Malia's POVThere was a huge painting of me on the wall. I moved towards it like a magnet. “Do you like it?” Ronan asked from behind me. “How? When?” I was baffled. I didn't remember posing for a painting or picture. He moved from behind me to stand beside me. I turned to him expectantly. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I may or may not have taken a picture of you when you were having an animated conversation with Derek. I had to wait for the perfect moment to capture your delightful expression.”I fell silent for a moment trying to remember the particular day that this must have happened. Ronan mistook my silence for displeasure. “I could have it rubbed off if you don't like it,” he said. “What? No,” I exclaimed and turned to face the painting. “It's really beautiful. I hadn't imagined that I could ever look this good. I'd love to meet the artist who did this,” I enthused. I was really impressed by the extraordinary talent of the artist. He had found a way to express t
Malia's POVThe walk to the library was completely silent apart from the sound of our footsteps against the floor. I mentally berated myself for being the cause of Ronan's sour countenance. I should have taken the hint when even the somewhat stoic Ryder had not wanted to talk about it. Why did I have to be so nosy? We finally arrived at the library and I breathed out a sigh of relief. I made a mental note to take all the books that caught my fancy back to my room. There was no way I was going to be able to make the long trip to the library every day. My mouth opened as I took in the grandness of the library. The ceiling was so high and a very impressive crystal chandelier hung from it. The large bookshelves made from oak wood were saturated with books and were so tall that ladders had been fixed so that the books at the tops could be reached.“If you leave your mouth hanging open for ten more seconds, we might find it difficult to ever get it to close,” he teased. “This is super
Malia's POVPenelope's eyes widened slightly in surprise.“How did you hear about it?” No one ever speaks about her. It's like an unspoken rule,” she said in a low voice.“I managed to get it out of your crush,” I replied, wiggling my eyebrows. She promptly blushed. “Ronan?”“Yeah. The one and only,” I said with a knowing smile. “He must really like you a lot for him to have mentioned her existence to you,” she stated with a sad smile. I rolled my eyes. “Penelope, Ronan is my friend. Friends do not hate each other. They like each other, just in case you didn't know,” I said with the patience of one explaining something complex to a little child. She breathed in deeply. “Well, it doesn't even matter. It's not as though if he didn't like you the way I think he does, we'd ever have a chance together.”I wanted to protest but thought better about it. It was only going to make her more upset. “Did you ever see the baby?” I asked. She gave me a look. “I was all but six years old at th
Malia's POVIf Ronan thought of my question as random or unusual, he didn't show it. Or maybe it wasn't as unusual as I thought. “Of course he was there but he showed up pretty late,” he replied and then went on to mutter something about Derek taking him for granted just because they were quite close. My thoughts churned in my head at his answer. It could mean that Derek had been in the library with Lila. The book must have been a distraction to lure me away from my seat which was not too far from the door. Or what if I was just overthinking this? Probably he had come to take a book from the library and his bracelet had fallen. Ronan shook me gently and I gave a start. His eyebrows were knitted together in concern. “Is something wrong? I've been saying your name.”“It's nothing,” I replied with a small smile. “Indeed. That was why you looked so lost earlier,” he scoffed. I thought of something else I could say to erase his concern about what I had been worrying about. I clear
Malia’s POVMy heart skipped a bit as Ryder strolled into the conservatory. I heard Ronan's sharp intake of breath. “Alpha Ryder, we were not expecting you,” he greeted calmly. “I wasn't expecting to see you two in here either,” he replied with a smile. “The beta has taken it upon himself to take me to all of the interesting rooms in the palace. I spent a part of this morning and afternoon in the grand library,” I said to Ryder. “That's so kind of you, brother,” he replied without taking his eyes off me.“What's he doing here?” I asked Ronan. “It beats me. My brother is not a fan of flowers,” he replied. Ryder's eyes which betrayed his amusement moved back and forth between me and Ronan. “You two realise that I'm right here and can hear you, right?” He asked. I tried not to focus on how much his T-shirt emphasized his broad shoulders and well-defined chest. “It seems you do not like flowers, so what brings you here? I'm just curious,” I said. “Well, I'm as curious as you ar
Malia's POV“You bitch,” Lila screeched from behind us. I froze in alarm for a moment. To my dismay, Ryder didn't let go of me. I dug my nails hard into his side and he instantly let me go.I moved to stand behind him because she looked like she wanted to rip my heart out of its cage. Ryder rubbed the back of his neck. “How are you doing, Lila? He asked. She scoffed. “Are you kidding me right now?”Her eyes had narrowed to slits and her hands were clenched into fists. “This is well beneath you, Ryder. She's nothing. How could you allow her to seduce you?” she demanded in fury. I wanted to protest. If anyone was the seducer it was the Alpha and not me. But I remained silent. There was no need adding gasoline to fire. “Lila, please stay calm,” he pleaded, walking slowly towards her.She looked like she was going to explode.Immediately he got close enough to her, she drew back her hand and landed a slap on his cheek. I gasped. “Hopefully that is enough to bring you back to your
Malia's POV“Ronan, you know how Lila can be super dramatic,” I said. I didn't think he was going to take it so well if I told him that Ryder had his hands on my bum, or worse, that I had loved every bit of it. I saw his jaw clench before he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “I'll take your word for it, Malia,” he said. I gave him a bright smile.“The troop that came here to search for you are gone,” he announced.My heart skipped a beat. “How can you be so sure?” I asked. “Our patrol team at the boundary saw them leaving very early this morning. So you wouldn't have to spend the entire week indoors after all,” he said. I gave a tiny shriek of excitement. “But I still think you should spend the whole of tomorrow indoors, you know, just to be on the safer side,” he advised.“I think I can survive one more day,” I said with a grin. “Come on. Today wasn't so bad, was it? You got to see the conservatory which you immediately declared your best place, and also the library,”
Zade's POV“So what do we do now? We've checked all the packs in this country and we've checked with all the airports. One thing we're sure of is that she's still here and she doesn't want to be found,” my beta said to me. I rested my face in my palms and tried not to scream out in frustration. My pack was in danger and it was all my fault. “Zade, I have a suggestion,” he said. “Let's hear it,” I replied. “Why don't we involve others in this search?” He asked. “What do you mean?” I wondered. “We should discuss with the heads of the other packs about placing a price on her. Whoever finds her is going to be well rewarded. People will be more motivated to look out for her if they stand to gain a lot,” he reasoned. I suddenly felt hopeful. “That's brilliant. Why didn't we think about doing this before?” I wondered. “Sometimes fear and stress affect our thinking and our ability to handle things effectively. Which is why I'm suggesting now that the troops should be allowed to return