Chapter 010

What's going on here?" Alpha Killan's voice came again, causing Camila and Ash to turn only to find him standing behind them with both hands shoved on either side of his trouser pockets. Camila, who knew what was going on with him right then, smiled and turned to introduce both of them. "Uhm, honey, meet my best friend who has been saving me from my father and stepmom since I was young, Ash Moon, and Moon, this is my mate Alpha Killan," she smiled, motioning them to shake hands.

"Uh," Ash cleared his throat while scratching his head, "it's nice to meet you, Killan, I mean Alpha Killan," he smiled.

"Mmh," he hummed, checking him out. "Why are you holding her hands?" he then asked him.

"What? Oh, this?" He asked, pointing at their intertwined fingers, from which he withdrew his fingers. "I didn't know I was holding them, hehe," he smiled, avoiding his harsh glare. At that moment, Ash realized that if Killan's glare were daggers, he could have been dead long ago.

Camila, who didn't want them to fight, motioned for both of them to follow her into the house, where they would sit and catch up on their missing days. Alpha Killan calmed down after she explained to him that Ash was her best friend, that they had been hugging and holding hands since they were young, and that nothing romantic was going on between them. When Camila returned after she had excused herself to go and take a bath, she was shocked to find Ash and Killan talking and laughing heartedly as if they were long-lost friends.

"It was nice of you to be taking care of her. I really appreciate that" she overheard Alpha Killan talking to Ash.

"No need to thank me, Killan, really. I felt like it was my duty to look after her anyway; even when her dad jailed me for asking her to run away in case her wolf came, I was worried sick thinking that I'd find they had killed her," Ash responded. Camila stood at the door, thanking the heavens for letting her find a good friend like Ash. He never tired of helping her, even though he knew doing so would put his own life at risk. If it were another person, he could have stopped helping her the very day he was asked not to, but no, he was stubborn, and he made sure she would be okay even if it meant keeping his own life in danger.

"But you guys were not thinking well." Alpha Killan's voice came right after Ash told him about their planned escape plan. "You said that Camila's mother was nowhere to be found and that she has no one out there, so where was she to run to if she were to escape?"

"Her mother's house, of course. It's located in the middle of the forest, and trust me, her father couldn't have thought that she would go there. He took her from her house when she was four, so there was no way he expected her to still know the way. But Killan, did she tell you anything?" Ash became serious, and Camila knew who he was about to talk to.

"About what?" Killan turned to face him with a serious look on his face as well.

"I know I have no right to tell you about this, but Mila is like my younger sister, and I vowed to always look after her. I don't know if she told you this, but if she hasn't, I'll have no choice but to tell you. She has no wolf, not because she is a late bloomer, but because she is a human, so if that will bother you, I'll take her from here," he said, eyeing him seriously to know that he wasn't joking.

"I know about that, Ash. She told herself, "I have no problem with it; trust me." She saw him pat Ash's shoulder with assurance.

"What of the elders? Did you tell them because, as you know, they'll have a problem with this?" Ash continued.

"I don't think the elders should know. This is between Camila and me," Killan told him, saying the same thing he had told her, but Ash was not yet ready to back down because he held the same thoughts as her. "No Killan. I don't think that's a good idea. Of course, you can keep that a secret because, according to you, it's between you and her, but do know that this won't remain a secret for long, and when they come to hear it from someone else or discover it by themselves, it will create a huge problem. You may end up losing her," he explained.

"Well," Alpha Killan cleared his throat, "you know Camila holds the same thoughts, and I thought that maybe she was just scared, but hearing it from you and because you have explained it well, I have understood, so, therefore, I'll schedule a meeting with the elders and we'll talk about this," he promised him, causing Ash to nod in agreement. "And Ash," Killan called him, "why do you call her Mila?"

Ash chuckled for a second before responding, "It's the short form of Camilla, and by calling her Mila, it shows the world the kind of friendship bond we hold."

"Do you think I can call her that as well?" Killan asked, rubbing the back of his head, causing Camila to giggle from behind the door.

"What? No? You call her honey, don't you? If you are going to use the name I call her, then I'll have to call her honey as well." Ash joked that if he were not very fast in dodging things coming his way, he could have been hit by the black file Alpha Killan had thrown his way. "In your dreams," he chuckled, sitting in his chair and swiveling on it.

"Killan, if the elders reject her, what are you going to do?" Ash asked all the severe questions again. Camila squeezed herself against the door, feeling her legs wobble. What if he rejects me? What I am going to do She asked herself, wiping the sweat streaming down her face. She hasn't thought about that yet, but that was the truth. There was a possibility the elders would agree to her, but there were higher chances that they would reject her, and that wasn't a lie.

"I'll elope with her," Killan responded, causing Ash to gasp.

"What? What are you talking about, Killan? You know you are the alpha of this pack, and do you know what eloping means, or have you just seen it in Indian films and it makes you think that it's easy?" Ash asked him.

"Of course, I know what eloping is. I'll abandon everything I have here and go with her to another place, where we will start our lives. Ash, you may not believe me because of the many rumors you have heard about me, but I love Camila. I love her so much, and I am ready to give up everything I have here for her." Either the elders accept her the way she is or they refuse, and I'll show them what I am capable of," he said with finality, causing Camila to shed tears of happiness, because by those words she knew that apart from Ash Moon, at least she had gained one more person who can love and take care of her as well as him.

"I didn't expect you guys to get along? I thought I would find blood everywhere." Camila joked about walking in. "Are you gossiping about me, huh?" She asked, looking deep into her eyes.

"Ash and Killan shared a meaningful look, and they busted out in laughter, confusing her.

"So you have been talking about me? What was it about?" She asked them.

"Nothing," they responded in unison, laughing once again.

Ash Moon was later escorted to the gates by Camila, and he promised that he would go back to the palace to look at them. He had even joked that if he got even a whiff that Alpha Killan was bullying her, he would come as soon as he could and take her away from him. He also made Alpha Killan promise that he would tell the elders as soon as possible about Camila being a human. That day, Ash was really a happy man. When he went to the palace, he wasn't sure in what situation he would find Camila, but he was more than happy to see her well and healthy. She had even gained some weight, and her eyes had started bringing back their light.

The scars that were once visible on her face and hands had started disappearing, and Alpha Killan had told her that she didn't have nightmares anymore. From Alpha Killan, he learned that she used to wake up in the middle of the night shaking and crying. He would take hours to cajole her and bring her back to sleep, and neither of the days she had ever told him what she was going through or what she was dreaming about, but him being a patient man, especially with the person he loved, he decided to give her some time. He was ready to wait until the day she would open up for him.

"What are you thinking about?" Ash was asked this by his mother the moment he walked into the house. "You are deep in thought, and you are also smiling to yourself." Her mother smiled as she helped him take off his coat.

"Mother, you should see Camila. She is so pretty now, and Killan is taking good care of her. At least we have nothing to worry about now." Ash Moon proceeded to tell his mother about everything. To him arriving and Camila crying, not believing it was him; to her coming back to reality and running to hug her; to Apha Killan's arrival and his jealousy of them being friends.

"It seems like you fancy Alpha Killan, boy. You should see the way your eyes are shining," his father joked, coming in and pulling him by his ears.

"Yeah, Dad. I even doubted if the Alpha Killan I had been hearing about was the one who asked me to call him by his name and drop the Alpha thing," he explained, munching on an apple. After a heavy silence, Moon observed his father for a while, and the way he sighed every now and then, he knew something was wrong, but he was trying really hard to hide it from them.

"On my God, I don't understand why it started to rain the moment I hung up the laundry outside. I'll go bring it in." His mother excused herself, running to the balcony outside.

"Sure, Mom," he nodded, approaching his dad and sitting beside him. He had finally gotten the chance to ask what was eating him up. "Dad, is everything okay?" he asked him, rubbing his shoulder gently.

"Yes, son, everything is okay," he responded, although Ash could see clearly that he was lying by the way he blinked his eyes and picked the bridge of his nose.

"Dad, you say you hate liars, but I don't get why you are lying right now," he told him. "Trust me, Dad. I can handle anything you are going to say. I know you don't want Mom to find out about it, and that's why you've been pretending to be okay all this time, but she is out now and she can't hear our conversation. Is it something I can help you with?" He asked, worried for his father. Grill is the best father figure he has ever had in his life. He was not of Grill's blood because he came with his mother after his father rejected him as his son, but Grill had never let him feel that way. He took care of and taught him as his own blood son, and despite him having a son, he was grooming him to take over as the beta of their pack after he retired because he trusted him more than his stepbrother.

"I am worried about you, son." When you came with your mother, I swore to always take care of you and that I wouldn't force you to do anything that you didn't want, but I don't have any choice this time," he started, making Ash's heart thump wild as if threatening to rip his ribs apart.

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