STARLETTE
The following morning, I woke up to see Maximus seated on the black leather couch in the room, his gaze fixed on me.
“Good morning, Starlette.” He greeted, immediately standing up and walking towards me. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine.” I rubbed the back of my hand against my eyes to clear the remaining sleep in them. “How long have you been watching me?”
“Since I finished preparing breakfast.” He reached for the tray of food on the nightstand and placed it on the bed. The plates were all covered, so I couldn’t tell what was in them yet.
“Ohhh….”
“I prepared everything by myself.” He boasted, grinning from ear to ear.
“That’s nice.” I said, pretending to be unimpressed as I sat up and dragged myself to the edge of the bed. “I need to pee.” I told him as I got to my feet.
After taking a few steps, I suddenly felt nauseous and halted.
“What is wrong?” Maximus was beside me in a second.
“I feel nauseated.” I told him, and what followed was a gut-wrenching retch.
I ran, and I didn’t stop until I got to the toilet, emptying the contents in my stomach into the bowl. Maximus was beside me, rubbing my back as I gasped for air.
“I’ll have the doctor come here immediately.” He said, worries seeping into his voice.
“No.” I waved my hand lazily at him. “You don’t have to. I think I feel better.”
I tiredly stood up and undressed myself as I walked under the shower. “I just need a hot bath.”
“You just vomited. You need to see the doctor.” He insisted.
“I don’t need to.” I said, turning on the shower. “Trust me. I’ll be fine.”
I believed the unlinking was the cause of my sudden illness, and if that was it, I should feel better in no time. I didn’t want to have to take medication for it. I hated taking them.
“Are you sure?” he asked skeptically.
“Trust me.” I muttered.
He watched me as the steaming water cascaded down my body, his eyes filled with a mix of lust and worry. If I hadn’t just vomited, I was sure he would have attempted to take me under this very shower. And if that had been the case, would I have denied him? I wasn’t very sure.
Once I was done, I turned off the shower, wrapped a towel around my body, and walked back to the bedroom, with my mate trailing behind me like a bodyguard.
I noticed that the tray that previously contained five different plates now had only one bowl in it. I flicked my gaze at Maximus, and he immediately answered my unspoken question.
“I had one of the cooks replace it with a bowl of soup. I realised you wouldn’t be able to eat the things I prepared after-”
“Oh, thank you.” I quickly cut him off. I didn’t want to hear him say the word.
Maximus left the room once he was sure I had finished eating, and I had assured him that I felt okay. According to him, he hated to leave me, but he had an important meeting with his beta and gamma. He made me promise to call him if anything happened.
Bella came in after a while, her energy bubbling as usual. I was on the bed, playing games with Maximus’s iPad.
“You would love to know this.” She beamed as she approached me and sat beside me.
A wide smile spread on my lips as I carefully placed the iPad on the bed and focused my attention on her. “Is this what you wanted to tell me yesterday?”
“Before the Alpha chased me away.” She rolled her eyes. “Yes. I’m not even as excited to share the news as I was yesterday.”
“Forgive him. Let’s hear it.”
“So, rumours about you being our Luna have been flying around, and most pack members are completely on board.” She nudged me, giggling with excitement. “Isn’t that amazing? The Alpha might consider if he learns that the people want you.”
I smiled. Someone might have overheard Maximus saying it yesterday. The rumours were indeed true, but Bella didn’t know that.
“That’s nice.” I replied.
She frowned at me. “Aren’t you excited?”
To be honest, I wasn’t sure about how I felt. Maximus was my mate, and I obviously loved him, and I truly believed his redemption. But being the Luna of the Royal Crest pack was a responsibility I had never thought of shouldering. Was I up to the task? If Maximus truly made me his Luna, what kind of Luna would I be? What if I failed the people and they ended up hating me forever? The questions were endless.
“Can we talk about something else, please?” I exhaled sharply. The thought of being the Luna was already giving me anxiety. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Disappointment flashed across her face before it was quickly replaced with a neutral expression. She had clearly expected me to share in her excitement.
“What’s that?” She asked.
I moved closer to her, holding her hands in mine. “It’s kind of a secret. Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
“I promise.”
I exhaled sharply before going ahead to tell her. “I need to do some research, and I need your help.”
She raised a brow. “What kind of research?”
“What causes a wolf to be trapped and how to free it.”
Confusion masked her features. “Can you elaborate?”
“Lucius.” I bit my lip hard. “He’s not completely wolfless. He has a wolf, only that it’s trapped.”
She gasped, her eyes widening as she registered the information. “How did you know?”
“I saw his eyes glow red for a second, and when I asked, he said it has been happening for a few weeks now.” I explained.
“What?!” She gasped again. “His wolf is an Alpha. But then again, he’s from the Alpha bloodline, so it’s not surprising.”
I nodded. “So I need your help to check the library for any and every information we can find on this.”
“But,” she hesitated before speaking. “Is it your place to do that research? You know the Alpha hates it when you associate with Lucius.”
“Bella, he saved me even when the Alpha couldn’t.” I reminded her with a stern tone, slightly annoyed at the fact that she thought it wasn’t my place. It was indeed my place. I owed him that much.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Let’s do it then.”
We went to the library and started checking every book that could contain the information we needed. It was a relief that I felt better; if not, I would have given up after an hour of tedious searching without finding anything at all.
“Do you think a book that has what we want exists?” Bella asked.
“Positive.” I replied.
Silence ensued again as we continued checking from shelf to shelf.
“Remind me her name, the head maid. Is she still troubling you?” I asked after another ten long minutes.
“Grace. No. Lauren made her punish me, and she hates Lauren now. The maid that was killed was her niece.”
My brows knitted together as I turned to face her. “Lauren?”
“Yes. She claimed I stole her necklace. They searched my bag and found it there. I don’t know who planted it there.”
My face scrunched up in disgust. “That bitch is never beating the allegations.”
“I absolutely agree with you. She needs to rot in hell!” Bella spat, her voice dripping with malice, which was totally understandable.
A stifling sound suddenly emerged from a corner of the library, and I flicked my gaze at Bella to be sure she heard it too. She was equally as surprised as I was. We thought we were alone in the library.
Carefully, I treaded to the source with Bella following behind me. I paused for a second, blowing out a sharp breath to brace myself for what I might see, before finally peeking through the tiny space between the wall and the edge of the last shelf on the roll.
I blink before a deep frown masked my face, the sight before me disgustingly disturbing. Not only was I disgusted by the person in question, but also by the position I found her in.
Pregnant Lauren was curled in the corner with another man-someone I had never seen before.
“Interesting!” I exclaimed, crossing my arms over my chest.
Having nothing to hide anymore, both of them stood up from the corner. Lauren worried, her partner ashamed.
“I think this is the time when you explain.” I raised my brow, awaiting an explanation.
Instead of answering me, Lauren turned to Bella, pointing a heated finger at her. “You are the one who should rot in hell, you lowlife maid.”
Unrepentant and unremorseful. Like I said, she’s never beating the allegations.
I took a sharp breath and repeated. “Explain Lauren. What were you doing in that corner with-” I eyed the 6-foot-tall, blue-eyed man. “With this man.”
“I owe you no explanation!” She spat.
“I’m just her friend. Nothing more. She asked me to accompany her to the library and help her look for a book.” The man hurriedly said in an attempt to erase suspicions.
“Is that so?” I raised a brow. “Then why were you curled up in a corner like that?”
“Because I purposely hid when I heard you coming. I wanted to hear what you were going to say about me. And obviously, you wouldn’t do that if you knew I was in here.” Lauren blurted out.
She shot a malicious gaze at Bella and me before waltzing out of the library, her ‘friend’ following closely behind.
Bella shifted her gaze to me. “You don’t believe that, do you?”
The position I caught them in was too intimate for him to be ‘just her friend.’ It was obvious that she hid when she heard us coming because she didn’t want to be found with him. What they were doing? I didn’t know.
I shook my head. “I don’t.”
“So what are you going to do?” She asked.
“Do you know that man?” I asked.
“He’s a warrior. I think he’s of a low rank.” She told me. “Are you going to tell the Alpha?”
“I don’t know.” I replied. But one thing I did know for sure was that I was beginning to doubt the paternity of that unborn pup.