Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 34

When they finally made it downstairs, dinner was over and everyone had gathered in the game room. Ava apologized to Helen for their absence at the table, but the older woman smiled knowingly. “Don’t worry about it, Ava. There’s some leftover pasta in the fridge, despite the best efforts of those two,” she nodded towards the group who were circling the pool table. “Thankfully

Daniel and Franz didn’t eat us out of house and home this time.”

The two young men in question grinned and Franz called out, “We’re growing boys. We need our food.”

Giselle, who was also there, simply rolled her eyes, and resignedly shook her head.

“Are you sure you want to be bonded to this one, Giselle?” Arthur asked from his position leaning against the doorframe.

“I ask myself that question every day.” She responded dryly. Franz affected a wounded pose before turning back to his game.

Rose was standing in the corner observing the others and being her characteristically quiet self. When the girl glanced her way, Ava gave her a friendly, encouraging smile. As their eyes met, Rose looked her up and down and then, seeming to find her worthy of contempt, the usually shy girl curled her l*p and pointedly turned her back.

Anger combined with shocked disbelief filled her, and it took Ava a moment to push down the desire to march over there and demand an explanation. Glancing around, she saw that no one else had witnessed the exchange. Had it actually happened? She quickly replayed the event. No, she hadn’t imagined it but what was the reason? Was Rose attempting to assert herself and move up in the pack? If she was, picking on the Alpha’s mate was certainly not the place to start!

Ava considered dealing with the incident immediately then dismissed the idea. There was no need to create a scene by putting Rose in her place in front of everyone. That would only create more animosity. No, she’d wait and speak to the girl privately.

Arthur, apparently oblivious to the exchange that had just happened, pushed off from the doorframe. “Well, I’m going in search of food. How about you, Ava?” With another thoughtful look at Rose, she nodded and followed him upstairs into the kitchen.

“It will only take a few minutes to heat up the pasta.” She peered into the fridge and pulled out the food while Arthur took plates from the cupboard and set them on the table.

“All right. Do you want me to make a salad?” He pulled open the cutlery drawer.

“No, I can do it.”

“Okay, then while dinner’s heating, I’m going to check on something in the office.” Arthur headed down the hallway and she nodded absentmindedly as she pressed the appropriate buttons on the microwave. Once it was heating, she pulled out a head of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes in order to make a quick salad.

Marla wandered through while she was working and snatched a cucumber slice out of the bowl. Casually leaning a h*p against the counter, she munched on the veggie, then grabbed a piece of tomato. “So, how did it go? Did the perfume work?”

She nervously glanced down the hall to ensure that Arthur wasn’t within earshot. “It was fine, but I still don’t feel right about this. I’m going to tell him the truth as soon as I get a chance.” Marla shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” “If what’s a good idea?” Arthur walked into the kitchen frowning.

“Er… Ava and I going shopping tomorrow. I think next week would be better.” Marla made a quick recovery.

“Oh, that’s nice.” Arthur seemed distracted and Ava asked him what was wrong. “Nothing, really. I’ve misplaced a report that was on my desk. It was the one from Chloe and her university friends about the negative environmental impact of drilling for oil on our land. I was sending it to our lawyers tomorrow.”

“I didn’t know you’d had a study done on that.” Marla picked up another veggie, only appearing mildly interested.

“It wasn’t general knowledge. Only those in the Alpha house really knew about it.” Arthur ran his hand through his hair. “Was anyone in the office today moving things about? That room is supposed to be off-limits if I’m not there but…”

The microwave signalled their food was ready and Arthur, being the closest, stopped midsentence and removed the steaming bowl of pasta. While his back was turned, Ava stared at

Marla. The blonde woman had been leaving Arthur’s office when she’d arrived home that afternoon. Did Marla know where the report was? Opening her mouth to ask, she saw Marla making a pleading gesture and shaking her head.

Against her better judgement, Ava pressed her lips together and remained silent. Marla had been trying to be helpful this afternoon, in her own twisted way, so she supposed she could return the favour. Mouthing the words ‘you’d better tell me what’s going on later’, Ava schooled her face into a pleasant expression before Arthur turned around.

Marla wandered off, ostensibly to make a phone call, while Arthur and Ava ate, but returned before they were finished. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down to visit, idly chatting about her day.

Arthur was done eating first and started to gather up the dishes, while Ava finished her meal. He spoke over his shoulder as he placed the items in the sink. “Oh, Marla. I almost forgot. I didn’t make it into town today, but Rose was going in, so I asked her to stop by the Gallery to get that package for you.”

“Really? Rose was in town, but you weren’t. Hmm, I wonder…” Marla’s voice trailed off.

Ava looked up from her plate. “What do you wonder?”

“Nothing. I’m just curious if she got the package or not. She didn’t give it to me, so maybe it wasn’t even in, after all. I’ll have to ask her later.” Smiling, Marla glanced at her two companions.

“I’ll clean up, if you two want to take a walk or something,” Ava raised questioning brows and looked at Arthur.

He nodded in agreement. “Sounds good. I’ll tell the others we’re going in case anyone wants to tag along.”

As soon as Arthur disappeared from sight, Ava turned to Marla and questioned her sternly. “Why were you in Arthur’s office this afternoon if it was off-limits? And what did you do with that report?”

“I didn’t do anything with the report, at least not on purpose. Arthur’s computer has the fastest processor in the house, so I was using it to do some research on the collector who bought that photograph. I must have scooped the report up with my stuff by accident.”

“Why didn’t you tell Arthur then?”

“Because I wasn’t supposed to be in his office and I didn’t want to mention that picture again. He’s been in a good mood lately and I don’t want to spoil it.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, not liking the situation at all. “Okay. But if you’re not supposed to be in his office, then stay out of his office. I don’t want to have to cover for you again. Find that report and put it back.”

“It already is. I snuck back in while you were eating and slipped it under some files. He’ll think he missed it somehow.”

She nodded but had a funny feeling about the incident.