The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

CAMILLA'S POV

As much as I wanted to hear what Christine had to say, I couldn't do that immediately. We still had dinner to attend to and so I sat at that table anxiously waiting and tapping my feet wondering what the hell she could have figured out to make her excited like that. It was incredibly hard to keep up pretenses when my mind was anywhere but the dinner and I muttered a prayer to the goddess that I didnt slip up or do anything to jeopardize my carefully crafted plan.

After dinner, I picked up Aurora with the intention of going to put her in bed when I heard Marie calling out to me. I froze mid-step and muttered a small prayer under my breath before turning to her. She was running to catch up to me and when she finally got there, she had a hand on her chest to calm her breathing.

“Are you alright?” I asked and she nodded. “If you would like to sit down for a second then-"

“I have been looking for you all day, didn’t anyone tell you?” she asked and I shook my head. “I checked your room and your office, hell, I even went to Christine to check for you but something seems to be up with her and her mate. They have been acting a little weird.”

I feigned confusion. “What do you mean by weird?”

“Are you sure that they are actual mates? He was outside while she was changing or some shit like that. It just seemed completely awkward. I think they might be hiding something.”

“I can try to ask but I can’t remember if they are,” I forced my expression into one of sadness and confusion. Marie placed both hands on either side of my shoulder and smiled.

“It's fine, we can figure it out later. It isn’t the most important thing right now,” she glanced over at Aurora in my arms. “I see you are getting used to the children. How does it feel being a mother?”

I shrugged. “I don't know, I'm trying to get used to it. Ryker says that I used to tuck them in and now they don’t sleep unless I am the one doing it. I keep hoping it would spark some memories but I am getting nothing.”

It was almost scary how easy it was for me to lie and how easily she was eating it up. She reached out to touch Aurora and in that moment, I knew I was going to pull back. It was going to cause some suspicion on her part but the thought of her touching my daughter didn't sit right with me. Thankfully, I didn’t have to because footsteps began making their way towards us and she pulled back of her own accord. I let out a sigh of relief but that was short lived when I saw Riley make her way over to me.

“If I didn't know better, I would say that you were avoiding me,” she mused. “Can we take a walk?”

I glanced over at Marie silently pleading with her to stay. I would have rather taken her over Riley because with her, I knew how to act. I wasn't sure how to put on a show for Riley but she gave me a sad smile before slowly slinking away. Riley was still watching me with a question in her eyes so I sighed and nodded.

“I have to meet with Ryker and Christine, we have a few things we need to talk about,” I explained and she frowned. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked and my brows furrowed in confusion. “If this is about the last time then I am so sorry. I know I said things I shouldnt have but I was just angry, I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t want to see Damien and I thought I was being chased away by the people I considered family. Please, I just need you to stop avoiding me.”

“I'm not, Riley.”

She snorted. “I might be younger than everyone in this palace but I am not stupid. You haven't stopped to speak to me and right now it seems like you would rather be anywhere but with me. I know what I said before and I know that words can be difficult to forget but you are my sister, Camilla and I am sorry.”

I paused in my tracks and turned to her. “It isn't about you, I swear. A lot has happened since you let and-sometimes time takes its toll. I am not avoiding you, this is your home, and you can be here as much as you want.”

That seemed to get rid of whatever fears she had because her eyes watered and I saw her discreetly trying to wipe them away. She reached out for Aurora and this time, I didn’t hesitate and handed her over. I trusted Riley with my life, I trusted Riley with my daughters, they knew her and they loved her.

“Do you want to tell me how you and Damien came back together?” I asked and her cheeks heated. “You don't have to tell me now, it is a story I would like to hear at some point in time.”

“l will tell you, I just-" she trailed off. “I want to talk to Ryker about it first. I was undeniably rude to him the last time and I think he deserves to know first.”

“That's fine, let's go put Aurora to sleep so I can find Christine before she kills me.”

We walked in silence and for the first time in a long time, things felt normal. I felt like myself again walking with Riley She didn’t know any of the bad things that had happened and she was just a bundle of sunshine. She held Aurora al the way to her room where both Christine and Ryker were already waiting. They looked at us with varying levels of concern but I tried to tune them out. At least for the next few seconds, I still wanted peace.

“Perhaps we can talk tomorrow,” Riley suggested once Aurora was down for bed and I nodded.

“I'd like that, thank you.”

She gave me a warm smile before leaving and the moment she was gone, Ryker turned to me. “Is everything okay?” “Yeah, she doesn’t know or suspect a thing,” I gave him my version of a smile. “Can we go somewhere more private tc talk about this? I don’t want anyone to overhear.”

“I have the perfect place,” Christine announced before leading us towards the secret library.

I had forgotten the place even existed. It looked untouched and it was a great place to speak because first of all, no one knew about it and second, it was well hidden that no one would overhear us. I wasn't sure if Ryker or Christine had called for Juan but he was seated on one of the armchairs just watching me. I cocked a brow and he just smiled. “You really fooled us,” he mused. “I thought you had seriously lost your memory.”

“I did lose it, I just got it back and didn’t tell anyone.”

“Is there a specific reason? I don’t want the bullshit you gave them about not knowing. Something made you apprehensive of them.”

“It was the day I pulled Peggy out of the water. It just seemed too perfect, you know? She has lived in that place her whole life and she has never fallen in. How could she live there and not know how to swim? It just seemed perfectly set up. After I got my memory, that part stood out to me and I got suspicious for lack of better words.”

He stared at me unblinking for a minute before humming. “That makes sense I guess. Don’t worry, I'm not as pissed as the others that you lied to us.”

“That's because you're an unfeeling robot,” Christine shot at him before turning to me. “So, are we going to talk abou this letter or not?” everyone immediately went silent and she handed it over to me. “We can read the letter or I can just summarize what I found out to make things easier”

I gestured for her to go on. I would have loved to read it myself but I wasn't sure I would be able to sit down long enough to make out any of the words. Neither men reached out for it either so she cleared her throat and began explaining.

“The spies went to them to ask about Peggy and Marie and they had enough to say about Peggy, but not enough about Marie,” my brows furrowed in confusion but she continued. “Apparently, Peggy is a single mother that everyon loves but her daughter was not the brightest tool in the shed. I couldn't get specifics but there was an incident concerning Marie.”

“I know about that,” I cut in. “Peggy told me that Marie liked a boy and he along with her best friend took her into th woods and tried to attack her?”

“Tried?” she asked opening the envelope and pulling out a piece of paper. She slid it over to me. “They didn't try, they assaulted her. They cornered her and beat her within n inch of her life. They also fed her a very heavy dose of wolf's bane.”

The thought of them doing that to someone, it was enough to have me nearly throwing up. I couldn't hear any more, just wanted to know she got justice. “What happened to them after that?”

“I don't know, there was no proof that they did it but speculation says so. All I know is that according to that letter, Marie was badly hurt and had been in the hospital for years until a few months ago when you happened to walk into that pack, she died”

I scoffed. “What are you talking about? Marie is right here in the palace with us. I just spoke to her a few minutes ago”

“Not according to their hospital reports. According to those reports, Marie is dead. I don’t know who the hell is in thi palace with us but it is not her”