My Jolly Alpha - Burgov Series V

3. Markella

"UGH! - the loud shriek spread through the suite we were staying at and I jumped up in bed with my heart pounding a hundred miles per hour, afraid that it was a fire alarm or something, only to find Cilia stomping back to the room and throwing her purse forcefully against the wall.

"You know, if it became last season's collection overnight, you can just donate it, you don't have to shred it to pieces." - I joked, lying back down, but keeping my eyes open.

"Hilarious, Markie." - Cilia deadpanned - "Have too many stand-up nights turned you into a comedian?"

I giggled, because that was a good one. Cilia was the most fun when she was aggravated.

"Not particularly, but what happened?" - I asked, seeing her pacing back and forth, tugging at her hair, as if she wanted to rip it off her scalp.

"Igor happened!" - she threw her hands in the air. - "He really cut me off! All my credit cards are blocked!"

I sat up straight and creased my forehead looking at her.

"You're joking, right? You said he would never do that." - I recalled her own words from a few weeks back, when her brother first started threatening to do that.

"Well, apparently he did." - she sighed - "Goddess, he should better be glad I'm not home, otherwise his balls would be hanging on a Christmas tree by now." - she threatened, and by the tone of her voice I knew she wasn't joking, although she was being funny so I rolled my lips to stop myself from laughing.

Seriously, the pissed off Cilia could be hilarious, and when it comes to her brother, it seems that his every call had the power of turning her into a raging bull.

I may not have known Cilia for long. Actually, four months feels like such a short time, but I feel like during that period she became one of my closest people. She came out of nowhere, one day requesting an entry into our community, and the next day we were almost joined by a hip, even though we couldn't be any different. Where she is all class, looking as if she has just stepped off the runway, I feel best in anything thrown at my back, and the more comfortable it is, the better. Before I met Cilia, I had a total of two pairs of shoes that weren't flats, and that included platform sandals, but when she saw my closet her face twisted as if I had offended her or lived like a peasant.

But despite obvious differences, Cilia took my life over like a storm. Yes, she can be a little over the top at times, but something between us just clicked. I don't think I've ever poured so much of my soul into anyone, but with her it was so easy. And from the looks of it, she needed someone like me in her corner too.

So when one day she offered to join her on her trip around the world to look for a mate, I agreed. Not because I had great dreams and expectations about finding my soulmate, but because something within me told me she was lonely and that she needed my support.

I hadn't, of course, realized what traveling with Cilia would entitle, and her extravagance bemused me more than once, but at the end of the day, as I started getting to know this complicated girl when she allowed the tough exterior to slip, I couldn't have any regrets. She somehow weaseled her way into my heart and now I'm more than sure that this wild friendship is for life.

I looked at her softly, giving her enough time to get a grip on her emotions.

"Hey." - I called out to her softly, when her head fell down, and she pinched the bridge of her nose, as if she was preventing tears from falling down. - "Sit!" - I said, patting the bed between my legs.

Her chin quivered and she needed a second to get it together, before she crawled on my bed and allowed me to wrap my hands around her.

"Now tell me what happened?" - I asked.

"Igor said that the only thing he's dealing with are my bills and that he is through with it. We started arguing and he finally gave me an ultimatum to come back home or deal with my trip on my own." - she said with her voice cracking at the end.

"Okay, and you told him what?"

"To go f**k a herd of goats and then to take his head out of his ass." - I snorted, knowing that this wasn't an exaggeration and that she most likely used those exact words towards the world's most dangerous man. But what people didn't know was that if Igor Orlov was the most dangerous man, Cilia Orlov was the most dangerous woman. I don't know if there's another as vengeful girl as her out there, and to be honest, in Igor's place, I would start looking over my shoulder right about now.

"Okay, and then what?" - I asked, rubbing her shoulders.

"And then it was the usual pissing contest, with him reminding me he's my Alpha and he has the right to order me to come back. So I told him he could be an Alpha of his own privy, and that he holds no power over me."

"Cilia." - I gasped. I heard enough stories to be sure that this type of defiance probably hasn't sat well with her brother, who I may not know, but I think I know the type. Arrogant douche, who thinks he's at the top of the food chain, which in his case, probably isn't all that far-fetched.

"What? He's always using that s**t on me, forgetting that we're exactly the same. I've had enough of his crap." - she said, her olive cheeks getting tinted with an angry red blush.

"And one word led to another and he said he would block your funds, right?" - I asked.

"Pretty much. Although I may have added that Mom should have had a partial abortion and spare us all the embarrassment of bringing him into this world." - she admitted.

"Cilia!" - I sighed.

"What? It's not like it's not true." - she stated, looking up at me, and all I could do was shake my head at her.

"Okay, so since your cards were blocked would you allow me to pay now?" - I asked, seeing at least that bright side in the situation. Actually, I was never into living in lavish hotels with staff at your beck and call. To be honest, I would much rather spend this trip backpacking from one pack to the other, but Cilia wasn't having it. For her it's big and bold, dripping with diamonds and gold, or nothing at all. It's almost funny that the simplest girl in the world, aka me, befriended the shifter royalty, but with Cilia it's like once you get through the arrogant exterior that she put up there to scare people away, you see the heart of gold and the most loyal woman in the world.

"Absolutely not!" - she said, getting up from the bed and glaring at me. - "I think I still have some change in my purse." - she said, going to get her bag from the ground. Then she opened it and threw all the contents on the bed, showing exactly how much s**t can one woman carry. There were lipsticks, lip gloss, three mascaras, a compact, her phone, wallet, hair brush, a toothbrush, because you can never know when you might need it, a set of fresh panties, for the same exact reason. A total of seven pens, out of which I know at least three don't work anymore. A gum and, for some reason, a lollipop. A hairband and more hairpins than some hair salons have. Some napkins with numbers scribbled on them - probably her trophies from our nights out. And finally, tons and tons of bills. She had Euros, rubles, dinars, Reals, Yens and Dollars from at least three different countries, every single one of them rolled like a piece of trash with a face value no lower than a hundred, because everything smaller usually ends up in tip jars.

"That should last us for today. And after that we can use this." - she said, opening a hidden compartment in her Prada powder pink wallet, and took out a stack of at least two dozen bills, all rolled together as if they were taken freshly from the bank and my eyes widened when I noticed they were all 500 euros.

"What the hell…" - I muttered - "Have you been carrying around a few thousand euros? You do realize that there are people who kill for much less." - I said, pointing out the window, making her throw her head back and laugh in her melodic crackle.

"Relax, Markie. It's not that much, and besides, Dad wanted me to have some snitch money in case my car breaks down or something." - she waved her hand.

"Your car breaks down…" - I repeated after her. - "That would be weird since you almost always travel in limos, and sorry but I can't imagine you changing a tire in one." - I deadpanned and she shook her head while counting everything she had. - "Cilia, why won't you let me book us a flight back to my home. You loved it there, right?" - I offered.

"Of course I did. You guys took me in not even once throwing my last name in my face. Besides, your brother's hot." - she winked at me, making me laugh.

"Then let's go back there. You could stay as long as you want and your brother would no longer have any hold over you." - I told her.

"No way. That rat bastard won't spoil my trip. I left home to find my mate, and I'm going to achieve that, with or without him."

I arched my brow and tilted my head to the side. I know that was the reason she told everyone else, but I knew her better than that, and I wasn't buying it, because I'm more than sure she was just running away. And after countless sleepless nights we spent on drunken or semi-sober talks, I'm more than sure her heart has been taken for a while now.

"Are you sure you want to find your mate and not your way to certain someone?" - I asked and her blue eyes narrowed at me, making a smug smile curl up my lips.

"f**k off, will you?" - she hissed.

"You know, I heard it's almost impossible to forget your first crush." - I taunted her further, lying on my stomach and waving my legs in the air.

Her eyes started blazing with deadly fury and if look could kill she would be calling her driver to get the shovel from the trunk to get rid of my corpse right about now.

"If you want to keep all those pretty teeth, I would stop talking if I were you." - she hissed through her teeth and I started laughing, covering my face with the bedsheets.

"Oh come on, Cilia, we both know you just don't want to be home and watch Igor's happy life."

"Because he's an asshole and he doesn't deserve his blind luck!" - she shouted. - "All of my life it was Igor this, and Igor that. Oh, he's so strong, oh he's so smart, oh he knows four languages." - she started listing - "But do you think anyone gave a rat's ass about me? Nooo! No one cared that I always graduated at the top of my classes. No one cared about me winning every competition, because he was the golden boy. No one cared that when he barely used four languages, I'm fluent in six! And I'm the older one! Dark Woods should have been mine, by right! And meanwhile, he has the audacity to cut me off and order me to go home! I'm not going back like a failure. To be honest, I never want to go back there at all."

The tears of frustration started pooling in her eyes and I could almost feel her pain. I sat up and wrapped her in my arms, letting her shed as many tears as she needed.

"You know, I don't even want to find my other half all that much." - she admitted in a broken voice - "I just want to get the hell out of there for good."

"Then leave. f**k your brother, denounce him as your Alpha and come live with us. You know you're always welcomed. But just please, for the love of Goddess, don't ever again twerk in front of my brother. Seeing him with a hardon is bad on so many different levels that I wanted to bleach out my eyes."

She started laughing through her sobs and I soon joined her. It was breaking my heart seeing her like this. Some would say she's just a poor rich girl, but that's not who the real Cilia is. She's caring and devoted and fierce as f**k. I count myself lucky to have her in my life.

"Sometimes I feel you're the only one I've got." - she said, hugging me even tighter.

"And you will never ever lose me." - I assured her. - "Well, unless you drag me to another shopping marathon." - she giggled and I knew her mood was coming back. - "Four hours, that's the best I can give you. Anything beyond that, it's just a point-blank torture."

"Are you insane?! Four hours is like a warm up, you have to at least give me six!" - she said, holding me at arm's length, and I couldn't help the grin that spread on my face.

"I'm insane?! The last time I took 50k steps! It's like a three-day's worth of walking. My legs were on the verge of giving up on me and I think I got mild dehydration."

"See? Whoever said that the life of a shopaholic is easy knew nothing." - she said with a knowing look. - "Okay, let's agree for five hours and you've got yourself a deal."

"Fine." - I rolled my eyes - "But I'm drawing a line at taking the service of footwear consultants. I'm pretty sure the last guy was simply a foot fetishist, who didn't even work in that shop."

"I know, but I almost came when he started massaging me." - she grinned, making me snort at her silliness.

"You have real problems with your head."

"I know, but since you love me, it doesn't put you in a good light either." - she wagged her perfect brows, making me laugh even harder.

"Okay, silly girl, so what do we do? Should I call Dainen that we're coming back home? You know that my brother will be more than happy to have you." - I asked, but Cilia, even though she blushed, shook her head.

"No, I won't give that asshole satisfaction. He said he's leaving the jet with me, so if we get to the States we can visit basically every pack with my family's connections."

"So now we're going to the States?" - I frowned.

"Yes. It will be our last stop, and maybe at least one of us will have some luck." - she said with more confidence than before, almost as if she was mentally flipping the bird to her brother.

"Okay. I'll better pack then." - I said, standing up from the bed.

"Hold on. You know our anthem after I got off the phone with Iggy." - Cilia said, crossing her arms, and I knew she wouldn't budge.

I sighed, closed my eyes and nodded.

We developed this tradition about two months ago after one particularly unpleasant conversation Cilia had with her brother. He ordered her to get back to Dark Woods to witness her first nephew being born. But just as hard it is for Igor to say please, it's almost impossible to get what you want if you boss Cilia around. My friend is a classic case of getting more bees with honey than vinegar. Her initial plan was actually to be there, if not for Igor, then for Leticia, who sounds like a wonderful girl. But after that fateful call, she said f**k it, and that day, after drowning her anger in way too much mojito, we had wandered to the edge of the internet, where we found a remix of one of the Frozen songs that became our go-to jam whenever Igor calls.

"f**k it all, f**k it all!" - I began.

"Can't take this s**t anymore!" - Cilia took over

"f**k it all, f**k it all!

Flip the table, screw you all!

I won't take this bullshit anymore.

I don't give a f**k!

This s**t never bothered me anyway." - we sang together and, just like always, Cilia grinned right after we stopped killing cats with our out-of-sync voices, as if defiling a children's song had a cleansing effect on her soul.

"Ah. I feel much better already." - she admitted.

"Good, so can I go pack now?" - I asked, watching her with a smirk plastered on my face.

"No way, we aren't leaving tonight. I need at least one more day of fun in Rio, and we aren't coming back until we spend the last penny I have." - she announced, and as if that was already decided, she sauntered towards the closet to pick her outfit.

"Seriously? You want to go out?"

"Yes!" - she said, turning back to face me - "This is our last night before facing my family, and I want to have fun. When we get to the States I will have to behave and all that s**t, so please give me one last wild night of just us girls." - she pleaded with a perfect pout.

"Do I even want to know how many things you got from your father with that face?" - I asked, my lips inwardly curling up.

"No, you do not." - she admitted with her eyes sparkling with mischief.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that the argument was already lost on my side.

"Fine." - Cilia started clapping and, without even missing a beat, turned back towards the closet. - "But we're getting back at a reasonable hour. I don't want to smell like sweat, alcohol and puke, the flight attendant gave me a look last time." - I said, pointing my finger at her.

"What look?" - Cilia asked without even turning back around.

"You know, the you're not good enough to be here kind of look."

"And that got to you?" - she glanced at me over her shoulder and I shrugged - "Gee, if only my problems circulated around someone looking at me the wrong way." - she snorted, getting back to her collection of dresses.

But yeah, I was way more self-conscious than Cilia, because why would she be? She was used to life in the light of the flesh with her family always there on display. I don't think there are many in our world who don't know the name Orlov. But for me, a girl from literally the middle of nowhere, meeting her relatives brings nervous butterflies to my stomach and burning to my neck.

What if they think I'm living off of her like a gold digger or something?

I felt much more confident when we were visiting a completely strange places for us.

But what is done is done. I agreed to go on this trip with her, and it seems the States are our last stop. So, universe, you better hurry the f**k up, because we could use some luck here.

Cilia apparently decided to go all in tonight, choosing a silver-sequin mini dress that brought up her icy-blue eyes, and she paired it with black high-heeled sandals with thin straps wrapped around her calf. She always looks like a Goddess, with her black hair that, even when she's barely awake, looks like she was freshly back from an appointment. A great way to make a girl with unruly curls, like mine, become even more self-conscious.

"Look at you." - Cilia said, coming over to me when I was looking at myself in the mirror - "Could those legs be any longer?"

"Shut up." - I said, poking at her side with my elbow. Okay, my legs were always something I could be proud of. They were long and, thanks to my mother's genes, I never had to complain about the lack of tan. But even though I liked my caramel skin, that's another thing that could be frowned upon if the Russian princess brings home a girl of color. - "I would kill for your boobs, though."

She threw her head back and started laughing, then began moving her hips to the sides in sultry dancing moves.

"I got it from my Mama, I got it from my Mama." - she sing-songed, making me chuckle. Okay, if her relatives were anything like her, I don't think I have anything to worry about.

"Okay, show girl, let's go." - I said, grabbing my clutch, and Cilia didn't have to be told twice.

Tonight I think we broke the record of the places we visited. I honestly stopped counting after the tenth club, but I'll admit we had fun. We had so much fun that we came back to the hotel at 7am, when normal guests were leaving, and we started packing then.

"So where are we going exactly?" - I asked, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Midnight Banes. I texted my cousin, Uliana, and she told me that this weekend everyone aside from her and her brother are at some Gala, so it's best to cross Orson off the list first." - she said, trying to pack her things, but since everywhere we went she usually hired someone to do that for her, Cilia looked really out of place doing it alone.

"Why him and not Uliana?" - I asked, thinking that maybe getting to know another woman would go better.

"Well, for one, none of my aunts or uncles are currently living with him. And besides, Liana is ready to pop with baby number two and I would rather go to her after the baby is born, you know, play a good Cuz and help her with the rugrats so she could take a nap and stuff." - she explained, finally giving up on arranging her jewelry box, and just locking it.

"Have you ever held a baby?" - I asked, tilting my head to the side thinking that might be the most hilarious sight of my life, if I ever got to see it.

"Do you wanna run after the jet?" - she shot back, arching her brow. I started laughing, shaking my head.

An hour later, we were boarding Cilia's jet and I avoided looking at the flight attendant's judgemental face at all costs. We sat down in our seats facing one another and my friend looked just as nervous as I was feeling.

"Everything alright?" - I asked.

"Yeah. I'm just nervous." - she admitted.

"Why? Is your Cousin so intimidating?"

"Orson? Oh Goddess, no! But I have this strange feeling in my gut that something will happen. I don't know what it is. Maybe Igor is waiting for me at the airport to drag me back home, or something." - she admitted taking a deep breath.

"Should I keep my herbs close, just in case?" - I asked and she smirked.

"I knew the Goddess brought you for a reason into my life, sister." - she said honestly, reaching for my hand over the aisle, and strangely I had the exact same feeling.