Instead of taking Beta's seat on the other side of the desk, Yara opted to sit on one of the chairs meant for guests, while Hritika took the other.

They both had aligned the seats in a way that they faced each other instead of the table.

Hritika waited for Yara to start questioning her with an amused face. The one who was supposed to intimidate her was sweating in nervousness.

"You didn't have any problem while preaching me outside then why can't you manage to utter a single word now?" Hritika asked, with raised eyebrows.

Yara heaved a resigned sigh. "Don't act like you don't know the reason."

"I want to apologize for thinking wrong about you but instead of that, I have to question you." Yara ranted, clutching her hairs in frustration.

"You don't have to verbally apologize. I saw the guilt in your eyes long ago. Just perform your duty or the Gamma would be on your case again." Hritika guided Yara.

She had seen enough of the orthodox men to know that Yara's every mistake would be highlighted to strip her down from the Beta position.

Yara smiled at her gratefully. "I know that the teenagers were troubling Alina and what all you said was to save her and yourself. But what I need to confirm is the fact that how much truth does your threat hold."

Her posture had hardened and she suddenly sounded like an authority unlike the squirming embarrassed girl, Hritika had witnessed a few seconds ago.

"It was an empty threat. I just wanted to show them that I wasn't weak and ultimately stopping them from harming me," Hritika answered with a poker face, all previous signs of amusement vanishing into thin air.

"Is there any possibility that you will turn this empty threat into reality in future?" Yara probed.

Hritika didn't reply immediately. Her silence made Yara worry. Hritika knew she was digging her own grave yet she told her the truth.

"I can and I will if we are attacked. My threats would come true but only as an act of self defense. Rest assured, I wouldn't act rashly and put you all in danger over small problems."

Yara closed her eyes upon hearing Hritika's answer. While questioning her, Yara was sure that she would receive a negative reply, that Hritika would never use this threat but the answer wasn't what Yara had expected.

"Hritika, I understand where you are coming from but these words would land you in trouble. Not only from our pack but also from other packs as our whole species is threatened." Yara tried to explain.

"So would you rather have me lie?" Hritika questioned with sarcasm.

Yara groaned. Her mate's sister was one hell of a stubborn being.

"No, but I want your first thought to be asking us for help instead of exposing our kind. As much as I want to promise that no one would try to harm you, I cannot. I don't know how everyone's mind works and we all saw how quickly Alpha Aarjav's promise got broken. So, instead of that I want you to contact us if you get into trouble. What I can promise you is that anyone trying to harm you will be punished severely."

Yara desperately hoped that Hritika understood her words. She knew that unless Hritika believed her words, neither she would change her mind about exposing her kind nor she would lie about that fact in front of others.

"Cool. I will hold onto your promise and I truly hope that you won't disappoint me." Hritika agreed after thinking for a while.

The only reason Hritika took Yara's promise seriously was because of the fact that she was Nihal's mate. Hritika knew that Yara would protect Nihal with her life and thats all mattered. Hritika's own life wasn't that important for her.

"You can trust me." Yara vowed.

Before they could speak more, Yara received a mind-link from Vivaan.

"Are you done with the questioning? As much as I hate to say this, Hritika was saying the truth. The kids were at fault."

"I knew that she was telling the truth the moment she opened her mouth. This questioning was just a formality. I will escort her outside now," Yara replied before shutting off her mind-link.

"We are done here. Let's go," Yara said, before standing up.

Opening the door, they found Nihal standing outside, leaning against the wall.

He looked up as soon as he heard the sound of door opening.

"It's not even a day and we have managed to ruin our relationship with our mate. He is going to hate us for doing all this to his beloved cousin," Sachi cried.

Yara internally nodded, agreeing to Sachi's words.

Nihal took Hritika in a side hug, asking her in a whisper if she was okay.

While Yara was internally planning her rejection, Nihal and Hritika were talking in hushed whispers, comforting each other.

"Apologize to him. Hopefully he would give us one chance," Sachi adviced.

Yara agreed and looked up, only to see Nihal supporting Hritika as they moved towards the stairs.

"We have lost our chance," Yara mumbled to Sachi.

Sachi whined in distress but soon sighed in relief as they saw Nihal looking back at her with a small smile.

He nodded a little, indicating that everything was okay between them, before leaving with Hritika.