He greeted them and then turned to her. “This is Grayson and Aurora.” Rafe then gestured toward her. “And this is Mila.”
After they all greeted each other, Grayson asked Rafe for a moment in private.
Great. Now Mila was stuck alone with this witch.
“Between the pack and the business, they always have something to talk about,” Aurora said with a smile. It appeared to be genuine, but Mila wasn’t buying it. Instead, she took a sip of her water.
“I know what Victoria said about me, but it’s not true,” Aurora added.
Mila wasn’t crazy about that shifter who sauntered around, but still, at least she’d revealed the Franconia pack’s true intent.
“So you say,” Mila replied.
“She twisted a story about my intentions,” Aurora added.
Mila clasped her hands together on her lap. “How can it be a twist if you and Grayson admit you are mates?”
Aurora stared into the distance before bringing her gaze back to Mila. “Neither of us knew that when I came up to the White Mountains. And even after Grayson recognized me as his mate, he tried not to let it interfere with my mediation efforts.”
Mila eyed her, assessing for signs of dishonesty, but found none.
Aurora continued, “Victoria wanted Grayson as her mate. Getting me out of the picture was one way for her to make that happen. She set me up and tried to kill me.” Aurora clasped both hands on the table. “I hope you’ll listen to our side of the story.”
Mila stared at the witch. Wolves and witches weren’t enemies, yet they weren’t buddy-buddy. Their relationship was better described as tolerating each other’s existence. She tipped her chin up. “Why not? I’m here.” Her frosty tone showed her disinterest.
Aurora took a deep breath and exhaled. “Yes, it’s true that Grayson and I are mates. But that wasn’t the case when he requested a mediator to come deal with the issues between your packs. He didn’t know that until I arrived—and once he did, he attempted to ignore what his wolf was telling him to not interfere with the talks.” Aurora gestured at Mila. “You know better than I do what that must feel like—with your wolf recognizing his or her mate.”
Mila uncrossed her legs, adjusted in the chair, and crossed them again. “Well, I am a shifter.”
“What I am saying,” Aurora continued, “Is that he did his best to fight the call for as long as he could in order for me to be able to finish the assignment. What he wanted above all else is for peace between the packs.” She frowned and stared at the salt shaker on the table. “We were coming close to a settlement before Victoria lashed out in her jealousy and turned on us.”
“What settlement?” Mila leaned forward. Her father and Lars never gave her details of anything when it came to pack matters, which they thought was better left to them as leaders.
“Rafe and Grayson offered a very attractive and large parcel of land to your pack to accept some responsibility in what happened to your enforcer.”
Mila straightened her posture. “As they should. A shifter’s death isn’t one to be dismissed.” Their enforcer, Alex, had been killed during a fight with a Franconia.
“Of course. And I came here to work with both packs to avoid any others,” Aurora added. “Although your father and Lars sent me off, I’d be more than happy to work with you and Rafe if you’d like.”
“Thank you, but Rafe and I have it covered,” Mila replied with cool detachment.
“I understand.” Aurora nodded. “Well, thanks for letting me talk. I hope you can work something out. And like I said, I’m here if I can help.”
Mila forced a smile. When she spotted Rafe return with Grayson, the grin that spread across her face was purely genuine.
“Did we miss anything exciting?” Rafe asked with a playful expression.
Mila flipped her fork. “Aurora was just telling me how she and Grayson didn’t know they were mates until she’d arrived to mediate.”
Grayson and Aurora exchanged a glance. “Yes, that’s true,” Grayson replied. “Whatever version Victoria twisted is false. She’d been trying to convince me that we should be mates. Although I’d told her it would never happen, she became incredibly jealous when she saw me with Aurora. She took that anger and ran to your pack, eager for vengeance.”
Before Mila could respond, a server came by to take their drink orders. Mila pieced what she was learning with what she already knew. Although she hadn’t been part of the conversations with her father and Lars, she’d knew that Victoria had warned them about the handling negotiations. She’d said that the witch was secretly Grayson’s mate and coaxing the Saccos to agree to a bad deal.
After the server left, Aurora added, “I came to your pack as a neutral party. Although I developed feelings for Grayson while I was here, I truly believed in finding a solution that both packs were happy with. I believe your father and Lars were seriously considering the land offer before Victoria destroyed negotiations out of petty jealousy. She lashed out when Grayson turned her down and hunted me down, wanting me dead.”
Mila considered that. Rafe had mentioned some of what Aurora had explained on day one, but Mila had been too closed off to listen.
What Grayson and Aurora said sounded truthful. Was Victoria the one who ruined peace between packs after all?
