Chapter 19: Friends

The first thing Rue did when she returned to the harem was to change out of the dress Thane picked for her. Her mood was completely ruined.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" She snarled quietly. "Don't read meaning into it, like I was going to."

She had no idea why she was so angry. Maybe it was because she thought Thane's niceness meant something. Not that she cared, but she actually thought he felt something for her.

"I'm such an idiot." She whispered. "Why did I think he was actually being kind? A monster will always be a monster."

Yet deep down, she knew that wasn't the reason she was so angry. It was because somewhere during the breakfast, a part of her heart had softened towards him.

It didn't matter how much the mind despised someone. The heart always worked differently, and she was afraid Thane was getting to her heart.

"Impossible." She snapped. "It will be a cold day in hell before I fall for someone like Thane Lockwood."

A sharp knock interrupted her monologue and she scowled at the door. Running her hands through her hair, she stormed over and yanked it open.

Aurora stood on the other side with a wide smile which slowly disappeared the moment she noticed Rue's mood.

"You look pissed." She said.

"Great observation." Rue replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What do you want?"

"Just checking on you." Her smile returned. "I heard you had breakfast with the Alpha this morning. How did it go?"

"What do you think?"

"Hey, you don't have to be rude." Aurora said as her face fell. "I'm just trying to be friendly since I noticed the other girls didn't like you."

She turned to leave, and Rue actually felt stupid for being mean.

"I'm sorry. Come back, Aurora, please."

The redhead stopped but didn't turn around. Rue sighed and walked up to her.

"I'm sorry. I've just been in a rotten mood lately. I didn't mean to be mean."

"If you don't want a friend, I'll gladly stay away."

"Of course I want a friend." Rue smiled and took her hand. "It's hard living here alone. It would be nice to have someone to talk to."

Aurora turned cautiously and looked at her. "So, we're friends?"

Rue pulled her close and hugged her. "Of course we are."

The smile returned to Aurora's face and she giggled. "I've never really had a friend. Back in my pack, I was bullied badly for being a redhead."

"People bullied you for having red hair?" Rue asked incredulously.

Aurora shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "When you're an omega, you get bullied for the smallest thing."

She paused and looked at Rue. "What were you bullied for? For being beautiful, I guess. Girls our age can't stand it when they see a prettier girl. So they bully you to make themselves feel better."

Rue had been bullied, but not for being beautiful. It was for being curvy.

"Bullies can be really mean." She said, "Like Katherine."

"Katherine is a big bully." Aurora agreed. "I heard the Alpha sent her to the dungeons because of you. What happened?"

Rue was about to open her mouth to answer, but then she caught a few other girls peeking out from their rooms, trying to eavesdrop.

"Come on, let's talk in my room." She said and pulled Aurora into the bedroom before shutting the door.

"So what happened with Katherine?" Aurora asked eagerly.

"Alpha Thane didn't send her to the dungeon because of me." Rue began. "She barged in while we were having breakfast, and apparently, he had warned her severally not to do that. So he punished her."

"Serves her right if you ask me." Aurora rolled her eyes. "She thinks she's better than everyone else because the Alpha favoured her more. Now she knows how it feels to be replaced."

A thought suddenly occurred to Rue. Maybe Katherine had read meanings into Thane's kindness and sweet gestures, which was why she acted like his lover, and which also explained why Thane lost interest in her.

She made a mental note not to make that same mistake.

As they continued chatting, a loud knock suddenly echoed through the room.

The two girls fell silent, staring warily at the door.

"Who do you think it is?" Aurora whispered.

"Probably one of the other girls in the harem." Rue whispered back.

The knock sounded again, and Rue quickly hurried to open it. But the person standing there wasn't one of the other girls.

Rue recognized her instantly. It was Cersei, the woman who had walked in when Thane had been on the verge of kissing her.

"Good day, ma'am." She said with a slight bow.

Cersei gave her a once over, then brushed past her and entered the room.

Aurora quickly jumped to her feet and excused herself, exchanging confused glances with Rue as she rushed out.

"Shut the door and come here." Cersei said sharply.

Rue's heart started to pound. For some strange reason, she felt threatened by this woman with sharp eyes and grey hair.

Swallowing nervously, she walked up to the bed and lowered on it.

"I didn't ask you to sit." Cersei snapped.

Rue got up swiftly, smoothening the front of her dress. She kept her eyes averted, even though she could clearly feel Cersei's gaze.

"What pack are you from?" Cersei asked finally.

Rue almost blurted out the name of her real pack, but she stopped herself in time.

"Mountain Pack." She answered.

"And how old are you?"

"Twenty-two." She answered without thinking.

Cersei frowned. "Didn't you tell Yolanda you were twenty-five?"

Rue's mind raced as she thought of what to say. She forgot that she had deliberately increased her age when Yolanda and Aurora asked about it.

"I must have made a mistake." She said quickly. "I'm actually twenty-two."

Cersei went silent for several minutes, her sharp gaze raking over Rue's body. She felt like she had seen Rue's face before, but she couldn't quite place it.

"What happened between you and the Alpha the night you tried to escape?"

Rue looked up sharply. Her heart jerked as she tried to keep her expression neutral.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb with me, girl." Cersei snapped. "You know what I'm talking about."

"I'm not denying the fact that I tried to escape." Rue answered. "I did escape, but the Alpha caught me. He brought me back and punished me. There was no intimacy..."

"I'm not talking about that!" Cersei cut her short. "The guards who were at the gate that night told me about a golden light which appeared when you and the Alpha touched."

Rue's heart was pounding heavily now. She remembered Thane telling her not to tell a soul about it. And now Cersei was asking about it.

"I don't know what you're talking about ma'am." She answered calmly.

Cersei narrowed her eyes. Rue was lying, and she knew it.

Without breaking eye contact, she mind linked her partner.

\[Orion?\]

\[Yes, Cersei?\]

\[Send a few messengers to Mountain Pack. I want all the information they can find about Rue Lowell.\]