DOPPELGANGER

Freya's POV:

Mate.

The word kept ringing in my head as I stared at Duncan.

There was no way he was joking in this type of situation. A part of me wanted to run to him and bombard him with questions, but I knew better than to do that.

Lucien looked confused but not surprised, as if he knew all along. Did he figure it out before the blood rage night?

Were they playing me like they did with the other girl Sophie told me about? 

The thought of it made my heart ache as I realised how cheap I'd been… getting attracted to two friends.

“Duncan, what is this nonsense?” A man whom Duncan resembled so much asked with a type of harshness that made me take a step back.

“Maybe he's finally also mad,” a lady muttered with a smirk, earning her chuckles among the other people except Duncan's father.

Also? Was someone else mad?

There was a lot going on here and, from the looks of things, I was the only one left far behind once again.

“Lucien,” I whispered, but he didn't look at me.

I didn't know if he hadn't heard me, or if he was just pretending not to. His hands were clenched into a tight ball, and it took me by surprise.

I don't think there's ever been a time when Lucien was this riled up.

“Don't you dare start with me,” Duncan muttered, his voice low and controlling.

The elders seemed to keep quiet, noticing his demeanour. He wasn't the golden retriever I thought he was and Lucien was definitely not the emotionless person he seemed to be.

“We're going to sort you out later,” the same lady said, waving her hand in some sort of dismissal.

I didn't like her.

And Lucien and Duncan seemed to feel the same way.

“Prince Lucien, why are you here?” 

This was the first time someone was ever referring to his real title and, for some reason, he didn't seem to like it.

“I'm here for my… slave.”

His words brought a certain type of shame that made me bow my head and stared at my feet.

I knew that this was my fate and I'd been here for months, but I still wasn't used to it.

“Do you have a pass?” Another elder who had been quiet all along asked.

Duncan was the one that replied this time, taking a step forward as if he wanted to challenge them.

“Why would he need one when he's an ally?”

“This is why you aren't fit to be an Alpha just yet, Duncan,” the lady replied with a bored look, her eyes narrowed at Duncan.

“I don't think you deserve to be up there, Evelyn.”

Everywhere went quiet again as if there was another unspoken incident. These people had several secrets in their lives, and they all seemed to be dirty ones.

“Prince Lucien, you know the rules and no one is above them,” Evelyn said, her attention now on Lucien.

“If that's how it works, then indeed, you shouldn't be up there,” Lucien replied, coolly with his hands behind his back.

It seemed like he had hit a nerve with the way Evelyn looked around, searching for help among her minions.

What was this rule that she broke? Why didn't Duncan tell me that I was his mate? 

He doesn't want you.

The voice in my head gave me the reply I had been avoiding. 

It was clear that Duncan didn't want a low-status human as his mate, and although I couldn't blame him for that, it still hurt. 

“Prince Lucien, I fear that you have to return and come back when you have a pass,” Duncan's father spoke, his voice wavering a bit.

It seemed like he was scared of something, but what exactly? 

Lucien glanced at Duncan, and they seemed to share a conversation with just that look. Lucien looked back at the Alpha then nodded, “I'll do just that.”

“Everyone is dismissed then,” the Alpha said almost immediately, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“What about what I said?” Duncan asked, clearly not ready to leave.

The Alpha stood on his feet slowly, showing that he was too old to still be in that seat. 

I had concluded that he was going to ignore his son before he finally said, “We'll talk about it privately.”

His eyes landed on me and I froze until he glanced away. It was clear that the meeting was over and that was our cue to leave.

Apart from the shocking revelation, the meeting didn't seem to go that badly, although Lucien and Duncan had a grim expression that had me wondering what I missed out on.

The large detailed door opened once more and Sophie ran towards us with a curious look as her gaze bounced from one person to another.

“How did it go?” She asked, pushing her red hair that failed to stay in one place, out of her face. 

No one replied for a while, and we just silently walked towards the main exit when Lucien said, “I need to get a pass from my father.”

“Shit,” Sophie muttered as her face turned grim too. 

It was clear that there was something I didn't know about. I wanted to know but what mattered to me right now was Duncan, who was trying his best to avoid eye contact with me. 

“I'll be back soon,” Lucien said to me, distracting me for a second.

Before I could nod, he used his vampire speed to run off, leaving a harsh wind in his wake. 

We had barely gotten outside when Duncan came to a sudden halt. His eyes were on his sister, not me, as if I didn't exist and that didn't only hurt me but also got on my nerves.

“I need to sor-

“We need to talk,” I cut him off when it became clear that he was looking for a reason to run away.

My voice seemed to have left Sophie confused while Duncan mistakenly met my eyes.

Everywhere went quiet as we stared at each other, although my eyes seemed to stay in one place unlike his.

He finally broke eye contact then let out a sigh as if he was torn. I didn't care about how tired he looked, I wanted answers.

“I want answers right now.”

Duncan looked over my head as if he was trying to put his thoughts together while Sophie kept asking what was going on.

“Let's talk about this later, please,” he pleaded with a strained voice. 

My heart softened a bit when I heard him, but before I could make a decision, he ran off. 

“What happened?” Sophie asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

I didn't reply, I just stood there, completely pissed about how the two of them thought it was okay to treat me this way just because I'm a slave. 

“I feel like I'm always left out,” Sophie muttered in a frustrated tone before she grabbed my hand and took me to only God knows where. 

Just as we were about to make a turn, something at the corner caught my eye and when I turned to get a proper look, she was there again.

Her image seemed to be a lot clearer, and she seemed more human, but her unnatural pale skin gave her out.

“What's wrong?” Sophie asked me, but I couldn't find it in me to talk.

She wasn't the same ethereal girl that I had seen the last time and the way she stared at me made goosebumps rise on my skin.

It wasn't the fact that she looked as if she had just taken a bath, nor was it because she looked as if she was… pissed while staring at me.

My issue was that this wasn't the face I had seen the last time.

The last time in the kitchen, her face had not been so clear, but this time, I could see it well.

She looked like me. It was as if I was staring at myself and a gasp slipped out of my lips before I even realised it. 

Her eyes widened at my reaction, as if she was actually there. 

As if I wasn't hallucinating this time and that had my heart thumping loudly. 

Something was definitely wrong somewhere.