My Jolly Alpha - Burgov Series V

10. Markella

Well, that went all kinds of wrong. Cilia looked mad, and rightly so. I don't even want to imagine what she thinks of me right now. Probably something close to a treacherous b***h that came into her family home to hook up with handsome and influential Alpha. The gold digger who heard one too many stories about her family and decided to get some of their glam for herself.

I looked down at my feet, feeling how guilt was tainting my cheeks with red.

"So? I'm waiting!" - Cilia repeated and she sounded more than angry.

"Look, it's not what it looks like." - Orson said, and I glanced his way to see if he was going to include her. Not that we have much of a choice now.

"Oh, it doesn't?" - Cilia asked sarcastically - "So it isn't about you being mated to a woman as warm as icicles, and you filling the void with the most caring and down-to-earth girl I know, because you feel like making up for your fate? Or maybe that's just your way of showing hospitality to your guests?! All the werewolves from around the world come to Midnight Banes, where Alpha VanWoert will tuck you to sleep with hugs and kisses!" - she said, raising her voice.

"Cilia, shut up! Someone might hear you." - Orson hissed at her.

"Oh? So isn't it your standard offer to all the guests?" - she mocked Orson, raising her brows to an unimpressed resting b***h expression I saw on her face too many times to count.

"Markella is my mate!" - Orson whispered-yelled at Cilia, and her glare turned into a frown and she lost a bit of her confidence, looking at him with her mouth open. - "So will you just shut up and let me explain, before alarming the entire Pack House?"

Cilia glanced at me, then at him as if she was trying to sniff out a trap, but then slowly nodded.

"We think… No, we know that Kimmy isn't who she says she is. We found that out on the day you two arrived. Markie she… She's my true mate. I don't know if you noticed but Kimmy and her smell exactly the same…"

"They do?" - Cilia asked, glancing from me to him a few times.

"Yes." - Orson nodded - "That's why I thought Kimmy was my mate, but she isn't. I made a terrible, terrible mistake, and now we're trying to fix it."

Cilia looked confused, with her mouth closing and opening as if she had a lot to say, yet no good words came to her mind.

"So wait" - she finally found her voice raising her hand - "Are you telling me you've been living with that b***h for over three months now, and you had absolutely no idea she wasn't your mate?"

"Well, I was a bit concerned that we weren't as in sync as Nicky and Eve, for example, but I just thought that, you know, it's just my luck." - Orson admitted sheepishly.

"For Goddess's sake, Orson." - Cilia exclaimed, tugging at her hair. - "How could you not know? Have you felt the pull, sparks and everything else?"

"Well, not exactly." - he grimaced, looking down - "Her scent drove my wolf crazy and I figured that the rest was wildly exaggerated. You know it's hard to find something iffy when you have no comparison."

"Seriously, Ors?!" - she c****d her head at him - "You thought that everyone exaggerated what finding your true mate should feel like?! Are you f*****g stupid or something?!"

My she-wolf couldn't stand the insult and I started growling at her in warning, startling her a little.

"Really Markie?! You disagree?" - she asked, a bit taken aback by my reaction. - "If this was my mate who marked the wrong woman I would peg him for the biggest i***t on the planet and leave his sorry ass."

"Then thank the Goddess it's not your mate, and please, for the sake of our friendship, stop calling him names." - I warned her, and since I never used such a sharp tone on her, Cilia got a bit surprised before she nodded.

"Okay, so why is she still here? Why haven't you rejected her yet? And could I please get first row tickets at when you do, because seeing that wench squirming in pain might become the highlight of my trip?" - she asked in her usual unbothered manner.

"Well, she's still here, because we're almost certain that whatever her reasons for tricking me were, they weren't good, and also there's a possibility that she isn't working alone." - Orson explained.

"Oh, I see, so you're double crossing her." - she said with a grin. - "I won't object to that. You both know how much I appreciate a good scheme." - Cilia chimed in - "But honestly, if that was me, I would say off with her head and move on with my life."

"Easy there, Queen of Hearts, you're not a Disney character." - I muttered with a smirk - "We can't go on a full rampage, because if you had forgotten, she's the Luna here, and with that she has this Pack's and the League's protection." - I pointed out.

"s**t, that's true!" - Cilia said. - "Okay, so what's the plan? I'm ready to help, it actually makes me feel kind of special that I found that out first."

Orson and I shared a look, and unfortunately Cilia caught up with that.

"I'm not the first one to know, am I?" - she asked in a low voice.

"No, not exactly." - I admitted.

"So who else does?" - She asked, narrowing her eyes on me.

"Dave, his Dad and Orson's parents." - I admit looking down at my feet.

"What?! You included four people you don't even know, before telling me?!" - she snapped and her eyes started getting even clearer, making her look like a creepy zombie without irises.

"She didn't." - Orson stood up for me - "David confronted me shortly after meeting Markella, he smelled her on me and was curious why her scent was so much like Kimmy's. And it was him who recommended appointing uncle Ilia to follow her, which he has done since then."

"Okay, that's surprisingly reasonable for a thing coming from you. And your parents?" - Cilia asked.

"That… Okay, that one actually was something Markie suggested, and apparently you gave her an idea to do so."

"I did?" - Cilia frowned, glancing at me.

"Yes." - I confirmed with a nod - "Remember how you told me Kimmy probably chased your aunt and uncle away from here?" - her scowl got a little softer as she nodded - "I thought you might be right, so I figured that to mess with her plan, it would be best to…"

"Surround Orson with family." - she finished for me with a small smile.

"Yeah. Basically that was my idea." - I nodded.

"Okay, but I'm family. Why wasn't I included? Or was it your plan all along to have me walk in on you two doing… What were you two doing anyway?" - she arched one brow in question.

"Nothing, just cuddling."

"Whoa, hold your horses, Second Grade!" - she mocked me. - "So? Why haven't you told me?"

"Because…" - I tried to find good enough words to not hurt her feelings, but at the same time, Orson wasn't as empathetic.

"Because of this." - he pointed his hand at her. - "You come here all judgmental with lasers in your eyes. It's a delicate matter, and no one wants to have a raging Orlov stuck in the middle."

I mentally face-palmed myself, because I knew those words would hit her hard. Cilia is impulsive. That's a known fact. She often speaks or acts thinking about the repercussions after. But she's also extremely fragile and underneath expensive clothes and a bitchy attitude rests a gooey inside that cries a river each time she gets even the lightest dig. I don't think there's another woman like her, perfect on the outside, but absolutely vulnerable and self-conscious every step of the way.

As expected, she pursed her lips, and nodded, immediately building a wall around her, and it showed in her shoulders getting tense and her face becoming emotionless.

"Well then, if you don't want me stuck in the middle, I'll leave you two to your… cuddling." - she announced, spinning on her heels and marching out of my bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Orson sighed and rubbed his face in exasperation, but the only thing I was able to do was glare at him. But he was too busy walking towards the door and locking it behind Cilia to notice. But when he turned to face me, however, his eyebrows shot up in confusion.

"You look mad. Why do you look mad?" - he asked.

"Because you hurt her feelings!" - I said, pointing at the door, meaning Cilia.

"No, I didn't. She'll be fine. She was always theatrical like that." - he waved his hand.

"Orson, I may know her for just a few months, but I believe I might know her better than you, and trust me, what you just said stung her. Deeply. I want you to apologize to her."

"Now?" - he asked in shock.

"Yes, now." - I said sternly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Sweetheart, she won't even open her door for me. Trust me, I've been through that tango before and angry Cilia needs some time to cool off."

That wasn't wrong, and I knew that. But it still didn't make me any happier.

"Fine. But you're doing it first thing in the morning." - I ordered.

"Of course." - he agreed immediately. - "Can we go to sleep now? I'm seriously drained after today. Too many angry women for just one simple me."

I agreed and we returned to our initial activity of falling to sleep next to one another.

Maybe I caved too easily. Maybe I should have fought for justice to my friend harder, but I was also too tired for today and I'm not sure if even a minute passed from me resting my head on the pillow to the dreamland consuming me.

When I woke up, Orson was already gone and my phone said it was nearing half past eight. I rushed through the shower and dressed up for the day, needing to talk with Cilia. I hate it when we are at odds. Through the months we'd been traveling together we had a few feuds, but we always patched things up quickly, and I was secretly hoping that hiding my bond with Orson wouldn't turn out to be that one thing that breaks the camel's back.

After I was done, I stopped by her bedroom first, but it was empty, so she must've already gone down for breakfast. But as I walked into the kitchen, the only ones there were Kimmy, Teddy and David.

"Good morning." - I greeted everyone, but only guys responded. No surprise there. - "Have you guys seen Cilia?"

"No." - Teddy answered and Dave only shook his head, watching me curiously.

"Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" - I asked.

"Probably shopping." - Kimmy snickered, taking her to-go cup and walking out of the kitchen. She seems to be carrying that thing a lot. Maybe I should look closer at it.

"That's probably a dumb question, but have you checked her room?" - Teddy asked.

"Yeah, I did. She's not there. Maybe she's with Orson?" - I asked, and once again Dave shook his head.

"Negative. He's there alone." - he said. - "If you want I could help you find her." - David offered, surprising me.

David was a tough cookie to c***k. I thought he wasn't particularly fond of me, or at least his aloof behavior made me think that. But maybe that was all just in my head and he was simply busy with problems at hand that came into the light after I showed up to care for bonding with me.

"I would love that. I really need to talk to her." - I said.

"Something wrong?" - Dave's ears immediately perked up.

"Well, yesterday she found out about something I was keeping from her, and I just want to make things right." - I said suggestively, and David's eyes got big, before he frowned, looking rather concerned about the news.

"Okay. Eat and then we'll go look for her." - he said in a tone that gave no place to argue.

Quickly as possible, I inhaled some eggs and nibbled on a single toast, filling my stomach to the brim with coffee and, after that Dave and I both left the Pack House. I have long legs and it was my custom to make quick strides wherever I was walking to, but even that didn't help me with keeping up with Gamma on the mission.

"How did she react?" - he broke the silence when we were far from other wolves roaming around the perimeter.

"Not good." - I admitted - "She was shocked, but that was expected. But when Orson went overboard with a list of all the reasons why we hadn't told her, she shot down and left us without another word."

"Ouch." - he commented.

"Yeah." - I agreed - "I really have to clear the air between us."

David nodded, but stopped prying. Instead, he led me to the nearest warrior's post, where he started interrogating his men about seeing his Cousin. We soon found out that she had left the territory over an hour ago, in Orson's car. David's first instinct was, of course, to ask his Alpha whether he was aware of that fact. But when Orson admitted that he wasn't, I started getting nervous.

Was it possible that she was so mad that she left me here alone? I knew that going behind her back was a shitty move, but I was ready to grovel.

But then David took a moment to think, and the next thing I knew he was calling his younger brother at Harvest Moon. But Cilia wasn't there either and, from what Michael claimed, she never stepped foot in their pack for even a short visit. That made me more and more anxious. And I noticed that Dave wasn't much calmer.

He then called the airport, checking if the jet was still there, and thankfully it was, so at least she hadn't left the country.

His next idea, however, took me by surprise when I was listening to his conversation.

"Boris, I need you to locate Orson's car. But do it quietly. Don't say a word to Liana, Dean or anyone." - he said into his phone - "Yes, I know you can't lie to your mate, but I doubt she will ask if you had checked Midnight Banes vehicles today, and if she won't ask, you won't technically be lying to her." - Dave said in a sharp tone. - "No, it's not about Orson. Cilia took his car and I don't know where she went." - he explained. - "Fine. I'll wait."

It took that Boris guy, who, if I'm not wrong, is Orson's brother-in-law, a little over two minutes to call David back. And my heart started swelling when I noticed a smile blossoming on Dave's face.

"I know where she is. Let's go." - he said, going back towards the Pack House, but we didn't go inside, instead we got into an all-black SUV with tinted windows that looked as if it belonged to the mob, and we drove off.

"I'm I allowed to ask where we're going?" - I asked.

"That sly cousin of mine took off to my family's friend's cottage in the woods. I didn't even suspect she knew about that place." - he said.

"You all seem to know surprisingly little about her and greatly underestimate her each time." - I muttered. - "So Dave, what does Gamma actually do?" - I asked, needing a distraction from my fear that Cilia would hate me for life.

"You don't know that?" - he asked, raising his brows in surprise.

"Well, we don't have one back at home, and I don't think I've ever met anyone of your rank before, so no, I don't know."

"Okay." - he took my answer - "So Gamma is basically responsible for keeping the place safe. With our heightened senses, we are the ones most prone to feel danger, find an intruder, track someone. That's why, in most packs, the Gammas are responsible for training men and keeping the borders safe."

"What do you mean by heightened senses? Don't all the werewolves have that?" - I asked.

"They do." - he nodded - "But you see, when a regular wolf's senses are heightened compared to a human, Gamma wolf has his even stronger."

"Hmm, so why aren't the Gammas the ones leading the packs if they are so well equipped?" - I asked.

"Because we are smaller, weaker and we don't have an Alpha pull, that is necessary to form a community. Alpha is more like a glue holding each place together, and with Gamma in charge it would be complete chaos." - he explained.

"Okay, so what do Beta wolves do then?" - I asked after.

"You really don't know much about how a pack works, don't you?" - he chuckled.

"Mock all you want, but I bet I could surprise you in different areas."

"Sassy. I like it." - he grinned with approval - "So Betas are supposed to be second strongest or as strong as an Alpha. They are so important, because they are usually more rational and less temperamental than Alphas, so their main job is to stop the wild tendencies of our leaders."

"Are you telling me that Teddy is as strong as Orson?" - I asked with wide eyes.

"Not yet, but he's getting there. Keep in mind that Orson is a decade older than Teddy, but that kid is from a long and strong line of Betas. He'll grow up to be a great Beta one day."

"That's fascinating how different our two traditions are." - I muttered - "Do you think there's a book or something that could help me with getting to know all that?" - I asked, feeling how poorly I was educated on the matter, and if Orson and I would one day get there, I wouldn't want to be a disapointment.

"I could arrange something." - he said when we made a turn into a path that I would have missed if I hadn't known it was there. We drove another few minutes on a bumpy road, until David parked in front of what must've been the lodge mansion. The house was all wooden, fitting perfectly with the surrounding forest, but the size of it was out of this world. I think it may have been close in size to the Pack House I've been staying at for the last couple of days.

Dave's eyes shone blue, taking my attention away from an impressive building, and he smiled.

"Oh yeah, she's here." - he announced, getting out of the car.

He walked me to the front porch and entered the house as if it was his or as if he had at least done it a thousand times before and found ourselves in a spacious open-concept room with a kitchen and dining room on one side and a recreation area with sofas and a big TV on the other.

And there, in the corner, next to the marble fireplace, I saw Cilia sitting on the floor with a box of matches in her hand, frowning seeing our intrusion.

"How did you find me?" - she asked, narrowing her eyes on me and David.

"For the future don't steal cars that have a tracker in them." - Dave snickered, walking straight to the fridge and taking a soda can from it.

I, however, slowly made my way to an angry she-wolf on the floor, and carefully sat close by.

"You need some help with that?" - I asked, pointing at the matches in her hand.

"Sure." - she said, throwing me the box. - "I'm not mad enough to freeze to death."

I didn't take offense, but focused on lighting up the fireplace and when I was done I met her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cilia. I wanted to tell you." - I said, cutting right to the case.

"Yeah, I bet you did." - she rolled her eyes.

"She did, but Orson and I banned the idea." - Dave hollered all the way from the kitchen, making me look at him strangely. - "Heightened senses, remember?" - he said, pointing to his ear.

I shook my head and focused back on my friend, who was now watching the dancing flames mid-wandering.

"Can you forgive me?" - she glanced at me and shrugged - "Cilia, I was very confused myself. At first I thought I had found a mate who was already taken. But when he explained the situation to me, I was so confused that I didn't know what to do. Now I know I shouldn't have listened to those guys and told you immediately. I will never make that mistake again."

"It's fine. It's not like I don't have experience of being kept in the dark and omitted." - she said, and my heart was breaking for her, because I knew that, and yet I did it to her too.

"It won't happen again, I swear." - I said, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and giving her a side hug. - "Besides, it makes me almost your cousin-in-law, and that was the dream, right?"

She looked into my eyes with a small lopsided smile blossoming on her face.

"Yeah, I guess." - she said - "But for the record, I draw the line at hearing about Orson's junk."

"Deal!" - I agreed, giggling, and we focused on watching the fire for a while.

"Do you like him?" - she asked.

"Orson?" - she nodded - "Yes, I very much do."

She nodded, accepting my answer, and looked back at the fireplace.

"Is he good to you?"

"You know, the situation isn't ideal, but he's really trying. But I'm worried about him. He's very lost, and I'm not talking about the Kimny ordeal." - I admitted with a sigh, promising myself to tell her everything from now on, even the things that terrifies me.

"Always have been." - she chimed in - "But if there's one person able to make a man out of a man-child, it's you."

"So am I forgiven, and you'll help us?" - I asked with a pleading smile.

"Yeah, I will." - she nodded - "Ever since I met her, I have been thinking of rearranging Kimmy's face. So let's have some fun with her." - she said with a mischievous smile.

"Should I be worried?"

"Always." - she assured me, and we burst into laughter, because whenever Cilia had a groundbreaking idea we ended up regretting our decisions from the night before. - "But this night is ours. I'm willing to share with Ors, but it has to be a fair game."

"I think he will manage with me." - I agreed, trying not to laugh again.

"So I think you won't be needing me anymore?" - Dave asked all the way from the kitchen, betraying that he had been listening to us all this time.

"No. Get lost. I'm still mad at you." - Cilia told him. - "Besides, it seems like we have to count every second of our girl's time, since you'll be off the market in no time." - she smiled at me. - "They have a wine cellar here. Fancy a tour?"

"With my bottle sister, always!"

"Good. So first we drink and then we'll brainstorm over all the creative ways to kill the wench." - she said, standing up and extending her hand to me. That's the Cilia I know and love, and Kimmy should be scared for her life.