Chapter 181

[Ella’s POV]

Holy shit...

The revelation sent millions of chills down my spine and my hands almost went numb.

There was no mistaking the scent that I had picked off of Ben. It was that same stale, musty scent followed by a citrusy finish.

Thinking back on it, that wild combination never did make much sense to me. I should have known it was because the smell was essentially emanating from two people and not just one. Thanks to Olivia, she managed to confirm one of my various suspicions about this entire situation that it was two people and not just one.

Nonetheless, I was still left stunned beyond words. I barely made it back to my table without tripping over my own feet. The smell clung to me in a thick cloud to where it was the only thing my mind could process.

I mean, really? Ben??

There was no use in denying any of it now. Hell, I was partly mad at myself for not seeing the signs better. Perhaps if I looked a little closer and took the time to examine his character, I would have noticed something.

But were there signs? Ben had expressed interest in me and went out of his way to ask all those personal questions. Yes, but was his interest genuine? Or was he just trying to collect information on me?

For most of the class, my mind was swirling with questions and doubts. I thought Ben and I were friends. Granted we may not have had the easiest start to a friendship, but once we talked things out, everything came naturally.

I pressed a hand to my head and tried to ward off the pressure that was building behind my eyes. For a brief second, my nerves managed to ease when I saw Arthur walk through the door. Unfortunately, that feeling was fleeting when I noticed the grim-stricken expression on his face.

Oh, God.

I could only imagine what Cecilia wanted to talk to him about. For someone like Arthur to come in with that look on his face, only caused my mind to race further. As soon as he sat down, I leaned over to him.

“Are you okay?”

“No. We need to talk after classes today. All of us,” he whispered gravely.

My heart skipped several beats at that thought. Whatever it was, it had to be severely important—enough to where Arthur was willing to make me wait all day until we could both see Liam to talk.

I gave him a gentle nod and chose to keep my mouth shut for the being too. I wasn’t purposely trying to keep anything from Arthur either; however, the fact that Ben was literally sitting just a few tables away would have made things extremely volatile if I had told Arthur what I just discovered.

I could tell he was already tense from whatever he spoke to his mother about. The last thing I needed to do was to send the guy into a total fit of rage. I couldn’t risk alarming Ben either because what I needed from him were answers.

I spent the remainder of class with my eyes fixed on him. When the bell finally rang, I was tempted to follow him and forget about the rest of my classes. But made sure to keep a hold on me.

Plus, I did agree to wait for everyone later.

...

Throughout the day, I felt like I was on edge. I couldn’t focus and with midterms coming up, I was becoming too frustrated to function.

But things like midterms and homework seemed all a bit superficial considering the issues that surrounded us. Arthur’s mood hadn’t improved much since his meeting with his mother earlier that morning.

By the time our last class was out, he grabbed my hand and the two of us were practically running back to the dorms. Right as we got to his room and the door slammed shut behind us, I turned to Arthur.

“Alright, talk,” I demanded.

Arthur shook his head and took out his phone. “Liam needs to be here for this,” he said shortly.

I nodded my head and patiently waited.

Hey, I’ve aired this long, what’s a few more minutes before my heart jumps out of my chest from all the anxiety I’ve been dealing with?

“Hey!”

Liam’s voice broke me from my train of thought in which I was finally able to give Arthur my full attention once more.

“Before we get into anything, you should know that I was called to the administration office this morning,” he said to Liam. “My mother decided to pay me an unscheduled visit.”

Liam’s muscles went tense. “I already don’t like where this conversation is going.”

Arthur gave out a humorless laugh.

“Believe me, you should have been in that meeting room. Then again, I’m somewhat glad that none of you were.” He turned to face me. “Ella, she knows about you.”

My heart dropped to the floor. “What do you mean?”

“Not only does she know that you’re not human, but she somehow figured out that you’re part of the Moon Wolf Pack too.”

My mouth fell open. That shouldn’t have been possible. How could...

“The picture,” I hushed quietly.

Slowly, Arthur nodded his head. Of course. It was the only physical proof, outside of seeing my birthmark directly, that would indicate my connection to that pack. Part of me was just heavily shocked that Cecilia managed to piece everything together so swiftly.

For Christ’s sake. Not even Aaron was a hundred prescient certain which was why he saw the need to have me dragged in for questioning.

I tried taking a steady breath in. “O-Okay. So, she knows...What does she intend on doing with this information?”

Arthur’s eyes darkened. “...She wants me to bond with you. She’s trying to use it as an opportunity to benefit her standing in the family if it means me becoming an Enigma.”

I didn’t think my eyes could get any wider. Better still, it was horrifically disturbing to know that Cecilia would actually stoop to that level as long as it meant making sure that she remained in control.

Liam expressed a clear look of anger and disgust.

“She knows...I’m not sure who I’m afraid of more...The hunter that wants me dead or your mother who wants to use me for some personal gain.”

“So, what exactly do we do now?”

“Do you think she’ll keep this information to herself?” I asked.

Arthur nodded his head. “Honestly, yes. The last thing she would want is for other Alphas to come after you.”

I wasn’t against the idea of bonding with my mates, but it was something that deserved to happen in our own time not because of some insane rushed impersonal reason.

“Arthur, what exactly is your mother capable of?”

“...I have no idea.”

Well, it seemed now was as good of a time as any to tell them about Ben, I supposed.

No more secrets.

“So, Arthur, while you were having your meeting, I made the shocking discovery that it’s Ben who’s been behind the media account,” I explained. “Or rather the one taking all the pictures, I should say.”

Liam and Arthur nearly tackled their way to the door, no doubt in order to hunt Ben down.

“Stop it!!” I shouted.

They both froze and turned to glare at me. “I have every intention of meeting with him to properly talk things out. That being said, I’ve decided to go alone.”