Plotting Treason

Book:The Wolfless Luna Published:2024-6-5

Ronan’s POV
Although I wanted to believe Malia, I just couldn’t.
I had seen her hesitation when I asked her if she had feelings for my brother.
She didn’t feel inclined to pursue her feelings though and indulge my brother whom I was certain, had feelings for her.
And though she felt she might have a choice in the matter, she actually didn’t. My brother always got what he wanted. One of the perks of being an Alpha.
He might even be able to manipulate her into agreeing to become Luna by using the fact that he saved her.
I got to my wing and the first thing I did was hop in the shower. While in the shower, my mind went to the sister I hadn’t seen in years and wondered what she looked like.
My mother hadn’t been able to tell us who the father was and I feared that was a mystery I’d never be able to solve except if the man came out to say it himself.
I tried to remember if she was ever particularly close to any man apart from my father. There was no one I could think of.
It couldn’t have been Lucien. He wouldn’t do that to my father. They were too close. And besides he and his mate were practically inseparable except when he had to go train or travel to other packs to help them fight against enemies.
I came out of the bathroom, got dressed and picked up the sweaty clothes that I had carelessly flung on the floor when I was about to enter the bathroom.
The next thought on my mind was food. Mashed potatoes, grilled fish and vegetables sounded amazing so I poured myself a glass of wine and got to work.
I have always loved cooking. It was one of the things I had learned from my mother. She had always insisted on doing the cooking for my father except on certain occasions when she was too busy performing her duty as Luna or too tired from her duties.
It helped me relax and though it sounded crazy, I actually felt her presence whenever I did it.
I hummed a song as I cooked and was so absorbed in it that I didn’t even know when someone entered my chambers.
“I guess I came at the right time,” a voice said from behind me.
I nearly stabbed him with the knife in my hand.
“Scott! What the hell is wrong with you? I could have taken off your head,” I scolded.
He grinned. “A mere knife can’t kill me,” he replied.
I scoffed and turned back to the vegetables I had been chopping.
I hated being disturbed when I was cooking and I knew that Scott was going to do just that and there was nothing I could do to stop Scott when he was hell-bent on being a pest.
Derek was worse than him though. I guess I should be grateful for his temporary absence. It would have been a lot worse if it was the two of them in my kitchen.
They drove me crazy more than any woman I had ever met. Except Malia.
“What do you want, Scott?” I asked.
“That’s a very nice wall painting you’ve got there. I knew you were crazy about her,” he said.
I sighed and began to doubt the wisdom of doing that painting where anyone could see it.
I wondered how my brother would react if he ever saw that painting. Not that he’ll ever come into my room. Of that, I was sure of.
We didn’t go into each other’s rooms except if we were invited.
“I could use your help, Scott. Just don’t sit there and jump to conclusions.”
He snorted. “Don’t bother lying to me. I know you like her. Anyone with eyes can see it.”
I gently lay the knife down, walked over to where he was sitting and stuffed a carrot into his mouth.
“Be quiet,” I warned.
His eyes danced with amusement as he chewed.
He later offered to help me and I ended up regretting asking him to.
Scott ruined the vegetables by somehow pouring the liquid soap into the bowl.
I chased him out of my kitchen of course and had to chop new vegetables again.
I finished cooking and proceeded to set the table. I didn’t dare ask Scott to give me a hand. He’d somehow let the food pour on the floor.
He was just lucky he wasn’t as clumsy during a fight. He’d have died a long time ago.
“The table is set, Scott. You should come eat,” I called out.
My forehead creased slightly when he didn’t immediately appear. You didn’t have to call out to Scott more than once when it came to food. I was even surprised that he hadn’t come to the dining room when I was setting the table.
“Scott?” I called out but got no response.
I pushed my chair back and walked to the living room.
He wasn’t there.
I rolled my eyes and walked into my bedroom, expecting to find him fast asleep on my bed. Scott’s other favourite thing to do apart from eating was to sleep.
I stopped in my tracks just as he looked up from my journal that he had apparently been reading.
The look in his eyes was one of surprise.
I was royally pissed and I walked up to him and snatched the journal from his hands.
This will teach me to never leave it lying around in my room.
“Don’t you know anything about privacy?” I asked in anger.
“I’m really sorry, man. I just couldn’t resist taking a peek and when I started….. I just couldn’t stop,” he answered.
“Just leave,” I ordered.
His face fell and I thought he was really sorry about invading my privacy.
“But you’ve already cooked for the two of us. And I’m starving,” he replied.
I scoffed at his audacity.
He gave me his best puppy-eye look and moved past me out of the bedroom.
I put the journal into my desk drawer, locked it and hid the key in one of my shoes.
I thought of what I had written in the journal and was worried. But I knew Scott wasn’t one to go telling anyone about it. He owed me his loyalty. But still….
I got to the dining room to find him already shoving the food down his throat.
I shook my head and settled on the seat opposite him. “Do you always have to eat like a pig and a thief? Nobody’s going to take your food away from you.”
He ignored me.
I dug into my food, deciding to ignore him for the rest of the meal.
The silence didn’t last for long.
“Since when have you wanted to become Alpha?” He asked.
My silverware stopped halfway to my mouth and I set it back down.
“Scott, please do not concern yourself with it. Consider it mere wishful thinking,” I replied.
He snorted. “I know what I read and it didn’t seem like mere wishful thinking. There were carefully laid out plans.”
Once again I cursed myself for being careless.
“Tell me, Ronan. You can trust me. And you know you’ll always have my support. I owe you that much after you saved me and my family,” he said.
I took a deep breath.
“I have wanted to become the Alpha since my father died. But my older brother was crowned the Alpha with no questions. I feel it’s wrong that he became the Alpha just because he’s the older one.”
“There used to be a time when this happened based on merits. The sons of the late Alpha will be subjected to a series of tests, competitions and stuff like that. The one who emerged winner is the one to be crowned the Alpha.”
“If we were given the opportunity to compete I’m sure I would have beaten him.”
“I also hate the fact that sometimes he tries to lord his position over me, his brother. I hate the fact that he feels he can do anything and make decisions without thinking of how I’ll feel about it,” I finished.
I took a sip of water and returned to my meal.
“So you still want to be the Alpha?” He asked.
I thought about it for a moment.
If I became the Alpha, apart from the prestige and honour that comes with the position, I’d also be able to make Malia my mate. I didn’t want my brother to have her. She was mine.
I nodded. “Yes, I want to.”
“But you know it’s treason, right?” He asked.
“If things go according to plan, I won’t be caught. I’ll succeed.”
He nodded. “You’re going to need all the help you can get. And you’re going to need people you can trust.”
I agreed with him. I’d already thought about this.
There were certain people I knew were going to support me. People who have been wronged by my brother and who owed me their loyalty.
My lips curled into a smile. Ryder wasn’t going to know what hit him.