Lilliana

After the initial introduction, we left the Mansion and took a stroll outside. I kept chewing my lips in fear of Alpha Richard finding me speaking to Layla.

Layla stopped beside her car and glanced over her shoulders to see the pitch-black windows of Richard's mansion. "I believe you still haven't told him." She trailed off.

"No, not yet. I don't plan on too anymore." I stumbled over my words and said.

"Well, that's better. Richard was a good man but now, he is obsessed with power and money." Her expression moved slightly and she shook her head in disappointment. "Perhaps, it's better if you don't tell him and he finds out his way—once you leave."

I nodded. "I intend on doing that."

My parents, my mate, my friends, everyone warned me about Alpha Richard. It wasn't a good option to tell him the truth myself, especially when he wanted Lorenzo to die. And to begin with, I was never really his subject. I was born as a member of the Scarlet Pride, in Blackpool.

"Good." Layla whispered. "I admit, I was a little surprised when Enzo told me he wanted to come back and claim his throne as the Alpha. I tried convincing him for decades and your existence just made it happen quicker than excepted." Her brows slightly went up while her eyes narrowed to the ground.

A smile played on my lips. "I didn't even know he was an Alpha when I met him." It truly didn't cross my mind until Mrs. Pitts told me the real story about the beast in the woods.

Layla seemed fascinated with me and so was I as I expected something completely different. Maybe a raging bitch or someone worse but she was quite nice compared to my assumptions.

"Ugh, the things he would for his mate." She gave me a soft eye-roll before raising her hand and ticking her fingers at her men. "Get in the cars. We will leave at once. Our job here is over." She told them.

I cleared my throat and stopped her. "If it's not much, may I ask why you were here?"

"Pack matters. Lorenzo wants his people back and Richard is not very willing to give them so I was just here to see the fire and how much longer it is going to burn for. We will have to go on different routes if Richard fails to meet our demands." She explained, running her hands through her thick locks before scratching her scalp.

Layla was the Alpha of the Scarlet Pride and we had known that for a very long time. She ruled the pack for ages and it stayed as it was. But I was in confusion. How could someone be so calm after being taken away from their position? She must've been close to title to leave it just like that for her brother. There must have been some sibling rivalry. I couldn't assume she was so nice and innocent as she portrayed herself.

Something was wrong.

"Aren't you a—a little jealous?"

Another chuckle escaped her mouth. "Of my Brother?"

"Yes—I meant, you were the Alpha of the pack and now—nothing. How were you able to give away your title so easily?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't get mad at my questions. I just wanted to be sure of who was good and who was bad before I went to their town.

She placed her manicured hands over my shoulder and grasped them hard. "Oh, love, I never wanted to become an Alpha but I had to protect the throne for my Brother during his mourning period." She replied, her tone sweet and melded with sugar that felt unreal.

The difference between the siblings was unbelievable.

"Mourning period?" That was fifteen years.

"Well, Enzo had faced more pain that I could've ever. I just wanted him to come out of his darkness and see there was still light after the battle. I had visited his cabin a thousand times over the years and there wasn't a single time he agreed on stepping out or even taking a walk with me." A flash of gloom crept in her eyes as she mentioned the tragedy.

What was so horrible about it? I knew Lorenzo's father died in the battle but that was all. Right?

"His pain meant a lot of me, after all, he was the only family I had left. We had lost our mother to a pair of rogues while we were children and then our father. Enzo lost everything in the battle." She moved her hands away from my shoulders and to my face. "If you had seen his condition a few years ago, you would have felt sorry as well. You gave life to someone who believed he had lost it all. I couldn't thank you anymore." Her face softened and she gave me a small smile before sitting inside her car and driving away from the mansion.

I was at loss of words and stood frozen on my spot for a few seconds before I regained my senses. My breath caught at my throat and I turned around, away from the driveaway. Up until today, I didn't know how much I meant to someone and that someone would do anything in the name of mate.

I was here denying everything, thinking about rejection while someone was head over heels for me.

Just before going back into the mansion to meet with Alpha Richard, I dialed my Professors number and rang him. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hi, Professor Jonathan, I just wanted to inform that I will taking this semester off, I hope it isn't an issue. It would be great if you can tell me about how I can go with this. It's last minute but it would be great if I got some help regarding this." I said before dropping the call.

I needed to make some sacrifices as well.

As I proceeded to go inside the house, I heard a notification ringing off my phone and when I glanced at it, it was a voicemail from Dr. Diane. My heart raced and I bit my lips before hearing it.

"This is Diane. Please call me back whenever you are available." She said, her voice filled with concern.

Were the blood results out? It hadn't been an hour, they couldn't come out so fast. I calmed my thoughts down and went inside the mansion to be only attended by the guard inside.

"Alpha Richard is out for a run and I don't know when he can return but you can come in tomorrow morning." The guard came in front of me and stated.

"Oh."