My Arrogant Mate
Chapter 41

After showering and changing into red pajamas, I made myself comfortable on the couch and impatiently awaited Silvan's return.

Hopefully he would bring good news after all the crap he had done to Bene. Even though I could forgive his outburst and even understand him in a way, it didn't mean I felt it was right.

After a short period of brooding, I noticed Igor's smell, who was apparently sitting outside in the car and was asked by Silvan to take care of me.

As if it were necessary in a house whose windows were made of bulletproof glass.

But I didn't want to leave him out in the cold, because as a human being he was certainly much more sensitive to temperatures than we wolves are, so I ran to the front door, opened it and looked for him in the darkness. Sitting in the black SUV, he seemed lost in thought himself until he looked at me and gave me a half-hearted smile.

I nodded to him and waved his hand after he got out of the car and came into the house with me.

"Is everything okay with Bene?" I asked immediately, closing the front door behind him and looking at him curiously.

"Yes, he's quite the same again," he said and then let his gaze wander through the living room while he took a deep breath. "You knew all this before, didn't you?"

His gaze lingered on me, but I avoided him and walked over to the kitchen to put two glasses and a bottle of water on the island.

"Yes," I said quietly and poured something for both of us before hastily emptying my glass. Getting rid of all these secrets felt incredibly good, but there was constant tension in the air...

Especially the questions made it difficult for me to breathe. Who could I trust? Who was friend, who was enemy?

With these thoughts in mind, I watched Igor sit down on one of the stools and remove his black jacket to drape it over his thighs.

"It's better that everything is out now," he then said casually and took a few sips of the water and then looked at me again. "Do not you think so?"

"Yes, of course," I replied immediately and nodded. "You are all friends and trust should play an important role."

After my words, Igor's gaze suddenly became almost rigid and ice cold. It looked like he was mentally far, far away and even seeing right through me.

Was the water out of order?

I was about to reach for the bottle when he grabbed my arm with a jerk and squeezed so hard that I jumped and gasped.

"What's that supposed to mean?!", I uttered in shock while trying to free my arm in a panic.

"Listen to me!" he growled softly and pulled me closer to him. "I know something that I shouldn't know and I can't deal with it. I overheard it by accident and if I tell Silvan, he'll kill him, regardless of the losses. But I know that he'll never do it Jade, you have to help me," he whispered, as if afraid of being overheard.

His irises flitted across my face in panic, and when he let go of my arm and looked toward the door, I calmed down a little, but I was still paralyzed.

"Jade!" he admonished me quietly and I quickly shook off my fear to give him a questioning look.

"Who would he kill? What are you even talking about?"

When he was about to answer, the door suddenly opened and I almost went into cardiac arrest out of sheer shock, but it was only Silvan who looked at us soaking wet and closed the door again.

"Bene is coming out tomorrow and will take it easy for a while," I heard him explain, but my eyes were still fixed on Igor, whose words had confused me completely.

"Are you even listening to me?" Silvan then asked and smiled and came over to me to give me a kiss on the cheek and to examine his necklace around my neck.

"It's really beautiful," Igor then changed the subject and looked at my chain.

bastard! Why had he only spoken in riddles and now ruined my head with it???

Instead of having a quiet time with Silvan, only questions flew through my mind again! Was I in some movie where only trouble followed trouble so the audience wouldn't get bored? That's how I really felt now.

After Igor had said goodbye and Silvan disappeared into the shower, I stood in front of Silvan's bookshelf and rummaged through his collection to distract myself, which didn't really help. I then got caught by a black book that had no writing and curiously took it in my hands to sit down on the bed with it.

When I opened it, time suddenly stopped. My heart was beating so hard that I could no longer hold the book and my breathing stopped while I was no longer aware of anything around me. "Dad," I just breathed and took a closer look at the photo that was in my trembling hand.

There were Silvan and Viola, who were much younger, and also his father and mother, but it was something else that completely threw me off track.

There was another child, a girl, who looked exactly like my father.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Silvan appeared in the room with only a white towel around his waist and sat down next to me while I was still staring at the photo and unable to answer. "That's Lisana," he then said in a sad voice and took the picture from my hand to look at it wistfully.

His murdered sister who looked like my father who seemed to have disappeared without a trace for 2 years...

What did that mean?

****

The days went by far too quickly and passed me by without a trace, while the first snow was already falling outside and everything was shining in new splendor.

I just loved the cold season.

Bene was fine again, thanks to his great genes, and he and Igor were sitting together on our kitchen island, where they were chatting with Silvan about everything and everything.

It almost seemed too idyllic to me, especially because it just seemed like the calm before the raging storm...

I sat on the dark couch, listened to the soft music of the system and kept drifting in my mind to the photo and everything I had experienced here while staring at the window.

Something wasn't right... Something wasn't right, because why should the hunters only hunt bosses? Were there lowers and uppers for them at all? Shouldn't humans see us as one big pack? There was a piece of the puzzle missing and it now seemed like only I could figure out what was really going on.

"Can I do you something good?" Suddenly Silvan interrupted my thoughts, standing in front of me and looking at me questioningly.

His tight white t-shirt showed the contours of his muscles and the lines of his tattoos, but I tried to behave and not mentally undress him, at least while we had company over there. Spending time with him was just gorgeous, as was the almost white landscape outside, and with his looks and charm, it's no wonder we made love every night like animals in heat. Oh God!

Cheeks flushed at the thought of our making love, I avoided his gaze, shaking my head in the negative. He had just made me some tea and I had already eaten.

So basically, with his absence, I had everything I needed to live.

"Okay," he said when I shook my head and gave me a loving kiss on my forehead before he disappeared back into the kitchen with the others.

Looking at the three of them, I thought to myself that it would certainly have bothered other women if there were always visitors, but I was even happy about it.

It's been just me and Devin for the last few years and it was nice not to feel lonely for once and since the nights were just me and my mate alone it didn't bother at all if they were here during the day. Besides, I grew very fond of them...

As soon as the three of them started talking animatedly about some winter festival, I was immediately taken up again by the thousands of questions that constantly wore my mind down.

Why had my father fled with my mother...?

Why did the hunters only hunt superiors...?

Where did the hate come from, because Silvan's father hated everyone below...?

Why did Silvan's mother seem so isolated from the rest of the pack...?

I got up nervously, walked to the window and looked at the road leading down to the city.

Everything was white and the beautiful lights everywhere just gave an idea of how wonderful it would look here at Christmas.

As I then turned to the men, all three of whom laughed so carefree together, I wished I had never seen this photo of Silvan's sister.

It poisoned my mind and didn't allow me to fully relax even for a moment.

She looked like my father, which meant something. Was he maybe? But that was just impossible!

Even if my father had had something with Silvan's mother that seemed almost completely absurd, it was still impossible for a child to develop from it...

Silvan had explained it himself that you could only procreate with your mate... So what the hell was going on here?!?!?

"Jade?" I heard Silvan's worried voice close to me and only through this, I realized that I had clenched my fists and growled out of sheer confused thoughts. "What's going on?" he then asked and took me carefully in his arms. "I miss Devin," I quickly lied, knowing he'd believe me immediately, even if there were other things bothering me.

"We can visit him if you want, although I'd rather wait outside then," Silvan whispered sympathetically with a small smile on his lips, which immediately made me roll my eyes with a grin.

"You really should, because I never want to stand between two men holding a gun ever again," I explained, standing on my tiptoes to demand a kiss from him.

"You'll never have to do that again. I'm doing my best to control my temper," he breathed seductively and then bit my lower lip lightly, sending goosebumps down my arms.

"As long as you don't rein it in bed, that's fine with me," I whispered, just about to play with my tongue on his when I heard Igor clear his throat loudly.

"Shall we join in? Or rather go?" Bene laughed out loud and immediately Silvan turned to him with an evil grin.

"You wouldn't survive taking part, so maybe you'd rather go."

"No," I said immediately, looking at Silvan almost begging. "Let them stay a little longer. I enjoy having something like my own little pack," I said smiling and then winked at Igor and Bene, who looked just as satisfied as me. "For once," Silvan turned to me before he looked at the others warningly. "Then behave now!"

"That's what the right person says," Bene grinned and Silvan left me there to continue drinking whiskey with the two of them and to keep up the good mood.

I, on the other hand, stared out the window again and went through everything all over again.

How so...

Why...

And then, quite unexpectedly, it dawned on me and I widened my eyes in disbelief before holding my breath in shock.

"Of course," I whispered to myself, looking at myself in the reflection in the window.