194- Webs of Trust and Poison
POV Aldren Valmorin:
“What do you want to know?” I threw back.
Konrad leaned on the table with his forearms, letting his weight rest on one leg.
“Kehin is missing, and your expression is one of concern. I don’t need to tell you that the first thing to do is to inform your men of what happened—you know that.”
“I’ll do that when I deem it necessary. For now, I’ll simply order them not to be a bunch of gossiping males and to focus on their work.”
“What happened, Aldren? I need to know, because I’ve never seen you this out of control.” His tone hardened and his eyes wandered restlessly. He did seem genuinely worried.
“Kehin is imprisoned.”
Konrad’s pupils dilated and his lips pressed into a thin line.
“Imprisoned where?”
“For now, in my house.”
He drew a breath before continuing. I had no intention of revealing much, so I would let him ask and choose what to answer.
“Have the elders been informed?”
“No. I’m gathering the facts before determining his fate.”
“You are close friends, Aldren. What did Kehin do that was so serious as to be imprisoned?”
Hiding Elowen from the elders was not a very smart choice. Soon people would find out, and it would be best to be prepared.
“Kehin captured the supposed spy who tried to invade my laboratory. She is imprisoned, and while he was trying to extract information from her, the foolish male thought it appropriate to steal Nerin’s keys and free the prisoner—who is in heat.”
“What?” His face twisted in rejection of the idea.
“Yes. That’s exactly what you heard.”
“What kind of miserable heat is that?” he asked me, incredulous.
“He claims they are connected.”
“Like Edric and Lunara?”
“Yes,” I replied. Konrad looked down, staring at his own hands with a furrowed brow. “I assure you it’s not true. The bitch merely manipulated him with her heat to escape, and the fool fell for it.”
“What makes you believe the two are not truly destined, Aldren?”
My jaw locked and the muscles in my neck tensed. For some reason, the hypothesis—however distant—that they might be mates afflicted me.
“Konrad, I’ve never had the experience of finding my destined mate, but I imagine it’s more than just intense attraction.” I paused, weighing my own words. “She may have accepted fucking him driven by heat, but her animal side did not manifest when I ordered his imprisonment. No display of sorrow, no howl of suffering, no attempt at defense. Nothing. How does a female who believes she has found her destined mate not try to protect him?”
He nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, at the very least she would have tried to save him.”
“In fact, hours later she was carefree and purring at me from inside the cage.”
“What, Aldren?” He straightened, dumbfounded, resting only his fingertips on the tabletop. “You’re saying the prisoner purred at you?”
“More than once.”
“And in which five-star cage are you keeping this female? What’s her name? Her age?”
“Elowen. She’s still a pup and hasn’t gone through her first transformation. She was kept in a filthy cage with rationed water and food—believe me.”
“She was?”
“She still is.” The shepherd didn’t need to know it was in my bedroom, nor that, driven by my foolish beast, I had ordered Nerin to take care of her. “The point is that the female is manipulative. Kehin deluded himself,” I continued.
“You need to inform the elders.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
“As soon as possible,” he insisted.
“That is for me to decide, Konrad.”
“Yes, of course.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket as it vibrated with a notification. One of my guards informed me of a critical situation between two of the oldest members of my pack.
Too many things were piling up under my responsibility: what to do with Elowen; interrogate Kehin and find a replacement for his role; my ongoing laboratory tests; drafting the list for the next lust party; a meeting with the elders.
“Duty calls me, Konrad.”
“I was left without my tea,” he referred to the moment I found him in my kitchen.
“It’s good you mentioned that. I don’t want you showing up unannounced anymore, understood?” I stood and gestured him toward the exit.
My request didn’t seem to offend him; on the contrary, he offered a knowing smile.
“It’s only right, but know that you’re taking away my favorite pastime.”
“Nerin is no one’s pastime, Konrad.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
I said goodbye, ushered him out, and crossed the laboratory toward the main exit. With time short, I ran at high speed to the village. I needed to visit house number six.
All the dwellings were identical and arranged like a small condominium. A few kilometers away lay the village center, with a health clinic, a school, a large grocery store, and separate rooms for other professionals, such as the artisans.
Most of the workers’ income was concentrated in the labor required to produce medications for export and in the village’s security. There were incentives for those who wished to specialize in another area for a limited time in the city, but almost no one was interested.
I announced myself with two knocks on the wooden door and was received with surprise by Lídia, her eyes irritated and the tip of her nose red on her round face.
“Alpha Aldren.” She hurried to wipe her face with the long sleeve of her worn, loose dress.
“May I come in?”
“Yes, sir, of course…”
She opened the door wider, and in the hallway of the small living room her partner Matias appeared, also looking surprised to see me.