Chapter 2 The Girl

Camilla POV

I didn't sleep that night.

I lay on the narrow bed in the guest room they had given me, staring at the ceiling, my mind spinning like a broken wheel. A child. A little girl with golden hair who called Lucien "Mama." The word kept echoing in my head, over and over, until I wanted to scream.

It felt wrong somehow. Lucien wouldn't grab another mate so fast. He wasn't a wolf who moved on easily. When we lived, he was super loyal, almost too much. He'd miss me for years. So, where did the girl pop up from?

Before the sun showed, I left my bed and roamed the packhouse halls. My feet just went, remembering paths walked a bunch before. When I found the nursery wing, I got quiet and listened. The house was still, but a soft hum came from a room.

I cracked the door open just enough to peek.

The little girl sat on a bed, Lucien doing her hair. His hands were big and awkward, messing up a lot, but she laughed and asked him to try again. It hit me super hard, and I grabbed the door to stay up.

"Daddy, you're making it all silly," the girl laughed.

Daddy. Not Mama at all.

My ears tricked me then.

Both relief and sadness hit me hard. She wasn't mine, but his. That meant-no, I couldn't think about that stuff now. Not right now.

I stepped back from the door and strolled down the hall, my legs feeling like jelly and odd. A staff went by with new water, and I gave a nod without seeing her face. I just had to find a place to be all alone. A place to let this feeling go before it ate me up.

I ended up in the library, a room I hadn't thought of for ages. Books stacked the walls from top to bottom, and the smell of old books filled the air. It felt calm here. Silent. A spot where no one would bug me at all.

I took a book from the shelf at random and sat in the nook, acting like I read. But the words danced in my sight, made no sense. All I could think of was that small girl. She looked four or five years of age. Lucien moved on as my body was still not cold yet.

The thought made me desire to smash something up.

"You must be new around here."

I glanced up. A young lady stood in the door, watching me with keen eyes. She had dark hair and a nice face, and smiled like she found a friend.

"I'm Senna," she stated, going to me. "I cook in the kitchens. Are you okay?"

I nodded, trying to be just fine. Trying to not let the mess inside show on my face. "It is nice here."

Senna sat across from me, without invite. "Where are you from? I've been here always, and I have never seen you." She leaned her head. "You give off a vibe. Like you fit but also like you don't."

My fingers gripped the novel tighter. "Just passing by this town now."

"Folks all say the same thing," Senna said, a secret in her tone. "The boss hardly lets new folks stay unless it's fate. Something about you made him curious."

"The boss?" I made my voice sound smooth. "You mean Lucien?"

"Who else?" Senna moved closer. "He's nice, you know. They fault him for the past, but they don't get it. The group misled him. They spun tales 'bout his love, and he fell for it since he trusted them." Her eyes grew sadder. "By the time he knew the truth, it was too late for amends."

My heart felt heavy and so tight. "What were those fibs?"

Senna glanced around like she checked for ears. She then hushed her voice lower. "The girl they torched. She was called Camilla. She was his partner, and folks said she was cursed. A threat to us all." Senna shook her head slow. "But no one thought that way. All knew she was brave and good. The group just wished she died since they feared her might."

Air stuck in my lungs. I could not even make my body inhale.

"What became of her then?" I asked, my voice sounding raspy.

"She was torched," Senna said soft. "They bound her tight to wood in the square, and the group set her ablaze. Lucien watched since they made him. They said he watched to show his trust to all."

I jolted up fast, my book slipped, hitting floor hard. Senna seemed stunned at my move, I did not even care. I had to flee that place now. Before I messed things up, I must leave.

"So sorry," I spoke, going back toward door. "I just gotta run-"

"Hold up," Senna yelled loud. She dug in her jeans, got a box made of wood. "I got this months back, down by the oak tree, beneath dirt. The spot where Lucien sits at night." She then popped it open, showed me mail, paper worn and thin. "I feel it was for Camilla, it's his writing, a name on it is my love."

She stretched it toward me.

I gave it no grab.

"Who's the girlie?" I then spoke up. "The blonde one with golden light?"

Senna's face switched. She now seemed blue and all mixed up. "That girl's Elin. She's just... no one knows where she got born. She just showed up six months back, Lucien took her. The group wished she would just leave, but he said no." Senna's voice dropped. "I feel that Lucien sees his lost Camilla in her. Like he aims to save her by minding Elin."

The room spun hard.

Lucien took a kid and named her- or she got a name that starts like E, like Camilla wanted. Our kid got the name Elara. We said it so much. A bold name for bold gal.

"Kira?" Senna stood up, looking spooked. "You good? You look like you gonna fall."

I could not talk.

Right then, a shriek tore open the house's quiet air. I knew that sound right away, pain and fear mixed up. It came from where the babies sleep.

It had to be Elin.

Senna and I dashed that way fast; my heart felt like a drum gone wild. We got there and saw Lucien down low, holding Elin close. Her head was cut and bleeding, and she sobbed, trying to grab him.

But this wasn't just a slip-up. I could smell another wolf's blood hanging in the air. Someone meant to do this bad thing.

Lucien looked up at us, his eyes wild and hot, a kind of anger I'd never glimpsed. He was looking like he was trying to guess who did such a thing.

Then his eyes stuck on me.

And just like that, his face shifted like the wind. His hand rose slow, finger pointing right at my chest.

"You did it," he breathed out low. "Didn't you? Your smell is all over."