Alpha's Spoiled Princess - Burgov Series VI

16. Sean

I jumped out of bed at the sudden sound of crashing coming from somewhere in the house.

Who the f**k would break into a house with two Alpha wolves in it?

Still in my boxers and not much more, I tiptoed into the hall, peeking into the bedroom Anya was sleeping in, only to find my sister still in her favorite superman pose, with one knee bent and fisted hand outstretched as if she was flying. My sister is a weird sleeper, but at least she's safe.

So, oh so very slowly, I started descending the stairs, making sure to avoid the creaking spots. But as soon as my feet landed on the ground floor I started hearing voices, and not just any voices, the voices I knew well.

"I told you we should have bought normal milk." - I recognized my baby brother's voice.

"Is she seriously eating her cereal with almond too?" - asked Ellie, and I smiled at myself. Dean and Ellie were probably the backup my sister called yesterday.

"What's the big deal? It's tasty."

And f*****g Huxley. I should have known Ellie wouldn't move without her half-witted sidekick.

I turned the corner and instead of three, there were actually four of them, with Nicky quietly sitting on the stool and chuckling into his coffee mug.

"What are you, Morons, doing here at this ungodly hour?" - I asked, announcing my presence.

"Ewww!" - Ellie immediately exclaimed, blocking her view with her open palms. - "Hide those man's breasts!"

"You wished you had ones like those at home." - I smirked, crossing my arms, and as expected, an innocent counter-argument turned Ellie's eyes into blazing fury from all the seven hells.

"I have better." - she said with her eyes narrowed dangerously - "Maddy, take off your shirt, and show him."

"What? No! Behave, woman." - Huxley said sternly, looking outraged she would even suggest it.

"So you are the backup my sister called?" - I asked, raising one eyebrow to show how unimpressed I was.

"Are you the cousin who is tapping my other cousin?" - Ellie shot back without losing a beat. Yeah, I kinda asked for it, didn't I?

Nicky and Maddox started chuckling, but Dean made a disgusted face.

"Please don't say it ever again. That image combined with Anya's almond milk is making me sick." - Dean said, dry-heaving. But Ellie completely ignored him, coming a step closer to me.

"So you and Cilia." - Ellie said thoughtfully with a small smirk.

"How much do you know?" - I asked her.

"I would say quite a lot." - she shrugged nonchalantly - "Yesterday after I got a text from Anya, guess who was my first call?"

"I give up."

"Markella. And she had a lot to say about you, Seany."

"I bet she did." - I deadpanned, going for the coffee maker, because the conversation we were about to have seemed like something I wouldn't be able to stomach without a sharp mind.

"Why the hell haven't you said anything to anyone when she went missing?" - Ellie asked accusingly.

"I don't know." - I admitted with a sigh. - "I guess I was embarrassed and I wanted to talk with her first."

"He was pulling a classic Sean." - said my baby brother, and I arched my brow daring him to keep going. - "You always sweep things under the rug. It doesn't matter if it's about who scratched Dad's car, or why the urn with Grandpa's ashes seems lighter…"

"Both of those were your fault." - I chimed in.

"Irrelevant." - Dean waved his hand - "But you always try keeping things under wraps."

"Huh." - Nicky hummed, watching me in wonder.

"Oh My Goddess, that's totally true!" - Ellie exclaimed. - "Our Alpha low-key." - she added with a chuckle, and the guys joined in.

"Fine. Laugh all you want, and maybe that's why I haven't said anything to anyone." - I said, taking a long sip from my mug.

"What's with all the yelling?" - asked Anya, coming into the kitchen.

"Oh, there you are. Couldn't you buy normal milk?" - Deann asked her immediately, as if f*****g milk was the most pressing matter right now..

"We've been over this, Dean. I'm not your maid. If you want a different milk, buy your own milk. It's that simple." - Anya said in a bored tone, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"You're the worst roommate ever." - Dean grumbled.

"Do you seriously want to go down that road?" - she arched her brow, and Dean only huffed in response.

Anya smirked before taking a sip of her coffee and looking at everyone gathered, when her eyes landed on Nicky. - "I don't remember texting you."

"We were in Night Walkers when Ellie got the text and, believe it or not, my Luna basically pushed me onto the plane with them." - Nicky explained.

"You school her about holding her own baby, be happy she hasn't kicked your balls. I know, I would." - Ellie chimed in.

"Hmm. Fine, you could be of some use too, I guess." - Anya chimed in, as if she already had a plan in mind.

"So there is a plan?" - Ellie asked.

And at this Anya smiled sweetly, the way she knew made Ellie uncomfortable, because she didn't have the slightest clue what that smile entitled.

"There's always a plan, dear cousin." - my sister replied. - "You already know about Cilia and Sean, don't you?" - she asked, as if I wasn't even there. - "And as Orlovs relatives we all will be in the box with Igor and Cilia during today's task. And that's where I need you all to show your support to Sean."

"Don't you think Cilia is a little too clever for that?" - Nicky asked, looking at my sister pointedly.

"Oh, she definitely is. But is there something untrue about you supporting my brother?" - None of them answered. - "And Ellie, what was that cute saying you and your brothers had?"

"We live or die together?" - Ellie grumbled.

"Exactly." - Anya said approvingly. - "So all we have to do is remind Cilia that we are all united and we'd like to keep it that way."

"Would it be out of place if I said I came mostly to keep an eye on this one?" - Huxley asked, pointing with his chin towards Ellie.

"Babe." - Ellie scolded him with just that one word.

"What? Cilia knows me, she won't believe that I suddenly became his big fan." - he defended himself, reminding me why exactly I disliked him so.

"And she doesn't have to." - Anya said with a smile. - "Family isn't only about love and undying devotion. It's about what we represent. And to be honest, your beef with Sean could make everything more believable for Cilia."

"Okay. As long as I don't need to pretend." - Huxley nodded - "Don't get me wrong, Maslow, I sympathize with you. I know exactly how it feels when your mate is reluctant, but let's be honest here, you haven't done much to help me."

"At least I don't have to blackmail my mate into living with me." - I deadpanned.

"I bet you wish you had that option now." - she said with a cocky smirk. - "I at least didn't have to silently watch Ellie being wooed by three other dudes." - he added with a grin.

"You son of a b***h…" - I said, stepping his way, but right away Dean and Nicky blocked my way, making launching at f*****g Maddox almost impossible.

"Guys, will you calm the f**k down?" - Ellie asked in a bored tone. - "Babe, you either behave, or you're staying here for the first task." - she warned Huxley.

"Ellie, you wouldn't…"

"Shh!" - she shushed him. - "And you," - she turned towards me - "either be nice to my mate, or I may start cheering for a different Alpha. I heard the Scandinavian guy is quite nice."

"You wouldn't." - I narrowed my eyes on her, not even realizing I was repeating exactly what Huxle had just said.

"Try me." - she said challengingly. - "You've lived among women of this family your whole life, and now you are mated to one. Are you sure I'm not going to retaliate if you piss me off?"

I clenched my jaw, but didn't say anything.

"Well, I knew I summoned the right person." - Anya said with satisfaction. - "We should better start getting ready. The first task starts in two hours."

"Do we know what it might be?" - Dean asked.

"No. It's against the rules for any contestant to know what the task entitles." - Anya said, and I was wondering how she knew that. Even I had no idea what the rules were.

"Knowing Cilia, it will be something that puts your brain to work." - Ellie chimed in.

"Well, that narrows it down." - my brother snorted.

"It does remind me of that little game our old folks prepared for us before our ascension." - Ellie smiled.

"And how we crushed the rest." - my brother grinned at her.

"Double power of the Burgovs, Cuz, there's no beating that." - Ellie answered.

"True that." - Dean agreed.

Their dream team fell apart almost a year ago, when Huxley re-entered the picture, but they still hold fond memories of that time. Since their birth, Dean and Ellie were supposed to be Alpha and Gamma of the Harvest Moon Pack. But fate had a different idea in mind.

It's funny how sometimes things turn out. Ellie left to find her place in a different pack, where she spread her wings in a completely different direction, but an equally important one.

Her place was taken by her youngest brother Mikey, and from what I've heard, Dean finds him even more pleasant to work with.

So things that back then we thought were a major issue worked out pretty well for everyone.

Ellie seems happy as Luna, even though I ask myself why, every time I see Huxley. Dean, Boris and Mickey, even though being very young, are a solid squad that for sure will upstage their fathers. So it's all worked out for the best.

I wonder if I would ever look at this tournament the same way. As something positive, not a great miscalculation on Cilia's side with a possibly fatal outcome.

"Okay, you keep on clapping your backs and I'll hit the shower." - I said gruffly, putting my cup into the sink and walking towards the stairs.

Under the shower, with a hot stream of water pouring down on me, I was thinking of what Cilia was doing. What was running through her head right now? Did my words from yesterday leave any standing impression or is she still adamant about throwing me out of the contest at the first chance?

I guess I will know after today's challenge where her mind is at. Hopefully, it won't be too late for anything.

I dressed in my room, or rather my step-father's childhood room, and I stalled for a bit longer than I should, subconsciously avoiding the downstairs chaos.

I love all of them, minus Huxley, of course, but I guess he and Ellie are now a package deal, but either way, they will provide too much distraction. Once I would welcome it with open arms, but right now I need to be on my A game.

I can't be sure if what my mate prepared for us would be physical or intellectual. f**k, I don't even know if I will be able to do it. She knows me well enough to f**k me over with ease. So now that I really think about it, nothing depends on me anymore. Cilia made sure to become the only card dealer in this game.

Twenty minutes before the expected time we were supposed to show up in the arena, came the knock on my door followed by Ellie slipping in without even waiting for an invitation.

"We should head out soon." - she said.

"I know." - I nodded.

"If you want me to throttle her, just say the word." - she said, plopping on the bed beside me and nudging me with her shoulder, like in good old times.

"She's your family too, you know." - I pointed out with a smirk.

"I know. But my family proved more than once to be incredibly stupid. Look at Orson, f*****g the wrong girl for months." - she said with a grin.

I snorted with laughter. Only Ellie could make someone else's worst life decision something funny. That was a true talent.

"Is it really the truth that you wanted to be with her just for the sake of the family?" - Ellie asked much more seriously, and I slowly shook my head. - "That's what I thought." - she admitted with a sigh. - "You were never the best at talking about your feelings. Actually, it would be equally painful as a blind man describing colors."

"Hey, I'm not all that bad." - I argued.

"Oh please…" - she rolled her eyes with exasperation - "How many times have you told Dean or Anya that you love them?"

Not that many.

"And how many have you to Dave and Mickey?" - I asked back, instead of admitting the dark truth.

"Each time I see them and don't kill them, is like a tiny I love you." - she grinned. - "But I guess that's fair. We aren't very verbal about our feelings."

"That we are not." - I agreed.

"But do you know who is very verbal? Cilia." - Ellie pointed out.

"No, she's not. She had a crush on me for years and I didn't even have a clue."

"Really? So what more did you expect? Your face tattooed on her ass, or maybe a naked surprise after a Christmas party." - I regarded her with a blank expression - "She was a teenager, Sean. She was not very subtle, nor was she throwing herself on you, but some of us noticed. And to be honest, you should have too."

"Yeah, I probably should." - I admitted, nodding my head absentmindedly. I should, if I wasn't so far gone in my own ass.

"But since you're here, which means you finally see what's in front of you, show the girl some sugar, huh?" - she said teasingly, but I knew she meant it.

"I would, if she wasn't shooting lasers from her eyes each time she sees me."

"Oh please, everyone knows Cilia's scowls are all fake." - Ellie scoffed. - "Okay, I said what I wanted, now we have to go. And don't worry, we all support you."

"Even Huxley?" - I arched my brow at her.

"Yes, even Maddy. He may not particularly like you, but he knows how hard it can be when your mates do everything to push you away. Although Cilia might have overshadowed me."

"Lucky me." - I joked, but Ellie looked at me more seriously than I expected, sobering my dark humor right away.

"Yes, you are very lucky. She's a wonderful girl. And if you f**k it up, even the whole affection I have for you, won't stop me from being extremely pissed." - she said in warning, and I know my cousin well enough to know that when she's making threats she usually plans to fulfill them.

"Noted."

"Good. Now, let's go."

The entire entourage and I went to the arena that was just two blocks away, and separated by the entrance, where they went to the Alpha's private box and I joined those three clowns who were pinning after my mate.

Dear Goddess, I should have gotten a medal for not ripping their heads off on the spot. But then again, I'm one guy, and if they get a whiff of the bond I share with Cilia, I'm as good as dead, and I'm perfectly aware of that.

I saw the way they checked her out yesterday. I noticed the lustful looks the Scottish moron sent her. I noticed how an Austrian was discreetly looking down at her cleavage. And the Scandinavian… Well, fine, he didn't do anything inappropriate per se, but he still pissed me off for even being here.

At least they got the memo right, about us being rivals and there was no friendly chattering or anything like that. Actually, each of us took a different corner of the room awaiting the task.

And thankfully, I arrived as the last one, and not even five minutes later, the four of us were led to the center of the arena and from there, right to the long table set up for today with four black cloths covering what I thought were stations for each of us.

The armed guards pointed each of us to a certain spot, me being given the one on the far left, and as soon as we were at our designated places Cilia appeared on the balcony, like the day before, with her little speech. However, today, instead of deep burgundy she chose a pale blue dress that made her eyes sparkle even more. She looked gorgeous. Like always.

"Welcome to the first day of tryouts, gentlemen." - she started, nodding with respect towards us, but I haven't missed how her eyes never crossed paths with mine. - "As you all know, I'm the sole culprit responsible for choosing your tasks. And I have given a lot of thought to what I seek in my future partner." - she smiled softly, and I hoped she would look my way to even acknowledge me, but she didn't.

"And among many virtues like strength and honor, which all of you obviously have, I figured I needed my mate to know the treasure when he sees one."

This time her eyes shot my way and lingered. f**k. She was going to bury me out of spite.

"It's a trait of a great politician and strategist to see a true value in people, objects, terrain and everything that surrounds us. And that kind of intuition can't be taken for granted." - she paused, giving a sign to the four guards to uncover the four black cloths from the table revealing our tasks.

Underneath, I noticed a black bowl with at least three dozen sparkling white diamonds in each of them.

I blinked a few times trying to figure out what she would have us do with those, but Cilia was faster with her explanation.

"Each of you was given a bowl with precisely twenty-nine zircon stones, and just one diamond. Your task is to find the diamond among its imitations and to do so, you can only choose your own hands and knowledge. And to make the task more exciting, you have only fifteen minutes to do so. Good luck, gentlemen. The time starts now."

Andrei, Igors future Beta, started the timer and the big red 15:00, stated its countdown and I didn't waste another second before inspecting the stones.

I knew the task was a precise dig at me and how I hadn't seen a crown jewel I was given. That's a pettiness on Cilia's level, but I probably deserved it.

I scanned my brain, trying to figure out what I knew about zircons and diamonds. I know that the latter costs a fortune, while the first does not. And I also know that diamonds are supposed to be the hardest mineral on this planet.

That's why I started taking small stones in my hands and rubbing them one against the other. Zircon should scratch another zircon, but it should leave a diamond untouched. It was a simple idea, but the best one I have had so far. And I prayed for it not to be wrong.

I rubbed the pair of stones, one after the other, realizing that the Austrian standing next to me started mimicking me, so I had to at least be faster.

With each pair that left the scratches, my bowl was getting more and more empty, when finally the stone in my left hand didn't have even a single scratch after I rubbed it against the other.

Feeling like a winner already, I raised my hand, signaling I knew the answer, and the guard assigned to me stepped forwards with a ready velvet box to gather my chosen stone.

I locked eyes with Cilia and smiled triumphantly, waiting for the other three to be done, but she stayed passive. She hasn't betrayed whether she was surprised, impressed or disappointed.

Soon, the other guards gathered the rest of the stones from all the other contestants and a short, weasel-like man came out of nowhere to inspect our picks. As if to torture me, he started from the other side of the table. Where the Scot stood.

"Alpha Galloway chose the wrong stone." - he announced, and the disappointed murmur spread through the arena and I barely hid my smirk.

Then the jeweler inspected Norgevain's answer and just one look and he nodded approvingly.

"Alpha Enberg chose the correct stone." - he said out loud, making the arena erupt in happy cheers.

Then he checked the answer of a damn strudel-eater and he needed just a single glance before nodding.

"Alpha Schwerin chose the correct stone."

Another fit of applause filled the arena, and I shifted from one foot to the other, awaiting my turn.

Finally, the weasel-looking man stepped towards me, and he took a velvet box from the guard who had been watching over it, and he started inspecting it. I was so sure of myself that I didn't even doubt myself for a second.

"Alpha Maslow chose the wrong stone."

That's why when I heard those words first I couldn't believe them. I thought he was tricking me.

"Are you sure? I tried scratching them and this one didn't scratch." - I asked the man.

"Yes, I'm sure. Your idea was correct, you just haven't checked all of them." - he answered patiently.

"But I checked."

"Do you want to check again?" - he asked condescendingly, and I took the stone from his hand and the one of the zircons I had previously put aside and I watched in horror when this time the other stone left its mark.

"When you're dealing with gemstones, patience is crucial, Alpha." - the man said, and I averted my eyes from the fake diamond in my hand and looked up at the balcony at my relatives' faces that seemed to be reflecting my own disappointment, and then my eyes met hers begging her for this not to be the end for me. Like usual, her face hadn't betrayed much.

"Congratulations to those who guessed right." - Cilia said, and I clenched my jaw, looking away from her, expecting the worst. - "But don't worry, I'm not the kind of a woman who can't look past one mistake." - I looked up again, awaiting the rest. - "Your entire performance speaks for you. So I wish those who didn't succeed today better luck tomorrow." - she said, ending her speech.

Phew. At least I'm still in the game. But there can be no more f**k-ups.