My Alpha Mate's Christmas Gift novel Chapter 79

　　Roxanne's voice stirred Rita from her solitary thoughts. She snapped back to reality and then a cloud covered her face. She was clearly not in her happy mood. She knew she had a lot of explaining to do.

　　Why she hid her connection to Asher.

　　“I-I'm sorry Roxanne. I know it was cowardly of me to do it, but I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to see me the same way you viewed Asher.” Rita revealed

　　“W-Why would I...?!” Roxanne muttered.

　　“You may not have noticed, but you never stop talking about how you’d rather die than have anything to do with him. Remember when you first came here? I tried to explain things to you, but you wouldn’t listen. I knew I couldn’t tell you the truth then, so I decided to wait it out until you met Asher. At least you would feel what I did for Dax if you met him, or so I thought. Well, we both know how that turned out, don’t we? The more time passed with you, the more I became afraid of telling you the truth, the fact that I’m Asher's half sister” Rita explained.

　　Roxanne tried her best to listen to her without bias, though it was near impossible to do so. However, Roxanne could understand Rita's perspective. Besides, it’s not like she actively concealed it. It’s just that she never mentioned it to Roxanne, it’s not like Roxanne asked any question in that aspect in any of their conversations.

　　Nonetheless, she couldn’t let go of the thought that perhaps Rita had done all she did because of her potential as Asher's mate, and not because of the reason she believed. She always thought Rita appeared too desperate for her friendship. Initially she just guessed Rita was weird, or a lonely woman. But, considering she had a friend like Camilla, that began to appear doubtful.

　　If the reason for that was just because Roxanne would marry her brother, then Roxanne didn’t know what to think about their friendship.

　　“But Roxanne… I don’t want you to misunderstand my intentions toward you! It’s true that I want you to accept Asher as your mate, but it's not because I’m his sister or anything. It’s because I truly want you to be happy, without any regrets. Your mate is your second half, even your mother said so. I never lied about it.” Rita stated.

　　“Our friendship, everything… I didn’t deceive you, neither did I try to get closer to you because of your prospects. I admit, it makes me happy whenever I think we will become family, but it's more than that for me Roxy! I truly see you as a friend, not just my brother’s mate!”

　　“B-But that’s absurd! There’s no way you’d be so interested in me purely out of goodwill. Did Asher put you up to it? You just have had another motive, if not it doesn’t make sense. Why would someone like you try so hard to be friends with someone like me? I don’t understand it… I can’t!” Roxanne said.

　　Rita kept quiet as she watched Roxanne vent her anger and insecurity on her.

　　“You are right… I did have one motive for going so far” Rita muttered.

　　“I knew it! You…”

　　“I was just so very interested in you. I initially thought I could use you to satisfy my limited knowledge and curiosity about your modern and normal life” Rita revealed.

　　“Y-You really…” Roxanne geared suspiciously.

　　“But that was actually before I came to know you, Roxy!” She added.

　　This made Roxanne’s eyes bulge with surprise.

　　“You're smart, strong, confident… Yes, you can be a brat sometimes and act like a kid, you’re someone who can deeply trust someone. From your reaction now, I can tell that you trust me. That’s why, even when Camilla told you those things, you still decided to ask me yourself…. I also know that you get hurt easily… That’s why, Roxy, I want to be your friend. It’s simply because I like who you are.” Rita concluded with a smile.

　　Her words warmed Roxanne's heart, so much so that she slowly forgot the pangs of pain sown by Camilla's words. Clearly, Rita didn’t mean to hurt her. She was someone she could trust, someone who had her back.

　　“Yeah… Thanks Rita. I’m sorry for doubting you…” Roxanne let out, nearly tearing up.

　　“Yeah, I’m sorry too…” Rita replied, feeling the same way.

　　It didn’t take much for the two to be convinced that their friendship was safe. Such a matter became nothing to them, smiling as though nothing had happened, to the disappointment of someone who overheard them from outside the house.

　　Rita's house, no, all the houses in the community were rigged in such a way that no werewolf could overhear whatever occurred within it. So, as long as the werewolf was outside, they would not be able to listen to the conversation they had.

　　However, Camilla didn’t need to rely on her superhuman hearing to play spy. This was because she had quite the trick of her own. Technology was the key in such a situation. By simply planting a bug in the living room earlier, she overheard Roxanne and Rita's every conversation. Even as she sat on a tree quite some distance from their home, she could hear everything. Such were the wonders of technology.

　　“It is as father said… So Asher has gotten himself a mate… How unfortunate” Camilla commented.

　　Camilla's face broke into a wide grin, not the usual friendly smile she gave in the presence of the other women. No, this was more twisted, contorted in a manner not suitable for others to see.

　　“In that case… I just have to proceed with the plan… Roxanne, it’s a pity. You seemed like such a good girl too…” She added in a whisper.

　　“What is that about Roxanne?” A voice suddenly cut into Camilla's loud thoughts.

　　Immediately, Camilla's skin jumped in surprise as she reacted to the voice. It was a masculine one, and from the sound she heard, it came from the foot of the tree. She looked down and saw a man she did not recognize. He had freckles across his cheeks and looked innocent, about her age but he had the appearance of a pushover.

　　“Who’s that? Most likely an Omega” She said within herself.

　　The young man laughed when she glared at him in a suspicious manner.

　　“I can guess what you’re thinking. ‘Who’s that? Most likely an Omega'… Right?” He said.

　　Her eyes widened as she heard this.

　　“It can't be! Could it be that he knows Wolf Art?” She thought to herself.

　　“Could it be that he knows Wolf Art?” He mimicked her thoughts.

　　“Y-You…” She said in an annoyed tone, not appreciating how he seemed to be messing with her.

　　“Ah, now, now… Let’s not be too hasty” He said with a calm smile.