PEACE? IN THIS HOUSE?

SERA'S POV

I never expected that our visit to Anna’s shrine would start with drama. But knowing Mia, anything was possible. As soon as Anna opened the door and let us in, Mia went straight to the point, not even giving Anna a chance to settle.

"My brother told me there is no solution to the curse in our land?" Mia asked, standing tall and proud like she owned the shrine.

Anna froze for a second. I noticed it. Mia noticed it. Even a blind person would have noticed it. That pause was suspicious. Mia narrowed her eyes and asked, "What is that look?"

Anna blinked and tried to act normal, but the damage was already done. She had been caught off guard.

"I never believed he would tell you," Anna finally said, looking around like someone who had just been exposed on national TV. "It was a huge secret."

"Yes, it is," Mia said, folding her arms. "So what is the solution?"

Anna didn’t answer right away. Instead, she asked another question, which only made Mia's eyes roll like a soccer ball. "What did he tell you?" Anna asked calmly.

I was just standing there, watching them like a referee in a wrestling match. I didn’t plan to talk. I really didn’t. But then Anna turned and gave me this weird look. Not a normal look, not even a suspicious look. It was... something else. Like she was trying to send me a secret message through her eyeballs.

Mia looked confused. I was confused too. But that look meant something. I just didn’t know what.

"I don't know yet," Anna said, pretending to be casual. "Still looking into it."

That was it. I lost it.

"Stop lying, witch," I blurted out before I could stop myself. The words just jumped out of my mouth like popcorn in hot oil. "I know he mind linked you earlier. What did he tell you?"

Anna was clearly shocked, but she covered it up faster than a cat hiding its poop. She switched back into her priestess role and said, "How dare you speak to the God's instrument that way?"

"Oh, please," I muttered under my breath.

"What are you talking about, Sera?" Mia asked, clearly confused.

"Let’s go, Mia," I said, brushing imaginary dust off my dress. "This witch won’t tell us anything."

I stood up like a queen ending a boring meeting.

But Mia was not done being nosy. "What do you mean by Victor mind linked Anna? How do you even know that?" she asked.

I stopped walking and turned to face her. Sometimes being taller than her was a blessing, but at that moment, it just made the whole scene more dramatic.

"I can't really say," I replied, my voice low. "But I felt Alpha Victor mind link her when we were at the hall talking to him earlier."

"Since when did you develop this ability?" Mia asked with her hands on her hips, like a mom catching her child sneaking cookies.

"That moment," I said with a shrug. "It was like I was feeling what he was feeling. I felt he was lying. He is not telling us something."

Now, here’s the part that made my day a little worse.

Later that evening, I got invited to have dinner at the palace. Since I now live there, I couldn’t say no. Not because I wanted to impress Victor, oh no. I just didn’t want him to give me one of his famous evil stares or say something ridiculous like "You smell like a goat." So, I had to look decent.

I took a bath, wore something nice but simple, and went to the dining room. It was just me, Mia, and Victor at the table. The silence was louder than thunder. No one said anything. Just the sound of forks and knives scraping plates.

Then suddenly, I coughed. I didn’t do it for attention. The food had simply betrayed me. A piece got stuck, and my throat decided to panic. I coughed hard.

Before I could embarrass myself completely, Victor passed me a glass of water. I stared at it like it was a flying unicorn. Why was he being... nice?

After I drank the water, he asked, "Is that okay?"

"Yes, Alpha," I replied. I didn’t know what else to say.

Mia, however, wasn’t buying the kindness.

"I can't let you treat my friend nicely within, but like trash publicly," she snapped.

I wanted to disappear.

Victor sighed and spoke softly, "I don't have time for this discussion tonight. Please let me eat in peace."

Mia laughed like a villain in a cartoon. "Peace? There won't be peace until you tell me why you mind linked Anna when we were talking at the hall. And what did you tell her?"

Victor’s fork stopped moving.

"What the fuck are you saying?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

Mia leaned back in her chair like she had just won a court case.

"It seems you've forgotten that my friend Sera is now linked to you since she is your Luna. The true Luna you rejected," she said with drama. "She feels everything you feel. So she knows when you mind link Anna."

Thanks, Mia. Thanks a lot.

I hated how she dragged me into it. Again.

Victor turned to me with a different expression. It was not his usual anger. It was deeper. Like he just found out his favorite shirt was used to clean dog poop.

"Since you want to know, it was an Alpha business," he said coldly. "It wasn’t anything related to our earlier discussion."

Then Mia looked straight at me.

"Is he telling the truth?" she asked, her eyes searching mine like a lie detector machine.

In that moment, my heart started racing like a drum in a rock concert. Victor already hated me enough. I didn’t want more of that from him. But Mia was my best friend. I couldn’t lie to her.

Or maybe... I could.

"He is saying the truth," I replied, my voice steady, even though I knew it was a lie.

And I hated that I had just lied to Mia. I really, really hated it.