MARKED BY DECEPTION

5- NO ALPHA, YOU CAN’T READ THIS MIND

It was gone.That scent I had perceived so strongly yesterday. The reason I had called for this meeting.

I tried to conceal my irritation by wearing a smile but the disappointment I felt kept nagging at me.I thought gathering them together in a place would help me confirm my suspicions, give me a clue, a thread to pull on to but no.

Now I had thirty women standing before me, trying to stifle their yawns, eyes tired yet alert, waiting for me to address them.

Great.

My eyes searched through the crowd, looking for her, the one too confident to bow fully to me.

There you are.

She stood behind a lady that was twice her size. Head down, shuffling her right feet on the cemented floor.

Was she hiding?

Where was that bravado of yesterday?

Clifford raised his right hand, signaling me that it was time. I shifted my gaze from her reluctantly.

“Goodmorning ladies!.”, I flashed them a brief smile, and they returned my greeting with similar enthusiasm.

“Goodmorning Alpha!”

“I must say thank you for giving us your time and strength this season.” I paused, studying everyone’s reaction, especially hers.

“Some of you have journeyed from far and wide to help us with your skills, and we are grateful.” , they smiled , I continued.

“I hope you all are comfortable here, make sure you feel at home. If you have any complaints, tell Lady Rose, or me , if you see me in person - I am always happy to listen”

I must have said something they liked because they clapped very loudly, cheering me on,it thundered round the room.

She did too.

I called out to Rose who was at my right,

“Rose!”

She walked swiftly to my side, bending her face to meet my level.I had not informed her earlier but I wanted her to do the division of labour right now.

It was the best way to know her name and location of duty without asking anyone. I didn’t want to raise any suspicions, as it stood, Ethan was already suspecting me.

I noticed as his eyes followed me. I’m sure he still remembered the encounter at the balcony yesterday. I didn’t expect him to forget so soon.

“Do you have the list of labour with you”, I whispered into her ears. She nodded, bringing out a wrinkled folded paper from her apron.

“Yes my lord I have the list with me”, she confirmed.

Awesome.

I stood up from my seat, and gave her the floor. I joined the crowd, walking around them slowly.

Maybe if I were closer I’d get a hint.

How could they mask so fast?

Omegas should not be able to mask that fast.

Had I smelt wrong ? No, I never did.

Rose divided the names into six categories and gave them the instructions for the division of labour and labour as a whole in the palace.

“If I call your name , you stand behind your group leader. Is that clear?”

They chorused, “ yes lady Rose”

She started to call their names, and they did as they were told. I noted every name and face.

As I moved through the twenty other females still unassigned , I studied every movement, breath pattern,scent, speech. You name it.

I had to know who was faking being confident or naive? Who seemed overly excited or disappointed in their location? I needed something, anything.

Like clockwork, I found my way close to this mystery woman. I felt her body get stiff as I got closer.

Was that fear? Or awareness?

Had I overrated her yesterday?

“Nyx— right wing, third floor”, that was my wing and floor. I noted the lady they called and the other ladies previously assigned.

There were five women left now, she was one of them.

“Sera-” she looked up.

Sera. Her name was Sera.

I closed my eyes, letting her name register in my mind. I may forget the rest but I didn’t want to forget hers.

“Left wing, second floor”, I watched her move slowly. It did not scream of confidence,yet it didn’t indicate that she was shy either.

Not excited, not uninterested.

Poker face.

That was what it was.

I hated that she wasn't as expressive as I wanted.

Out of reflex,I tried to push into her mind, a habit I resorted to when I felt someone was trying to outsmart me.

What?

Instead of thoughts, I was met with a blank wall, a void.

She was unreadable?

Why?

***

I felt him try to intrude my mind, the increasing pressure throbbing in my head could only be that from an alpha. It was the same level I had felt years ago, when Brandon tried.

I watched him come closer to where I was standing, he thought distance was the issue.

No alpha, you can’t just read this mind.

This was what years of trauma from abandonment did. I had built my walls, strong and tight, no one could penetrate their way into my heart or mind.

Not even the most skilled alpha.

After my family thought I was the cause of their downfall, the reason they had been cast down to the level of omega.

I had learnt to be emotionally and mentally strong, that involved blocking out my mindlink. I made sure no one could understand how I truly felt or the thoughts that rummaged through my mind.

If they knew we would all be in trouble.

He looked at me intently, I tried to act nervous and decided to flash him a smile. Not a mischievous one, but something cute, something to make his heart flutter.

To my surprise, he smiled back immediately. Flashing the most perfect set of white teeth I’ve ever seen. My heart did something unusual, it betrayed me. It skipped a beat.

He goes back to where Lady Rose stood when she was done assigning us.

“Thank you so much for your time. I hope you honor your duty post.Have a nice day, ladies”, he dismissed us, but before he left, he did something that made me even more confused.

He bowed to us.

We were the ones working for him? Why was he bowing to us?

Brandon never ever bowed to anyone that was less than him, and that was the whole pack. This was certainly new to me.

He dropped the mic with Lady Rose, bowed to her as well.

‘He was a leader but he served his people’I mentally noted. That was admirable.

He gave his books to his gamma, my eyes were still glued on him, studying him. I watched his confident stride as he left the big kitchen, his Beta, Gamma and Enforcer walked behind him with similar confidence.

He doesn’t look back. Something in me thought he would steal another glance at me before leaving, after all I was certain he was suspecting me, he had just tried to mindlink me.

“Okay ladies, let’s get to work”, lady Rose clap echoed in the room.

I followed the other women, but I knew once it was noon I had to run out of here and meet with Simon and the others.

We needed a new plan, urgently.