Chapter 205 I’d Hurt Her

Arabella Westwood:

The room I’d been given used to belong to Vanessa, although these days it was mostly used for guests.

It felt strange being there. I’d cleaned that very room more times than I could count, changing the bedsheets, scrubbing the bathroom, and making sure everything was spotless. And now I was staying there as a guest.

Who would’ve thought?

By dinnertime, I was hungry, so I decided to go downstairs and ask Vikki whether dinner would be served in my room or if I was expected to join everyone at the table.

Lucien had specifically told me to order food from outside rather than eat anything prepared in the Beta’s house. Still, I hadn’t quite decided what to do.

I found Vikki in the living room, sitting on the sofa with her phone in her hand. An omega was placing a cup of coffee on the table in front of her when I walked in.

Something about the woman caught my attention. She was taller than most she-wolves I’d seen, and when she noticed me, she gave me a small nod.

That was odd. I didn’t recognize her, but she was looking at me as though she knew exactly who I was.

Vikki followed her glance and noticed me standing near the doorway.

“Oh, Arabella! I was just thinking about your dinner. You must be hungry by now.” She turned to the omega. “Take her dinner up to her room, please. And make sure she has everything she needs.”

Then she added with a smile, “She’s new here. Came looking for work, so we hired her this evening. Her references were excellent.”

The omega smiled politely before heading toward the kitchen.

I watched her leave. There was something different about her, although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it was the way she carried herself, or the fact that she didn’t seem the least bit nervous around Vikki.

Curious, I decided to follow her instead of returning upstairs. Vikki had already gone back to her coffee and phone, paying us no attention.

I caught up with the woman in the hallway, but before I could call out to her, she stopped and turned around.

“Miss Arabella.” She dipped her head respectfully.

I blinked. “Do I know you?” I asked, lowering my voice.

To my surprise, she smiled and glanced briefly toward the living room before speaking. “I’m Chloe… a royal warrior. His Highness sent me here.”

“Lucien sent you?” I couldn’t help looking her up and down again. “As an omega?”

“Yes, Miss. His instructions were very clear. I’m not here to spy on you or interfere with your tasks. He asked me to make sure you’re properly looked after.”

Oh, Lucien.

I was supposed to handle this all alone.

Just then, my phone pinged. I pulled it out of my pocket and found a message from Lucien, along with a picture of Chloe.

“She’s there to help you. She’ll be posing as an omega, so nobody will suspect anything. Whatever you need, just ask her. And don’t give me a hard time about this, Menace.”

***

The next morning, I found myself sitting across from Alpha Chris and Beta Rick in the Alpha’s office, with several files spread across the desk.

Chris was still rather stiff around me. He barely acknowledged my presence when I arrived and had spent most of the morning speaking to Rick instead of me. Not that I minded. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to having a friendly conversation with him either.

“These are the expenditure reports for the past three years,” Chris said, sliding a folder toward me. “The older records will take some time to retrieve.”

I opened the folder and began going through the figures. “His Majesty wants the full five years, including any funds received from the royal treasury. We’ll need those records too.”

“Rick can arrange that.” Chris turned toward him. “Make sure she gets whatever she needs. I have a meeting with the council later.”

Rick nodded and pulled another file from the stack. “I’ve already asked the accounts department to retrieve the older records. Some of the expenses were recorded under separate departments, so we’ll have to consolidate them before submitting the final report.”

He opened the file to a marked page and pointed out several entries.

“See these? The money allocated for border security was divided between patrol maintenance, weapons, and warrior allowances. If we submit only the main account, it’ll look like a portion of the funds is missing. We’ll need to attach the individual departmental statements as well.”

“Oh, I see.” I made a note beside the figures.

Rick continued explaining how the pack’s revenue was divided. He barely needed to consult the files. Whenever I asked about a particular entry, he seemed to know exactly where to find it.

Chris, meanwhile, had little to add beyond occasionally approving something Rick suggested. After another twenty minutes, Chris checked his watch and pushed his chair back.

“I have another matter to attend to. Rick, you know what needs to be done. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Of course, Alpha,” Rick replied, already reaching for another folder.

Once Chris left, I continued making notes while Rick sorted through the remaining papers. “You really do know a lot about how this pack runs,” I remarked.

“That’s because I’ve been handling these matters for years,” he replied without looking up. “I know this pack inside out.”

“Of course.” I turned another page, pretending to study the figures. “Sometimes I wonder why you’re still a Beta,” I said it under my breath, as though the thought had simply slipped out.

Rick’s hand stopped halfway through turning a page. For a moment, he didn’t move at all. I kept my attention on the file in front of me, giving him no indication that I’d noticed.

“Anyway,” I said, pointing to another entry, “what about these expenses? Are they included in the annual report, or do we need a separate statement?”

Rick took a moment longer than usual to answer. “Those are included,” he finally said, pulling the file closer. “I’ll show you where.”

I nodded and picked up my pen again. I wasn’t trying to make him suspicious. I just wanted to plant a little seed in his mind, something that might make him question why he was still a Beta when he was doing an Alpha’s job.

For my next step, I needed a witch. And there was only one person I could think of.

Lilith.

As soon as I left the office, I pulled out my phone and sent Lucien a message. “How can I get in touch with Lilith?”

I knew she was still furious with me, and she had every right to be. She’d been one of the few people who’d shown me kindness when I needed it most, and how had I repaid her? By poisoning someone she loved dearly. I couldn’t even imagine how much I’d hurt her.

Perhaps it was finally time I apologized to her properly.