Chapter 84 Jealous
Ira's POV
I breathe out slowly and flex my fingers, trying to chase the morning chill away. Yet it creeps through the blanket and settles in my bones.
The Sempyr book rests heavy in my hands. When I turn the page, I do it carefully, worried that it might tear. So shifting against the pillow, I keep reading.
The first officially sealed bond between a werewolf and a sempyr in the pack, brought about the ruin of Vahl and its four provinces.
Alpha King Victony had nothing else as precious to him as his first and only daughter, Irene.
When she met Draven, she kept it a secret, knowing the pack would never be in support of it. Draven was later discovered by the Alpha King but it was too late. Irene was pregnant with his seed.
Irene claimed she was mated to him by the moon goddess but recent research has proven that she was manipulated by his sempyr powers and the alpha king was just too blind to see that.
When Irene swelled with the forbidden child, Alpha King Victony rewarded Draven with a marking ceremony, one of his provinces, and the title of his heir. A seat near the throne.
Draven learned quickly. He learned too quickly, raising suspicions in the pack. The strays celebrated but the werewolves could sense a future disaster.
Because of Alpha King Victony's negligence and blind love for his daughter, Draven, a stray, was allowed to stand where only wolves born to power are meant to stand.
I pause, staring at the illustration drawn below.
Irene, slender and tall with a voluminous hair reaching her thighs, sits with one hand on her belly, her eyes bright while Draven stands beside her, his fingers light on her shoulder. His gaze is sharp, almost amused, like he's barely holding in his laughter.
After a year, Draven is named one of the Alpha King's advisors. It doesn't take long for him to turn the king's heart against his own people, changing ancient pack laws just to suit the needs of strays.
My fingers tighten around the page as I flip it over, reading further.
A knock snaps through the room.
I jolt and shove the book under the mattress in one frantic motion, my hands shaking. The blanket falls back into place and without wasting time, I am on my feet.
“Who is it?” I ask, partially out of breath.
The door opens without a response and Catherine storms in like a bad weather, her grin wide.
“Morning, friend!” She exclaims before grabbing my wrist and tugging me forward.
“Hey! Where are we going?” I ask, pulling back.
“Clinic duty,” she says. “Come on.”
I barely have time to grab my shoes before she hauls me into the bright natural light. I sigh hopelessly, regrettably discovering how the cold bites harder out here.
Cath notices the frown on my face but kicks my door shut behind us and sets a pace that dares me to complain.
“Quit walking like an old woman,” she complains. “We have things to do today.”
“Wait, what about Sia?” I question, feeling worried.
“The outer patrol lines.” Cath says with an eye roll. “The traitor, she saw one opening and pounced. I don't want to be the only one in the clinic so I told Cortis you'd be ecstatic to tag along.”
“What? Why did you lie?” I halt, glaring at her.
“What do you mean? You look ecstatic to me though.”
“Cath,”
“I'm lonely okay, I need a friend around me. Rita is always cooked up in that smelly office of hers. And I feel you understand why I chose to give Sia space. She needs to get her man.”
The moment we step into the clinic, Sia heads down the hall. As I follow her, I spot a sleeping guard with a strap around his arm.
“What happened to him?” I whisper, striding after her.
“Sparred with the commander. He'll be fine. Most of them end up worse. Thanks to our super healing abilities they all don't die on the spot. Really, I've never seen a beta like him. He could have fooled me if he claimed he was an alpha.”
“Storeroom,” Cath says, already turning into an open small room.
Inside, it is bright. So bright that I can spot every detail carved into the shelves that are pressed into the wall. Several jars line up on them, unknown substances… both dry and wet … stored inside them.
“W..what is th..that?” I stutter, my heart pounding as I stare at the floating whitish eyeball.
“Oh, it's the eye of a sempyr.”
“Why'd they store an eyeball?”
“It's believed that the strays used this to track down their enemies.”
I shake my head, the more I hear about sempyrs the crazier it gets. Why would they pluck out one of their eyes?
Cath reaches for a stack of bandages. I copy her, our movements easily finding a rhythm as we work.
My tongue itches to say it so after thinking for a while, I blurt my thought out.
“I did it,” I say quietly.
Cath turns to me. “Did what?”
I lean back against the shelf. “Commander Ruel… I uh, I sucked him off.”
Her mouth opens, her eyes growing twice its size. “Bitch you're lying. You did not!” She squeals, pulling me into a hug. “I'm so proud of you,”
I duck my head, hiding my smile as heat crawls up my neck. “Don’t do that, Cath. Why are you making it a big deal?”
“Are you kidding me? I could literally start crying,” she whispers fiercely. “I am proud.”
Her questions spill out in a rush after that and although I don't go into detail, I do tell her where it happened and how shocked he looked after.
Cath presses her hands together, eyes closed, like she is saying a prayer. “Goddess,” she murmurs. “you are the best student I've ever had, Ira..I need to teach you much more. I know a lot of crazy positions and tricks and…”
“Woah, woah, slow down. I need to lose my virginity first before thinking of tricks and positions.”
She stiffens, her hand holding mine tighter. “You've not…. Ira, you're a virgin?”
I nod, “I have not done it yet,” I say and she frowns in confusion. “I’ve not gone that far. Not with him. Not with anyone else.”
Her expression shifts. “Truly?”
I nod.
She studies me like I am a puzzle. “How old are you again?”
“Twenty by the seventh moon.”
Her brows lift. “That is next week. Festival week.” She shakes her head slowly. “Twenty, and he keeps you close, but untouched. That is… weird.”
I'm supposed to be a spy. But I don't say that cause I can't back it up. Not once has he asked me for information and I know he has others doing that for him. I still don't know why he has kept me close but I'm no longer complaining.
“Or maybe he cares about you,” she says, still frowning.
I shake my head, “He doesn't.”
She grins. “Maybe you are secret lovers. He doesn't want the pack to know so you can't tell me directly.”
“Trust me, it's nothing like that.” I mutter following her outside the storeroom to the counter where we arranged daily meds.
Steady footsteps draw our attention and the container in my hands nearly drops when I see him.
“Commander Ruel,” a guard greets with a salute. Cath bows in respect and I do the same but my gaze rests on his torso.
My eyes harden and I'm left wondering why I'm jealous of a belt.