Miranda's Point of View

My head instinctively whipped around, looking to see if anyone was nearby and had heard us.

"Bring your voice down, will you?" I scolded her.

"Oh," she slapped her mouth gently. "You two were giving off couple vibes. I thought you were mates," she whispered this time.

I puffed out some air.

"Well, he actually is my mate, but I'm not mated to him at the moment."

She stopped walking as she frowned in obvious confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

I sighed, raising my brows. "It's complicated, but I'll make it as easy as possible."

My eyes scanned the place for a vacant table. Luckily, a couple had just vacated one, and I quickly but gently led her towards it.

"Let's sit down. You've been standing for too long."

As soon as her butt touched the chair, she faced me with a curious expression.

"So, tell me, what's going on?"

"It's a long story," I said.

"Oh, I love long stories."

I rolled my eyes as I thought of how to begin. I didn't want to lie to her, but telling her the exact truth would be too confusing—because it's hard to make people believe you've lived several lives.

"I'm waiting, girl," she urged me.

"Of course you are. Anyway, it all started when our pack's seer saw a vision. In that vision..."

> > > > > > > 

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed after listening to me. "So you mean, the Alpha of your pack performed black magic to break your bond with your original mate—who happens to be his brother? Then he killed his mother, arrested his father, and usurped the Alpha position?"

I nodded.

"What about your..." she trailed off.

I chuckled. "Just call him Vincenzo."

"Yes, what about him? What was he doing when his brother was killing his mother and usurping the Alpha position?" she asked.

"He was poisoned," I answered.

Annalise banged on the table, making a few people whip their heads toward us, but they quickly looked away when they realized it was nothing serious.

"He is a tyrant and should be dealt with as soon as possible!" she growled in disgust.

Seeing this as a cue to present my mission, I cleared my throat and leaned closer to her.

"Anna," I lowered my voice, "actually, there's another reason why I came."

"What?"

"We've gathered enough evidence against Lorenzo, but that evidence will be useless if it’s not used wisely."

Her brows furrowed as she grew more confused but clearly interested in our conversation.

"Lorenzo has a lot of corrupt, influential elders backing him. They might disregard our evidence and even imprison us by claiming we're trying to rebel," I explained.

"I don't think it's hard to get rid of him. You don't even need evidence to get rid of him. Just poison him and he'll be gone forever!"

I shook my head.

"We considered that, but poisoning him is the most difficult thing to do. We can't risk it."

"Why?"

"He has a doctor who tests every meal before he eats. Poisoning him would be like handing ourselves to him on a golden tray."

"Wow! He's so cautious," she said.

"Of course. He can’t rest easy because he knows the evil means he used to get the Alpha position," I told her.

She nodded in agreement. "You're right. What are you planning on doing now?"

"That's where you come in. Vincenzo and I truly need your help."

"Me? In what way can I be of help?" she asked.

"We want you to help us persuade your mate to visit our pack. Then Vincenzo and I will take it from there."

She stayed silent for a while, contemplating my request.

"Hmm. Getting my mate to visit your pack isn't difficult, but he can't leave the palace lately," she said.

My hope almost dropped, but I braced myself and asked, "Why can't he leave the palace?"

Her expression became extremely serious. She looked around carefully before speaking.

"Strange things have been happening in our region recently. Pups are missing, and when we manage to find them days or weeks later, they're either extremely weak or dead," she explained.

"Is there any clue why this is happening?"

She shook her head dejectedly. "No clue yet. My mate is quietly investigating. He doesn’t want people to know, or it’ll cause panic in the entire werewolf world."

"Hm," I frowned, deeply in thought. "The weak kids—where are they kept?"

"The infirmary."

We both sat in silence, not knowing what to say. But a thought crossed my mind, and I broke the silence.

"What if Vincenzo and I helped investigate and find out the reason behind this?"

"Huh? Are you out of your mind, Mira? My mate suspects someone is plotting in the dark and it’s definitely—"

"Don’t worry," I interrupted her. "We’ll be careful," I assured her.

She wanted to say something, but her eyes suddenly glazed over, which meant someone was mind-linking her. After a few seconds, she snapped out of it.

"My mate is getting worried. He needs me home," she said.

"Yeah, let's go. We're just two weak females and—"

"Oh, don't worry about us getting attacked," she groaned quietly as she got up. "My guards are lurking around. Nobody can attack us."

I looked around and frowned when I didn’t see any guards.

"You can't identify them. They're dressed like normal people, because seeing them in black suits with serious faces makes me feel overwhelmed," she explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah," she grabbed my shoulder for support as we headed toward the exit. "Mira, you really don't have to worry about our issue. I'll talk to my mate, and he'll help you and Vincenzo."

I shook my head.

"I'm not trying to help because I want his help in return. Whatever is affecting the Alpha King is also affecting every werewolf, so I'm doing this for the peace of everyone."

"You're right," she agreed. "But don't you think you should discuss this with Vincenzo? What if he doesn't agree to your idea?"

"I'll do it alone, then," I replied.

I was so engrossed in my discussion with Anna that I didn't watch where I was going and bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry," I apologized quickly, lifting my head to see who I had bumped into.

Oh my God! He's so handsome—the shape of his face, his nose, his eyes, and even his lips. Looking at his face reminds me of someone—Vincenzo.

"Are you all right, miss?" he asked me in a soft voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I let out an awkward laugh. "I'm sorry for bumping into you. I wasn't watching where I was going."

He smiled. "It's fine. I was careless too."

Anna cleared her throat. "We're sorry, but we've got to go. I can't stand any longer," she said.

"Sure. Have a great day," he replied. Then we went our separate ways.