Malia’s POV
The walk to the library was completely silent apart from the sound of our footsteps against the floor.
I mentally berated myself for being the cause of Ronan’s sour countenance. I should have taken the hint when even the somewhat stoic Ryder had not wanted to talk about it. Why did I have to be so nosy?
We finally arrived at the library and I breathed out a sigh of relief. I made a mental note to take all the books that caught my fancy back to my room. There was no way I was going to be able to make the long trip to the library every day.
My mouth opened as I took in the grandness of the library. The ceiling was so high and a very impressive crystal chandelier hung from it.
The large bookshelves made from oak wood were saturated with books and were so tall that ladders had been fixed so that the books at the tops could be reached.
“If you leave your mouth hanging open for ten more seconds, we might find it difficult to ever get it to close,” he teased.
“This is super cool,” I commented with childlike glee.
He chuckled and I was relieved to see that his countenance had become lighter.
“I have to leave now. Beta duties,” he said.
“At this point, I don’t care about your existence,” I said, leafing through the pages of a history book.
I heard his gasp of mock hurt. “You are heartless,” he replied.
I turned to face him and saw that his hands were on his chest and he was pouting.
I arched an eyebrow. “Stop it. It doesn’t suit you one bit.”
He grinned and started walking backwards to the door. “I do not have to come back for you right? You can easily find your way back to your room.”
I gave him a you-must-be-joking look.
“Alright. I’ll be back,” he said as he shut the door behind him.
I settled on one of the comfortable armchairs and was soon lost in the history of werewolves and vampires and how they ended up becoming enemies.
About an hour later, I heard a heavy book thud to the ground and I froze in shock. It was suddenly too quiet.
I stood up and walked quietly towards where the sound had come from.
As expected, there was a voluminous book on the floor. I bent to retrieve it and straightened.
A gasp escaped from my lips when I read the title.
The wolfless Luna’s curse.
Was someone playing a sick joke on me? I strained my ears to check if there was anyone else in the library except me.
It was very silent save for my breathing.
The only person who knew about my curse was Ryder and he wasn’t the kind of person to start telling everyone about it.
“A most interesting title don’t you think?” A voice said from behind me.
I dropped the book in shock and spun around.
“Lila,” I gasped. She was the last person I was expecting to see in a library.
“Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” She queried innocently.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
She twirled a lock of her hair around her fingers. “A while. I arrived here just before you and the beta came in.”
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Are you sure you’re not stalking me? Because I’m pretty sure hanging out in the library or reading is not your thing.”
She scoffed. “I do not need to stalk you. I will never stoop that low. I’m the soon-to-be Luna of this pack. And besides even if I wanted to find out something about you, I could easily ask a servant to do the job,” she replied.
“And just so you know I do read. If I’m to be Luna, I’m supposed to be knowledgeable and able to discuss a wide range of topics,” she added smugly.
“So did you ask a servant to spy on Ronan and me the day we went to the conference hall?” I asked.
“Think whatever you want. I don’t have to answer your question anyway,” she replied and turned on her heels.
She was definitely guilty.
She suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to face me. “There are a lot of spicy romance novels at that other end. I just thought I should let you know just in case you’re into that kind of stuff.”
She winked at me before continuing forward and slammed the door close behind her.
I rolled my eyes. She gave off the mean girl vibes effortlessly. I still had doubts about her being fond of books.
I picked up the book I had dropped to the floor earlier. I read the title again and decided that I didn’t want to read it.
I raised my gaze to the bookshelf and tried to figure out the spot it had fallen from. I went around the shelf and finally found the spot. I carefully placed the book back and allowed my eyes to linger on the title again.
Strange. Why was it this particular book that had chosen to come off the shelf and how did it even happen? I wondered.
As I turned to walk back towards where I had been sitting, my eyes caught sight of something on the floor.
I stooped to get a closer look and my eyes widened in surprise.
It was Derek’s charm bracelet. I was sure of it.
A thought formed in my head but I shrugged it off. It couldn’t be. It was just a coincidence.
I walked back to my chair and resumed my reading, trying so hard not to give any more thought to Lila’s suspicious presence in the library and Derek’s bracelet.
A few moments later, the door opened and I turned my head to see who it was.
“Penelope,” I greeted with a wide smile. I was grateful for the distraction from my thoughts.
She smiled back at me. “Fancy meeting you here. I didn’t know you were interested in books,” she said.
“Well, it turns out that I am,” I replied.
She got to where I was seated and her eyes went to the title at the top of the page. “It’s an interesting read,” she commented.
“I take it you’ve read this book already,” I said.
She nodded. “Apart from baking, reading is the other best thing I love to do. At least for a moment, I am lost in another world.”
I regarded her with fresh interest.
“I’ll be right back,” she said walking towards the shelves.
After a few minutes, she returned with a book.
I waited for her to settle down before blurting out my question.
“Do you happen to know anything about the late Alpha’s daughter?”