TWO

CAMILLE'S POV (Three Months Later)

In the solitude of the Dumont family's new kitchen, I stirred the pot, the fragrant blend of herbs and spices enveloping me.

Cooking had become my sanctuary since I arrived in the Dumont family home and it had slowly become a grounding routine in this unfamiliar chapter of my life.

A soft knock interrupted my culinary focus. At the doorway stood a man with a basket of fresh vegetables.

"Hey, Camille," Hector greeted, his eyes crinkling with a warm smile. "What's cooking?"

"Something special," I replied.

Hector Menard was probably the one good thing that had happened to me since I was realized to be the long-lost daughter of Lucian Dumont, Alpha of the Lily of the Valley pack. He worked as a personal assistant to my biological father and was the son of the pack's Beta so he was always around the house. In this strange place that was supposed to be my home now, the goddess in her infinite mercy had given him to me as a mate and for that, I was eternally grateful.

Hector was a light for me in the Dumont house.

"I will leave you to it then," Hector said, dropping the vegetables.

Before he left though, he gave me a kiss on my cheek.

I continued my task, chopping the vegetables and sliding them into the simmering pot with the precision of a chef.

Once the meal was ready, I plated it into five portions and put them into a trolley.

"Let me help you with that, Lady Camille," A servant offered.

"Don't worry about it," I declined. This was my ritual.

I used my cooking as a way of reclaiming some sort of control in a world that sought to disrupt my sense of belonging.

The servants didn't like it. The Dumont family didn't like it either.

My biological father didn't oppose it. I wouldn't even know because we hardly talked. Since I had arrived at the family home, all I had gotten from him was a handshake. What sort of father did that when the daughter they had been searching hell and highwater for, for four years suddenly returned? I thought I would get some answers from him when I returned but all I got from a conversation I had to force with the man was that some malevolent faces switched me with Eva, my stepsister at birth.

Eva, my stepsister despised me. She didn't even make an effort to hide it. She could be an Oscar-worthy actress when father was around but when he wasn't which was more prominent than when he was, I was public enemy number one. In some twisted sense, I sort of understood her. While it wasn't my fault, my arrival must have shaken the world she knew. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her to learn that she was a stranger to Dumont's name and the Lily of the Valley pack when she had grown up with the mentality that she was going to one day ascend and take my biological father's place.

I proceeded to wheel the food to the dining room. When I was close enough, I could hear them chatter. It was a sharp contrast to what the room would have been like if it was me in that room. Sometimes I wondered why they uprooted me from the life I knew if this was how I was going to live.

I opened the door and the chatter immediately ceased.

Four pairs of eyes turned toward me. My new family, tied by blood, but not by choice.

With quiet determination, I took my place among them, wheeling the trolley to its spot.

Eva, the first to let out a whine, "Goddess, you cooked? Again?"

Alpha Lucien's stern voice cut through the tension, "Eva, be nice."

The command was as much for her as it was for the harmony of this newly formed family.

"We appreciate your cooking, Camille," Alpha Lucien continued. "But we have servants in the house for a reason. I think it is high time you stop doing their jobs for them. If the house bores you that much, you can pick up an interest in the affairs of the pack."

I heard Eva scoff at that. I nodded in understanding, knowing I would probably still defy him. I served my father first, then my stepmother.

Adele Dumont was the Luna of the Lily of the Valley pack. I initially thought she was my biological mother when I was returned to the Dumont house. But her reaction to my return was even worse than my father's. At first, that had destroyed me. To know that my biological mother had no love left to give me in her heart. But I came to quickly know that Adele never had any children. Lucian Dumont had married two women. Adele was the first but she was infertile and never had another so Lucian took another. The one that was supposed to be my mother and the one whose baby actually got switched. Knowing that didn't matter, considering she had died during childbirth. Eva had been raised by Adele. In fact, she loved the girl from what I could see but I couldn't say she felt the same about me.

I then served Hector and then Eva. The look she had on her face when she took a look at her plate broke my heart.

Placing my plate on an empty seat, I started eating, stealing glances at my newfound family.

Most of them started to eat too. Except Eva of course. She kept giving the food a disgusting look. So much so that it encouraged my father to speak up.

"Eva, dear, give it a chance," Alpha Lucien urged. "It is not bad and there is no texture to it."

Eva nodded and took her first bite The twisted expression on her face only became more obvious and she immediately spat it out.

"Ew! That is disgusting!"

That was when Alpha Lucien slammed his spoon on the table. The sound alone caused everyone to stop eating.

"Eva, apologize to Camille," he demanded sternly.

Eva scoffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "Why should I? The food is horrible, and it is my opinion."

"Eva!" Alpha Lucien's voice thundered, surprising everyone in the room, including Eva.

She shrunk, seemingly taken aback that her father would shout at her so loudly.

"You know what, I have lost my appetite. Enjoy the regurgitated vomit," she declared, pushing her chair back harshly before storming out of the dining room.

Alpha Lucien sighed, looking at me with a mix of frustration and disappointment. "I apologize for her behaviour, Camille. She is not usually like this."

I should go check on Eva," Hector volunteered, rising from his seat.

Alpha Lucien nodded appreciatively, and Hector left the room, leaving me alone with my new parents.

My stepmother was the first to break the silence. "Lucien, I think you should be kinder to Eva. Lashing at her just to appease...Camille isn't right. You have to understand that she's going through a difficult phase after all the revelations," she said with a measured tone. Then, she turned her gaze to me. "It would be the best for the family if the two did not harbour hatred for one another. It is the last thing the Dumont family needs."

"Don't you think, Camille?" Adele, my stepmother, directed her question toward me.

I could feel anger bubbling beneath the surface, a response to her deliberate provocation. I was going through a difficult phase too but I wasn't making it anybody's problem. However, I managed a nod, pretending like I could acknowledge the truth in Adele's words. "I'll go check on Eva, make sure there's no further conflict," I said, my voice steady.

Adele smiled, but I could tell it was plastic. "That is sweet of you, Camille."

I stood, feeling the weight of my decision. I was starting to miss home. The Gallagher home. At least I was loved. At least I was treated like a person and not an object. Despite my adoptive father pushing me away, I had called them since I arrived in the Dumont family home. They never once picked. Even when I used the cell phones of the servants in the house. It was like they knew it was me and they didn't want that stain close. That was what I felt like. I felt dirt.

The stairs creaked beneath me as I ascended, heading toward the turmoil that awaited. However, I was being the bigger person. Eva would probably use this chance to gloat. This was the first or the second or the third time she had done it.

In fact, the closer I got to her bedroom, the more I steeled myself for what was to come.

But when I reached Eva's bedroom, I was met with a sight that stole the air from my lungs.

Hector Mernard, my mate, was kissing Eva.

The fact that they were french kissing made it worse.

The shock held me frozen when I was supposed to confront them about it.

When the kiss broke, Eva seemed to snap back to reality. "Hector, we shouldn't be doing this. You have a mate."

With a conflicted expression, Hector replied, "I may be physically attracted to Camille, but you will always have my heart. If it wasn't for that forsaken mate bond, you know it is you I want."

The words cut through me like a knife, and bile rose in my throat.

Without a word, I turned and fled for my bedroom, not caring if they saw or heard me.

Once inside, I rushed to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before the contents of my stomach emptied in a painful purge.

I was such a fool. Hector was the only one I thought I had in this house. He was the only person who made it bearable all these months.

I looked at the ring he had given me just a month back. I had foolishly believed what we had was special that I didn't even question how fast things were going. But I had been wrong.

He was in love with Eva and what I saw didn't look like it just started. Hector might have always loved her.