Chapter 4

Layla’s POV

“This is Camila, the new Delta.”

Even as I say the words, I feel the nausea roll in my gut. Does Alexander not understand how this feels? Was this his plan all along? To bring in his fated mate and replace me?

I stare at the girl as she meets the other Deltas. My eyes find MY MOTHER’S necklace as it hangs around her scrawny neck, and I bite my tongue.

It felt like an ultimate betrayal, like the floor disappearing from beneath my feet. Now, I’m falling. Everything I thought was mine is gone. Stolen by this little rogue.

As Camila walks away from the Deltas she was speaking with, they glance at me. The skeptical sparks in their eyes aren’t surprising, but they don’t say anything. News about her being the King’s fated mate has already spread, and no one dares speak out against her.

After making her rounds, Camila comes back to my side and follows me to her desk.

“Your first duty is to log the rogue list,” I tell her, trying to stay professional. I don’t need any more trouble from her or Alexander.

The completely bewildered stare I receive from Camila makes me sigh. Not only do I have to take her on, but she’s completely clueless about tasks as simple as imputing data into the computer.

Before I can respond, tears fill the girl’s eyes, and she blurts, “I’m so sorry, Delta Layla. I’m too stupid, and I’m just holding you back.”

“What happened here?”

I turn to, yet again, find Alexander lurking in the doorway. Again, his eyes are on Camila, but for a moment, a scathing glare finds me as he growls, “Are you making this difficult for her?”

I want to scoff… to laugh… to cry.

“I—”

An overly dramatic cry from Camila has Alexander kneeling at her side and wrapping his arms around her. The way he cradles her, brushes her tears away, and gently comforts her has my heart aching again.

“It’s alright, Camila,” Alexander whispers as he holds her. “You don’t need to blame yourself for not knowing something. Even Layla had to start with menial tasks but look at her now.”

I bite back a sharp retort. If I’d made such a mistake back then, I would’ve been swiftly and harshly reprimanded. There was no coddling or comforting. I scan the room, noticing the looks of disapproval from the other Deltas as they watch the situation unfold.

A few of them step closer, looking ready to defend me, but I hold my hand up.

“Layla is the most competent and brilliant Delta in our Kingdom’s history. How could you compare her to a Delta who has just started that has not been tested and lacks basic skills, Alpha?” Ben complains, crossing his arms.

A growl rises from Alexander as his face darkens and his eyes turn to the room, “Layla will teach her, and if Camila can’t learn what she needs to succeed, it is the teacher’s fault.”

The room falls silent, and we all watch Alexander take Camila’s hand and lead her from the room with the announcement that they’ll be back after lunch.

The moment Alexander and Camila are gone, the Deltas swarm me. Questions and complaints fill the air, too many to decipher. They grow so loud, I have to shout, “Silence!” to get them to back off.

“The Alpha’s commands are given,” I state, my posture stiffening as I swallow the bitterness rising in my throat. “We will do our jobs.”

***

With a sigh of relief, I kick my shoes off just inside the door. A shower and dinner sound phenomenal right now, so I head toward the bedroom only to find the sound of running water already going.

What’s more surprising is the sight of Alexander naked in the shower when I enter the bathroom. He looks up as I enter, and a flush of heat runs through my body. His taut, gorgeous body on display like this has me moving closer. Like always, the physical attraction is there. Hot and heavy, and I can’t stop myself from looking.

He steam from the shower thickens the air, and my heart picks up pace, thudding loudly in my chest. I reach out, my fingers barely brushing over his muscular bicep. Just one touch sends a shiver though me, the memories of our times together filling my mind.

He grabs me by the waist, pulling me into the shower and drenching me in water. His mouth is on me in seconds, harsh and heavy, giving me goosebumps. I lean into him, my fingers digging into his sides as his spicy, warm scent fills me.

“Alexand—”

A moan falls from my mouth as his tongue runs along the mate mark on my collar, sending a shiver down my spine.

Heat pools in my core, but I suddenly remember all too clearly the events of the last two days.

“A-Alexander, stop.”

I push back and stare at him, wishing the last two days were a nightmare.

“Do you really intend to make Camila your Luna?” I hate the question as it leaves my lips, but I have to know. Why would he be here if he was?

Alexander stays silent for a moment before answering, “Camila is my fated mate, and this is the law of the kingdom.”

The law. That’s all he cares about.

“Then what happens to me?” I ask, pulling further away. My back hits the shower wall, my heart thumping loudly as I wait for his answer.

He sighs and cuts the water off. “Our prenuptial agreement covers the event of me finding a fated mate. The agreement stated that if I were to find my fated mate, you and I would divorce, and you could not interfere in—”

Each of his words was a knife to my heart, cutting it into pieces. I turn and leave. I don’t want to hear any more, but like with everything else, I don’t get much of a choice because Alexander follows me.

A chill falls over me as he chases, his words only increasing the pain, “I’ll provide you with compensation as our agreement stipulated.”

I never cared about the money.

I want to scream the words, but he won’t listen. He never noticed I didn’t touch his money, anyway.

“You won’t go public with it,” I state more than ask, and he nods. Nothing matters more than my baby’s safety right now, and if that means keeping our relationship a secret, I’ll do that.

Given Alexander’s status and what he said before, he would surely kill an illegitimate child for the sake of his new Luna. He might even try to manipulate the situation and look at a child as proof of ‘infidelity.’

I would be killed.

My only option is to leave.

“When will you reject me?”

Displeasure and anger fill his eyes at my question, but he has no right to be upset. Standing her, cold, soaking wet, and on the verge of breaking down, I’m the one who should be upset.

The cold sets in, seeping into my bones and making me shiver as Alexander glares.

“Camila is too young,” he says, “I want to wait until she is twenty and more mature to become my Luna. Until then, our relationship will remain the same as it has been the last five years. After all, my wolf still craves your body and I will need a release since I can’t be with my fated mate.”

I want to throw up.

Memories of our first time together flash through my mind, throwing my own foolishness in my face. I wasn’t twenty when we first came together, but Alexander didn’t care then.

My body begins to shake—perhaps from the cold or perhaps from something else. I don’t know. All I know is I need to get out of here.

When Alexander moves to embrace me, he tries to pull me into his chest. His arms aren’t tight around me, but I can’t stop wondering if he’s only here for sex or to fulfill his wolf’s craving. I can’t do that. Not anymore. His roughness in bed and the lack of care could hurt the baby, so I stand my ground and pull myself out of his warm arms.

“What the hell, Layla?” He asks, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. His eyes move down my body then back up to my face, the confusion and softness morphing to anger. “Are you so desperate for a divorce to find your ‘true love’ that you’ve finally stopped pretending?”

I just stare at him. What is he talking about? There is no one else.

With a huff and a muttered curse, Alexander storms out of the room, leaving me alone.

Third Person POV

In the castle of the Thornheart Kingdom, the newly crowned King looks down on his brother, Vincent.

“I have found our missing sister,” the King announces. His younger brother’s head snaps up, a smile filling his face, as the King continues, “She is in the Stormhowl Kingdom.”

“I’m familiar with the Kingdom. I can go there and personally escort her home,” Vincent says, happiness filling his heart.

“Then go. Find our sister and bring her home.”