Chapter 2 - Suspicion

Alina's Pov: 

The door that led to the room in which they were talking was a little bit open. From that little space, I could see Claire's hands on my mate's chest. 

Although he wasn’t holding her, I could feel something inappropriate was going through her mind again. How did she get Darius to miss out on a meeting that he had been looking forward to? 

Claire pressed her chest against his, leaving no space between them. 

That was it. 

I pushed the doors open, noisily announcing my presence. Even with me being there, Claire didn’t take her hands off my mate. When I glared at her hand placement for too long, she stylishly removed it while avoiding my gaze. 

“What's going on here? Why didn’t you show up at the introduction ceremony?” I asked sternly, my gaze fixated on her ‘shaking' body. She acted pitifully, coughing and hugging herself as though she were cold. 

Wasn't she the one rubbing my mate all over a few seconds ago? Why was she suddenly feeling sick the moment I arrived? 

“I'm sorry, Lina. I wasn’t feeling too strong. I was down with a cold.” 

She coughed again, but this time, harder. Darius moved quickly to rub her back and when she was feeling quite alright, she smiled at him and mouthed a ‘thank you'. 

I didn’t miss the way Darius smiled back at her. I was the only one whom he used to smile at. But now…

I took a deep breath. Maybe I was just overthinking things. Why would Darius have anything to do with my stepsister? I was his mate. I was his betrothed. 

“It's Alina to you, Claire. You’re not permitted to call me that. No one is, except my late mother. And why did you wait until the last minute to tell me you were sick? Did you know—” 

“Enough, Alina!” Darius yelled in a fit of rage. I was stunned, taken aback. That was the first time he had ever yelled at me. 

“You’re just being selfish. Can't you have sympathy for once? Your sister is terrified that she's getting married to an inhumane person. She’s terribly shaken and all you can do right now is scold her. Do you hate her that much?” 

“Excuse me? Hate her as how? If I hated her, do you think I would have covered up for her? What are you talking about?” I inquired, my voice softer than it should be. Maybe because I was talking to Darius. I had never raised my voice at him. 

“Instead of scolding her, why don't you look for a way to stop the marriage? You know how that man is.” He sounded desperate. 

I couldn’t tell why he was so against the marriage. It was a treaty to bring peace to the two packs. Did he like the war so much? Did he enjoy fighting and wasting innocent lives? 

“How? The Rogue king asked for this and she was chosen. There is no turning back. Our hands are tied. She’d have to marry him whether she liked it or not.” 

A sob rose from Claire's lips. She looked down, her tears dropping to the ground. This was what she always did. Cry and gain sympathy from everyone while making me look like a fool. 

“Did you see how angry he was when you didn’t show up? No, you didn’t. Because you were in here doing whatever you were doing. This isn’t going to help anyone. If you continue like this, we might all end up dead.” 

Claire's sobs became louder, her pale skin becoming dull. Her eyes and nose were red, her baby hairs fallen to her face. She was a beautiful and smart girl, one all men in the pack desired.

“No, I don’t want to marry him. He’s a monster. Please, Darius, I don’t want to. I want to stay here with you.” She begged him, her voice breaking. 

With him?

She tugged on the sleeves of his shirt, looking up to him with her big brown eyes. 

“This must be done, Claire. Or we end up doomed. The Rogue king has to leave with a bride.” I finalized. 

“So, you’d rather send her to die to save yourself, huh? Is that what you’re saying?” 

I scoffed, looking questioningly at the supposed levelheaded warrior who was standing before me. If I didn’t know about the mole on his neck and the faint battle scars on his arms, I would have concluded he had been swapped. 

“It’s not for me. It's for the pack. And besides, he’s not going to kill her. Why would he do that?” 

“He’s a Rogue, Alina,” Claire spoke up, her eyes glistening with tears. “He can do anything and no one will question him. I know you hate me so much but is that the kind of life you want for me?” 

Again with the hate. 

Why were they insisting I hated her when I just risked my life to stand up for her? Did they understand how scary it was to stand before Alpha Kain? His presence alone was a devastating aura. 

“Can’t you find someone to replace her, Alina?” He stepped forward. That was the first time he was close to me. All that while, he had been at Claire's side, shielding her from what I didn’t know. 

“You’re the next in line to the throne. You can definitely find someone else who has no status.” He held my arms and looked straight into my eyes. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t seeing the man I loved. I was seeing someone who wanted to protect another person other than his mate. 

“Did you think about what would happen to me if he found out that I tricked him?” My eyes glistened but I wasn’t dumb enough to cry in front of him. Right now, he wasn’t thinking about me. 

I looked at Claire who was still shaking in her boots. 

“There’s nothing I can do for you. You have to accept your fate.” 

“Never!” Darius pushed me, making me stagger a bit. 

He ran his fingers through his hair, his deep blue eyes shut. As he raised his chin, I saw the stubble I always loved touching whenever he wasn’t on the battlefield. He was always calm, so calm that people always wondered how he survived during fights. 

He never yelled, never raised his voice, and was always smiling at me so lovingly. 

Where was all this rage coming from? 

“Over my dead body will he have her. I don’t care what you think but I will never allow Claire to marry that man. Even if it means I have to run away with her.” 

That statement made my heart prick but it made Claire's face light up. Suddenly, she was no longer shaking. She was smiling victoriously while I stood in awe. 

Was this the same Darius that I got engaged to? 

“Run away? Darius, can you listen to yourself? You’re not saving her. You’re trying to get us all killed!” 

In pain that my mate was defending someone other than me, I raised my voice. My heart was heavy with ache, threatening to burst open. 

“Someone else can take her place. Someone of the same status.” 

I pursed my lips, my fingers digging into the sides of my bulky gown. 

If there was one thing I hated myself for, it would be the ability to always read hidden meaning in someone's words. 

“Are you saying that…” I paused, bracing myself for whatever answer I would get. “...I should replace her?” 

“No, love, no,” He trudged forward and grabbed my arms in a bid to reassure me. 

“I would never think of that. You are my mate and I would never allow you to marry him either. But I can’t stand injustice. This is not what Claire wants and you know it.” 

“But there’s nothing we can do…” I was tired of having that discussion. He stepped back, nodding knowingly. He took Claire's hand and brushed past me. 

“If you’re not going to do anything, I will.” Together they walked away. Before they completely disappeared out of sight, Claire turned back, touched Darius's arms, and smiled at me. 

I was too stunned to move or say anything. Was I missing…something?