32. Lamb

"The real evil."

"What do you mean?" Jared questioned, still eyeing the photo. "You never mentioned her to us. Who is she?"

He turned to Marley, knitting his brows. "Is she your sister or something?"

Marley shook her head. "I am the only child."

"A secret twin?"

"No!" Marley furrowed her brows, her face scrunching up to shot a weak glare at the boy. Jared's reasoning was simply preposterous.

"She was a werewolf." Odis spoke up, silencing the other two. "She didn't even share the same species with Marley, much less her blood." He cast an incredulous look at Jared. "Stop coming up with ridiculous theories."

"Was?" Marley whispered.

"She's dead." Odis' fist tightened. "And believe me it's better that way."

"Who was she?" Jared repeated, narrowing his eyes at Odis. "And how is all this connected to Marley?"

"She was Dimitri's mate."

Jared's mouth hung open at this. His face went blank for a second before turning rigid.

Marley gauged the reaction of both the men. Their reaction on this Dimitri guy raised not only her curiosity but also anxiety. She certainly didn't want to be the part of whatever that was brewing here.

"Who is Dimitri?" She asked tentatively, afraid of their replies. Jared's sudden change in expression screamed that 'Dimitri' was a danger.

"Just some bloodsucker king who is out to get us and is hell-bent on slaving the other races... including humans," Jared muttered sarcastically, however his tone was laced with venom.

Marley looked at Odis to confirm the words that spluttered out of Jared's mouth and Odis's silence told her everything. The room went silent and all Marley could hear was her rapid breathing as her mind went into overdrive. Everything was now falling into place.

"You're going to use me. Aren't you?" She concluded under her breath but the lycans heard her clear. She raised herself from the wooden chair. "You're going to use me to lure this Dimitri, so you can have a chance at taking him down."

Odis didn't reply and his gaze fell down. It was a new low for him and he was aware of it but the desperation to kill the deranged knight overweighted the guilt.

"I am going to be the bait." Marley continued and looked at Jared, who was having his own inner battle. "You have to tell him-" she pointed at Odis "-his plan is completely ridiculous."

"It is not," Odis countered, his anger riling up at being challenged.

"Yes, it is. Mates are no joke. Do you think he'll fall for that?!" She yelled, her anger matching with Odis's. She hoped to drive some sense into the crazy lycan. "Just because I happen to look like his mate, I won't make any impression. Your plan doesn't make any sense. It's insane! All you're going to do is end up dead, taking others with you."

"I'll gladly take my chances if there's even a slight chance of stopping him!"

"If you have a death wish, go ahead but you have no right to bring me into this." Her voice took a threatening tone. "I am not selfless enough to sacrifice myself for your failing cause. I am not your lamb!"

Odis eyed down the human. "You're definitely not a lamb but girl you happen to be our last chance at victory and I am not letting you go."

Marley could only look at the guy with all the hatred she could muster.

"You got your answers. Take your time to come to terms with them." He sighed defeatedly. "I'll see you soon. Both of you don't try to do anything stupid." He warned and walked out of the room, leaving the petrified teens behind.

Marley turned to Jared. "You know that Odis is being crazy. Right?" She asked, her voice lowering down to almost plead. She didn't want to be left alone in all this. Someone had to be on her side.

Jared just sat in his chair unable to meet her gaze.

"Jared?" She pleaded.

He shook his head. "He's right." He looked up at anxious Marley. "Without mates, knights or werewolves are deranged beings. Dimitri could be the cleverest one out there but without mate, he is just as helpless. A little hope of getting his mate back can drive him into doing anything. We can use that to our advantage and... finally put an end to all this madness."

"This is wrong." Marley whispered, losing her last shred of hope in Jared. As she feared, in the end, her ally sided with Odis. Maybe... no, most definitely, Theo would choose him too.

Once again she was left alone in this whirlwind of chaos.

******

Eden clicked his fingers on the wooden table as he tried to focus his attention on the papers lying in front of him. It was the last place he wanted to be at but the pack life didn't stop just because his mate was missing. He had let his father take over the most matters but some still required his attention. He needed to suck up and be the alpha he was meant to be, even though on the inside his Alpha wolf was wailing for Marley.

His already feeble attention got broken when Oliver barged into the office.

"Are you really letting those vamp-knights search for Marley?!" Oliver questioned, looking angry. He didn't expect Eden to just call out the searching party and let some strange beings take over.

Eden motioned Oliver to close the door and he followed.

"No, I am letting the knights search for Odis. They won't find Marley," Alpha answered.

"And Marley is with that bastard! So-"

"I am not stupid Oliver. I will not let those bloodsuckers come anywhere near Marley."

A sudden realization dawned on Oliver. He mentally berated himself for questioning his Alpha, even more so when the safety of his mate was concerned.

"Who you got behind them?" Oliver asked. "And why you didn't tell me about that?" He sounded a little hurt but schooled his expressions to look indifferent.

"Only dad and I know about this. After finding out Tristan's betrayal, it's best for us to keep some information classified." Eden sighed, putting his face in his hands. He too didn't like keeping things from Oliver but he had his reasons.

"For fuck's sakes Eden, I am your beta!" Oliver reasoned. "And moreover I am your friend. Don't tell me you don't trust me?!... That Tristan has always been a bitch. Don't let him stop you from trusting your friends."

"It's just not that." Eden groaned when Oliver raised his brows. His friend was such a drama queen.

"Don't take it personally... actually no, take it personally. Sanjay has seemed to take a liking on those knights and I don't want him to blabber out our plans to them just because he finds drinking blood cool. It's hard for us wolves to keep things from our mates and I didn't want you to go through that." Eden smiled when a certain memory of Marley flashed in his mind. "Believe me, I tried keeping things but one look of their big eyes is enough to turn us into a chatterbox."

"Callum was right, that girl has got you so whipped. Doesn't she?" The beta teased, earning a glare from his alpha.

"You can tell me your plan. I can keep things from Sanjay and he too can keep his mouth shut. Those vampires might be cool for him but Marley has always been his number one priority... And I fall on number five or six, after his dog." Oliver said annoyedly, rolling his eyes. "He too wants her back just as much you do, so stop acting like an uptight fucker and spill."

"I got Matthew and Jessica behind them," Eden revealed. Matthew was the best tracker of their pack and Jessica the fastest runner. They were the most suitable among others to track down those knights and keep a check on them. Eden had drilled into their heads that their first priority was to find Marley and bring her back safely. Once that was done, it was all good to strike those lycans - which Eden was very impatient to do.

Eden had wanted to go himself after them but it wasn't right for the Alpha to leave his pack without any solid reason. His pack members were still in trauma and recovering from their past battle and they needed their Alpha - even though he was currently being very snappy - to boost their morale.

Oliver nodded. "They'll find her," he said optimistically. He too trusted his friends.

Eden's jaw clenched as the flashes of his scared mates from his nightmares took over his brain.

They had to find Marley.

*******