Chapter 84: Mate?

Samantha had just finished scrubbing the last of the pots in the kitchen. She rinsed it clean, stacked it with the others, and heaved a soft sigh.

Her pride was completely bruised, especially after the embarrassing ordeal she had faced in Dorian’s study a week ago.

The only thing she could do now was wait. Her father had informed her that he had a plan, and she was biding her time. She badly wanted Alyssa out of the way.

Even if Dorian didn’t make her his Luna again, she wouldn’t let it stop her. He had once fallen for her. She would make him fall again.

Wiping her hands on a dish rag, she flung it aside and walked out of the kitchen, ignoring the other servants. Despite being demoted to the lowest rank, she never mingled with them. She still held her head high.

As she stepped out the door, she collided directly into a warm, broad chest. Her foot slipped, and she fell backward, her hands flailing wildly.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, steadying her. For a split second, she thought it was Dorian. She looked up with a surprised gasp, but her smile dropped the instant she saw her savior.

Alec!

A bitter mix of disgust and annoyance slammed into her as her gaze locked with the head gamma.

"Get your hands off me!" she shrieked, shoving him away and stepping back.

Alec released her, an irritated frown drawing over his brow. "Someone needs to teach you some manners. I should have let you fall."

"Maybe you should have!" Samantha snarled.

"Maybe I should have!" Alec shot back, his eyes narrowing. "Watching you bash your head open would have been the highlight of my day."

"That would be far better than having your filthy hands touch me!" Samantha spat. "I never asked for your help."

"You are such an arrogant brat," Alec sneered. "It’s no wonder Alpha Dorian saw you for what you really are."

"And you’re just a bloody gamma," she retorted. "You’ve probably been looking for any excuse to put your worthless hands on me."

Alec laughed aloud, shaking his head at her in disdain. "Worthless hands? Look around, Samantha. I’m not the one dressed like a servant. If I remember correctly, you said you were going to make me pay once you became Luna. How’s that coming along?"

Samantha opened her mouth to retort, but the words caught in her throat. She could only clench her fists in rage, her eyes burning with venom.

She hated him deeply, but more than that, she hated the way his eyes roamed over her body reluctantly, as if he couldn’t help himself.

"Fuck you!" she snarled, attempting to push past him, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her to his side. His scent hit her squarely in the face, and despite her pride, she found herself inhaling it.

"I’ve got my eyes on you, Samantha," he growled low. "The Alpha might overlook you and your brother’s presence because he’s occupied with more important things, but not me. Make one wrong move, and I swear I will take you down."

Samantha glared up at him. She caught the quick way his gaze dropped to her lips before snapping back to her eyes. Against her own will, her own gaze flicked to his mouth.

Furious with herself for reacting to him that way, she yanked her arm out of his grip and stormed off. She felt his stare following her all the way down the hallway until she turned the corner.

When she was finally out of sight, she collapsed against the wall, letting out a ragged breath. What the hell was that? Why had her wolf reacted to him that way?

A quiet voice whispered at the back of her mind. MATE.

She shoved the thought down with violent force. That common, worthless gamma couldn’t be her mate. She would rather end her own life than wake up one day bound to Alec.

Pushing away from the wall, she made her way straight to Seth’s room.

He was standing by the window when she barged in, slamming the door shut behind her. He didn’t even bother turning around.

"I can’t wait to get out of this place!" she raged, dropping onto the edge of the bed. "That gamma thinks he can talk to me the way he likes. If it hadn’t been for Arrow’s mistake, Alyssa would be dead and I would be Luna. Alec wouldn’t have the audacity to speak to me."

The moment Arrow’s name left her mouth, Seth turned around. His eyes darkened, narrowing into slits. His jaw clenched, but he said nothing, simply glaring at her.

Noticing his silence, Samantha looked up. Normally, Seth would throw out a sarcastic comment or a bitter joke to make light of their situation.

Instead, the way he was staring at her was unnerving, a wide, unblinking glare.

"What?" she snapped. "Why are you looking at me like that? You’re the one who recommended Arrow, and the bastard ruined my plans."

Seth suddenly stepped toward her, his posture dark and threatening.

​"Get out!" he ordered.

Samantha stared at him in confusion. "What has gotten into you, Seth?"

"GET OUT!" Seth roared, and for a terrifying split second, his face distorted, revealing Pilate’s true features beneath.

Shaken by the sudden shift in her twin brother’s eyes, Samantha scrambled off the bed and hurried out of the room.

Back in the hallway, she paused, her mind racing. Now that she thought about it, Seth had been acting strange for the past week. He zoned out constantly, ignored her like she wasn’t there, and acted as though he didn’t even know her. Worse, the bond connecting them as twins was absent.

She opened the mind link and attempted to reach him, but his link was blocked.

Confused and a little suspicious, she slipped out through the back door of the mansion and pushed the thought from her mind. Apart from Seth, she had no one else to talk to, and she couldn’t speak to him in that state.

She took the isolated path behind the mansion, heading into the forest to clear her head. Waiting for orders from her father was excruciating because she was so used to taking matters into her own hands.

The night air felt chilly against her skin. She stopped beneath a tree, intending to rest for a while. But something caught her attention; the loud buzzing sound of a swarm of flies.

She stepped around the trunk and noticed a patch of freshly disturbed earth, as if something had recently been buried.

"What in the world..." she whispered, crouching over the shallow mound and waving the flies away. She pushed aside the loose soil, and a foul odor instantly hit her nostrils.

Nausea rose in her throat, but her curiosity forced her to dig through the mound.

When she finally uncovered what lay beneath, she recoiled violently. Her nausea churned harder and she gagged, turning her to vomit into the grass.

Buried in the dirt, already rotting and decaying, was Seth’s decapitated head, resting beside his body.

"Oh goddess," she choked out, her entire body trembling violently. "Seth?"

She turned her face away, frantically kicking the dirt back over the grave, shielding the corpse from view. Her mind spun with shock and disbelief.

If this was Seth, then who had she just spoken to in that room?

She sprinted back toward the mansion, her heart hammering against her ribs, her hands caked in mud. She went straight to Seth’s room to confront whoever was inside.

Reaching the threshold, she found the door left half-open, exactly as she had left it moments ago.

She crept closer, her chest tight, and peeked inside. What she saw made her blood run cold.

Seth stood before the mirror, muttering strange words under his breath. His entire face was melting away, and under her horrified stare, the skin slowly repaired itself until it was whole again.

The realization hit her like a strike of thunder; something had murdered her brother and taken his form.