An Enemy Called Mate

ZIVA

The Alpha is as cold as he has always been. But today was somewhat different. His eyes didn’t speak anger this time, he seemed to be more worried than angry. I walked out of the dining hall, having eaten my food to my satisfaction.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I reached the staircase, attempting to go to my room, and prepare for the guest Alpha Xander spoke about.

As I took a step, about to ascend to my room, I heard a whisper from somewhere nearby. It was followed by a low chuckle, as if someone were trying to hold back their laughter.

“Lady Ziva looked so cute!” the voice squealed again, this time even louder.

“Shh!” another voice hissed with an annoyed tone. “Do you want everyone to hear you?”

I moved back, turning toward the direction of the voices. Then, I realized that the owners of the voices were in a room. I crept closer to listen. Pressing myself against the wall as I neared the door, I prayed that they wouldn’t see me.

I peeked through the tiny gap between the door and the wall and saw two young women dressed in Omega uniforms, their eyes bright as they gossiped. But why were they talking about me?

“I was there last night. She turned the kitchen into a disaster, the Alpha threw her out of the mansion, but he returned with her. Such a sweet soul.” the Omega spoke to the other Omega who seemed to be uninterested in what she was discussing.

As the first Omega spoke about me, the other Omega cleaned the room roughly like the room had offended her.

The Omega’s statement made me recall that I woke up in the morning, on my bed.

I could not remember all that happened last night, but I recall stepping into a car and falling asleep. It must have been Alpha Xander’s car.

The Omega who seemed to be uninterested in her speech stepped in at that moment.

“Enough of this blathering!” she snapped. “All you talk about is how cute and sweet she is, but did you see the mess she made in the kitchen? It was her first night, and she left the place in shambles. If she stayed here for two months, this pack would be reduced to nothing.”

“Don’t say that!” The chatty Omega protested, “It was just a mistake, she’s new here, after all.”

“A mistake? Yeah, right,” The Omega who was antagonizing me sneered, rolling her eyes. “You know, if it was Lady Rose, the kitchen would never be destroyed. Lady Rose is very experienced with kitchen work.” She voiced out.

Lady Rose? Who is that?

“Keep deceiving yourself. I’m certain that you are only supporting Lady Rose because you were her favorite, and she gave you tips weekly. Don’t give too much praise to a corpse.”

“How dare you speak that way? If Alpha Xander heard you say that, you’d be in big trouble.”

“Me or you? You are the one who broke the rule by speaking about Lady Rose. You know how deadly that is.”

“Forget it, let’s just clean this place.” The Omega pouted, ending the discussion.

They began to clean, their voices fading as I left the room. Walking into my room, my mind rambled. It rambled about what they said.

That Lady Rose must have been someone of my age for that Omega to be comparing us. But I guess it’s something I should not know about.

Sigh… since I vividly recall when the Omega said that mentioning Lady Rose was breaking a rule.

I wouldn’t want to cause another mess by asking questions about Lady Rose.

“Hey, I’ve been waiting for you!” Anji exclaimed, her voice brimming with excitement. She placed her hands on my shoulders and gently ushered me into my room, with the sound of her heels clicking on the floor.

That reminds me. I wanted to discuss with Alpha Darwin about my mother’s location before I was thrown out of the mansion. Since Anji is Alpha Darwin’s minion, she can help!

As soon as we reached my room, Anji picked two dresses, and she narrated, “The Alpha is expecting a guest soon, so you should be prepared. What dress would you like, eh? Cocktail? Ball gown?” Anji’s voice trailed off.

“Are you even listening to me?” She uttered, snapping her fingers at my face.

“I am,” I replied.

“Then what’s wrong? Are you nervous?”

I shook my head. “No, no… it’s just…” I trailed off and walked towards her.

I gently took her hands in mine, and continued, “Can my mother be moved away from that cell? I’m helping Alpha Darwin already. I’ve made the pack united, so my mother should be given a more comfortable place.”

“Lady Ziva, that’s not my decision to make. Alpha Darwin is the one you should speak to, not me.”

“I tried to reach out to him last night, but I couldn’t.”

Anji raised an eyebrow and she voiced out. “That’s impossible. He might be having an Alphas meeting at that time, but if you reached out to him throughout the night, he would have responded.”

“Oh, something came up at that moment.”

“The kitchen incident?”

“You know already?”

“Everyone in this mansion knows about how Alpha Xander threw you out and carried you in his arms.”

“Carried me?” I questioned, not recalling that anyone carried me in their arms, most especially Alpha Xander.

“When did that happen?” I asked, my brows furrowed.

“Oh, I thought you knew! It’s been the talk of the pack since yesterday. Pictures have been all over the internet.” Anji replied, causing my jaw to drop in shock.

“What?!” I sputtered. “We’re supposed to keep our identities a secret. If humans find out about our existence, they’ll try to hunt us.”

“Relax, it’s just photos of a normal couple who seem to care deeply for each other. No one would suspect anything lycanthropic.” Anji replied, and she held out her phone.