27. Pretense

Angelina's heart was pounding in her ears.

Last night, after dinner and after she'd made her report to the Alpha Supreme, she'd called Silas.

He was a part of the intelligence department working in the New York headquarters. She'd met him before, because Elise was eager to show her as many young bachelors as possible.

At that time, Angelina hadn't ever thought she'd end up asking for his help.

Before coming to Parks' territory, she'd asked him to look into Ethan's inner circle.

And last night, she'd asked him for a second favor.

Angelina had expected a return call, or maybe a PDF file.

Never had she imagined he'd end up at these borders.

'Did I make a mistake?' the thought made her feet go cold

Briar led her to the gates at the border, where Angelina spotted him immediately.

In the strict atmosphere, only one person would lean carelessly against the wall, a duffle bag hanging from his shoulder.

"Silas," Angelina offered him a greeting smile

The young man looked in her direction, a piece of pale blond hair falling over his grey eyes. He straightened with a lazy time.

"Long time no see, my lady."

Without a moment's hesitance, he swooped her hand in his own and placed a light kiss on her knuckles.

Angelina sighed.

Someone else would've been flattered by the bedroom eyes, but she knew better than to believe his easy words.

"You may go inside."

Angelina almost jumped at Briar's voice. The warrior was standing behind them, face as blank as ever.

"Is that allowed?" Angelina asked dumbly, if it wasn't, Briar would've never said that

"Anyone from the Winters' territory is allowed to come inside." The warrior nodded "We're close allies, after all."

Silas strolled along with Angelina towards the house. A part of her wasn't sure if she should take him there. It was the Alpha's house, after all. But she couldn't think of another place.

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble." Angelina told him casually

"Not at all." Silas said in his usual carefree tone "I was visiting Winters' territory on Alpha Supreme's orders, so I thought I might as well greet you."

"I'm glad you thought of me." Angelina had meant it as simple gratitude

"Thinking of a lady such as yourself is always my pleasure." He winked in her direction

Despite herself, Angelina huffed out an exasperated laugh. Even if it was Silas, a familiar face from her pack was comforting to see.

"Does flattery so blatant ever work?" She asked, amused

"Always." Silas grinned "I'm just that charming."

They reached the house, but Angelina walked to the garden instead. Leaves crunched under their feet as they strolled to the other end.

"About my request," Angelina said quietly "Were you able to find anything?"

Silas rested his elbows on the fence, leaning against it.

"About Logan Thornwood?" He said "More or less."

All at once, the tension returned to her frame. Angelina remembered her question from the night before.

"Can you find out how long he will stay here?"

It wasn't wise, to show any interest in him, but she couldn't help herself.

"He'll stay the next week or so," Silas told her "Not for long though."

A breath of relief washed over her, so powerful, Angelina almost crumpled to the ground.

"I'm curious though."

She turned to look at Silas. He was staring at her intensely, serious for once. Angelina prepared herself.

"You sounded pretty worried last night," Silas leaned forward, voice low "Could it be…"

Her grip on the fence tightened so much, the metal would break off any moment.

"You like him?"

Angelina blinked.

The fence broke off.

The metal was in her hands, and she was falling forward. Angelina scrambled to stop before she smacked her face into it. Silas caught her by the shoulders.

"Whoa," He straightened her "That bad, huh?"

"No, no, no," Angelina shook her head quickly "I don't like him. I was asking because it's possible I'll be able to go back once he leaves. Something about Alpha Supreme having some free time to hear a detailed report from me. I wanted to know how much time I had to prepare."

"Ah, that explains it." Silas let her go, smiling amicably "You had me worried for a moment."

'Same here', Angelina was so glad Silas was smart and thick headed at the same time.

"Why?" she cast him a shrewd glance "Do 'you' like him? Worried you had competition?"

It was his turn to be caught off guard. Silas burst out laughing.

"Alas, if only another hadn't caught my heart yet." He sighed dramatically

Angelina rolled her eyes, still smiling. There was no winning from him.

He leaned forward, almost too close "Between the two of you, in a competition, I know you could win over anyone you wanted."

"Well said."

The intelligence agent jumped back, and Angelina whipped her head in the direction of the familiar voice.

"My apologies," Ethan said, not apologetic in the least "Did I interrupt?"

"Of course not." Angelina got her bearings

The Alpha turned his attention to Silas "You must be Mr. Carter. I admit I wasn't expecting a guest for Ms. Vandor only two days after she came."

Silas didn't react. He was so entirely still at her side, Angelina had to look at his face.

For the first time since she'd met him, she saw Silas blush.

"Alpha Ethan, I presume?" He recovered remarkably quick, a slay smirk playing at his lips

Ethan looked a little caught off guard "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Silas took a step forward, catching Ethan's hand in a firm handshake before he could blink.

He leaned forward "Oh no, the pleasure is all mine."

Silas was just a little taller than Ethan, dressed in a fitted white sweater, jeans and combat boots. His hair was effortlessly caught in a ponytail, an air of careless charm around him. The complete opposite of Ethan's professional dressing and composed mannerism.

"I'm glad to hear that," The young Alpha looked entirely out of his depth, finally managed to take his hand back "I'm sure you were having an important discussion with our ambassador, Mr.—

"Silas." His voice cut clean through Ethan's. The intelligence agent looked at him with hooded eyes and a seductive smirk "But I answer to handsome and babe too."

"What?" Ethan blinked

Silas blinked "What?"

Angeline wondered if she'd actually hit the fence and was dreaming while unconscious.

"As much as I'd love to stay," Silas sighed for real this time "I have to leave for the HQ soon."

He looked back at Angelina "Let me know if you need another favor, sweetheart. I'm always free to come around to help someone in need."

She hadn't even responded when Silas' eyes were back on Ethan, who looked at him a little suspiciously.

"Before I leave though," Silas opened his duffle bag and pulled a small box out

He extended it towards Ethan gracefully "I heard you're a fan of coffee. I got this just now, from a pretty well-known store."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Ethan started "But—

"Accept it as a little gift on my first visit," Silas pushed the box in Ethan's hands, smiling brightly "It's more of a personal gift from me to you, though, not a formal one from our pack to yours."

"Thank you?" Ethan said, unsure

"In return, I only ask you think of me every time you drink it." Silas said, making a pair of very indecent bedroom eyes in the Alpha's direction "See you in a dream, pretty boy."

The intelligence agent walked off, whistling an off key tune, leaving Ethan and Angelina standing flabbergasted.

"I— don't understand what just happened," Ethan shook his head slowly

Angelina processed what had just occurred. She tried to control herself, tried to maintain her composure—

"Pfft."

Before she knew it, she'd burst out laughing.

"Oh my moon," She said between her laughter "He was flirting so hard with you!"

"He was?" Ethan looked at dumbfounded

"Obviously!" Angelina giggled "You had no idea how to respond, did you?"

She could see the wheels in his head turning as he processed the information. His lips twitched, and she could tell he was trying not to laugh. Ethan leaned back against the fence, running a hand through his hair, shoulders shaking.

"He had me at the coffee though."

Both of them burst out laughing, their voices carried in the cold wind.

"You really would do anything for coffee, wouldn't you?" Angelina giggled

"Do you have any idea how much care and practice goes into making a decent cup of coffee?" Ethan asked her incredulously "I don't just like 'any' coffee."

"Ethan, I have seen you drinking instant coffee."

"I did no such thing."

Their laughter died down, leaving them standing in comfortable silence. It was bittersweet, because they'd laughed like this many times before.

"I thought he'd chosen you to be the object of his affections for the day." Ethan said

Angelina shook her head "Silas can and will flirt with anything. I once caught his giving an air kiss to a cake he wanted, muttering about he would love to taste it."

The Alpha snickered "I doubt he would do that if he knew me a little well."

He tossed the coffee box in the air, catching it every time.

"People only enjoy my company when they don't know anything about the person I am." He smiled ruefully "When it comes down to it, I'm just a selfish person who does nothing without personal interest. By all means, I don't deserve even superficial admiration."

Angelina leaned back against the fence, quiet for a long moment. She knew him, yet she didn't know him at all.

To her, Ethan had always been a mirror.

The hint of self-loathing in his voice was the same thing she felt for herself. A cowardly, pathetic excuse of a living being, but too selfish to give up on it.

"That makes two of us."

She looked down at the leaves covering the earth, coming back to reality after slipping into a bubble for a moment, where nothing had gone wrong.

"It was amusing, wasn't it?" he said quietly "Pretending to be humane?"

Angelina let out a heavy breath, it clouded in front of her mouth.

"No." she said quietly "That's not how it was at all."

Before he could ask, she started walking towards the door.

What she really wanted to say was that it wasn't all a pretense.