Chapter 164: Chapter 164

Alpha's Hated Mate

Amaya's POV

Driving past a restaurant in Kindred East, my eyes caught a glimpse of Camilla, making me stop my driver. Camilla is the hardest of all my nieces and nephews to get a hold of, she beats Hades and his unavailability tendencies. I had no knowledge of her return, I've been asking her to return for about three months now but she kept making excuses, and ignoring my calls. I surely thought Sheryl would be the clingy aunt but I am, I can't seem to go more than a day without sending her an email or text message to which she responds with a picture of her kids.

Camilla is obsessed with her children, she is forever posting pictures of them on her social media account but she rarely shows their faces, Arieya to be exact but Arieya can be seen on Arielle, Victoria and her other auntie's social media pages.

I texted a message to Camilla, wondering if she was ignoring me or it simply slipped her mind to inform me of her arrival. Camilla looked at her phone and slid it under some papers, turning to Clarissa with a smile. Both of them shared a laugh before they got back to what appeared to be a meeting from where I stood. I was going to proceed to her pack and wait for her there but I couldn't stop myself, so I walked out of my car and into that restaurant.

Camilla tried to hide behind a piece of paper when she saw me but that was a little too late. I approached her table, making a few stops at some tables to exchange greetings with acquaintances. Even now, as I stand at their table, greeting every Alpha, Camilla is trying to pretend she's not here.

“Sorry to interrupt but I was driving by and saw Alpha Camilla, and I just had to say hi.” I tell them.

“No please,” Clarissa smiles. “You are not interrupting anything, take a seat we were just closing some deals.”

“Oh, thank you.” I say, occupying the seat previously occupied by Clarissa.

Only then does Camilla drop the paper she was pretending to be so focussed on. “Queen Amaya,” she laughs feigned. “ How are you?”

I shake my head at her and she shrugs, the other Alpha's pack up too, proceeding to leave too. Camilla rises, helping Clarissa pack up her papers orderly.

“Camilla, I'll stay in touch, your highness, have a good day.” Clarissa grins politely, extending a hug to Camilla.

“Nice doing business with you Alpha Camilla,” Newton affirms, extending a hand to her. Camilla shakes his hand, shaking all three Alpha's right after. Alpha Tito nods, “You will not regret this.”

Camilla smiles, settling into her seat. “Of course not, I don't regret anything Alpha Tito. So play your cards right and we'll stay good.”

I watch her send glaring threats with a smile as she bids them goodbye, she's a professional at this, you would think she was trained her whole life to be an Alpha when clearly, she was trained to be a luna, and what an amazing job Reina did with her.

“So, you're back in town.” I say, breaking the newly formed silence.

Camilla nods, “I want to lie and say I just came back yesterday but no, it's been nearly a week.”

“Well,” I smile. “Thanks for the honesty.”

Camilla laugh, “Sorry.”

I quirk an eyebrow, my attention on the revealing dress Alpha decided to dress herself in, now I see why Tito and Enerst looked so stressed, the dress is bound to torture any man and strike envy in many women. “How are those daughters of yours?”

“Good,” she smiles. “A lot of work but they're fine, contrary to my assumption, I haven't misplaced one yet.” she jokes.

I pause, watching the driveway for familiar faces, none that strike a reaction appear to be in sight.

“Camilla,” I begin, “I don't want to beat around the bush with this so I'm just going to say it.” I sigh.

“Not that again, especially not here.”

“Should I have it closed, would that make you more comfortable?”

Camilla gasps, looking around the room. “That's very Queen of you Aunt Amaya but you're a customer here, behave like one, please.”

“Okay, so are we talking or not?”

“I don't feel like talking about that.” she murmurs, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You never feel like it but you can't keep doing this, you're stalling, it's about time we discussed this Camilla. You can't keep doing this, Arieya needs to know her father, you can't let that little girl grow up with one.” I tell her.

“Arieya has a father, she's with him right now.” Camilla counters.

“No,” I argue. “You know exactly what I mean, Kingston may be able to play the part of her father and she his daughter but what about Adrian?” I ask, watching her tense even more. “He needs to know he has a daughter, let him make the decision of not wanting to be a part of her life, you can't make that decision for him. You said you'd talk to him when you came back, it's time, Camilla.”

“I can't,” she shakes her head.

“Why not? It's the right thing to do and probably the best thing you'll ever do for Arieya.”

Camilla shakes her head, “I can't Aunt Amaya, I can't let him into my life just like that, Adrian hurt me, he ruined my life.”

“Really?” I snort, “I wouldn't call your life ruined darling, it's far from that, if anything it's improved.”

“Exactly, I'm living my best life so why would I want him to come and ruin this one too?”

I sigh, reaching for her wine glass, it's untouched. I bring it to my lips, ignoring her scowling glares. If I'm having this conversation with her, I'm going to need more than a glass of wine.

“I understand you were hurt but Camilla, it's been a while now. Adrian made mistakes but is that enough to cast him out of his daughter's life? ”

“What if he hurts her, comes into her life and leaves when she needs him the most? What do I do then, how do I live with another hurt investigated by him?

“Camilla, do you think Adrian wanted to hurt you?” I ask.

She doesn't respond, she simply rolls her eyes. “Adrian loves you, that boy is troubled I agree but with you, the last thing he ever wanted was to hurt you, he was hurt and he needed someone to blame.”

“This isn't just about him blaming me, Adrian cheated on me, constantly, and like the fool I am I kept giving him second and third chances, hoping he'd change but that never lasted, he only hurt me again, and again and again, until he broke everything there was to break about me.” she asserts, her voice breaking as she argues every word.

I know this is a difficult topic for her but it's nobody's fault, I'm not defending his cheating on her but I'm not against him either. “Camilla, put yourself in his shoes, if you met Kingston while you were with him, wouldn't you have reacted to him like he does Angel?”

“No,” she blurts out with a snort. “I loved him, I would have never cheated on him.”

“I can't believe I'm doing this but I have no other choice, my big mouth got me into this.” I sigh.

Camilla shakes her head, watching me sternly. “Angel is his fated mate.”

“What?” Camilla snorts, “Is this what you're going with?”

“I'm going to try my best to rush this explanation because any minute now, we'll have company.” I tell her, earning myself a glare, I dismiss it. “Angel is Adrian's mate, just like Kingston is your mate. Have you ever wondered why Angel doesn't shift?”

“I don't give a shit about Angel.” she snarls.

“You're the reason Angel can't shift, I hope this explains the dynamic between him, you and Angel. You're the other woman Camilla, it wasn't supposed to be you, your mate was to be Kingston, that's why you're so drawn to him. The way you are with him is how he is with Angel.”

Camilla laughs, “Really? You expect me to believe that?”

“I'm serious. I didn't know this before, but Sheryl told me that when you were two years old, there was some sort of celebration and your parents brought you, back then Arieya was still alive. You were crying because your dad was holding Arieya and not you. Reina explained he was her husband and you needed to find your own husband, explaining he bit her so she's his. That seemed to calm you down, you stopped crying and walked to the group of kids, they assumed you were reporting back to Hades, Michael or Ryan, but no.” I laugh, “You had the brilliant brilliant idea of biting Adrian's arm. They pulled you away but you left a mark. When asked why you said you wanted him to be your husband, like Ezikel was to Arieya. Adrian said he didn't want a wife and everyone laughed it off. You weren't pleased because the second Arieya turned away, you bit his arm again, refusing to let go until he said he would be your husband. Your teeth sank so deep into his skin, you had his arm bleeding from your bite. That was it, you claimed him. You chose Adrian and his intended mate was given to another, with Hunter's mate being reborn into you.” I tell her, watching her confused gaze. “Why do you think mother specifically told you not to let Arieya bite anyone? Ever? It's because a Royal's bite is as good as a mate's claim. And you claimed Adrian, the bond he had with Angel wouldn't have broken if he hadn't agreed to be with you. But he did, even if it was just so you would not bite him anymore, he consented to being your husband, your mate, and you his, you kept screaming mine to him as he cried.”

Camilla shakes her head, “That doesn't sound right.”

“But it is, Angel and Adrian have a pending bond, like you do with Kingston. He never intentionally goes to her, part of him knows she should have been the one and I know you've felt that way about Kingston too, despite loving Adrian. You marked Adrian before he ever marked you Camilla, sealed it in blood.”

“No, I don't believe that.” she gulps.

“It's like with your parents except your father never had a mate, Arieya was his but she had two and she denied one, that's why all three of them perished. If you don't believe this then is the mate bond real?”

“Of course it is, but this doesn't seem real, if I marked him then where is that mark?” she asks, watching me, I shake my head, relaxing in my seat. “Exactly.” she nods.

“I'm not a paedophile but if I was, I would know where that mark is.” I tell her, holding back a smile. “But you on the other hand, I'm sure it didn't take one try to make Arieya so surely, you've seen him naked enough times to see your mark on him.”

“There is no mark on Adrian's arm.” she counters confidently.

“Darling, who said anything about an arm.” I smile, “Haven't you noticed a crown, anywhere on him?”

Camilla shakes her head, I arch an eyebrow at her and she scowls, her mind travelling back to the times when she saw him bare. Camilla's eyes widen and she gasps, “No, it's a tattoo.” she tells me.

“Did you ask him where he got it?”

“As a matter of fact, I did because I liked it. I wanted to know the meaning behind it but he said,” she trails off. “He doesn't remember.” she mumbles.

“There you have your answer,” I tell her, downing the rest of the wine.

“But-” she begins, cut off by her phone vibrating on the table. She picks it up, examining the screen. “It's the babysitters, just a minute.” she tells me, declining the call. “Whatever it is they are doing to her, she'll get over it in a minute.”

I look at the driveway, once again searching for familiar faces and I do find one, the one I've been expecting. I made the mistake of telling Adrian that Camilla was my niece the other day and Sheryl washed her hands off the matter, saying since I have such a big mouth, I should be the one to tell Camilla I screwed up.

I was planning on telling her but I couldn't bring myself to it, Camilla can be hard to talk to when it comes to the topic of Adrian.

Adrian was hurt when we told him all along he looked for her, we knew where she was and with whom. All he asked was to see her, something Sheryl couldn't promise but I did, I told him I would arrange for it one of these days. Sheryl is more partial to him but I felt bad for him, knowing I know Camilla is keeping their daughter a secret while I watch him suffer the loss of her and his first child left me with some guilt.

The room goes quiet, Camilla notices the shift in the room too, she looks over her shoulder, her chest visibly rising and falling. “Aunt Amaya,” she growls, turning back to me, her tone low but threatening, even for me.

Her phone vibrates once again, saving me from her glare, bringing it to her ear she grunts ruffled, “What?”

“Oh,” her voice softened, “No, no, I'm not mad at you. Tell mommy what's wrong.” she says, attentively listening to her daughter.

Adrian arrives at the table, evidently dumbfounded in the way he stares at Camilla. “You made it,” I grin towards him.

“I did,” he whispers, his gaze resting on Camilla, over analysing her. Camilla paid no mind to him, her focus was fixed on her phone but I saw her flinch when he sat down next to me.

“I know baby, give Karla the phone.” Camilla says, her gaze settled on me, looking everywhere but at Adrian.“Hello my sweetie,” she grins. “ Por favor ayude Gina en vuestra hermana.” she nods, “Si, Te amo, besos.” she says, making a kiss sound before putting her phone down.