Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 39

By the time she arrived home, Ava’s stomach was in knots over the prospect of talking to Arthur. Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, it still wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward to. After all, who knew what Rose might have said? It had been an innocent meeting but apparently Rose was willing to believe the worst of her and jump to conclusions, which was rather upsetting given the fact that she had tried her best to be pleasant to the other girl.

Mentally, she played out what she’d say to Arthur and how he’d react. How did she start? ‘Did you hear a rumour about me?’ No, that probably wasn’t a good opening line. Neither was, ‘You know that rumour Rose told you about me and another man…?’ She shook her head. A straight-out explanation would be best. She would simply tell him she’d had lunch with Seth but what with one thing and another, it had completely slipped her mind. Not because she was trying to hide anything, but simply because it wasn’t that important. Yes, that sounded good and it was the truth. She nodded, satisfied with her plan.

Now all she had to worry about was Arthur’s reaction. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad, her rational side told her. Arthur wasn’t one to jump to conclusions; he’d listen calmly and understand. Unless, the other side of her brain told her, Rose had got to him first. After all, he really hadn’t liked Seth the one time they’d met. He’d told Seth to stay away and implicit in that command, she was to stay away from Seth as well. In a roundabout way, she’d directly disobeyed his orders.

Darn but this wasn’t going to go over well at all.

Suddenly realizing, she’d been standing on the porch for some time, staring blindly at the door, she swallowed hard, wiped her sweaty palms on her pant leg and stepped inside.

The house was unusually quiet, and she strained to hear a sound that might indicate where everyone was. When nothing reached her ears, she gave a sigh of relief. She’d have to face the firing squad eventually, but any reprieve was welcome.

Peeking into Arthur’s office, she saw that it was empty. A late afternoon sun streamed weakly into the room, leaving the corners in shadow. The smell of leather mixed with the unique scent of Arthur permeated the space and drew her inside. Tucking her hands in her pockets, she looked around curious as to where he might be.

The desk held the usual piles of paper and the answering machine was blinking, indicating several messages were waiting for Arthur’s attention. She wondered if he’d replaced the tape or not—the quality really had been poor this morning. Impulsively, she wrote a reminder on a sticky note and attached it to the machine. While at the desk, she noticed that the computer hadn’t even been started yet for the day. Had he even made it into the office? Seeing nothing that would provide an answer to her question, she exited the room, shutting the door behind her.

Next stop was the kitchen. Despite the fact that it was mid-afternoon, there was no sign of Helen or dinner preparations being made. The coffee maker held the dregs of the morning’s coffee and the dishes weren’t done. Something was definitely up; Helen never left her kitchen in disarray. Heading to the message centre on the fridge, she scanned the notes and found the answers to everyone’s whereabouts.

Carrie had gone into early labour and John and Helen were at the infirmary with her. Ah! That explained the state of the kitchen. Well, since first births usually took a considerable time, it wasn’t likely she’d be hearing from them anytime soon. Crossing her fingers, she sent positive thoughts towards the infirmary, hoping both mother and baby would be fine.

The next message was from Arthur. He’d been called away to the lake region. A patrol had found something that needed his attention and he wasn’t sure when he’d be back. Relief washed over her as she realized she wouldn’t have to tell Arthur about Seth for a while. This was immediately followed by a large dose of worry. What if someone else told him first? The longer he was gone, the greater the risk and the more likely it was that others in the pack would hear the story. It had only been twenty-four hours since she’d met with Seth, but rumours spread notoriously fast. Putting a stop to it was paramount.

She wished Helen were there. The woman had a level head and would know what to do. Worrying her l*p, she searched her mind for someone neutral she could call who might understand her current predicament. Perhaps Sarah…? Grabbing the phone, she dialled the familiar number, twirling the cord around her fingers as she waited for a reply. After a dozen rings, she hung up in frustration. Just when she needed someone to talk to, no one was around. Sighing, she wandered through the large, rambling home wishing that the usual steady stream of visitors would start up. Instead, it seemed as if everyone knew that all the ‘important’ people were away and there was no need to stop by for a visit.

Throwing herself into a chair by the front window, she scrubbed her face with her hands. Her emotions seemed to be all over the board and she didn’t feel like herself at all. Could it be because of her upcoming heat? Possibly, but the knowledge was of little comfort when she felt like her world was falling apart. This thing about Seth wasn’t that big a deal, but for some reason it seemed like it was. She was teary and worried, angry and indecisive. Her stomach kept knotting up and even though she knew it was ridiculous, she was sure her relationship with Arthur was in jeopardy. Inelegantly, she sniffled and wiped a lone tear from her eye as she succumbed to selfpity. A nasty rumour was at this very moment probably spreading through the pack, costing her the new friendships she’d formed and no one was around for her to talk to about it.

A car door slammed outside and she sat forward, peering through the curtains to see who it was. Darn! It was Marla. That was another cause for complaint. The woman was up to something, though Ava still wasn’t sure exactly what. Maybe instead of thinking about what to tell Arthur, she should concentrate her energy on figuring out Marla. At least it would take her mind off one problem.

As Marla came up the walk, Ava debated as to whether or not she should confront her about where she was last night, and why she’d been with Ryne. Or should she say nothing so that the woman didn’t warn Ryne? It was only supposition on her part that Marla had been in the car, even though Ava strongly believed it to be true.

Deciding to say nothing, she wiped her face, grabbed a magazine, and arranged herself into a casual position in her chair. When the door opened, she looked up feigning surprise as Marla walked in. “Oh, hi Marla.”

“Ava.” Marla’s greeting was short, her gaze watchful as if expecting a question. “How was your day?”

“Fine.”

“That’s good.”

It felt like they were both tiptoeing around the other. Marla picked up the mail on the table and flipped through it, which was presumptuous given that the woman didn’t officially live there.

Setting the envelopes down, Marla suddenly spoke. “I saw you in town today.”

Ava shrugged, “I went in for my shift at the Grey Goose.”

Marla nodded. “I was at the Gallery and you drove by. You were in a different car, a red sports coupe.”

“That’s right. I had to get something fixed on mine and the mechanic let me borrow a car so

I could get to work.”

Again, Marla nodded. “I never would have pictured you as the sports car type.”

“I thought it would be fun to try.”

“So, what did you think?”

“It was a nice car. There was nothing special about it though. I guess I prefer my own.”

Marla seemed to be studying her, as if weighing each of her answers, looking for hidden meanings. Obviously, she found none, for she suddenly smiled. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you; I’ve got lots to do. Tell the others I won’t be here for dinner.” Turning quickly, she left, her heels clicking a staccato on the wood floors as she made for the stairs.

Ava could hear the door to Marla’s room open and close. Moments later, it opened again, and Marla quickly descended the stairs and left without a word, slamming the front door behind her.

As she watched Marla drive away, Ava wondered if the woman had bought her act or not. Marla was definitely up to something. She was obviously curious if Ava had noticed anything while in the red car, but what was she hiding and why? The answer was there, just waiting for someone to figure it out.