Forty Two

It didn't take long before the car pulled into the garage. Alina, who was still in her thoughts, was jarred out of her world by General Kian's voice telling her that they had arrived. She got down as soon as possible, and before she could rush towards the house, a voice stopped her from behind. "No hurry, babe. Didn't they tell you about the surprise?" It was Kilan's voice.

Yeah, babe, they did tell me, and I just can't stop myself because I am really excited." She smiled. "I missed you, babe." She then jumped into Kilan's arms, who rolled his eyes and then asked her to get down.

"Why don't you tell us how you ended up falling down the stairs first?" He then asked while raising his left brow.

"Uhm yes. But promise me you won't get angry." She pouted while making some sad puppy eyes.

"Why would I, babe? I mean, if you don't want me to get angry, then I won't." Killan smiled and then crossed his hands under his chest.

"Well, I think Kamilina didn't clean the floor well because I slipped on the patch she had left behind. But, babe, please don't do anything to her. She is innocent, and we all know that she is spoiled, so I am sure she doesn't know how to clean properly. I forgive her because we can always get another baby." She explained, and everyone present erupted into laughter. That was the exact sentence Killan had predicted she would say when asked about the fall.

Alina looked at them one by one, trying to see what was funny in her sentence. She then raised her head to look at Kilan, who was struggling to control his laughter. She glared at them, but they kept on laughing while highfiving themselves.

"What is going on here?" She asked, but no one was ready to listen to her. "Babe," she said to Kiilan once again, who was now laughing with the others. It looked like it would take forever for the laughter to die down. They wouldn't have died down anytime soon if Alpha Killan hadn't raised his hand, signaling them to keep quiet. Alina took that chance to complain, but Killan beat her into it.

"But babe, Kamilina told me that she vacuums the house, so where did this patch come from?" He asked her. Alina chewed on her lower lip, causing Killan to shake his head. Of course, she chews on her lower lip when she is caught in her own lies. He thought while leaning against the wall to make himself comfortable. When Camkila questioned her in the past, she always chewed on her lower lip, and he would intervene, thinking that she was about to cry. How stupid was he for not seeing that?

"Well, if she vacuums the house, where did the water come from? Or maybe she spilled some tea because she had accidentally splattered some on me when she brought a cup of tea to me, or maybe she failed to vacuum that part, and that's why." She showed the burning on her hand. Silence filled the place as the guards stared at each other. As the robot had recorded, they had seen how she had done all that. While spilling the tea, she spilled some on herself as well, so that in case Kamilina went and reported to Kilan, she would have a win as well.

When Kamilina failed to go and complain to Killan like she had hoped, she was left with no choice but to nurse her burn. Alina looked around as everyone shook their heads in disbelief. Clearing her throat, she turned to the only person she hoped to get attention from.

She followed Killan on the wall, and then standing in between his legs, she said, Baby, please let's get over this already because, as I told you, I don't have anything against her." Killan kept looking somewhere else, and he didn't even bother to lower his head and look at her. To get rid of the embarrassment because the shameless guards were already laughing at her for failing to gain Killan's attention, she walked closer to Kamilina, cupping her cheeks, and said, "Little one, I really don't have any grudge against you, okay? You want to know why?" She asked when Kamilian knitted her brows in confusion, It's because you didn't have any idea how that small patch of water could cause so much damage and..."

"Uh, Alina," Kamilina interrupted her while taking her hands off her, "I think you are talking to the wrong person."

"Wrong person? What do you mean?" She asked and then scoffed at the guard, who had flicked his tongue at her.

"What she is trying to tell you is that you might be talking about that Kamilina." The guard said this while pointing towards the robot watering plants. "And Alina, as you know, robots don't fail to do their work. They do exactly what they are asked to do, so the patches and spills might be wrong." It was that guard who had never liked her.

"So you now have the audacity to call your Luna a liar?" She snarled, and then turning to face Killan, she demanded, "Babe, you should just fire him. None of these guards respect me anymore, so we should set him an example."

Kilan sighed, took a deep breath, and then, walking closer to her, he asked her to turn around. He cupped her cheeks, wiped her tears that had started coming from her eyes, and then tied a blindfold around her eyes. "Just forget about them, babe, because I think it's time for the surprise." He whirled against her ears. Alina giggled, waiting impatiently for him to tie the blindfold, and after he was done, he led her somewhere she had no idea of.

"Babe, why are you taking me there, and why is everyone laughing?" She asked.

"Because they are trying to figure out what kind of reaction you will have after you see your surprise. You know it's definitely something that you are not expecting." He told her.

"Well, Kamilina told me that it was an adventure, so I thought that maybe we were going camping or something like that." She chuckled. At that moment, Alina had no idea how she should feel. Her heart was thumping wildly, and she was feeling nauseous. There was a voice at the back of her head that was telling her that whatever she would be given was bad, but she pushed that thought away, chanting inwardly that she was just overthinking. She tripped on her left leg, and almost immediately her left eye started twitching. Wiping the sweat forming on her forehead, she asked, "Are we not there yet?"

"There is no fun in adventure if we don't take time to reach it. Just be a little bit patient." Alpha Kilan's voice echoed.

"Mmh," She hummed impatiently, and after a while she said, "Babe, I think we should get out of here. I don't feel good about this." She complained while stopping in her tracks.

"Even if I wanted to, I just can't, and another thing is, it's too late for that." Kilan's voice changed. It was cold and boring. It was as if he were being forced to talk to her.

"What do you mean, babe? I am scared." She trembled and started sobbing, thinking that Alpha Kilan would change his mind, but he was adamant.

"You aren't Alina, and we both know that those tears are fake. Well, we are already here," he chuckled. Keys jingled, and then a lock clicked open. A loud sound of a gate scraping on the floor echoed, and then, after a short silence, Alina was pushed towards that place. She tripped on her feet because she wasn't expecting to be pushed, and before she could get up and ask what was going on, she heard the gate scraping on the ground and then closing.

"You can take out the blindfold, babe. Time for a surprise." Kilan's mocking voice echoed. With trembling hands, Alina took off the blindfold and took a minute to adjust to her dim surroundings. The floor was cold and wet, and the place stinked. She looked at the tall walls surrounding her, and she gagged. They were dirty and had mold creeping above them. There was barely any light in there, and the place looked as if she were inside a sewer.

After finally realizing where she was, she stood on her feet and then asked, "This is a prank, right, babe?" She chuckled.

"Who knows?" Killan shrugged. He then took some papers from General Kian and threw them at her. "Maybe you should read these papers." That way, you will get to know if this is a prank or not." Upon saying that, he turned his back and walked out of there, with the guards following him behind.

"Baby!" She called at the top of her lungs. Alpha Killan turned to face her, and she smiled, thinking that it was just a prank.

"It's Alpha Killan for you." He reminded her, shocking her to the core.

"But.."

"No buts, Alina. It's Alpha Killan from now on, and don't dare ask me any questions before reading those papers." He said this while stretching his index finger to point at the papers scattered all over the wet ground. He then looked at her one last time, spat on the ground, and, shoving his hands inside his trouser pockets, walked out of there.