Chapter four

Davina

 It was exactly four full moons after our mating ceremony–I had been counting– and I was still not used to the stranger who had become my mate by providence. We managed to put up a good performance on the day of the mating ceremony for the sake of the pack and I had held back my disgust when people winked suggestively at us. They expected me to be glad that I had snagged a supposedly handsome younger man as a mate compared to the much older Alpha I was to marry earlier on. Mating would be easier with a younger man, they assumed. If only they knew how wrong they were.

 Sitting in my room for hours was both advantageous and disadvantageous. On one hand, it would limit the number of times I had to see Keith and as a result, reduce exchanging words with him. On the other hand, however, I would get nothing done all day and the pack’s growth was of utmost importance to me. 

 “Lily, have you seen Kei—the Alpha today?” I spat out the honourific reluctantly. Goddess knew he was undeserving of it. 

 My handmaid leaned off the wall she had been slouching against, desperate for something to do. I was used to being independent and so, I rarely ever needed her except to be my eyes and ears.

 “He is with his Beta in the throne room, Mistress.”

 Of course, he was with Jason, the only person who liked him despite his appalling manners. Perhaps it was because they both shared the same ideologies and since Keith returned from exile, only Jason believed that he had not committed the crime he had been accused. It took a hard man to commit murder, yet it took a guileless monster to murder the woman who gave him life. It was an offense worthy of death and again, he had returned on the very day his father was poisoned. The coincidence was too slim and I was not fooled by the explanation he gave the council.

 “Fetch me my shawl, Lily. I want to make a visit to a pack member. You know Old Willow? She has been complaining of a back ache and I want to know if the remedy I recommended to her served her well.”

 Lily curtsied as required of servants and went in search of my favourite shawl. It was a sapphire blue woolen affair, a mating gift from my father and I was partial to it. It did not take her long to find it but she moved so mechanically that my curiosity was piqued. She knew something and she was keeping it from me so as not to offend me. However, keeping a secret was just another means to incur my wrath.

 “Lily,” I called after her as she planned to return to her usual slouch. 

 “Mistress?” she replied in a jolt, avoiding my eyes intentionally.

 “Tell me what you know before I rip it out of your throat.”

 She whitened at once, her fingers tangled together in fright. Her brown doe eyes were larger than usual and beads of sweat that weren’t there before popped up on her forehead. Whatever it was that got her that worried was probably very crucial.

 “It’s. . . it’s the. . . the. . .um. . . the Alpha.”

 “What happened to the Alpha? Quit stuttering like an imbecile and tell me what is the matter!”

 Lily’s wolf whimpered in response to my impatience and my anger relented a notch. It was true that I was an Alpha female but as a Luna, I was to be the coolness to my mate’s heat, the yin to his yang and a mother to the rest of the pack. Lily though a servant was a pack member regardless and deserved to be treated as one. I gestured for her to come closer and she did, still wary of my mood swings.

 “Now, take a deep breath and tell me what the Alpha said.”

 My gentle words seemed to do the trick and in the next second, she was singing like a bird. 

 “The Alpha instructed that you were not to leave the House of Alphas without his permission. We servants were ordered to alert him if you tried to do otherwise.”

 “And all the guards are aware of this? When was this order passed?” I swallowed my wounded pride and vexation, a hard knot to push down my throat. 

 “He left us his instructions yesterday just after your. . .” She left the rest of her sentence unsaid and rather stared at me shyly, embarrassed all of a sudden. I caught her meaning and fought the childish urge to roll my eyes. Anyone with ears and unfortunately, we were creatures with enhanced hearing, knew that Keith and I had a big fight the previous night. It was over a mild issue that had escalated out of control and I was still partially ashamed of my reaction to his irritating behaviour. I had been trained to be a leader all my life and perhaps, I could have handled the situation with more intelligence.

 It was no surprise that after our quarrel, he had garnered the guts to declare such a nonsensical decree. I refused to take his insult lying down and wrapping my shawl around my shoulders, I prepared myself for battle.

 “Come with me, Lily.”

 She followed after me silently and I tried to apply grace to my footsteps as we passed by the guards. They bowed in respect to my station and the door to the throne room was pushed open upon my arrival. Laughter heralded my entrance which was halted as two pairs of eyes– one golden while the other azure–turned to me. 

 “Finally, my Luna has come out of her self–inflicted prison to see me. Are you here to join us? One would think that with the level you accord yourself, you would be wise enough to knock before entering,” Keith mocked me, not minding that we had company. Jason had the indecency to grin and I glared at him, daring him to make a peep. I could never stand him and I didn’t know what Keith saw in him that qualified him as a good enough Beta.

 “I don’t need to knock because this room is mine as well as yours. That’s my seat beside you,” I reminded him behind clenched teeth.

 “Yet you spend little time in here, preferring to hole up in your room. It’s no skin off my nose for you are nothing good to look at. State your business and be gone. We were having a meaningful discussion before you barged in here.”

 My fingers snapped one after the other in my bid to remain calm. I almost popped a vein in my neck and I saw red. I was not a slave to be dismissed and he treated me like the carpet underneath his feet. However, I was determined not to give him the benefit of knowing that he had made me lose my cool for two nights in a row. 

 “I heard of your instructions to the servants. Do you mind explaining what you meant by that?” Unawares, my feet were moving towards him and I noticed that he was not as relaxed as he seemed when I was afar. My proximity was disturbing him for some unknown reason and he shut his eyes briefly, beautiful amber orbs fixed on my every move. When I found myself in front of him, he cursed colourfully under his breath.

 “Jason, leave us. You may return when she leaves. Lily, you are dismissed.”

 Jason left first, followed by Lily. As the door closed behind her, the silence reminded me that I was left alone with my annoying mate. Before I could continue to argue my case, he interrupted me with a question:

 “What on earth do you have on, woman?”