Ronan's POVI would have gone back to Malia's room but I thought I heard her chatting to someone, most likely, Penelope. I noticed that they were becoming closer by the day. I was still kind of surprised by Malia's humility. Even though she had been a Luna, she didn't choose her friends according to status. I could not imagine someone like Lila becoming friends with a servant. I made my way to my wing and lay down on my bed immediately I got in. My mind went back to the discussion Ryder and I had just had. He made it seem as though I was the one who didn't want our sister to return to the palace. I didn't remember ever saying anything like that. Maybe he was just trying to mess with me or shift the blame on me. Maybe he had also shared our father's thought that she was the cause of our mother's death. I sighed and tried to lull myself to sleep. After a frustrating hour of tossing and turning on the bed, I accepted defeat and threw the covers off me. I decided I needed to tal
Ronan's POV“We should start heading back to the palace. I promised my wife I'd be home early for dinner. I don't want to risk offending her again just after I cut her vacation short,” Lucien said.“I was hoping I could challenge you to a duel. I need to be very exhausted. It's the only way I'd be able to sleep tonight,” I replied. “Just thirty minutes,” I added when I saw the hesitation in his features.“On one condition,” he said. “When we're done, you'd have to follow me back to my chambers to explain to my wife that you're the reason I'm late for dinner.”I nodded. “Consider it done.”He gave me a wolfish grin. “I'm going to have so much fun beating you.”“We'll see about that,” I replied with a smirk. We ended up dueling for an hour and by the time we finished we were nearly totally out of breath and our muscles had turned jelly. The only thing we could do was plop down on the ground. “Admit it,” I said panting, “I've become so much better.”“Don't look so smug,” he replied.
Malia's POV“Now who told you that?” I asked Penelope. There was no point in saying that it was Lila that the Alpha wanted to crown as his Luna. That would be a lie and I didn't want to lie to Penelope. Her eyes glittered with mischief. “I swear this time I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just passing through when I heard the Beta and his brother talking about it.”My eyes widened in surprise. “Ronan knows?” Penelope nodded. “I guess he didn't tell you either because he didn't want you to know due to the way he feels about you, or because he feels it's not in his place to tell you about it,” she reasoned. “Whatever it is, he's my friend. He's not supposed to keep something like this from me,” I grumbled. “Do you want to become Luna for the second time?” Pen asked. “Hell no! I can't risk Lila suffocating me to death in my sleep,” I said and she chuckled. “Perhaps Alpha Ryder might insist that you move into his chambers once you're crowned Luna. No one would be able to hurt you.”
Ronan's POVI awoke sometime before the devil's hour. I knew I had been dreaming about when I was younger but the more I tried to remember the details of the dream, the more they eluded me. Hunger gnawed painfully at my stomach and I remembered that I had gone to bed with an empty stomach. I walked into my kitchen to prepare a quick meal. I settled on pasta and a simple sauce but first I poured myself some cereal and milk into a bowl and ate greedily. It was then that the details of the dream hit me and I realized that it wasn't really a dream but a memory that I had managed to bury in my unconscious mind. It was immediately after my mom had delivered my sister. My father, Ryder and I were pacing anxiously in the hospital building. Not far away from the room where the Luna was in labour, trying to bring another pup into the world. We heard the wails of a baby just before the pack doctor came out of that room and we all hurried to meet him halfway. “How are they?” My father had
Ronan's POVI had somehow slipped to the ground and fallen asleep again. I stared at the mess I had made earlier for a while before releasing a deep sigh and getting up to clean it. Afterwards, I went into my bathroom to take my bath. My eyes landed on the mirror and I cringed at my reflection. After remembering what had happened, I wasn't sure if I wanted my sister back home. What if she came back and the rage I had felt then returned, would I make good my threat? I showered, got dressed and headed to Malia's room. I needed to talk to someone. A friend. I got to the front of her room and knocked a few times. When I received no response, I let myself in and nearly burst out laughing. Malia and Penelope were still fast asleep but it was their awkward position that cracked me up. I cleared my throat loudly, yet none of them stirred. My gaze fell on a large bowl that contained remnants of wild rice and beans and I wondered in amusement if the bowl had been full. I took a spoon
Malia's POV“I don't see Derek here. Where is he?” I asked. “His mother is seriously ill and she was asking for him, so he had to go to her,” Scott answered. “Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that. How's he doing?” I inquired. “When I called him last night, he seemed to be doing okay,” Ronan replied. I nodded thinking that after I left the training field I was going to give him a call. “See ya later,” Scott said to me and started to jog towards the opposite direction. “Don't go, Scott,” Lucien ordered. Scott's eyes narrowed slightly in puzzlement. “Is there something you want me to do?” He asked. “I want you to duel with her,” Lucien said to Scott, but his eyes were on me. I scoffed. I knew he wanted to see me fail just so he could prove a point. “It's not necessary, Lucien. She's just here to train and besides she's duelled with me before and I can say for a fact that she's pretty good,” Ronan said. “I do not doubt you, Ronan. I just want to see her in action,” he replied with a
Malia's POVPenelope arched an eyebrow. “Ryder told me yesterday that Lila had travelled and today at the training field, I learnt that Derek had also travelled to go see his sick mother,” I explained. “Don't you think it's not a coincidence? What if he lied about his mom being sick and he's actually vacationing somewhere with Lila?”“There's only one way to find out,” Penelope said. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “You're not about to suggest that we pay Derek's mom a visit to see if she's actually sick, are you?” I asked. She chuckled. “Of course not. Though we could do that.”I gave her a look. “I think we should call them both. You will call Derek under the pretence of wanting to check on him and know how his mother is doing and I'll call Lila under the pretence of having a package for her,” Pen said. I gave her a puzzled look. “How's that going to help us know if they're together or not?”She rolled her eyes. “The background noise,” she replied. I gave her a sceptical lo
Ronan's POVAlthough I wanted to believe Malia, I just couldn't. I had seen her hesitation when I asked her if she had feelings for my brother. She didn't feel inclined to pursue her feelings though and indulge my brother whom I was certain, had feelings for her. And though she felt she might have a choice in the matter, she actually didn't. My brother always got what he wanted. One of the perks of being an Alpha. He might even be able to manipulate her into agreeing to become Luna by using the fact that he saved her. I got to my wing and the first thing I did was hop in the shower. While in the shower, my mind went to the sister I hadn't seen in years and wondered what she looked like. My mother hadn't been able to tell us who the father was and I feared that was a mystery I'd never be able to solve except if the man came out to say it himself. I tried to remember if she was ever particularly close to any man apart from my father. There was no one I could think of. It couldn'