Chapter 12 - Mira


    I’ve been curled up in my bed since yesterday, still shocked at the ultimatum Beta Maxim has given me.


    He knows I’m running away from Mikhail, he knows what I meant to that bastard, and yet he hasn’t told


    Alpha Nikos a thing.


    Why is that, I wonder? Why is he keeping this a secret from a man who trusts him so much?


    Alpha Nikos offered me my freedom by giving birth to his heir, now Beta Maxim is giving me another


    out. The only difference is that thetter feels more like a threat than a way out. If I don’t go with his


    choice, he’s going to tell the Alpha, then I might get sent back to Mikhail.


    What am I going to do? I can’t raise a child on my own! Even if I did run away, I wouldn’t get far,


    anyway. This Alpha is one of the most influential in the country; there would be a bounty on my head


    for the rest of my life.


    I need to get out of this room before I drive myself crazy.


    Jumping from the bed, I grab my coat and run out of the room, startling Josef so much that he falls out


    of his chair. I stifle a smile.


    “Miss Mia!” he exims and gets to his feet, then he frowns when he sees the look on my face. “Is


    everything okay?”


    I nod and force a smile onto my face. “Yes, of course. I was just getting tired of being in that room for


    so long. Can we walk around the back for a while?”


    A small smile crosses his face and he nods. “Of course; I was wondering when you’d start asking me,”


    he says, then gestures for me to walk with him.


    As much as I like Josef, I know that I cannot trust him with what happened. He’ll go straight to Alpha


    Nikos with this, then everything is over; there’s an out either way, so perhaps I should go with the


    easiest.


    “You are suspiciously quiet today,” Josef speaks up and nudges me while snapping me out of my


    thoughts. He’s wearing a cheeky grin with a raised eyebrow. “Well? Where is your endless list of


    questions?”


    I chuckle and nudge him back. “Not today, Josef. I didn’t sleep wellst night with all these nightmares


    guing me,” the liees out easier, and luckily for me, he believes it.


    “Hmm, I’m sorry about that. I remember the Alpha and Dr. Lh mentioning the people you ran away


    from were some of the worst. So it’s understandable that you’d still have nightmares,” he says.


    I don’t have the heart to tell him that his Beta might be the same as those people I escaped, so I simply


    give him a tight smile and look in front of me again.


    It’s bothering me to no end, not only because of how he’s threatened me but because Alpha Nikos is


    oblivious to the snake standing at his right side. There’s no way for me to prove that I’m right and he’s


    wrong, so what am I to do?


    “Say, Josef,” I start and see the slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “What do you know


    about Beta Maxim?”


    Josef stiffens at the sound of his Beta’s name, then he looks at me with concern. “Why do you ask?”


    “Well, your reaction doesn’t set me at ease, so there’s that,” I say while narrowing my eyes at him. “You


    seem terrified of him.”


    He puts his hands behind his back as we continue to walk, then he breathes out a sigh and shakes his


    head.


    “Beta Maxim is Alpha Nikos’ cousin. There’s a sordid history; their fathers were brothers and bitter


    rivals. Beta Maxim’s father was set to take over as Alpha since he was the oldest, but after it was


    discovered that Beta Maxim’s father was not…ideal for the role, it went over to Alpha Nikos’ father.”


    I am stunned by this, not only because of the news, but because Josef is actually telling me about it.


    “He can’t have been happy about it,”


    Josef shakes his head. “Beta Maxim managed to win the Alpha’s trust since they grew up together, but


    we all know that resentment still burns. You can see it in the way Beta Maxim looks at Alpha Nikos.”


    Could this be the reason he wants me out of here, so the Alpha doesn’t get an heir?


    A shiver runs up my spine. “I know now to steer clear of Beta Maxim, then,” I say and hug my coat


    closer to my body.


    I was right about him; he’s the same as Mikhail. They’re power-hungry, greedy, and think the world


    owes them everything. I can’t allow him to bully me and I can’t allow him to win…so, I don’t think I’ll go


    through with it.


    We round the corner to the gazebo and Josef freezes. “Uh, I think we should go the other-”


    “Don’t you dare, Josef,” came that same weathered sing-song voice as before. “Bring her here, I would


    like to meet her.”


    Josef’s shoulders sag and he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Very well, Kyría Ariadne, but I will ask the


    Alpha to have words with you when he has me cornered about this,” he says, but the olddy simply


    chuckles.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    We walk towards the gazebo and I see she’s having her afternoon tea;plete with cakes and


    pastries. My stomach starts to grumble at the sight of them, and she chuckles while gesturing to the


    open seat in front of her.


    “Please join me,” she says. “You, Josef, can wait over there for us to finish.”


    With a pout, Josef walks off while grumbling about how he’s going to be in so much trouble for this. The


    “Thank you,”


    “You’re wee,” she says, then she rests her hands on the table in front of her. “So, what might your


    name be?”


    I look down at the intricate, white, and gold teacup and inhale the scent. “My name is Mia, Ma’am,” I


    say.


    She nods. “Mine is Ariadne, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mia. May I ask why you’re here and why my


    grandson has Josef keeping you away from me?”


    With widening eyes, I nearly drop the delicate teacup and my mouth hangs open. I knew they were


    family, but not that close!


    “G-grandson, ma’am?”


    She chuckles. “Why, my little Niko, who else? I know you’ve been here for a while, but we always seem


    to miss one another on our walks.”


    What do I tell her? Sorry, your grandson has meying low because I’m the no-name surrogate for his


    only heir. She seems old school, so I doubt she’d like to hear that about her grandson.


    “Well-”


    “I’m guessing he got you pregnant by ident and now he’s keeping you locked up here so no one


    finds out,” she says, gesturing to my belly. “You look beautiful, by the way. The glow, everything.”


    Blushing, I nearly choke on the tea at herpliment. “Thank you so much…but unfortunately, I don’t


    know if I am allowed to tell you why I’m here, so…”


    She chuckles again, then she reaches over and pats my hand. “That’s okay, I understand. But I would


    like to know more about you, Mia. What are your interests or hobbies?”


    I blink. “Interests or hobbies?” My only interest was escaping the hell I was living, so how does one


    answer this? “I’ve never really…I didn’t grow up wanting anything because we were so poor….I don’t


    remember much, to be honest.”


    Shoot, I’m supposed to have amnesia.


    She nods as if she understands what I mean, but no one could ever understand me or what I went


    through at the hands of those who were supposed to protect me. I hope and pray that this child doesn’t


    grow up the way I did.


    “That’s okay. Well, I’m here every day at this time drinking tea; if you’d like to join me for a chat, you’re


    more than wee to,” she says, offering me a small smile.


    I want to trust her, want to indulge in my fears and secrets but I know I can’t do that. I can’t trust anyone


    here; it’s me against them. I’m the outsider, the one lying about who I am and doing the unthinkable to


    finance my escape.


    As trustworthy as this olddy seems, she used to be Luna of this pack and will only have their best


    interests at heart. Especially that of her grandson. So, no….I’m alone here until I leave.


    “Thank you, I’d like that,” I respond with a smile. Meeting her every day will kill my boredom and I’ll


    forget for a while. It’s a two-for-one, so I’ll do it.


    She returns my smile with a nod of her head, then she continues to sip on her tea. We sit like that in


    silence for a while, until Josef walks over and advises us to go inside because of the uing storm


    overhead.


    I can already feel the aches in my ribs and shoulder, so I bid Ariadne goodbye and allow Josef to lead


    me inside.


    “You two didn’t talk much,” he says as we approach my room. “Why is that?”


    I shrug and cross my arms. “There was nothing to really talk about, to be honest. I know my name and


    nothing else, so there wasn’t much of a conversation going on,” I say.


    Josef seems happy about this. “Well…that’s good, I guess. Kyría Ariadne is an entric one, to say


    the least, but she’s a lovely person.”


    “You always call her Kyría Ariadne, what does that mean?”


    He smiles. “Kyría refers to ady in Greek; she’s of old blood and authority, not to mention-”


    “The Alpha’s grandmother, I understand,” I say and chuckle at the shock on his face. “Don’t worry,


    that’s all I’ve found out and I don’t intend to learn more. I do, however, want to join her for tea again;


    she’s invited me to join her daily if I wish to.”


    Naturally, Josef seems rattled about this. “The Alpha won’t be happy,” he says, shaking his head. “This


    willnd us both in trouble.”


    “Then just say I insisted,” I shrug before opening my bedroom door and walking in, then I turn to him.


    “Thank you for everything, Josef.”


    He beams. “You’re wee. Have a lovely evening, Miss Mia.”


    I close the door and walk to the bed, sighing andying down. Going out took my mind off things for a


    while, but now I’m back here alone with my thoughts again. I know what I need to do, but what will be


    the consequence?