47 - Are you hgh?

THALIA ZAHARA.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Emmag didn’t seem to believe me.

“I have been-”

“You are joking, aren’t you?”

Is that a sign to stop? Should I just laugh it off and pretend there’s no truth even though there’s one?

No. No. That is not right.

I have to speak the truth.

So, I shook my head. “I am not joking, Emmag. There is someone from the NIght Stream I have been in contact with since I’ve come here.”

The little smile on his lips crashed and anger briefly flashed in his eyes. “Who is this person?”

“Vistral. Beta Vistral Van. He’s my friend.”

“Who is Vistral?” Alpha Ezra walked in, his gait oozing pride.

“Thalia was uh…” Emmag didn’t sound pleased. “She was just confirming our fears, Alpha Ezra. She’s been communicating our plans to a stranger.”

“He really is not a stranger. I trust him and-”

“You also trusted Lycan Octavius, Thalia,” Emmag retorted and my eyes narrowed with speculation.

In Emmag’s eyes, anger grew and it seemed as though he was thoroughly debating whether to grab me and scream the heck at me. I might be reading his reaction wrong, but if I am right, I think I might need to take a few minutes to study the kind of person Beta Emmag Billani is.

“Miss Thalia,” unlike days ago, Apha Ezra’s voice was not filled with seriousness, “is this true?”

I nodded. “Beta Vistral is doing what he can to help and-”

“Doing what he can to help?” Emmag interrupted Ezra. “Thalia, Beta Vistral holds a meaningful position in the Night Stream pack and the palace of the Lycan King. I doubt that he is helping you. More like he is gaining vital information from you.”

“I am pretty sure I have not disclosed anything damaging,” I returned, I was not willing to allow him to drag me. “You guys don’t exactly tell me about your plans against Lycan Octavius apart from the time we spoke about planting new surveillance items. When I say that I tell Vistral everything, I mean I talk about the things I’m going through in this place, I talk about you two and I ask him questions. In turn, he works hard to make sure that our plans to ruin the Lycan are not in vain.”

“And you trust him?”

“Emmag, what is it to you if I trust him or not?”

“Because he could ruin things for us! You might trust this person, but we do not know who he is or his agenda. We cannot let you-”

“Emmag,” I shut him up. “I did not tell you the truth to get ridiculously criticised. Unlike what you guys have done, unlike the lies you have told, my lie has not caused us harm. Your lie and ability to look away from the truth cost me my family, my joy, my life. Everything.

My lie has helped us greatly. The reason you can assess what goes on in the Lycan’s throne room is Vistral. The reason I didn’t go missing after that accident in the Night Stream forest is Vistral. I am very sorry for keeping this from you, but I won’t allow you to rubbish my good intentions. Beta Vistral is a good man. He is my friend and he is very helpful to me.”

“But we cannot-”

“Emmag, that’s enough,” Ezra put an end to the Beta’s bitter insistence. “Miss Thalia…” He held out his hand. “Walk with me.”

I felt that holding his hand would help dissipate the anger in my soul, so I accepted his offer. And, as his large hand covered my hand which felt like a child’s, we walked away from that heated moment.

We walked for a long time, in silence.

By the time Alpha Ezra uttered a word, our eyes were set on the doors of my new room.

Our collective strides halted, he let go of my hand and said, “You are still furious.”

“Hmm.” My teeth pulled at the inside of my mouth, thinking about Emmag’s reaction truly angered me. “I really wasn’t angry anymore, but then Emmag started talking as if I had been setting fire to your plans. I decided to be honest about it because I felt bad for nagging you two about lying to me.”

Alpha Ezra didn’t appear bothered. “When I came looking for you on the beach, you were with this Beta Vistral, weren’t you?”

“Yes.” My guilt resurfaced. “I needed to speak to someone about the child’s weirdness, the mental suffering I was facing and the threats Mona Billani pushed into my face. Vistral came around just in time that day. I told him all about it.”

His legs shifted closer. “Mona Billani threatened you?”

“Well, she just said she desires to see me dead, or something like that. The important thing is, she knows who sent the child, rather, the Goblin to me. She knows who is behind it. If Octavius is not lying about employing the Goblin’s services, it can only mean that the culprit is out there, laughing at me while hoping that I’d die soon.”

“I’ll have to question that woman. She will give up the information she’s holding on to. And soon,” his hand landed on my head, “everything will be fine.”

“Huh…” I didn’t want him to stop stroking my hair but it was weird of him to do so. “Your hand is-”

I was hugged to his chest before I could tell what was happening.

“I am sorry about this, but allow it this once. Please,” he pleaded, he sounded like a soul in dire need of reasons to continue to survive.

“Uhm…” My body relaxed. “Okay.”

“Can I also trust Beta Vistral?” he asked after many seconds of silence.

“If you want to.”

“Can he truly help us win the battle we are fighting?”

“He desires to help me. I desire vengeance. He desires to help me get it.”

“I wish to meet this man.”

Our conversation… It felt like a little dance. It was subtle, yet warm, it made our souls resonate with each other.

But, unfortunately, I had to break it. Alpha Ezra’s statement surprised me a little.

I stepped away from our simple hug and stared at the man.

“You want to meet Vistral? Are you planning to threaten him to stay away from me? I won’t allow you to do that.”

He smiled. Then, he laughed. “Why would I do that? I just wish to make sure that he is not up to something terrible.” He scrunched his lips for a moment. “You can simply say that a slightly worried husband is looking out for his wife.”

“Oh.” I think that is the first time he’s calling me his wife without adding the word ‘fake’ in front of it. “That huh… That makes sense. When he comes around, I will let you know. Uhm, also, he’s going to investigate the whole Goblin thing, so I am sure when he comes around, we might be able to solve the mystery around the situation.”

“I look forward to the meeting.”

“Alpha Ezra?”

His hands slid into his pockets. “Hmm?”

“Are you high?”

“What?”

“You have been acting weird since you woke up. First, you called me your mate, then you kissed me quite lovingly and now, you are not angry at me for lying. This is very unlike you.”

He chuckled. “I thought the same a couple of minutes ago. I am acting possessed, aren’t I?”

Oh… I do not fuck with ghost talks and all that shit.

“Are you possessed?” I asked, my legs ready to bolt if it were true.

“I wish. Then, I would have a reason.”

“Then, what is it? Are you trying on a new personality that goes around claiming people are his mate?”

“I didn’t confess that I’m your mate for fun, Thalia. You really are my mate. My entire heart, soul and body are burning right now for your acceptance. But I know I can’t be hasty about this. I can’t put the burden of figuring out what’s suddenly wrong with me on you.”

“Your heart, soul and body?” This is more serious than I anticipated. “Did something happen while you were unconscious? Were you visited by a very ragged version of Cupid’s arrow? Or is it the Moon Goddess that has chosen to mess with your heart?”

My questions seemed to amuse him as he said, “Those may answer the mystery of my emotions, honestly. But I think what I feel right now is a result of the accumulated emotions that I’ve ignored since I met you. And, I have felt tons of strange emotions which I dismissed as fast as I could. I guess I have no choice but to face them now.”

I know I have been admiring this man for a while, but can I ever match the things he says he’s feeling? Do I even want to be in that mate situation again?

“Miss Thalia, I am not pressuring you. Don’t think too hard about it. As I said, it is my burden to bear.”

“Oh, that’s… that’s fine. Do you feel better though? Do you need to sleep more?”

“From what I’m sensing, you are the one that needs the sleep. Your voice has been drowsy for a while,” he commented. “Did you worry about me while I was asleep?”

“Well, not really. I just uhm… kept an eye on you from time to time.”

He nodded but it was obvious that he didn’t believe me.

I watched as he patted the air a few times before his hand landed on mine. He held it securely as he did before and resumed our walk.

“You should sleep.”

“But-”

“I’ll be right next to you,” he said.

“On the bed?”

“Where else? In the bathroom?”

“Alpha Ezra, that room is my new room, we shouldn’t sleep in the same place.”

“Are you pretending or you’ve truly forgotten?”

I frowned. “About what?”

“About three nights ago, we shared the bed.”

“We…” I jerked my hand. “We did?”

“You don’t remember? You created a fine border which I dutifully didn’t cross.”

“But-”

“Since we’ve shared the same bed already, let’s continue to do so. My room is the most conducive because of its special mattress. I sleep better on it, so I am not willing to forfeit access to the room.”

Can I survive sleeping in the same bed with Alpha Ezra?

It might have worked last time, but I wasn’t aware back then. I can’t say the same about now.

“Thalia,” he gently whispered while skillfully reaching for my hand while his other hand pushed open the door in front of us. “We are married. Sleeping in the same bed is not illegal. Besides, I am pure as oxygen, I will never do anything against your wishes.”