6, PRETENCE

ANDREA

"This is so unfair," I whispered to myself as tears slid down my cheeks.

I felt my wolf purr as she tried to soothe me. It only made me more agitated. I had finally found my mates, but they didn’t care about me. Oh, they did, but just to cure their curses.

I was such a fool to think that they had cared for me at all. They only thought about themselves, and nothing more, but this wouldn’t keep happening anymore. I was going to show them that I was not some foot-mat for their satisfaction, but I had no idea how.

"Andrea?"

I wiped my tears with the back of my hands as I turned around to see the second alpha looking right at me. I knew he was the one thanks to the smile on his face. It was friendly at best, but I knew it was a bit fickle.

His grey eyes were turning almost black in the sunlight, and I had to look away as fast as I could, so I wouldn’t get confused with the whole thing. Slowly, I tried to get up, but my knee sunk into the earth, making it a bit difficult to stand.

"Are you ok?" He asked once more.

I closed my eyes a bit. "If you would help me to my feet, I would be thankful," I said instead.

"Sure thing," he said at once.

The next minute, he was around me, and I felt like sliding into his skin at that very moment. The mate bond was becoming stronger by the minute, and it wasn't very pleasant. How could I feel this way for the brothers who didn’t care for me?

"Can you stand?" He asked again.

I slowly nodded, and he helped me up as easily as if I weighed nothing. Up on my feet, I shrugged his hands off me, muttering my thanks as I walked over to the bench on the side. I needed to sit down for a bit or I might go crazy.

"I’m sorry I took a pinch of your time second Alpha," I muttered.

"Don’t call me that," he said softly. I turned to look at him, and he had an impish grin on his face. "I would rather prefer to be called Raul when we are all together. There is no need for excessive formality."

Right, so you can put me in trouble. That is not going to happen. I sat down on the bench and I looked right at him. "It doesn’t show respect, and I’m not used to the three of you yet because you all look alike. It’s better to stick with titles."

He frowned, obviously displeased with my words as he dusted his hands on his trousers. "I don’t like that. With time, you would be able to tell us apart. It’s honestly not too difficult to do so, but you have to relax."

"I will think about it," I said at last.

He smiled at that. "Ok, that is better than nothing. If we understand each other more it would be fine."

I nodded once and looked towards the flowers at the side. Gosh! Could he just leave? I was so fucking tired of this conversation. It was boring, and it wouldn’t amount to anything, but heartache, and that was one thing that I couldn’t didn’t want. Why does he have to pretend that he cares about me or our relationship?

"You know, I thought at some point that I would never meet my mate. I mean, it felt like I had waited for centuries to find you. It was that crazy because everyone we knew found their mates when they were 18, and, here, I was being mateless, and of course, cranky. Trust me, it was a bad combination. But, now, you’re here..."

"Oh, Moon Goddess!" I exclaimed in a fight.

Raul was by my side in five seconds as he touched my back slightly. "What is the matter?"

"I..." I closed my eyes for a minute and opened it slowly. "I’m not able to talk for long. I feel so cold and weak. Maybe, I should go inside?" I said tentatively.

"Should I come with you?"

My heart skipped at that one question. "No!"

He looked at me, slightly confused about my reaction, and it took me a while to realise that I sounded quite harsh. That was not like me at all, but I was not feeling myself right now either.

"I don’t mean to scream, but I don’t want you to get the cold too. I would just walk to my room, and try to nap. I’m sure that it would be fine by then."

Raul frowned lightly. "I won’t get a cold, and even if I do, it would leave as fast as it came. There is no need to worry about that."

I rose to my feet then, putting some distance between us as I made a show of cleaning my nose, even when it was not running at the moment. "Please, second Alpha - Raul, let me go on my own. It would make me feel better."

"Alright," he conceded.

I smiled lightly at him and proceeded to move. But, instead of leaving me like I told him, he walked a couple of distance behind me. Whenever I turned, I found him walking with his hands deep in his pocket. His brows were knitted in concentration as though he thought I would fall or something.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him why he was acting as though he cared about my health, but I pushed that thought to the side as quickly as it had come. It was useless and baseless right now.

We finally got to the door, and I pulled it open, turning a bit to give him a nod. He grinned happily as he moved on. This man was something else, but I wouldn’t be the fool to be deceived.