Chapter 40

(Isabella’s POV)

Santiago sent me flowers every day I’ve been in the hospital. Today, he’s picking me up. I’m dressed and ready when he arrives. He’s carrying a small bouquet of red roses and sunflowers.

A Greek god…He walks over, smiling at me, which is odd. He’s wearing a pair of dark-wash jeans that sit just right at his waist, paired with a charcoal grey, stretchy t-shirt. The shirt is taut against his sculpted pecs and biceps, hugging every ridge and ripple of his muscles.

When we get in the car, he apologizes to me. He takes me to lunch and then the pack house. I’m not sure what has spurred his change of heart, but I think to myself, I can certainly get used to this.

When we get settled at the pack house, Layla seems to notice Santiago’s sudden changes in feelings toward me. She clings to him every minute and attacks me whenever she gets the chance. She’s so discreet that I can’t usually prove she’s behind them at all.

I find my laundry shrunk and stained pink.

Layla walks in with Santiago, “Oh my, Isabella. Don’t you know not to wash in hot water?” she asks with feigned surprise.

Santiago acts like he doesn’t hear the bull shit and walks away.

Layla saunters my direction, leans in and whispers, “I can take anything I want…your pack, your clothes, your mate…your place. Stay out of my way.” She smirks and waddles her pregnant ass after Santiago.

I roll my eyes and go to my room.

“You might as well give these garments to Layla for the pup. They’ll come closer to fitting a baby,” my wolf says. “That bitch is sabotaging you. You ought to tell Santiago.”

“Then I look like a drama queen, he doesn’t like that. And I don’t want to be perceived as weak. I’d rather just ignore her.”

I open the dresser drawer to put my clothes away and my wolf growls loudly in my mind.

“Bella! Stop! she yells.

I jump and draw my hand back. When I stand on my tiptoes and peer inside, I find a snake. It hisses and goes for a strike. I slam the drawer, trapping it inside just before it can make contact with me.

“Layla!” my wolf growls. “Are you going to say something to this pack Alpha now? It’s one thing for her to be catty about our mate, but this is bullying, and most Alpha’s don’t allow that in any of the ranks.”

“I can’t complain about her. He will just think I am being jealous and dramatic. I will call him about the fucking snake though!”

I open the door to leave and run into Levi in the hall.

“Whoa, you sure seem to be in a hurry, Alpha.”

I take a deep breath and meet his gaze.

He takes a step back and cocks his head to the side, “What’s wrong, Isabella?”

I freeze. I don’t know why. My teeth clench, and I feel my body rock back and forth in an involuntary attempt to calm myself down.

The thing is, I don’t know if I’m more upset that I’m being targeted or scared of the fucking snake.

“There’s a snake in my dresser drawer.”

His eyes go wide, “I’m sorry…a what?”

“A snake with a rattle on its tail and pearly fangs it showed when it hissed and struck in my direction.”

“Show me.”

“Alright…this way.”

We can hear the rattle from inside the closed drawer. Levi opens the drawer, prepared for the snake to strike. When it does, he slashes its head clean off.

He then inspects the rest of the room.

“Do you have any idea how it got in there?” he asks.

“I have a theory, but not one I can prove.”

He nods, “Copy that. I will personally investigate who is targeting you and put an end to it. This pack has a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior.”

I nod, “Thank you, Levi.”

Then I go find the actual snake in werewolf clothing herself to confront her woman-to-woman.

I find her in the sitting room, flipping through a bridal magazine and roll my eyes.

“Hey, Layla,” I say.

She jumps like I startled her and stands up, laying her magazine to the side. “Oh, hey there. You want to watch TV or something? Feel free, you won't bother me. I’m just looking for ideas for when Santiago and I reconcile.”

I scoff. “Yeah, you are delusional, you know that, right?”

“Please, Isabella. Once he hears our baby’s first cry, counts his child’s ten little fingers and ten little toes, and looks into the eyes of his heir, he’ll remember it's me he loves. I’m taking my man back. Period, you’ll be history soon enough.”

“Hmm, if that is all true…then why fuck with my laundry?”

She laughs.

My wolf growls.

“For fun,” she says. “To show you, I can slip into your space any time I want.”

I nod in agreement. “Yes, I know. That reminds me, I wanted to thank you for the slithering gift you left in my dresser.”

She plasters a saccharine smile on her thickly lined crimson lips. “Hmm, you can’t prove I left anything there but if I did…you’re welcome.”

I throw her phone at her. “You must have dropped this when you were there…so yeah, I can prove it.”

She catches her phone. She looks up at me with wide eyes. Her pupils are so dilated I can’t even see the emerald, green irises.

She holds the power button down, waiting for it to turn on.

I chuckle. “Oh, it accidentally fell into my glass of ice water. You should put it in a bag with rice; it might draw out the moisture.”

“Bitch, just wait till I tell Santiago what you’ve done!”

“Be my guest. Whatcha gonna say, that you dropped your phone in my room one of two times you were in there uninvited, rifling through my laundry, or placing a rattlesnake in my dresser?”

She pushes her way by me to exit the room.

I let her get to the entry hall. “Oh, one more thing, Layla.”

She stops with her back to me.

“Before your phone accidentally went for a swim…I cloned it. Your call logs…voicemails…text messages…emails…All your conversation records with Jesse. I now have concrete evidence of your affair with my ex-husband.”

She doesn’t turn around…she just walks away.

Santiago walks in from outside. He sees Layla leave. Then he turns to me.

“Something going on, I need to know about?” he asks.

“No,” I say simply. I fix my eyes in an unblinking, concentrated stare and meet his gaze.“ Are there any contractually necessary activities coming up, Alpha Santiago?”

His eyes scan my face, and his eyebrows furrow. “No, not that comes to mind.”

I sigh. “Good, keep me apprised, please. I want to fulfill my obligations. I do believe that your feral issue is no longer as much of a threat. Perhaps we can look into amending the living situation clause?”

His eyes lower, and he nods slightly. “Perhaps.”

I nod curtly. “Goodnight,” I say, then head off to bed.

(Santiago’s POV)

I go to my study and lock the door. Then I pour myself a glass of whiskey and sit with it. It does not remedy my need for peace. I hold my face in the palm of my hands. What is this feeling?

“Well, idiot…this isn’t just one feeling you are experiencing. It’s several. Let's see…despair, guilt, heartbreak, loneliness, anxiety, and pain.”

“You’re an ass,” I tell him. “And, you left out anger.”

“The anger isn’t yours… It's mine, Santiago. You’ve chosen that blonde bimbo over our mate! Bella got hurt! It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Layla!” he growls in a tone I’ve never heard before.

The next thing I know, he retreats to the back of my mind. It’s the silent treatment.

I lean my head back on the cushion of the couch. My heart aches in my chest. A pit forms in my stomach. I think back to those first days when Bella arrived…cuddling to watch movies and play games...

The night she came into my study, what would have happened if I had stayed? Goddess knows, I wanted to.

My mind drifts to the Alpha Ball…what if after I dipped her, I kissed her like I wanted to. What could have happened if I stayed and brought her home?

Nausea sets in at the thought of the distance growing between us. I can’t let her know, mates are just a bad idea and I am not meant to have one.

Levi pounds on my door. “Alpha, this is urgent.”

I let him in. “What?” I ask.

“I have reason to believe that Layla tried to kill Isabella,” he says.