The Rejected Werewolf Princess

CAMILLA'S POV

As soon as Ryker and Juan were gone, I went in search of Christine. It wasn’t hard to find her, she was in the dining room snacking on some fruits. As soon as she saw me, she must have realized that something was terribly wrong because she immediately rushed over to my side.

“Tell me,” she said and I explained how weird Ryker had been acting and how he had gone out with Juan and it seemed suspicious. When I was done, she sighed. “Juan told me that they were going back to where Reina died but he wouldn't say more than that”

“That was exactly what Ryker told me but I have a feeling there is more. Why would he just go back there unprovoked. Most people would try to stay as far away from the witch that tried to kill them, don’t you think?”

She couldn't help but nod. I ran my hands through my hair and bit down on the inside of my cheeks. I didn't know much but all I knew was that something serious was going on and Ryker wasn't telling me about it. He was always telling me to be open and trust him but it seemed like he was having a hard time trusting me. I understood, honestly I knew how hard it was but it couldn't be that serious that he couldn't just talk to me about it. We had already been through so much together- what was one more?

Christine and I shared a few ideas of what we thought could be happening but neither of them seemed plausible. The most popular idea was that Reina didn't die but I had seen her die, I saw her body burn and I saw it getting buried, she was dead, there was no denying that. Perhaps she did something before she died that I didn’t know of and that was what Ryker was trying to hide. Whatever it was, I was determined to find out.

I thanked Christine and the both of us exited the dining room only to see Riley making her way down the halls. She seemed annoyed and her eyes were red rimmed while her nose had a light sheen to it as if she had been sniffling. I cast a wary glance at Christine before going after her. Christine was close behind me but made sure to keep her distance.

“Are you alright?” I asked Riley when I caught up to her and she stilled. She didn’t look happy to see me in the slightest. Instead, she wrapped her arms tighter around herself and put on the most indifferent mask I had ever seen. “If something is wrong then you can talk to-"

“Nothing is wrong,” she cut me off in a slightly harsh tone. “I was just walking, now if I might continue to do that without any further interruptions, I would be more than grateful”

She tried to walk past me but I grabbed her upper arm and kept her in place. “What the hell is this about? You have never acted like this before so why are you doing it right now? We are adults, Riley, if something is wrong then you open your mouth and communicate.”

“How self-righteous of you,” she spat. “I could have told you the same when you were off tossing me to the side like some attraction or old trinket.” I was so confused as to what she was saying but she clearly wasn’t done. “It doesn’t matter either way, we will be leaving within the week. It is what you want, is it not?”

“What are you even talking about? You aren't making any sense, Riley.”

“You have been excluding us from everything!” she exclaimed and I was taken aback by the sheer emotion in her tone. Her eyes burned and her face turned crimson with each passing second. Her brows were furrowed in anger anc her fists were clenched by her side. “This entire time, you have been the one telling Ryker to exclude us.”

I almost laughed. It was so comical to even imagine that my first reaction was to laugh but I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek because I knew it would only cause more trouble in the end because it would seem like I was trying to make fun of her. With each passing second that I tried to catch my breath, she seemed to grow even more frustrated.

“I never did that and I have no idea what you are talking about,” I said finally. “Where did you even get that absurd idea.”

“When we first came, he wouldn't even spend time with me. It was always something about you and I know you lost your memory but why does everything bad always happen to you? He left today and wouldn't even glance at me and I know he was running an errand for you. I wanted to apologize for how I acted to him earlier but he didn’t even care.”

“I don't even know why Ryker left today,” I admitted and her brows furrowed in confusion. “All he said was that he had something to do so I highly doubt that has anything to do with me. Your opinions are founded on nothing.”

“No they're not!” she was getting more annoyed by the second.

“Then how do you explain whatever this is?” I gestured between us. “Let's assume you are right and he was spending an ungodly amount of time trying to fix things for me, he is my mate and I am truly not in the mood to argue that with anyone, much less his sister. He will put his family and this palace first before anyone else. What exactly is your problem and where are you getting these insane ideas from?”

“I just know!” she slapped her hands over her mouth as if she shouldnt have said that but the words were already out.

“What do you mean by you just know?”

“I don't know, I just do,” she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to look brave but my patience was at an all-time low and I wasn't going to play any games. I grabbed her by the upper arm.

“Listen to me, I will not play this game with you. You can either open your mouth and speak or you can shut up and go back home. I really don't care for all of this. If after all these years, you have not realized that I am not your enem then I don’t know what else to say to you,” I released her hand. “The choice is yours.”

She was quiet for two minutes and to be honest, I thought she wasn’t going to speak. I was prepared to turn on my heels and walk out when she finally spoke.

“l woke up one morning and I just knew,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know how to explain it but I knew and the more I watched you, the more I realized what was happening and Peggy-"

“You mean Reina,” I cut her off. “The very same witch that tried to kill Ryker and I, the very same witch that killed Aurora. You were listening to a witch.”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

She frowned. “She said-"

“l don't give a damn what she said,” I had to pinch the bridge of my nose so as not to scream. “You took advice from the very person who was trying to kill us. Are you insane?”

At this point, she was stuttering and stammering over her words. “I didn't- she said- I just- I don’t know okay."

I ran my hands down my face. “I can’t do this today. If you want to listen to a witch then go right ahead but don't you ever try to disrespect me in my home again. Am I clear?”

She nodded slowly and I walked past her without another word. I was furious and disappointed to say the least. I expected more from Riley of all people but at the same time, I couldn't blame her. She didn’t have the same experience that we had with Reina, she didn’t know how dangerous she was. Riley was naive and Reina must have taken advantage of that.

“Are you okay?” Christine asked once we were a considerable distance away and I nodded. “That seemed rough, if you need anything then I can-"

“I'm fine,” I cut her off with a small smile. “Everything will be fine. I just need Ryker to return and speak to his sister because I have no idea what to do.”

“He'll be back soon,” she assured me and all I could do was hum. “If you want me to stay with you then-"

“No,” I cut her off. “I have a lot of work to do and you do too. I don’t want to keep you. Please, just go do whatever it is that you were doing before.”

She didn't leave immediately, she watched me for a full minute before finally nodding and walking away. Once she was gone, I headed for my office. It wasn’t until I had gotten into the safety of my office that I finally let out an exasperated sigh.

I tried to reach out to Ryker through the mind link but the wall was firmly in place. It didn't matter how much I tried, couldn't break through. Usually he always left a small gap for me if I needed to talk to him but today, there was nothing and I couldnt help but wonder what the hell was happening.

I tried to focus on my work but I was so strung up and worried that I could barely get anything done. I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong and I was proven right when a guard rushed into my office. He had a light sheen of sweat on his face and he was fiddling anxiously with his fingers. My thoughts immediately went to Ryker.

“What's wrong?” I asked but he didn't respond immediately. “Is it Ryker?”

“No, your majesty,” he replied and although that should have calmed me, it didn’t because if it wasn't Ryker, then it was someone else. “The school sent a letter to the palace and they asked that you go down there as soon as possible”

“What did they say was the issue?”

“They didn't, all they said was that it concerned the princess.”