Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

James Heartman was seated on the bed thinking deeply about what the strange man of last night had said to him. Karen was seated in front of the vanity mirror brushing her hair. "You know, I have been having a blast since we began this tour. We've gone to different places, visited different museums, and we've gotten the opportunity to see some rare artefacts," she chatted with him, her face full of smiles.

"My dear, I'm pleased you decided this, and..." She continued to say but stopped as soon as she noticed he wasn't responding to her or listening. His mind was elsewhere despite the fact that his body was in the room with her.

She saw his slumped position on the bed through the mirror, and she stopped brushing her hair and looked in his direction. "James, darling. Are you okay?" She asked him, but he did not respond or raise his head to look at her.

"James Heartman," she called his full name more audibly, and it jolted him out of his deep thoughts.

"Uh?" He asked stupidly as he looked in her direction.

"What is it? I have been talking to you for a while now but you have not been responding," she said to him, her brows narrowed in worry.

"Oh, I'm sorry, love. What were you saying?" He asked her, trying to pay attention to her this time around.

She furrowed her brows at him. "Nevermind now, it's past. Tell me what bothers you. You were so deep in thought, that it had me worried," she said, replacing her disappointed look with a worried one.

"It's really nothing," he replied, as he exhaled.

"I have known you for more than twenty years, and I know when something is bothering you. You will not tell me nothing this time around. Tell me, what's wrong with you?" She said, pressurizing him to tell her what was wrong with him.

"Karen, it's not something you should bother yourself about," he said, getting up from the bed.

She equally stood up from the chair. "Is it about the man from last night?" She asked him.

He stared at her, a little taken aback that she had guessed successfully what was bothering him.

•

"Hendrix?" Alex called him as soon as he saw him walking into the pack house.

Hendrix lifted his head to see Alex walking down the stairs. "Yes, Alex? Do you need me for something?" Hendrix asked him.

Alex shook his head. "No. I just want to have a talk with you," he replied as he got down from the last stairs.

Hendrix relaxed a bit and raised a puzzled brow. "What about, brother?" He asked, and then decided to tease him. "Is it about your wife?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I don't have a wife," Alex said without any hint of remorse in his voice. He did not consider Mia his wife. To him, she was just a tool, just like him, to solve this mystery murders, and that was all.

They did not share a connection, neither did they share a bond. He felt nothing for her and he would never feel anything for her.

•

"Not really so," James replied her, as he rubbed his aching neck.

"Not really so?" She asked with a raised brow as she walked closer to him. "Look at you, darling. You're in a distraught state. Your eyes look pale, and I'm sure you haven't had enough sleep since last night," she said worriedly as she got closer to him. "Tell me what bothers you, James. I am your wife. If it's the man of last night thar bothers you, tell me," she persisted as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

He stared at her, unable to say what was heavy in his heart. "Darling," she urged him, knowing that he had a lot of things to say that were bothering his heart.

He inhaled deeply. "We're heading back to the pack house," he finally spoke, and Karen looked at him, too dumbfounded to speak.

•

"Oh, but you're married," Hendrix said, still teasing him.

Alex stared hard at him. "It's not even funny," he said, narrowing his eyes at Hendrix.

"Come on, you do not have to get angry at me. You should know me by now," Hendrix replied with a smile.

Alex shrugged. "Back to why I want to talk with you," he said, changing the topic.

"Yes, tell me," Hendrix urged him.

"You keep leaving my side unexpectedly. You left the river without informing me, and during the meeting you did the same thing too. Why?" Alex asked him.

"You read meaning to so many things, Alex. At the river, I saw that you were getting provoked by Mia and i left immediately to get the sagyu rope. On getting there, you were already normal, and Mia had lost consciousness. I had no idea what happened," Hendrix explained, and Alex realized he was right. He also had no idea how he was healed without the sagyu rope.

"And before the meeting ended today, I had an urgent work to attend to. As the beta of this pack, it is my sole responsibility to ensure that the pack is okay," he added.

"Do not make it look like I'm not performing my duties, Hendrix," Alex replied, staring blankly at him.

He shook his head. "Do not quote me wrong, Alex. You know we both have our responsibilities. I had to ensure the Hunters brought in enough kill for the whole pack," Hendrix explained calmly.

Alex nodded. "Alright, fair enough. You know I need you by my side. Your disappearing act was beginning to bother me," he said.

"My apologies, Alex. I'll ensure that next time I would inform you before leaving, so you won't have to get worried," Hendrix apologized to him.

"It's alright. We have some unattended work in the study room," Alex reminded him, and Hendrix nodded. Alex turned back to the stairs and Hendrix followed right behind him.

~~~~~~~~~

Karen placed the final luggage into the carriage, and James helped her get into the backseat.

Seated in the carriage, Karen had no idea why her husband had suddenly decided they return to the pack house earlier in the day, but she had made no argument when she saw the determined look on his face.

He was determined to return back to the pack house today, and as soon as the sun went down, they both got ready to leave.

The coachman swung on the reins of the horse, and it galloped slowly towards the rocky mountains.

They rode into the forest with Karen leaning on James shoulders as he held her hand. Their carriage stumbled upon the sharp stones and twigs in the woods, and it bounced.

All of a sudden, a loud scream came from the coachman, and the horses neighed in horror.

"What's going on?" Karen asked in fear, as she was forcefully separated from her husband due to the rickety movement of the carriage.

James was perplexed as he could sense that something was wrong. Out of nowhere thd curtains of the carriage was yanked away from the hinges, and masked men stood in front of Karen and James. Karen gasped in horror and fear at the sight of the armed men before them.