An Enemy Called Mate

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“Leave,” Her statement replayed in my head. What does she take me for? A fool? I won’t fall for her dirty lies to cover up for her father’s deed. Her father had taken the Guardian and she is trying to hide the Guardian’s location.

I was a fool for not investigating her at first. I should have known.

I left the ward just like she wanted, not without slamming the door in anger as it fell and broke.

~~

I walked down the stairs, and upon reaching the dining hall, Ziva was not around again. It has been four days now, and surprisingly, I haven’t seen her in the mansion. Perhaps that’s because I’ve been busy with pack work.

I pulled out a chair and turned to the Head Omega, “Did she have breakfast?”

“Who?” The Head Omega replied.

I faced her with a deadly glare, and she gazed at the floor instantly.

“That Ziva girl,” I responded.

“Alpha, I’ve not seen her for some days now,” the Head Omega uttered, causing me to pause.

“And what does that mean?”

“She has not been in this mansion for four days now.”

I waved my hand, dismissing her. What’s her use anyway? I shouldn’t worry about that Darwin’s daughter… Unless she is planning to do something disastrous!

Mindlinking Lance, I spoke authoritatively, “Where is Ziva?”

“She is at the hospital,” Lance replied.

“How long would it take for her to recover? She was not badly injured!”

“She complained to the doctor about her back pain and insisted that she needed more rest in the hospital.”

“What?! You let her do that? What if that was just a ruse?!”

“It doesn’t seem like that.”

“Fine, forget it!” I replied, as I picked up the fork on my plate, intending to eat.

“I received a message from Alexei,” Lance’s voice rang out in my mind, causing my hand to spasm and the fork I was holding to clatter to the ground.

“What does he want?” I asked, my voice shaking with curiosity.

“Well, he mentioned that he is returning to the pack,” Lance replied, his words hanging in my mind. The silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity, until I finally managed to find my voice.

“Why? I mean… When did he mention that he will be here?” I asked, my voice strained. I massaged my temples, trying to ward off the headache that was beginning to form.

“Two to three minutes from-,” Lance’s voice trailed off in my mind, leaving me hanging in suspense. But before he could continue, I caught a familiar scent in the breeze.

“Brann!” Maz’s voice rang out in my head, sounding just as surprised as I felt.

Oh goodness!

“Brother!” A deep voice called out, growing louder as footsteps drew nearer.

I turned around, and there he was – my twin brother, Alexei, with his dark hair and blue eyes. He was smiling, but I couldn’t bring myself to return the smile.

However, all I could think about was the last time we’d seen each other, and the situation that had led to our distance. He may be my replica, but we are nothing alike.

He has been to the city; the human place where werewolves also go to for business purposes or vacation, but their identity is kept as a secret.

Alexei dropped into the chair next to me, and the Head Omega walked forward, serving another potion of meal. She smiled at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “You’ve grown so much since I last saw you,” she said.

“Thank you ma, and you also look so grown already,” Alexei replied, then a chuckle echoed from the Head Omega. He chuckled too, before they continued to discuss, like I wasn’t even around.

“Ahem!” I coughed, and both of them turned to look at me.

ZIVA

It turned out that staying in the hospital helped a lot, though I do not like the smell of medicines and detergents.

So, I take a stroll outside the pack hospital. The kids there were very nice to me, the doctors too, and it made me feel four years younger. You know, the happiness I’ve felt before I turned eighteen.

Lance persuaded me to return to the mansion, but knowing very well how cold-hearted my so-called husband was, I preferred to stay in the hospital.

Here, I don’t have to worry about being murdered by my husband, but Alpha Darwin’s threats still replay in my head.

I have to find the Crystal Moon. Tsk, I should return to the mansion then. Four days of no Alpha Xander is enough.

Clutching my phone, I dialed Lance’s phone number which he had given me during his visit to the hospital. He is a kind soul. Very caring too. It turned out that he visited the hospital daily to check on me.

Hehe, the nurse told me about that, and I’m happy she did.

Within seconds of dialing his number, he answered the call.

“Lady Ziva?”

“Hi, I feel better now. Can you get a car to pick me up at the hospital?” I asked, and he replied quickly, “Sure.”

The call ended. I moved away from the bed, and gazed at the window. There, I could see everyone in the surroundings, most especially the happy children.

Sigh… I guess everyone has that moment of happiness and mine passed away.

Screech!

The screeching of brakes pulled me out of my thoughts.

An expensive car was parked by the side and my phone vibrated with a message popping up on the screen.

“The driver is waiting outside,” the message read. It was from Lance.

“Thanks,” I replied. Then, I walked out of the hospital. Lance had dealt with the discharge papers already, so there was nothing to worry about.

I got into the car, and it sped off towards the mansion.

The car halted into a stop and I slipped silently into the mansion, hoping to go unnoticed.

As soon as I reached the staircase that leads to my room, I spotted Alpha Xander on the landing, but he was in a t-shirt and sweat pants and his hair was cut short. He had a phone clasped in his arm, and he was talking, like he was receiving a call.

I decided to stylishly move to my room without him noticing. With my head bent low, I crept away from him.

“Hey!” His deep voice echoed, causing me to stop in my tracks.

Gosh, he caught me.

I turned around slowly, and my gaze came in contact with Alpha Xander. He had a quizzical look on his face, and he gazed at me, like he was inspecting me.