Malia’s POV
Pen blushed and wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Just say his name, Pen. It might help reduce your feelings for him,” I said.
That wasn’t true of course and she arched an eyebrow to show she wasn’t buying my Idea.
“If I tell you, you’re going to think I’m silly,” she blushed.
My eyes widened in surprise. “Why would you think that? The heart wants what it wants. Nobody is going to blame you for that,” I said.
She mumbled something.
“Pen if you want to let me know you’re going to need to speak up,” I said, mentally rolling my eyes.
“The beta,” she said a bit louder this time, burying her face in her hands.
My eyes widened in surprise. “Oh Pen. It’s okay. You don’t have to feel shy about it.”
I pried her hands away from her face. She was blushing so hard.
I tried so hard not to laugh because it was only going to make her feel more embarrassed.
“Ronan is really good-looking. If not for the fact that I have sworn off men for the meantime I’d also have a massive crush on him,” I said trying to get her to feel less embarrassed about her feelings for the Beta.
“But can you now see that it’s never going to work? He’s royalty, brother to the Alpha and I’m just a mere servant,” she bemoaned.
“It happens sometimes. Though it’s really uncommon,” I replied.
I didn’t want to rule out the possibility all together but I also didn’t want to give her false hopes. In our world, the marriage of a royal was not just based on love or even the Moon Goddess’ match. The mate had to be suitable enough for the survival of the pack.
One would think that the focus would be just on the Alpha, but the Beta also has to choose a suitable mate just in case something happens to the Alpha and his sons.
“You know he has the hots for you right?” She suddenly said gazing at me intently with her beautiful amber eyes.
I opened my mouth to deny it probably because I didn’t want to add to her heartbreak.
“Don’t bother denying it. Anyone with eyes can see it. I’m pretty sure you can also see it,” she said softly.
I nodded and gave her a small smile. “But it doesn’t matter. I do not like him that way,” I replied.
“Or so you tell yourself,” she said with a knowing look.
My eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“Look, all I’m saying is that you do not have to deny your feelings just because you feel bad for me,” she said.
“But I don’t…” I started to protest but she cut me short.
“You two spend an awful lot of time together and the way you look at each other is…” she released a sigh.
I took her hands in mine and didn’t say anything else. She seemed to get more upset the more I tried to deny having feelings for Ronan.
It was Penelope who broke the silence. “We should go to bed or else we’d be acting like zombies when the sun is up.”
I nodded and got off the kitchen stool. I offered to help her clear the dishes but she refused claiming that it was inconceivable to allow the Alpha’s guest to do dishes.
So I watched while she washed and tried not to think about Ronan.
“You don’t have to wait, you know?” She said with a smile.
“I’m choosing to wait,” I replied.
We both left the kitchen when she was done and parted ways.
She had insisted on walking me to my room but I had strongly refused, telling her that it was payback for not allowing me help out with the dishes.
She had laughed at that and told me to beware of the ghost that haunted the hallways.
A part of me believed her. Or what other explanation could there possibly be for the sudden chill that I had felt in the hallway on my way to the kitchen?
“You’re not a coward, Malia,” I said to myself.
I took a deep breath and continued forward to my room.
To my greatest relief, there was no episode of ghost haunting. I reached my door just as Ryder’s swung open to reveal a dishevelled Lila.
Her eyes met mine and she gave me a smug smile before sashaying down the hallway.
I shut my door and wondered why I felt betrayed. Lila was Ryder’s mistress. Of course, they usually had sex and broke stuff in the process.
Ryder was just my friend. The word “friend” even sounded too deep compared to the type of relationship we had. Acquaintance was more like it.
He was my saviour. That was it. I couldn’t lay any claim to him just because he had been vulnerable one night and had slept in my room.
I tossed and turned on my bed trying to find the perfect position. Sleep had somehow eluded me.
With a frustrated sigh, I rolled out of bed and did some exercises to tire myself out. I knew I was going to pay for it when I woke up but I had no choice. I needed to sleep.
Thankfully it worked. I crawled into bed with jelly-like arms and legs. I was out like a light in a few seconds.
There was a loud bang as a door slammed really hard, rousing me from my deep slumber. I sat upright on my bed feeling disoriented.
I nearly screamed in frustration when I saw Ryder standing at my door with a wide smile on his face.
I ignored him, lay back down and pulled the covers over my face.
I heard his deep chuckle and his footsteps as he drew nearer to my bed.
Soon, the covers were pulled off me.
“Ryder,” I half screamed in annoyance.
“I haven’t had enough sleep so go look for someone else to bother.”
“You don’t speak to me that way in my house, little wolf. There would be repercussions,” he warned.
I was usually cranky when I didn’t get enough sleep so I couldn’t care less about the warning in his voice.
“You can shove your repercussions up your ass.”