Siblings
“Camilla, what did you do…?!” Rita said within herself as she stared suspiciously at Camilla, who sat quietly, watching the situation unfold.
The air was very heavy, with Roxanne’s shocking discovery, Camilla’s unknown motive, and Rita’s position.
“Camilla, why did you…”
As Rita was about to question her best friend as to why she told Roxanne the truth, the latter would not let her complete her query.
“Just answer me, Rita. I couldn’t care less about what Camilla said. What I care about is what you have to say about it!” Roxanne stated.
Rita looked into Roxanne’s passionate eyes and also felt a tinge of guilt seeping within her. It was time to come clean. She knew she had no other choice, but Rita was still scared. Scared that Roxanne would feel too betrayed to want to remain friends with her, scared that she would make Roxanne have second thoughts about the decision she made earlier, and look at her previous actions in a wrong light.
Still, she had to say the truth to her. Roxanne was her friend, she wasn’t going to lie, especially when she didn’t know just how much Camilla told her.
“It’s true. Asher and I are siblings. We share the same blood, that is the blood of the previous Alpha of the Rockwood Pack. That being said, we have different mothers.” Rita explained.
“So it was true… But why didn’t you say anything Rita? We’ve had many chances to talk about Asher, and about you… Yet why didn’t you ever make the connection known to me?” Roxanne croaked, a tinge of hurt could be heard from her tone.
“Could you give us the room, Camila?” Rita said to Camilla, with an irritated look.
Camilla didn’t budge and merely looked surprised by Rita’s action.
“Now, Camilla! I mean it!” Rita emphasised.
“Fine, fine…” Camilla sighed, rising from her seat with a dejected look.
“Why don’t you let her stay? Isn’t she your best friend?” Roxanne scoffed.
“Not now Roxanne. I’ll explain everything as soon as she leaves the room.” Rita said with a serious demeanour.
She had a frown on her face, showing she meant business. Camilla, in contrast, was smiling. This made Rita look even more annoyed.
“It’s fine. I’ll be waiting in one of the rooms. Fortunately, I still know the way around your home.” Camilla muttered.
“No. You’ll have to leave this house. I’m no fool Camilla. The distance of any room in this house is nothing when your wolf ears are involved” Rita kept looking suspicious.
“Jeez, what are trying to insinuate Rita? That I would demean myself to eavesdropping on your conversation with Roxanne. Is there really anything worth my time in it?” Camilla asked .
“I don’t know… Is there?” Rita eyed.
“Oh? I see. It’s fine then.” Camille resigned, sighing dejectedly. She walked over to where her boots were hung. They were black, the deep kind.
She wore her boots with ease and smiled once again at the two other young women in the room.
“Just so you know, I only told Roxanne because she questioned my relationship with you and then Asher. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. Besides, she was bound to find out the connection on her own soon anyway” Camilla said as she walked out the door.
Rita maintained her stern and unchanged expression, still adamant in Camilla leaving the house. Roxanne could do nothing but stare at Rita as she did such to her ‘best friend’.
It made Roxanne wonder how far Rita would go when it came to regular friends if she treated best friends that way.
Finally, Camilla left the house and closed the door behind her.
Rita sighed after she saw Camilla leaving her sight. She used one hand to support herself, placing it in her hip, while she placed the other on her head as she brooded on matters Roxanne could only guess.
“Perhaps I was too harsh on her…” She considered it.
However, Rita was sure she made the right call. Camilla didn’t know about Roxanne’s engagement with Asher, and she was not allowed to. It was Asher’s business and the affair of the Rockwood Pack until he decided to make it public. Sending her out was the only way to preserve the information that would be spilled in her conversation with Roxanne.
“Rita…”
Roxanne’s voice stirred Rita from her solitary thoughts. She snapped back to reality and then a cloud covered her face. She was clearly not in her happy mood. She knew she had a lot of explaining to do.
Why she hid her connection to Asher.
“I-I’m sorry Roxanne. I know it was cowardly of me to do it, but I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to see me the same way you viewed Asher.” Rita revealed
“W-Why would I…?!” Roxanne muttered.
“You may not have noticed, but you never stop talking about how you’d rather die than have anything to do with him. Remember when you first came here? I tried to explain things to you, but you wouldn’t listen. I knew I couldn’t tell you the truth then, so I decided to wait it out until you met Asher. At least you would feel what I did for Dax if you met him, or so I thought. Well, we both know how that turned out, don’t we? The more time passed with you, the more I became afraid of telling you the truth, the fact that I’m Asher’s half sister” Rita explained.
Roxanne tried her best to listen to her without bias, though it was near impossible to do so. However, Roxanne could understand Rita’s perspective. Besides, it’s not like she actively concealed it. It’s just that she never mentioned it to Roxanne, it’s not like Roxanne asked any question in that aspect in any of their conversations.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t let go of the thought that perhaps Rita had done all she did because of her potential as Asher’s mate, and not because of the reason she believed. She always thought Rita appeared too desperate for her friendship. Initially she just guessed Rita was weird, or a lonely woman. But, considering she had a friend like Camilla, that began to appear doubtful.
If the reason for that was just because Roxanne would marry her brother, then Roxanne didn’t know what to think about their friendship.
“But Roxanne… I don’t want you to misunderstand my intentions toward you! It’s true that I want you to accept Asher as your mate, but it’s not because I’m his sister or anything. It’s because I truly want you to be happy, without any regrets. Your mate is your second half, even your mother said so. I never lied about it.” Rita stated.
“Our friendship, everything… I didn’t deceive you, neither did I try to get closer to you because of your prospects. I admit, it makes me happy whenever I think we will become family, but it’s more than that for me Roxy! I truly see you as a friend, not just my brother’s mate!”
“B-But that’s absurd! There’s no way you’d be so interested in me purely out of goodwill. Did Asher put you up to it? You just have had another motive, if not it doesn’t make sense. Why would someone like you try so hard to be friends with someone like me? I don’t understand it… I can’t!” Roxanne said.
Rita kept quiet as she watched Roxanne vent her anger and insecurity on her.
“You are right… I did have one motive for going so far” Rita muttered.
“I knew it! You…”
“I was just so very interested in you. I initially thought I could use you to satisfy my limited knowledge and curiosity about your modern and normal life” Rita revealed.
“Y-You really…” Roxanne geared suspiciously.
“But that was actually before I came to know you, Roxy!” She added.
This made Roxanne’s eyes bulge with surprise.
“You’re smart, strong, confident… Yes, you can be a brat sometimes and act like a kid, you’re someone who can deeply trust someone. From your reaction now, I can tell that you trust me. That’s why, even when Camilla told you those things, you still decided to ask me yourself…. I also know that you get hurt easily… That’s why, Roxy, I want to be your friend. It’s simply because I like who you are.” Rita concluded with a smile.
Her words warmed Roxanne’s heart, so much so that she slowly forgot the pangs of pain sown by Camilla’s words. Clearly, Rita didn’t mean to hurt her. She was someone she could trust, someone who had her back.
“Yeah… Thanks Rita. I’m sorry for doubting you…” Roxanne let out, nearly tearing up.
“Yeah, I’m sorry too…” Rita replied, feeling the same way.
It didn’t take much for the two to be convinced that their friendship was safe. Such a matter became nothing to them, smiling as though nothing had happened, to the disappointment of someone who overheard them from outside the house.
Rita’s house, no, all the houses in the community were rigged in such a way that no werewolf could overhear whatever occurred within it. So, as long as the werewolf was outside, they would not be able to listen to the conversation they had.
However, Camilla didn’t need to rely on her superhuman hearing to play spy. This was because she had quite the trick of her own. Technology was the key in such a situation. By simply planting a bug in the living room earlier, she overheard Roxanne and Rita’s every conversation. Even as she sat on a tree quite some distance from their home, she could hear everything. Such were the wonders of technology.
“It is as father said… So Asher has gotten himself a mate… How unfortunate” Camilla commented.
Camilla’s face broke into a wide grin, not the usual friendly smile she gave in the presence of the other women. No, this was more twisted, contorted in a manner not suitable for others to see.
“In that case… I just have to proceed with the plan… Roxanne, it’s a pity. You seemed like such a good girl too…” She added in a whisper.
“What is that about Roxanne?” A voice suddenly cut into Camilla’s loud thoughts.
Immediately, Camilla’s skin jumped in surprise as she reacted to the voice. It was a masculine one, and from the sound she heard, it came from the foot of the tree. She looked down and saw a man she did not recognize. He had freckles across his cheeks and looked innocent, about her age but he had the appearance of a pushover.
“Who’s that? Most likely an Omega” She said within herself.
The young man laughed when she glared at him in a suspicious manner.
“I can guess what you’re thinking. ‘Who’s that? Most likely an Omega’… Right?” He said.
Her eyes widened as she heard this.
“It can’t be! Could it be that he knows Wolf Art?” She thought to herself.
“Could it be that he knows Wolf Art?” He mimicked her thoughts.
“Y-You…” She said in an annoyed tone, not appreciating how he seemed to be messing with her.
“Ah, now, now… Let’s not be too hasty” He said with a calm smile.
Camilla felt nervous. He appeared so weak, yet something about him seemed intimidating. Also, how long had he been standing there? She didn’t notice him the whole time until he spoke. Sure, she was concentrating on the conversation of Roxanne and Rita, but her senses weren’t so dull that she wouldn’t be able to pick up the sound of someone approaching her.
The most important question that rang through her mind though, was…
“Did he hear me?”
As she thought it in her head, he repeated the same with his calm and slightly deep tone. After he said this he gave her a sly gaze, making her feel even more afraid of his existence.
“Well, you are not wrong on any count. I am merely a simple Omega. One who has obtained an ancient Wolf Art, and one who managed to watch you while you eavesdropped on those unsuspecting young women in their house, the same one who listened to your thoughts, both the ones you mentioned and the ones within you” He stated.
“I know why you are here, Camilla!”
“How does he know my…” Before she finished her thoughts, she saw him raise an eyebrow, and then found it pointless to even complete what she was thinking about. Since he figured out everything else, what was her name compared to that?
“So… What will you do? You’re here to rat me out?” She said with a nervous smile.
“Hahahahahhaha” He suddenly burst into laughter.
This shocked Camilla as she heard his loud voice bellow out in amusement.
“Ahhhh, I apologise for that. It’s just that you said something funny, and I couldn’t stop myself.” He said, still chuckling a little.
“Tch, then what the hell do you want?!” Camilla let out in frustration.
He ceased his chuckle, but maintained his smile. His lonely, yet convicted eyes grabbed her attention. He took in a deep, intimate breath as he let the cool winter breeze into his lungs and exhaled with the same vigour
“Relax… Enjoy the weather… Camilla. You don’t need to be so afraid. I can assure you that I will prove no detriment to your plans. In fact, I guarantee that I’ll be more helpful to you than you realise” He said.
“Wha…?!” She let out.
“Shhh… I’m still talking, you know?” He placed his hands on his lips, indicating he demanded her complete obedience.
Realising that she was trapped and cornered, she decided to play his game for the time being.
“Your plan requires a certain degree of subtlety, finesse, cunning… A skill you most definitely possess, but you’re too lacking. You stand out too much, plus… You’re sloppy.” He commented.
“This guy…” She thought, but quickly cautioned herself, knowing he could read even that.
“You’re careless, especially when assured of your victory. That’s why it didn’t even rake much of an effort to sneak up on you. You get flustered easily, you get agitated easily, you’re easy to read, to manipulate… The plan isn’t even yours, it’s your father’s. In essence, you’re way over your head.”
Camilla considered his words, and as much as they stung, he was correct.
“But… I can help you, ”he offered.
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why was he willing to go so far for her? Who was he to begin with? What did he want?
“Camilla, daughter of Lord Benson, Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack… I know your story, your family’s history… And I know of your ambition. It’s not a bad idea, but ultimately it will fail… That is, without my help.”
Camilla watched his every movement as he spoke. This man was dead serious. He didn’t even look any older than her, yet the way he spoke and completed himself was unlike any other.
“What do you want in return?” She asked him.
There was no point in beating around the bushes any longer. He had made his point, and he had also demonstrated it nicely for her. Currently, she had no choice even if she wanted to refuse, he had made sure of that. The only thing she could do was listen to his wishes.
“Oh, not much… I just want the Rockwood Pack. You can have the rest.” He said with a shrug.
“T-The Pack?! That’s a lot! I can’t guarantee that. I’m just the…” Camilla tried to protest, but the strange young man would hear none of it.
“Just as I said… You get agitated easily. You are too impatient. Calm yourself and listen to me carefully. I will have this pack, one way or the other, with or without your help. But, you can not achieve your ambition without me. I advise you to choose your words wisely.” He stated.
“B-But, it’s not even in my hands. I can’t make such a decision…” She answered.
“Oh, maybe not now. But soon enough, you will. I will make sure of that. After all, you will be the Wolf Queen, won’t you?” He smirked.
“This guy really knows everything, doesn’t he?” She thought to herself.
“It looks like you’re not objecting any longer. I take it we have an agreement?” He asked.
“It’s not like you’ve given me any other choice, have you?” She grumbled.
“Oh, that’s not true… You could choose to stubbornly defy me and suffer the consequences, but I suppose you wouldn’t do that, not with what is at stake.”
“Come down, it’s quite uncomfortable talking to you like this” He said to her.
She had no choice but to listen to his words. She leaped from the large branch she sat on and landed on the ground easily.
He gave her a small applause with a slight chuckle.
“Spectacular as always. Even something so mundane as this can be done with so much flair, as expected of you, Camilla.” He commented.
“You keep saying my name as though we are familiars. Have we met before?” She asked him.
His smile broadened once she said this. He looked at her with an amused look, making it look like he was toying with her, like she was nothing to him, but a piece of entertainment.
“Of course we have, and the fact that you can not remember is testament to my meticulous and flawless nature.” He answered.
“Now then, since we will be working together from now on, it’s better I introduce myself to you, don’t you think so?”
Finally, she would hear his name. Perhaps that would ring a bell for her.
“My name is Larry, Omega of the Rockwood Pack. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” He said stretching his hand to meet hers.
She automatically stretched hers too, and while their hands shook, her mind was elsewhere.
“Larry. Larry. Larry….” Her thoughts played over his name over and over again until she was certain
“I… I don’t know who he is…” She said with surprise.
The harsh winds blew as their hands shook, symbolising the new alliance of malevolence that was about to sweep the pack, and ultimately the entire Oregon Woods.