Suspicious

Malia’s POV
“I don’t see Derek here. Where is he?” I asked.
“His mother is seriously ill and she was asking for him, so he had to go to her,” Scott answered.
“Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that. How’s he doing?” I inquired.
“When I called him last night, he seemed to be doing okay,” Ronan replied.
I nodded thinking that after I left the training field I was going to give him a call.
“See ya later,” Scott said to me and started to jog towards the opposite direction.
“Don’t go, Scott,” Lucien ordered.
Scott’s eyes narrowed slightly in puzzlement.
“Is there something you want me to do?” He asked.
“I want you to duel with her,” Lucien said to Scott, but his eyes were on me.
I scoffed. I knew he wanted to see me fail just so he could prove a point.
“It’s not necessary, Lucien. She’s just here to train and besides she’s duelled with me before and I can say for a fact that she’s pretty good,” Ronan said.
“I do not doubt you, Ronan. I just want to see her in action,” he replied with a smirk.
“Alright. Let’s do it,” I said to Scott.
He gestured to the guys he had been training with to continue without him.
I gave Lucien a look before walking with Scott to another spot on the field.
Ronan handed me a weapon and I murmured my thanks.
“Are you ready?” Scott asked.
I nodded and he made his first move.
I dodged expertly and tried to hit him with my weapon but he was fast and was out of the way before my weapon could hit him.
We kept at it like jungle cats for a while, circling each other and looking out for each other’s subtle movements.
I realized that I enjoyed doing this. Everything else faded away when I was fighting with an opponent.
He lunged at me and nearly had me. This time, I saw a perfect opportunity and I took it. Within seconds, I had him on the ground and the tip of my weapon was at his neck.
He grinned at me and raised a hand for me to help him off the ground.
We both turned to face Ronan who was looking at me like a proud boyfriend, and Lucien who was trying hard to hide his surprise.
“See, I told you,” Ronan said to him.
“Don’t look so smug. It’s just because I stressed the hell out of Scott yesterday evening,” he replied.
Ronan scoffed. “But you have to admit that she’s skilled at least.”
“She’s okay,” he admitted grudgingly.
Scott chuckled beside me. “He hates to be wrong.”
Lucien scowled at him. “I can hear you, Scott.”
Scott grinned. “Can I join the others now?” He asked.
Lucien dismissed him and I watched as he jogged to where the others were training.
“I’ll be in charge of your training from now on,” the Gamma announced and I turned to face him in surprise.
“But just have it in mind that you’re not going to fight with us when we have to defend our pack or help another pack,” he said.
I scoffed. “Is it because I am a woman?”
He smirked. “Let’s just say it’s because you’re a stranger.”
I looked at Ronan and he shrugged.
“You’re not being helpful here,” I said to him.
“He heads the troop, Lia. So he calls the shots,” he replied.
“Fine,” I said, scowling.
I was going to have to ask the Alpha. I was sure the Gamma wasn’t going to have a choice if Ryder ordered that I be allowed to defend this pack and other packs with them.
“Let’s begin your training,” Lucien said.
“Good luck,” Ronan said to me before running off to join Scott and the others.
I wanted to ask him to stay with me but I knew Lucien was only going to see it as a sign of weakness and he was going to think that I was intimidated by his presence.
“So tell me Malia, how did a servant come to be so skilled at fighting?” He queried.
“In the Silver Crescent Moon Pack, servants are allowed to learn some fighting skills in order for them to be able to defend themselves and others if necessary,” I replied and mentally patted myself for providing such an answer.
Lucien chuckled. “I’m just surprised that a servant can fight as well as a soldier.”
“I got really interested in learning more about it, so I begged one of the soldiers who was my friend to teach me more,” I replied.
“If you say so. But whatever it is you’re hiding, be rest assured that I’m going to find out.”
I shrugged and tried to look as unbothered as possible. “There’s nothing to find, Lucien. Can we begin now?”
He smirked and we went over some moves that I already knew at first. He made corrections where necessary. Then he taught me some new moves.
My dislike for him aside, he was a really good teacher and an excellent soldier and I knew there was a lot more I could learn from him. That was if he was willing to teach me all of it.
We didn’t stop until the sun became scorching.
Ronan came to meet and we walked back to the palace together.
All I could think of was getting a cold shower and collapsing on my bed.
“Why didn’t you tell me that your brother wants to make me Luna?” I asked.
His hand froze on my door handle. “Who told you that?” He asked.
“It doesn’t matter. All I want to know is why you didn’t tell me. I thought we were friends.”
He came to sit beside me on my bed. “I didn’t want to tell you just in case he changes his mind about it. My brother can be fickle like that.”
“I didn’t want to raise your hopes about becoming Luna and then dash them when he changes his mind,” he replied.
I scoffed. “You obviously don’t know me at all. What gave you the impression that I desire to be Luna?” I asked.
He scratched the back of his neck. “I just thought you might desire it since you were a Luna in your pack.”
“Well I have no such desires,” I said.
“Do you have feelings for my brother?” He asked suddenly.
I opened my mouth to say no but found I couldn’t do it. I shook my head instead.
He regarded me with intense gray eyes and I looked away first.
“Malia, my brother has the tendency to change women like he does with his shoes. To him, you’re just a shiny new toy that he’s so eager to play with. Once he gets tired he’s going to cast you aside just like he plans to do with Lila. Be wise.”
He got up and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I’ll leave you to freshen up and rest.”
With that, he left my room leaving me with doubts.
Was it true what he just said about his brother? I wondered.
Ryder seemed to be sexually attracted to me just as I was to him. But that didn’t mean anything. Attraction could disappear and we’d treat each other like mere friends or even strangers.
What if he loves you? A voice asked.
I scoffed. There was no way he felt that way towards me.
What if he does? The voice asked again. The way you two look at each other is…
“Pure lust,” I said out loud. “Pure lust that’s going to go away.”
I decided I didn’t care and I didn’t want any sort of relationship with anyone.
I was just going to enjoy my stay here.
I took a cold shower and came back to lie on my bed.
I succeeded in blocking all thoughts about Ryder and Ronan and soon after, I was sound asleep.
I awoke to the smell of pasta and meatballs.
Immediately my eyes snapped wide open and I sat up on the bed.
Pen was pouring water from a jug into a drinking glass.
She sensed that I was looking at her and she turned to face me.
“Thank the Goddess. I would’ve hated to wake you up myself,” she said.
“What time is it?” I asked her.
“It’s a little past five in the evening,” she replied.
“How come I slept for that long?” I wondered aloud.
She shrugged. “You must have been very tired.”
I thanked her as she placed the tray of food in front of me.
I dug into the food with no hesitation and Pen chuckled. “Easy. One would think that you’re being starved to death here.”
I glared at her playfully and shoved even more food into my mouth.
“Just don’t choke. I don’t want the Alpha and Beta to banish me for letting that happen.”
I ignored her.
Then suddenly, as if a light bulb came on in my head, I realized something.
“Is something wrong?” She asked when she saw the expression on my face.
I swallowed and took a sip of my water.
“Don’t you think it’s suspicious that both Lila and Derek are away from the pack?”