Chapter Sixteen

"Then she tells me that she thought that I was going to mark her, even though she's not my other half," Christopher Jones, a man that Alexander considered to be his other best friend, said.

At the age of 42, which was still considered young by most paranormals, he was living in the present and enjoying his youth. With his blue-grey eyes and jet black hair, the Aussie was a heartthrob of many girls who wanted him for their own.

But that was not Alexander's concern tonight.

His attention was on the beautiful brown-haired female he had been staring at for the past few hours that the alpha ball had been going on. She had lightly done makeup that would not be noticeable to anyone who didn't know her properly. Her hair that seemed fuller those days was in a ponytail. The way the waiter suit she was wearing highlighted the curves he had gotten used to seeing in the past few weeks...

Gosh, she was beautiful.

"She's hot. You gonna ask her out or are you already banging her?"

It took Alexander a few seconds to register that his friend has spoken.

“Huh?”

"If you're not, you wouldn't mind if I get her number," Stupid Christopher kept talking.

Chris was occasionally annoying, sometimes riling him up more than James or Will ever could. Their banters often ended in playful fights or Alex kicking him out of his room.

Now, Alex wanted to rip his head off.

Control yourself, Alex. He wouldn't hit on her if he knows she's yours.

Just when Alex was calming down, Chris turned to look at Camila. Sensing their gaze immediately, she met it with a blank stare. If Chris tried to hit on her, he would...

And the soon-to-be-dead Australian man winked at his mate. His Mila.

Before the first punch could land, a tray appeared between the old friends with His Mila not too far behind.

"Champagne, gentlemen," she said slowly with a bow for formalities.

Her voice washed over him, his anger dissipating immediately. He could listen to her speak all day long.

"Oh, thanks. We needed a refill," Chris said with a flirty smile.

Alex didn't bother getting mad.

Camila wasn't even looking at Chris as she held the tray in his direction. When she turned to him, he was sure a little life seeped into her eyes.

"Champagne, Your Highness?"

She picked up the glass and handed it to him, brushing the tips of their fingers together. The spark that sizzled from the contact coursed throughout his body and elicited a smile.

"Thank you, Mila," the prince said softly.

She bowed and was about to leave when Chris spoke again, "So your name is Mila?"

"Camila," she said and walked away leaving the black-haired boy with a frown.

Alexander made all effort to avoid his friend's questioning gaze.

"You called her Mila," Chris stated.

Alex took a sip of his drink, allowing her scent that lingered on the cup to waft through his nostrils. "And?"

"Did you see the look on her face when I said it?"

Alex loved the look on her face. It was plain irritation, borderline on disgust that his name for her should come out of the mouth of another.

Good.

"What look?" Alex feigned ignorance.

"Disgust. Like I did not have the right to call her that. Yet, you did and she accepted it. Maybe she likes you. Does she? Do I have a chance with her or am I wasting my time?" Chris narrowed his eyes.

Alex didn't reply and took another sip to hide his smile.

It was nice to see a girl rattle his friend up. It was nicer when it was his girl.

When Camila passed by a half hour later, Chris stopped her to talk to her.

"Camila, right?" he started, going for his innocent boy-next-door act.

Camila turned her full gaze on him and he took a step back instinctively. Alex snorted. Chris turned for a brief second to glare at him.

"Yes, Christopher. Do you need a refill?" she replied, extending the tray that had a single cup on it.

“I do. I also need your number,” Chris said. Alex stilled, his wolf threatening to rise to rip into the man who thought that he had a chance with his mate.

“That is not a service I can grant you, sir. Would you perhaps like another drink?” she replied, stoic. Her gaze flitted over to Alex and softened. Almost like she was smiling with her eyes.

His heart soared. Chris groaned.

“Are you sure…” Chris didn't finish his statement because Camila was no longer in front of him.

She stood beside Alex, facing the opposite direction with her hand outstretched behind his head. The sound of her grinding something in her hand was heard and dust fell to the ground.

What just happened?

“Was that a bullet?” Chris asked and looked around to check if anyone heard them. They were near the edge of the large balcony so no attention was on them.

Camila didn't respond and did something even crazier.

She jumped off a balcony on the fourth floor.

Without thinking, Alex followed her and soon after, Chris.

“Oi. What's going on? Did someone just try to shoot you? Is Camila some Wonder Woman or something because she just caught a bullet in her palm,” Chris said while trying to keep up with Alex who was struggling to keep up with Camila.

How did he not know that she could run this fast?

Despite how much his lungs protested, he was very proud of his mate and pushed himself to keep up with her.

As they approached the edge of a cluster of trees, a chord whipped through the air in his direction.

Grab on, she whispered in his mind.

He complied immediately and at the last minute, grabbed Chris and they were both hauled into the air.

When they landed on a sturdy tree branch, Camila took off immediately in pursuit of a man that he could now see. From the man's demeanor, Alex could tell that he was terrified.

Huh? Who knew trained snipers got terrified?

“I think I'm gonna puke,” Chris said, trying to maintain his balance. Alex glanced at his mate who was now expertly hopping from tree to tree towards a man with a gun.

The word ‘gun’ jolted him into motion again.

If that man laid one finger on his Mila, he would treat his body like a piñata.

He ignored Chris' protests and ran faster. As he neared his mate, he heard a sickening crack and a howl of pain.

He almost froze in fear until he remembered that his mate would never cry out.

She'll hit back twice as hard.

That meant that she already could be hurt.

His wolf was almost in full control of his body as he reached her. However, Alex and his wolf were both thrown into confusion as they saw her standing and staring at the man on the ground, clutching his knee.

No, not man. Boy.

“He's eighteen,” Camila answered his unspoken question.

Why was an eighteen year old trying to kill a member of the royal family?

He didn't voice out his question or anything at all because Camila looked extremely pissed. The anger rolling off her came in stronger waves than the time she hurt Eva.

Eva. She had been released from the hospital yesterday and hadn't bothered to seek Alex. Alex was glad about that.

Chris finally stumbled into the area, looking sick. He was about to speak then he suddenly shivered. “Is it cold here or is it just me?”

Camila glanced at him and he took a few steps back, almost falling backwards. He glanced at me asking for an explanation. I shrugged and he sighed.

“Chris, lift the boy. Freda and the royal family are expecting us.” She began to walk in the opposite direction from which they came.

“Why do I have to be the one to…” Chris froze as Camila looked at him.

“Yes, ma'am,” he whispered.

The journey to the palace was short and silent. Even the injured boy, whose name they had discovered was Ivan, stayed quiet.

When they got to the tea room through their trusted secret entrance, they met four worried people who sagged in relief at their entry.

“They try to kill Adelaide yesterday. They try to kill Alex today. What’s going on and who's that?” William asked, looking at Camila while pointing at Ivan.

“That was His Highness's intended killer,” Camila said, her voice growing gruffer for a second before normalizing.

They all fixed their gazes on Ivan who was now lowered to the floor.

“What is your name?” the king asked.

“Ivanovo Dimitri,” he answered with a shaky voice.

Camila's head snapped to him. “Are you Gregory's son?”

Who was Gregory and why was his mate interested in him?

Ivan nodded.

“Who's Gregory?” Chris asked.

“He was the Alpha of a small pack about two hours from here. Sometime last year, he relinquished control of his pack to another Alpha,” the king explained.

“Except he didn't,” Ivan spat bitterly. “There's not much an Alpha commanding a pack of two hundred people can do against one commanding a pack of five thousand.”

“What are you talking about?” the king asked.

Ivan tried to speak but the words got caught in his throat and looked to be causing him physical pain.

His Alpha had probably commanded his pack to be quiet about his misdeeds. Only a royal family member in very high standing could override the command.

“Talk,” Camila gritted out and the words came flying out of Ivan's mouth. All their eyebrows flew up. Chris' mouth dropped.

“He killed my mother, caused my father to go mad, then killed him. Absorbed my pack into his. He…he has my s-sister.” Ivan began to cry.
“Please, he said that he'd kill her if I didn't…if I…I'm sorry….I didn't want to lose her.” He bowed at the queen's feet, pleading for mercy.

Obviously, the mother did not soften her gaze. Instead, she looked at him with questioning eyes.

“How old are you?”

Ivan sniffed. “Eighteen.”

The woman began to take off her shoes and jewelry.

“Aleks, what are you doing?” the king asked.

“I'm going on a run, dear,” she replied sweetly. Freda snickered under her breath.

The king raised an eyebrow. “A two hour run that would end in bloodshed and death.”

“You know me so well.” She kissed her mate's cheek before turning to Ivan. “I never did get a location.”

“Bastille's pack,” Camila said.

“Bastille? Wait a minute, the guy that had to leave early?” Freda asked. Camila nodded and glanced at Ivan, furrowed her eyebrows and looked forward.

“Bastille is on our suspect list, isn't he?” the king asked while holding on tightly to his mate.

“Crunch time, baby,” Freda yelled, punching the air.

“Freda, call a doctor. Ivan has twenty-two minutes before he loses functionality in his leg and a fifteen percent chance of dying in surgery if his leg is amputated. I need him alive to figure out how we're related,” Camila said.

Ivan cried out in horror. Freda laughed. “Linked her a while ago. She's on her way.”

“Related? That would make sense,” William said.

Alex looked at him in confusion. “How?”

“I mean, he's eighteen and can accurately fire at a target 2000m away. Look at Camila's sister, she's only 24 but she's one of the strongest female warriors in the royal pack. And finally.” William just pointed at all of Camila to support his reasoning.

“There's certainly some good genes in that family,” William finished.

It made sense.

Alec glanced at Camila who was looking at Ivan with curiousity.

They're family, Alex. Nothing more.

A knock sounded on the door. When his mother opened, the jovial Doctor Leonora burst it then froze. She looked straight at Ivan.

“Mate,” she whispered and walked slowly to him. His gaze followed her until she knelt at his side. When she touched his leg, he flinched and her gaze flew down to the injury.

She shrieked then grabbed his leg and twisted it into the right position without warning.

“Geez, woman,” Ivan yelled.

“I'm sorry. I panicked,” Leonora said and kissed his nose, making him blush. She finally looked up and saw the other inhabitants of the room. Glancing past them, her gaze landed on Camila and her eyes narrowed, accusatory.

“Why didn't you help him?”

Camila stared her down. “Because you were going to.”

“But you could've relieved his pain earlier. I'm sure you knew what to do.”

“I'm not a doctor, Leonora. I keep telling you.”

“Yet you have your own scrubs in my hospital.” Leonora's lips twitched upwards in a smile.

“Leonora, your mate needs intensive care. He is malnourished and fifty- seven minutes from going unconscious if he does not get proper rest.”

“And you say you're not a doctor,” Leonora said and picked up her mate and guided him steadily out of the room.

When the door shut behind them, they all relaxed into seats. All except Chris who was still slack-jawed.

“Can someone please explain to me what's happening?”

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