CHAPTER FOUR

~CAMERON~

ISOBEL WAS SPRAWLED across my bed like she belonged there. She had removed her shoes. Her dark hair was loose, spilling over my pillows.

"What is this I hear about you going to North London to get a mate?" she repeated. Her voice was light, but her eyes were sharp.

I closed the door behind me, but I did not move closer to the bed. "News travels fast." I muttered.

"News always travels fast when it concerns you." She sat up slowly. "You didn't think to tell me?"

"I didn't think I owed you an explanation."

Her smile flickered. "After everything we've been through?"

I shrugged off the coolly fur from my neck. "We've been through nothing, Isobel." I kept my voice flat.

"When - when my sister, your mate, died... remember I was here with you all through the dark nights..." she said, coming closer to me. "Do you forget how I kept you company when nobody in the pack understood? I shared your grief."

I closed my eyes, not wanting to remember that period of my life. Isobel is my dear Catriona's younger sister. After Catriona was killed by rogues, Isobel was very conveniently beside me.

She mourned her sister as i mourned my mate.

I pulled my hand away from her touch and brushed past her.

"You're cruel tonight," she said softly.

"I'm tired tonight." I walked to the washbasin and poured water over my hands. "Say what you came to say, and let me rest."

She came up to me and dried my hands using a soft napkin. "Who is she?" Isobel asked.

"Lady Flora of North London." I replied.

"I know her name." Isobel snarled. "I asked who she is. What is she doing here?"

"She is part of the contract between I and her father," I replied. "A peace treaty, if you will."

"So why are there rumors that she is your mate, Cameron?" Isobel's eyes flashed with rage.

"Because that is what she is now." I held her gaze. "My mate. My Luna. It is done."

Isobel's expression cracked. She looked like she would crumble, but then the mask returned. "You don't love her," she said in a matter of fact matter.

"No." I answered honestly.

She smirked. "You never will."

"That is none of your concern."

"It is entirely my concern." She stepped closer, her hand coming up to rest on my chest. "You loved Catriona. You mourned her. I waited for you, Cameron. For years. I waited for you to see me. And now you bring home a stranger and call her your mate?"

I removed her hand from my chest. Firmly. "You waited for nothing. I never promised you anything." I sighed.

"You didn't have to."

I released her hand and stepped back. "I'm tired, Isobel. Leave."

She stared at me. Her chest rose and fell quickly. Her eyes glittered with something between tears and rage. "You think i will just stand by and watch another girl come and take my place?"

"Isobel, it was never your place!" I growled. "Leave!"

"You will regret this!" She said angrily. "You and everyone in this pack will regret this. " She walked past me through the door, her shoulder brushing mine this time. She stopped in the corridor and looked back. "Goodnight, Cameron."

She did not wait for a reply. She walked away, her footsteps echoing on the stone until they faded into silence.

I stood there for a moment, my hand still raised from closing the door, wondering how I was in such a situation.

Why was my dead mate's sister obsessed over me?

"Our mate!!" My beast pounded in my head. "Mate! Mate!"

Before I could shut him up, Duncan's voice came through the mindlink; "Well?" I could hear the amusement even though i could not see his face. "That sounded like a pleasant little chat.""

"Not now, Duncan," I snarled.

"I'm outside. Let me in before I freeze my balls off." His voice said.

I crossed to the door and pulled it open. Duncan stood in the corridor, his arms crossed, his breath misting in the cold air. He took one look at my face and whistled low.

"She's gonnae be a problem, that one," he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "I have said it before, and I'll say it again... ye should have sent her packin' years ago."

"I know." I sank into the chair by the fire and stared at the empty hearth. The servants had let it die, and i was too tired to care.

Duncan dropped into a chair. "What did she want?"*

"What she always wants." I rubbed my eyes. "Me. The crown. The pack."

"And what did ye tell her?" He asked, pouring out a glass of Scotch into a cup and gulping.

I shrugged. "I told her that the Lady Flora is my mate. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Aye," Duncan poured a refill. "How did she take that?"

Cameron scoffed, not needing to answer that.

Duncan was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Ye know she might begin spreadin' rumors about the Ladt Flora soon.""

"What sort of rumors?"

Duncan shrugged. "I do not know. But she will sow seeds of d*****d in the pack to turn them against yer mate. And if she succeeds, ye'll have a rebellion on yer hands before the winter is over."

"I know." I sighed. I loved Lachlan as my Beta because he was a could think, and he told me things as they were without mincing the words.

"So what are ye gonnae do about it?" He asked, pinning me with a hard gaze.

I was silent for a long moment. Then I stood and walked to the window. The moon was high, casting silver light over the mountains. Somewhere out there, Flora was sleeping in a room Bonnie had prepared. "Lachlan," I said.

"Wha about him?" Duncan asked, confused.

"Put him at Flora's door. Tonight, and every night." I said.

Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Lachlan? You want the quiet mountain guardin' the Lady's door?"

I nodded. "He's the best warrior we have. He would not bother her with talking." I turned to face him. "... and if Isobel tries anything funny, he'll stop her."

Duncan smirked. "And if she does not try anything?"

"Then Flora has someone watching over her." I met his eyes. "She's alone here, Duncan. She has no one. I will not let my mate be harmed."

Duncan studied me for a long moment. Then he smiled slowly, "And you say you dinnae love her."

"I don't." I growled.

"Then why are ye puttin' yer best warrior at her door?" He asked me, his eyes twinkling with more amusement.

I didn't answer.

Duncan chuckled and stood. "That's what I thought." He clapped me on the shoulder. "I will tell Lachlan. And Cameron?"

"What?"

"I know it's your mating night, and you should be doing other activities with your mate, but you should get some sleep. Ye look like shite."

He walked out before I could respond, leaving me in the dark room.