My Alpha Mate's Christmas Gift novel Chapter 77

　　After the laughter died down, Rita told Roxanne to keep Camilla company while she went to freshen up. After all, she had gone through a lot all day. This made Roxanne realise that she also needed to do the same, but even that didn’t count as an excuse to keep her out of the duty Rita imposed on her.

　　“Yes ma’am” Was all she could say.

　　“So… How did you and Rita become friends?” Roxanne asked, trying to ease the weird atmosphere that hovered around the room.

　　“Oh, that? Our family has always had close contact with the Rockwoods.” Camilla started.

　　“Rita and I have been friends since childhood. Our parents have known each other since childhood as well. You can just call us family friends, you know?” Camilla said with a smirk.

　　“Ohh, wow.” Roxanne commented.

　　“You sound surprised by that. Is it so strange that our family goes back?” Camilla smiled.

　　“No, no. It’s not that. It's just… I thought Alpha families would be the close ones. Like, say… Your Bloodmoon Family, right? And the Rockwood Alpha family…” Roxanne commented.

　　Her eyes narrowed more as she stared into Camilla's. Since Camilla was closely linked to the Alpha status, perhaps she could grant her some clues into Asher and what his deal was. She needed information after all.

　　“Oh? You mean Asher, don’t you?” Camilla asked.

　　“Yes, I suppose that’s his name, right? The Leader of this Pack…”

　　Roxanne tried to act ignorant of the fact, though she made it obvious that she knew more than she was letting on.

　　Camilla ignored this failure on her part and went on to talk along that line anyway.

　　“You don’t know? I guess it's no surprise since you just met Rita. I suppose I’ll tell you… Rita belongs to the same Alpha family as Asher'' Camilla stated.

　　Roxanne’s eyes widened as she heard this. Did this mean what she thought it did? Rita and Asher… The connection between the two… They were actually related by blood?!

　　“They are…?!” Roxanne said with a shocked expression.

　　“They’re siblings, obviously.” Camilla retorted.

　　As Camilla uttered those words, Roxanne’s head rang. Everything slowly began to make sense to her. The reason she was living with Rita of all the people in the village… She had thought it was because it was the Beta house, but to think it was actually because of Rita's connection to Asher.

　　Also, why Rita was placed in charge of her… Why Rita didn’t refer to Asher as Lord, unlike the other werewolves, even Dax. And finally, why Rita was always so nice to her, wanting to get as close to her as possible. Everything was for the reason of her connection to Asher. She was Roxanne's prospective Sister in-law.

　　As Roxanne still processed what Camilla said, Rita entered the living room with a smile plastered on her cheek, her usual look.

　　“I’m back, girls! Did you miss me?” Rita asked with a high pitch.

　　Her voice startled Roxanne, bringing her from her deep concentration. She slowly turned and looked at Rita with an unbelieving stare. Now that she had the idea of Asher being related to her, she tried to match her facial features to his.

　　“No good… They look nothing alike.” Roxanne thought within herself.

　　She wasn’t wrong.

　　Their resemblance was nonexistent. Rita's brightly colored hair, eyes and complexion in comparison to Asher's dark hair, crimson eyes and slightly pale look… It just didn’t match.

　　“Roxanne? What’s wrong? You’re staring at me weirdly…” Rita said with a curious look, but Roxanne didn’t answer.

　　“Awwn. Don’t tell me you’re still mad about keeping Camilla company. I just thought you two would make pretty interesting conversations.” Rita furthered, placing her hand on Roxanne's shoulder.

　　Roxanne's body twitched as she felt the sensation of Rita’s hands land on her shoulder. Her mouth quivered, filled with emotions she could not clearly decipher. Being honest with herself, she felt betrayed that Rita did not tell her anything, making her seem like a fool. However, she was willing to listen to Rita's side, something she had learned as she became friends with her.

　　“Rita must have a good reason for this, right?” Roxanne convinced herself.

　　“Rita… Why didn’t you tell me you are related to Asher… Being his sister for that matter…” She asked.

　　Rita’s eyes bulged as soon as she heard this and her hands shook, slowly distancing itself from Roxanne's shoulder.

　　“H-How did you…?!” Rita said with shock.

　　Immediately, her eyes darted toward Camilla who sat quietly and observed the situation unfold.

　　She didn’t need any answer from Roxanne to realise what had happened.

　　“Camilla… You… What do you think you’re doing?!” Rita thought to herself, giving her best friend a deep glare.