Ronan’s POV
I stiffened as I spotted Lila on the training field.
Why in the goddess’s name was she here? I wondered. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Lila and the training field were like day and night.
Malia got up from beside me and gave me an excuse about having something important to do.
I could tell she was lying but decided not to push.
At that moment, I was more concerned about what Lila was doing here.
She had left my room very early this morning after an intense night of sex.
I didn’t feel bad about using her this way. She deserved it.
I saw her say something to Malia, but couldn’t quite catch what it was because they were so far off at the other end of the field.
She sashayed to where I was and I noticed that the other guards were also surprised to see her on the training field.
My dislike for her aside, Lila was very stunning with a figure most women would kill for.
She stood in front of me and gave me a slow seductive smile. “Hello lover,” she mouthed.
I gave her a warning look. It wouldn’t be good if anyone else knew that the Alpha’s intended and his own brother were having an affair.
“You should sit. Or are you going to stand until you leave?” I asked, wishing she’d just turn around and leave. I wasn’t in the mood for a chit-chat with her.
She looked at the ground with disgust. “I can’t afford to get my skirt dirty. I wasn’t planning on staying too long anyway. I just wanted to say hi to you.”
I snorted. Considering the fact that we had spent the night together, I doubted that she was here just because she missed me and wanted to say hi.
“Yeah right. Why are you really here Lila?”
She squatted until she was at eye level with me. “Let’s just say I came here to guard my territory,” she whispered.
I cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t think I understand the sort of territory that you speak of.”
Her eyes shone with mischief. “It’s amazing just how clueless men can be at times,” she said and straightened.
I watched in relief as she made her way across the training field. But still, I was quite bothered about why she had come. The reason she had given made no sense to me, except….
I suddenly had a strong suspicion that Malia knew why Lila had come here. It wasn’t a coincidence that all of a sudden she remembered she had to do something at the same time Lila showed up.
I got to my feet to go meet the newbies and torture them some more before the period for training ended for the day.
Instead of heading straight home after training, Scott and I went to the hospital to see how Margaret was doing.
“You two reek of sweat,” she said as we entered her room and moved closer to her bed.
“Good to see you too, Margaret,” I replied with a grin. Scott handed her the bar of chocolate we had stopped to buy at a mini-mart.
“An old woman like me is not supposed to be taking sweets anymore. It’s easier to pack on the pounds these days and even harder to lose them,” she said but accepted it from Scott.
I snorted. “You’re anything but old, Margaret. And the last time I checked, your figure was perfect.”
“That’s because I always watch what I eat,” she returned and then took a big bite out of the chocolate bar.
“Do you have any idea when you’re going to be discharged from this place?” I asked. To me, she looked perfectly alright already.
She nodded as she chewed and then swallowed. “The doctor said I’m free to leave this evening.”
“You’re returning home right?” I queried but she wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Margaret, have you sorted things out with Lucien?” I tried again.
She gave an imperceptible nod.
She saw that my expression was one of doubt so she felt compelled to explain.
“I can’t just bring myself to live with Lucien. At least not for now. I need some time away from him. Which is why I’ve asked my sister to come pick me up. I’ll be leaving the pack this evening.”
I nodded. I didn’t expect anyone to just forgive and forget such a thing so easily. It was going to take time.
“We’re going to miss you, Margaret,” Scott said and she gave him a sweet smile.
We left shortly after and by the time we got to the palace, we were already so tired.
I would have stopped by Malia’s room but I didn’t. Apart from the fact that I was tired, I also remembered Margaret telling Scott and me that we reeked of sweat.
One wasn’t going to attract the woman of their dreams by having an unpleasant smell.
I headed to my chambers and I wasn’t surprised when Scott followed me.
“I do not have any meal to share with you today,” I said to him.
“I’d love to see for myself,” he replied and I shook my head.
“You do have a lot of audacity, you know that right?” I asked as we got to my door.
“Well, I’m your friend and also, I’m going to help in making you become the new Alpha,” he replied.
“Could you please lower your voice anytime you want to talk about something like that?” I cautioned, walking straight into the kitchen.
“It’s not like anyone can hear us,” he murmured.
“Still, we have to be careful. There’s no point in being caught before we start executing our plans,” I reasoned.
Scott reached for an apple and munched on it happily and rather noisily too.
“Must you eat like a horse?” I asked as I peeled a banana open.
He shrugged. “It’s not like I’m trying to impress you with my eating habits. You’re not a girl that I’m trying to get to like me.”
I sighed resignedly. There was no use trying to correct Scott if he didn’t see the need to change.
“I told Lila about my plans to overthrow Ryder,” I announced, and Scott promptly choked on the apple and started coughing.
I poured him a glass of water which he drank greedily.
“You did what? Are you out of your mind?” He asked once he had recovered.
I shrugged. “You have nothing to worry about. She’s on my side. She knows that Ryder wants to push her aside and make Malia Luna and she hates him for that.”
“Oh. I see. That’s good for us then. She’d know some of Ryder’s weaknesses and we’d be able to use them to our advantage,” he said with obvious relief. Then he reached for his half-eaten apple and took a large bite.
“We’re still going to need more people on our side. People who have one or more things against your brother. Or what do you think?” He asked, reaching yet again for another apple.
I gave him a warning look before I spoke.
“You’re right. But I’ll have to be really careful. It’s a big risk trying to recruit someone who’d later rat us out to Ryder. So we’ll have to be smart about who we talk to about this.”
“Do you think Derek is going to side with you?” Scott asked and I smiled.
“Of course he will. He’s more of a brother to me than Ryder is and we’ve been through thick and thin together. We have a bond between us that’s going to make us side with each other for life,” I replied.
Scott scoffed. “Please you didn’t have to add the part about the bond.”
I chuckled. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were jealous.”
He snorted. “I don’t see what there is to be jealous of. I just…”
“Hello brothers,” a familiar voice greeted.
I turned to see Derek standing by the kitchen entrance. He had a wide grin on his face and a shopping bag in his head.
Scott grabbed the bag and started going through its contents while I gave Derek a hug.
“Welcome back. How’s your mom?”
“She’s as healthy as a horse. In fact, just before I left her house, she was trying to fix some old furniture,” he replied with a wide smile.
“It’s good to see you too Scott,” he said. “I can see you’d still choose groceries over me every time.”
I chuckled as Scott pointedly ignored him and opened one of the boxes of cereal and poured some into a bowl. He then asked if we also wanted some cereal. I said yes but Derek said he was still full from the lunch he had had earlier.
We all moved to the dining room and continued to make small talk.
“So tell me, what did I miss?” He asked, watching us devour our bowls of cereal and milk.
Scott and I exchanged a look and Derek narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
“What’s going on? Let me in on it.”
I took a deep breath and told him about my plan to become the Alpha.
He was silent for a moment. His eyes, thoughtful.
“I’m in.”