"Everyone is looking for you. You know that you were meant to clean the baby's room and here you are busy resting."
"Ashley?" Fiona called out.
"You should go and perform your duties. That's what the Luna sent me to tell you" Ashley responded.
"Ashley, why are you doing this? I thought we were best friends."
"Well, we aren't anymore. I just found out the type of terrible person that you are and I want nothing to do with you." She responded plainly and left before Fiona could utter another word.
Fiona let out an exasperated sigh. Her day couldn't get any worse. She still couldn't think of any reason why Ashley would take sides with Ella. She claimed Ella was her distant cousin, that probably was enough reason.
Lifting her tired legs from the ground, she walked to the main building. It had been a while since she visited the pack house. She found it quite hard to navigate her way through.
"It's this way" she heard a voice call out to her from the opposite direction.
Following Ella who led her to a room which was scattered and dirty.
"This is the baby's room. I've decided to assign you the work of a nanny."
"What?" Fiona exclaimed.
"You heard me well, you'll be here till the baby is born and you're going to be the nanny."
"You told me that I'm just to arrange the room, so what's all this talk of a nanny?"
"It isn't you that makes the decisions. I tell you what to do and you listen"
Ella was already smiling. She knew what she was doing. Keeping Fiona as the nanny will enable her to make her life more miserable.
"No, I won't be your nanny." Fiona bursted out.
She couldn't bear to be the one to raise a child that her mate had with another woman.
"Baby, did you hear what she said," Ella said crying and burying her face in Kael's chest as he walked past.
"What happened?"
"She said that I could go to hell. She won't clean the baby's room and she won't be the nanny" Ella said, heightening her sobbing.
Fiona stood there, looking at Ella and the drama she was pulling off.
"You," Kael spat, walking towards her.
"What were the orders given to you?" he asked her.
"To clean the room for the baby."
"Then why are you refusing to do that?" He thundered.
"I'm going to do so." She responded.
"She even said that she won't be the nanny" Ella said, still shedding crocodile tears.
"Fiona, you are going to be the nanny and that's the alpha command that I have given to you. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir," she responded, trying to conceal the pain that she was feeling.
He left her to console Ella who was crying. Fiona went into the room, surveying it closely. The sheets were dirty, the floors were dirty and the windows needed cleaning.
"This was going to be a long one" she sighed to herself.
She lifted the bed covers, shaking off the dirt from it, then spread a new one. The windows had to be cleaned too and she swept the floor as well. When it looked like everything was in good shape, she sat on the bed exhausted and slept off.
He stood facing her in the forest. The sun rays passed through the dense trees and cast a shadow of them on the coarse ground.
They stood a few distances apart, this time he didn't feel disgusted by her. All she could see in his eyes was a sense of longing towards her. He wanted her. He wanted her by his side.
"Fiona," he called out.
"Kael,"
"I love you Fiona"
"I love you too, Kael,"
They stood apart in the brief moment of silence between them.
"You have to help me," he pleaded with her from a distance.
"What do you mean?, I'm here for you, anytime, anyday" she responded reassuringly.
"I'll never leave you" he said as he walked closer to her and was about to reach for her hand, then a shadow caught him, holding him back and engulfing him in darkness.
"Kael," she screamed.
She tried her best to reach out to him, but the more she struggled to do so, the distance between them became further.
"Help me Fiona. You're the only one who can help me." He shouted amidst the engulfing darkness.
The lower part of his body was held down by a force and he was stuck on the ground. She tried once more to get closer to him, but it only seemed futile. It was as if there was some invincible barrier blocking her from getting closer to him.
"Help me" he pleaded once again until his voice finally subsided and he disappeared into thin air, leaving her alone in the dimly illuminated surroundings. She paced around and rushed to where he had laid, screaming his name and panicking.
"Kael!"
"Kael!"
"Where are you?" She kept shouting until she woke up.
The dream was frightening and she woke up sweating and fearing for Kael's safety. He had told her that she was the only one who could help. What did he mean by that?
Her thoughts were interrupted by indistinct voices chattering nearby. She would have minded her business, but she heard something which caused her to eavesdrop. She heard them mention her name.
Walking closer to the door, she peeped in the direction and her eyes met two people. It was hard to decipher their faces from where she stood but she could tell that they were both women.
"Haven't I done all that you have asked for" one of them said to the other.
"I'm not satisfied with your work yet. We have to…" Fiona was unable to hear the complete statement.
She wished she could go closer but that would be too risky.
"The plan was so make the Fiona's life miserable and I'll give you back what belongs to you"
"I have done that to some extent, at least give me what we bargained for"
She stretched her neck on hearing her name, trying hard to see the faces of those who were talking.
Looking at the wall on the adjacent side, there was a fancy wall opening on the upper side. If she could climb up, then she would definitely be able to see their faces properly from up there.
Taking a chair, she positioned it near the wall and stood on it. Still unable to reach the opening, she placed some books on it and climbed up. She was able to see the back view of one of them. The person looked familiar and she waited till she turned her back so that she could have a clear view.
Immediately, the chair wobbled and the books fell causing her to collapse to the ground with a thud. She managed to get up from the floor, her face grimaced as she felt body aches.
Still eager to find out who they were, she opened the door slightly.
She saw only one person there, the other had left. Her mouth was wide open in disbelief as Ashley walked past her.