know you… I’ve never been friends with you.”
“You do know me. I’m Tristan’s lover. Everyone knows that, but of course things might be complicated.”
I stretched my hands towards her for a handshake. She left my hand hanging. I should have expected that from her. But the look in her face wasn't completely hostile, it was more of a curious look?
“Can I come in?” I took a step closer to her.
“To do what?” She frowned.
I sighed. “I already told you that, and it's no big deal.” I shrugged.
Her eyes looked over my shoulders.
“Can I?”
Her breath seemed to have picked up an unusual pace. Worry. That was perfectly normal. Who wouldn't be freaked out to see someone that's supposed to be a rival, unless of course she didn't see me as a rival?
I sat on the bed. She was still standing.
“Come on girl, this is your bed.”
I started to think she was doing too much of this attitude. Perhaps this was peculiar to hybrids. Maybe.
She pressed her hand against the bed before sitting on it.
She sat to face me.
“So how have you been?”
What a question for me.
She nodded. “You should know that more than me.”
I let out an awkward chuckle. She didn't join me.
“How's that?” I asked.
“You know much more about this place don't you?”
“Kind of, but you're already catching up, aren't you?”
She didn't respond.
It was becoming too hard to pierce through her defenses. That didn't make her appear fragile. I could still sense that softness even though she was trying to cover it up. Her defenses could only be because of what she’d heard about me.
But what must she have heard?
That was a big puzzle I wasn't ready to solve.
“You haven't said anything,” she said. “Surely you didn't come to exchange pleasantries with me.”
“Exchanging pleasantries is also a big deal, even among the werewolves in this pack.”
“Okay?”
“See, I'm aware you're conflicted.”
“Tell me what this conflict is about?”
That was where I would lose out to her. But I was going to go ahead, no matter what.
“Tristan, you and me.”
She furrowed her brows. “What's that about us?”
“Could you stop this awful pretense?” I said softly.
“There's no pretense.”
“You could at least open up.”
“To what extent?”
“As friends.”
“We didn't become one.”
“But we could become one. That isn't too hard, would you accept that?”
“I don't know.”
“Okay, take your time.”
“Please say what you have to say.”
Why was this even hard?
I should have prepared before coming. I should have thought of how to strike.
“Could we go out for a drink?”
“I was about to sleep.”
“Just for a few minutes. I don't really like bedroom talk.”
It took more effort than I imagined it would before she started following behind me. Her steps were slow, giving me some distance apart from her.
We got to another spot of this palace that was similar to the spot Tristan had made out with her. It was also a garden. I’d called for one of the maids to get us drinks and a table.
“It looks similar, right?”
“Similar to what?” She feigned ignorance.
I was sure I was going to let it out.
“The garden Tristan took you to.”
She didn't respond to that. That was expected.
Soon, we were seated opposite to each other, a small table between us. The maid returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hands.
I noticed the long gaze between Celine and this maid.
“You know her?” I asked.
“Does that have anything to do with what you want to discuss?”
“Of course not, but there's nothing wrong if you become very much familiar with any of the workers in this palace.”
“I know that.”
When Mira poured the wine into the two glasses, I had a sip from both so she knew I couldn't go that low to have her drink spiked.
“Was that necessary?” She asked.
“Just so you know.”
She nodded.
“I wanted to talk about Tristan.”
“Go ahead.”
She could pretend not to be interested in such a topic, but she wanted to hear every word of it. A conversation about Tristan was always a hot topic, especially since she was starting to believe that a strong bond existed between them.
“Tristan had claimed that you’re his mate.”
She didn't respond, but her eyes were keener on me.
“Well, what if I told you he also has the same claim with me?”
Her face twitched.
“You wouldn't believe that, right?”
She shook her head.
“Why hasn't he marked you yet? That doesn't ring any bells?”
I noticed her fingers curling against her dress, under the table. But she would try not to bring her expression to the surface.
“He has also planned to mark me, soon.”
“Why?” She managed to ask.
“He always does that with many others, even some of the maids in here. I thought you should have known that.”
She shook her head.
“But he has always fallen back to me as always.”
“Back to you…”
“We’ve known each other for years, since we were kids, and he can't bear to leave me for any other.”
“But…”
Her veil was already going off at this point.
“He does this for pleasure. He loves having new pussies.” I sipped from my glass in a relaxed manner.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you're hybrid, and I thought you deserve a special kind of treatment, that's all.”
She got on her feet. She hadn't sipped a drop from the glass.
“I could help you out.”
Her jaw had dropped. There was nothing for her to hide. Her face had gone pale, fading to the extent I thought I went too far.
“How…”
“I could help you escape this pack.”
She started walking out, but her feet were heavy. “I don't wish to escape.”
“You could leave and no one would know.”
Wait… was she sobbing?
“No…”