Her Mask
Cleopatra’s POV
The name flashing on my phone screen sent a shockwave through my entire body.
Alex.
My breath caught in my throat. He couldn’t be alive. Alpha Kane had shown me his body that they recovered. But here it was, his name, bold and glaring, as if mocking me.
Who could be playing this trick? Alpha Williams? What is he trying to prove by doing this?
Before I could react, the phone rang again, and I froze. A swirl of emotions, mostly confusion and anger with a twisted sense of hope coursed through me.
“Hello?” I answered, my voice was barely a whisper, my heart thudding in my chest.
Silence.
Then, a low chuckle. One that sounded a little familiar. Where did I hear this voice? I’m sure I have heard this person talking so close to me but the memory is blurry.
“Cleopatra,” the voice called, sounding dark and teasing.
I swallowed hard. “Who are you? Who put you up to this?” My mind was spinning. How could this be possible?
“I have Alex,” the person on the other end said coldly.
I clenched the phone tighter, pacing around the room in a tight circle. Is this a joke?
“Joke’s on you asshole. Alex is dead! I saw his body with my two eyes,” I sneered, my voice mixed with disbelief and rising anger.
“You should know better than anyone that it wasn’t Alex you saw. Why were you so certain that the body you saw was Alex?” he demanded.
“Who the hell do you think you are? Alpha Kane said…”
“Exactly! Alpha Kane said!” he barked, interrupting me. His voice held an eerie calmness that sent chills down my spine. “You’re so gullible, Cleopatra.”
My blood ran cold. Did Alpha Kane lie about this? If this is the case, does that mean Alpha Williams is innocent? But what about his dagger they found close to the body?
“Where are you?” I demanded, my voice harder now, pushing down the storms of emotions. “Where is Alex?”
“I’ll drop a message for a meet-up location at my own pleasure. Come alone.”
The line went dead, and I was left standing there heart racing. The betrayal. The lies—they were beginning to blur. Who do I trust? Why did Alpha Kane lie?
Just then, my phone rang and I picked it up hurriedly, thinking it was from the same caller.
“Cleopatra,” I heard Alpha Kane’s deep voice and almost lost composure, “I have news.”
He’s always one step behind. Just like what happened with the Night Wolf Alpha.
“Ok?” I said, trying to calm my rising anger so I won’t go off on him.
“Alex—-Alex is not dead,” he said and I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding. For some reason, I didn’t want him to find out I knew about it so I feigned ignorance.
“Oh my god! How? What happened? Did you find him?” I asked.
“One of my sources alerted me that it was just a ploy from one of my rivals to distract us,” he said.
Distraction? That doesn’t quite add up. “What does Alex have to do with it? He’s not even a member of our pack,” I replied, trying to understand his explanation.
“Well, my guess is that they’ve been following you because they know that you’re handling a mission that could save our entire realm. They thought Alex was your mate and decided to stage his death to throw you off this mission. Luckily, we discovered it on time.”
This is on time? So who pinned it on Alpha Williams and why? I thought but didn’t voice it out.
“Who was it? Who are we dealing with?” I asked, my tone icy. There was a brief silence, like he was hesitating to mention who it was but then, I heard him sigh out loud.
“That…I’m not sure of yet, but I’ll get to the root of this and bring your —friend back,” he said, not reassuring me one bit. “Are you sure no one contacted you? Maybe a call or a text?” he asked after a brief second.
“No,” I replied firmly, “no one did.”
For some reason apart from the kidnappers' threat not to inform anyone and to come alone, I didn’t want to tell Alpha Kane about the call I got.
One thing is for sure, finding Alex is now up to me.
At least, he’s not dead. Yet.
“Make sure you alert me when they do. They are very tricky and shouldn’t be trusted. You trust me enough to let me handle this…right?” he demanded. It wasn’t a question and I knew better.
“Yes, Alpha Kane. I’m just glad that Alex is alive. Who would have thought Alpha Williams didn’t have a hand in it?” I said with a hint of uncertainty in my voice just to get his reaction.
“Let’s not be too certain. Maybe he does have a hand in this. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” And with that, he ended the call.
I heard a low growl from the doorway and turned around immediately.
Shit!
How much did he hear?
*******
Williams’ POV
As soon as I slammed the door shut, I walked over to the bathroom not before hearing Cleopatra tiptoe past my room.
Is she avoiding me? And how does she think I won’t know that she passed my door? I’ve become very familiar with the particular alluring lavender scent that is glued to her.
I brushed it off and headed straight into the bathroom. I needed to let off steam. My conversation with Renee had left me disturbed and rattled.
The annoying part? She is right!
I used to love being in control. Still do but whenever it comes to Cleopatra, I surrender. What is it about her anyway?
Maybe I should hit the city and mingle with another lady? Just the thought of that rattled my wolf. She’s not even our mate.
‘We lost ours, remember?’ I muttered quietly.
As soon as I came out of the bathroom, my phone beeped. I grabbed it and saw a message from the Alpha King, summoning me to his palace.
This is the third notification in a row. I quickly got dressed and left the room. I wanted to ask Cleopatra to accompany me there.
Maybe she could agree to play along as my appointed Luna or mate so my dear old uncle could get off my back.
I headed for her room and tapped on the door once before opening it. Cleopatra stood, her back turned to me while she looked out through the window and her phone pressed against her ears tightly.
A low angry growl escaped my throat when I heard her mention my name. If she thought that I had a hand in Alex’s death, why then is she still here? To get revenge.
I clenched my fists angrily as Renee’s words echoed in my mind.
Maybe I’ve been wrong about Cleopatra all along.
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