My eyes are pinned on Janet, and I don't make any attempt to hide my contempt for her. I may not know her for long...or at all since I just met her yesterday, but I have this burning hatred for her. My gut always tells me when I should be wary of someone, and it's never wrong. Right now, it's telling me she's bad news.
She's staring at me with a...smile? She looks just as beautiful as she had yesterday, even though she has no makeup on and is dressed casually. Her silky straight black hair shines more than the marble counter and falls around her heart-shaped face. Her pale blue eyes glints with enthusiasm as they land on me, and her naturally red lips are pulled in a smile.
The silence in the room stretches as the tension becomes thicker, but Janet doesn't seem affected. She sits like she owns the whole place, confident without a care in the world. Even Joanna had dished out the food and shuffled out of the kitchen in a hurry. I'm sitting beside Danny with Reagan on my other side, then Lexi and Janet opposite us. But unfortunately, Janet is the one directly opposite of me.
"So, is anyone going to do the introduction?" The bitch asks with her gaze bouncing off between Lexi, Danny, and finally, Reagan. Danny still has his face set in a scowl as he regards her. He must have a beef with her because he wasn't happy to see her yesterday either.
And Reagan isn't even maintaining eye contact with her. He's just sipping his coffee while ignoring his bacon and eggs. And Lexi tries to act nonchalant with a soft smile on her lips, probably to reduce the tension.
"Janet, this is Ellie. Reagan's mate." Lexi begins since no one else talks. She then turns to me, "Ellie, Janet...." She pauses, seeming to be thinking about her next word. "An old friend."
Janet chuckles a melodic tune that only irritates my ear. "Oh, Lexi. Don't be so modest. I'm more than just an old friend." She laughs once more, and I can see Lexi visibly freeze beside her. Even Reagan seems to go a bit rigid beside me.
"When you say, mate..." Her eyes divert to Reagan, who still isn't looking at her. "Do you mean given by the moon or..." She doesn't have to complete her statement as her eyes trail back to me.
I grit my teeth in anger, clenching my jaw tight as the stupid innocent smile appears back on her lips. I want to smack it off with a slap while pulling her hair as my nails dig into her scalp.
I inhale in to calm my violent thoughts and think happy ones to calm myself. What kind of bitch asks such a question? It's considered rude and inconsiderate to ask mates if they were bonded by the moon goddess or made the choice themselves.
"Janet..." Reagan growls threateningly at her, causing her to turn her innocent smile back to him in confusion; but I stop him by placing my palm on his biceps. Her stare snaps to the skin contact, and I see something flash in her eyes, but it's gone as soon as it came. I even thought I imagined it as she's still looking so innocent.
"Why do you care?" I suddenly ask with my head tilted at her. "What's difference does it make? He's mine, and that's all there is to it. Unless you have other motives for asking." They all seem to be a bit shocked by my public display of ownership.
I smile my brightest at her, and she reciprocates it with one of her own.
"You misunderstood me, Ellie." She shakes her head. "Can I call you Ellie?" I reluctantly nod at her request. "I'm sorry if I came out as rude. Congratulations on finding your mate."
I stare at her suspiciously as her smile seems genuine before I briefly nod in acknowledgment. Danny abruptly stands up then, almost knocking down his chair behind him. I think I hear him mutter, 'bullshit,' before he turns towards Reagan.
"We need to leave now. They're expecting us at the meeting." His cold glare only shifts to Janet once before he leaves.
Reagan sighs before placing a kiss on my temple, "I'll be back soon. Will you be alright without me?"
An amused smile makes its way to my lips at his question. "I think I can manage without an arrogant Prince hovering over me all day."
"That wasn't why I asked." He whispers into my ear.
I stare at him in confusion for a while before realization dawns over me. He was talking about my heat. I look away to hide my blush as it was his turn to smirk in amusement.
"I'll be fine," I mutter, and he places another kiss on my cheeks once more before standing up to walk out.
"Later, Reggie." I hear the irritating voice of Janet, and I turn to see her eyes focused on him as he walked out. He pauses and stare at her before muttering something and walk out.
"You two are cute together." I realized then that she had been watching Reagan's and my exchange. I ignore her and go back to drinking my coffee, only to hear her sigh.
"We obviously got off on the wrong foot with what happened yesterday. So can we start over?" I stare back up at her bright smile that was beginning to freak me out. Is that all she does? Smile?
"Let me start by apologizing for what I said earlier. It's just...I'm so used to Reggie using every trick in the book to bring me back, and I thought..."
"Janet!" Lexi abruptly stops her, but it's already too late. I freeze with the coffee mug in my hand halfway to my lips. My eyes snap to Janet, who has a guilty expression as she looks away. I look to Lexi, and she only shakes her head at me.
"What are you talking about?" I turn back to Janet, ignoring Lexi.
"Oh, no. Forget I said anything. I didn't mean to. It's a thing of the past, if anything." She quickly shakes her head while biting her lip. I try to look past her facade, to see if she was putting up an act on, but apart from the naive innocent look she has on, I see nothing else.
"Just tell me!" I burst out with my body tensed in anticipation. I dread what she's about to say, but it doesn't stop me from asking. My wolf was seething silently in my head also, and even she was curious about this lady's relationship with our mate. I had asked him about it yesterday, but he had seemed reluctant to talk about it. And even when he did, he hadn't given me enough details.
Janet looks at me, unsure, before her eyes trail back to Lexi, who was obviously warning her with her eyes to keep shut.
"Well..." She begins, looking back at me. "I don't always stay around as I like to explore, but Reggie hated that. And he would come up with different ways to bring me back like forming an ailment...or even...spreading fake news about already meeting his mate." She chuckles then, having a faraway look on her face like she's reliving happy memories.
"But whenever I came back, I would discover it was all a ploy to lure me back to him. So, you see why I asked that when Lexi mentioned that you both are mates..." She turns to look at me then, but the smile wipes off her face as she sees the expression on my face.
My fists are clenched tight on the table with my nails digging into my palm. My nostrils flare with my body shaking in anger. I can feel my wolf begging to be let out so she can rip through this female's neck. But then, I remembered Reagan's warning for me not phasing since she's still in transformation and that I should also learn how to control her or she might do something bad.
With a low growl, I abruptly stand to my feet, looking down at Lexi and Janet, who both looked panic-stricken. It's weird since they're both Lycans, and I'm and just a werewolf. Why are they staring at me like I had a chance in harming them?
"Why are you still here, then?" I ask the question as calmly as I could, contrary to how in real feeling.
She turns to stare at Lexi in confusion before directing her stare back to me.
"Since it's clear he has really moved on this time, what are you still doing here?" I lean down to place my palms flat on the table and tilt my head at her in question.
She stands up then with a sincere look in her eyes. "Ellie, I'm not trying to be your enemy. I'm really sorry if I've appeared to be so..." She reaches her hand over to me, but I move away.
"That doesn't answer my question." I cut her off, and Lexi stands up then to intervene.
"I think we should all just take a chill pill." I know by 'we,' she meant me. "Ellie," she turns to me. "Janet is a sweet girl, and she would never cause any harm to you and Reagan's bond. Besides, he's mated to you, not her..."
"If she's as sweet as she appears to be, how come Danny, carefree-funny-Danny, glares at her like she's Lucifer's daughter herself." I voice out my thoughts. I had never seen Danny so hostile to anyone. Not even to Joanna.
Lexi seems tongue-tied for a few seconds, having a look of uncertainty as she stares back at Janet. We're both looking at her now for an answer.
"Danny has never really liked me from the start, and you know that." She shrugs at Lexi. "I swear, I don't know why."
Lexi sighs before staring back at me.
"Ellie, you're in heat. I can smell that." She walks over to my side, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Your emotions are a bit heightened, and you are starting to think things that are not even real. If you get to know Janet, you'll realize she's a fun person to be around."
I stare at the said Janet to see her flashing me a friendly smile. But I'm still cautious of her.
"I get it." Lexi continues. "You didn't like her hugging Reagan as she had yesterday, and your wolf is pissed. But try to reign in her emotions for a minute and see things differently." She encourages, and I take in a deep breath listening to her. My wolf really was going crazy just by looking at Janet. She couldn't help it. Janet was a beauty to look at. And knowing she's under the same roof as my mate makes her nervous.
"Your body's temperature is rising." Lexi's palm touches my forehead and cheeks, and I can already feel my skin beginning to turn flush.
"Come on, why don't we go to the pool and cool you off." Janet proposes.
My eyes snap to her's in a flash as they widened.
"There's a pool here?!" Her smile widens as she sees the shocked look on my face. She nods while buying her lips. "Well, why am I just knowing about this?" I turn to asks Lexi.
"Because you were on a three-day vacation to Oakland." She sarcastically replies. It's Sunday, so I'm guessing she's free and has no class. It's good because I couldn't imagine staying in this mansion all by myself or with Janet.
I still don't trust her even though Lexi is telling me otherwise. She might look sweet, but that doesn't me she isn't rotten inside. She seems fake to me with those red lips of hers always pulled up into a smile. I just have to find the right buttons to push for her to crack. So in the meantime, I have to act like I really trust her. Her true color will surely come out.
So with the brightest smile I could muster, I turn to her. "Lead the way, Janet."