11

11

The Mate She Wants Gone

Lilith POV

The tension between husband and wife pressed down on me like a storm cloud. I kept my eyes on the food in front of me, chewing in silence, though every bite felt heavy in my throat.

Behind Luna Rachel, Talia hovered like a shadow, ready to serve but clearly listening to everything. When Rachel pulled a stool close to the tray, I caught the flicker of her eyes—sharp, unreadable, and fixed more on her husband than on me.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice smooth, her gaze still on Alpha Rowan. I nodded quickly, muttering that I was better. She didn’t really hear me. Her whole focus was on him.

I didn't know what she had been told but I was too hungry to concentrate, so I began eating.

She pulled the nearest seat and sat facing myself and Alpha Rowan on the bed.

After a few minutes which she spent glancing between our faces from time to time while I ate in silence, she finally spoke. To Talia.

"Talia, get a glass of water for Lilith."

"Yes, Luna." Talia bowed and left us.

Again the choking quiet reigned.

Alpha Rowan cleared his throat then.

"Is everything okay?" He asked her and she smiled and turned to face him.

"Did you do something wrong?" She asked back and he shook his head in the negative.

"No, I haven't. What did you hear?" Alpha Rowan's face was as blank as I had ever seen it, as if he was denying anything or everything she had heard.

I swallowed forcefully, praying for Talia to appear fast with my cup of water.

Then she sighed, a long tired sigh.

"You know you should've told me."

*What exactly are we talking about?" Alpha Rowan shrugged. "I'm confused as we speak."

I coughed then, almost choking on my food as the sound cut through the thick air that was in my room.

The husband and wife locked eyes, neither willing to blink, as if I had vanished from the room.

Just when I felt like this would go on for eternity, the door opened again and Talia walked in.

The two withdrew from each other instinctively 

away as she approached and I sighed in relief at the interruption.

Talia dropped the water in front of me and I muttered a thank you before sipping to quench the fire that burned in my neck.

The silence this time felt heavier like a battle waiting to start when they got to their room or when Talia left.

For Luna Rachel, I could see that whatever was going on had nothing to do with me. She would hold her husband responsible for every wrong that transpired as they must've had an agreement.

I suddenly felt bad for Alpha Rowan, I had made the first move and now he would suffer for it.

Soon enough I was done with my meal and Talia came to pack up.

"Wait outside when you are back, we have something important to talk about here." Luna Rachel told Talia and she nodded. "Tell the guards to shift away from the door and surroundings as well."

Immediately Talia stepped out of the room, Luna Rachel stood up and began pacing around.

"Can you stop pacing and just talk? What did Cole tell you?" Frustration carved the lines into his face as he rubbed his temples.

"Cole?" She laughed. "Who said anything about Cole."

"He is almost the only one that knows so he must've been the..."

What if she didn't know everything?

I skillfully touched Alpha Rowan's fingers away from Luna Rachel's sight, urging him to be calm and he stopped his sentence halfway.

Thankfully she didn't notice.

"You didn't even come to see Lilith yourself when I told you to, you sent Cole instead. She obviously just got to this pack and already you are sending unfamiliar faces to her?"

Alpha Rowan almost laughed in relief. "Cole is not an unfamiliar face, he came with me to bring her here." He defended and I added to it.

"I know Beta Cole, Luna." I just didn't want to speak to anyone because...." my voice broke. "....because I was scared. Afraid that for the first time I would lose someone who had decided to take me in just like the others." I was near tears at the thought of it.

"Why would you be scared?" Her words cut through me. "Because he is your mate?" My hand froze around the spoon and the stillness in the room thickened.

"I almost didn't believe him." She exclaimed, cleaning a stray tear while I put my head down in shame.

Then she turned to Alpha Rowan.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you say something? We would've found a way around it, we would.... I stood there that day confused while she cried and yet you said nothing."

The tears from Luna Rachel broke my heart and I saw Alpha Rowan stand up and go to her while muttering something about killing Beta Cole.

"Hey, listen. Listen to me." He tried to steady her as she wept but she didn't even allow him to touch her.

"If you had died, I would not even know why or the cause. Why would you do that to me?" She cried harder.

"But I didn't. I didn't die, I'm still here, can we just focus on that?"

He tried to reason with her but she wasn't having any of it.

"Okay. You need to calm down, babe. What's the way out? She's already here and there's nothing we can do." 

"Oh no, there's something we can do." She suddenly snapped and wiped her tears.

I wasn't invisible... I was just a problem they couldn't solve.

"What do we do? And note there is no returning her back to her pack." Alpha Rowan warned.

"Nothing of that nature. Just reject her. That's all."

My fork slipped from my fingers and a sharp pain sliced through my chest. For a second, I thought he already had.