When she saw the three of them wearing the same expression, Nelly knitted her brows. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Tony was the first to shake his head. "No, not at all. Your sudden appearance just gave us a scare. That's all."
Ben nodded to second his brother's words.
Nelly swept a suspicious gaze across the three of them. "You wouldn't be on your toes if your conscience was clear."
Tony eked out an awkward smile.
"Spit it out. What are you hiding from me?" Nelly refused to let the matter go. The sudden question caused the three of them to exchange panicking glances.
Having little patience, Nelly turned her attention to Alpha Kilian. "You tell me." The question stunned Alpha Kilian. "Me?"
Nelly nodded at him.
Tony and Ben shifted their gaze to Alpha Kilian, grinning in schadenfreude.
Alpha Kilian cleared his throat as he walked up to her and wrapped his hand around her slender waist. "Well, the boys asked me not to tell you, so..." Alpha Kilian put on a conflicted expression.
His sons were immediately dumbfounded. Daddy, how could you do this to us?
The boys stared at their father in disbelief.
What was I supposed to say? It's not like I have a better choice. He cleared his throat again and averted his gaze.
Whatever.
It was then that Nelly's gaze fell upon her sons. From the look in her eyes, she had clearly run out of patience.
Ben decided to take control of the situation. "Fine. I'll come clean, Nelly. We met this girl called Alexia, and it was she who sent us home. After that, Daddy reminded us not to tell you about it."
What the...
This time, it was Alpha Kilian who gave his son a stunned look, and he wasn't alone in doing so.
Tony was equally shocked, for Ben had blurted out those words while he was still racking his brains about what to say.
He tilted his head and gave his brother a look of surprise.
Since when did he become so sharp in his speech? I have to admit, it's a really good alibi. Even I didn't think of it.
Ignoring his father's shocked look, Tony nodded in agreement. "That's right." Nelly turned to look at Alpha Kilian, who shook his head in denial, again.
Unexpectedly, Nelly didn't seem quite bothered at all. Instead, she asked calmly, "Did you manage to find Thalia?"
Tony shook his head. "No."
"So why were you out for so long?" Nelly probed.
"We ran into Alexia halfway, which took up some of our time," Ben said in an innocent tone. Alpha Kilian was flummoxed.
This isn't the story we agreed to.
This time, it was Ben who repeated Alpha Kilian's reaction by averting his gaze with an oblivious expression.
Upon hearing their words, Nelly nodded slightly. "All right, I understand." "So..."
"Why don't you boys go back to your room? I'll call you if I need you," Nelly said. Tony and Ben nodded in unison. "All right."
"Go on now."
With that, the boys turned and left.
While walking, both of them whispered to each other, "Ben, what has gotten into you today?" "What are you talking about?" Ben asked.
"Your innocent act just now," Tony replied. "What's wrong with it?"
"Since when did you have a way with words?"
"I was forced to speak up because you didn't say anything." "I was still thinking of what to say."
"In that case, why were you so slow just now?" "How is this my fault?"
"It has always been that way..."
The boys began to argue as they climbed up the stairs.
After watching the boys leave, Nelly shifted her attention back to Alpha Kilian. With a serious tone, she asked, "Did you manage to get in touch with Spencer?"
Alpha Kilian shook her head. "No. What's wrong?"
"I can't reach him." A crease formed between Nelly's brows.
"I'll check on him right away." With that, Alpha Kilian gave Spencer a call.
At that moment, something dawned on Nelly, and she returned upstairs.
While waiting for the call to connect, Alpha Kilian quickly followed her when he saw her leaving.