267- Embers of Trust
POV Elowen Grimwald:
I laughed, and soon another figure joined the circle. Apparently, I would meet many new people during the celebration.
Dressed in modern clothes that fit his athletic build, the omega with a square face and pronounced chin had pale skin, greenish-brown eyes, and black hair.
“Finally, I get to meet up close the creature who stole our alpha’s heart.”
He extended his hand, and I accepted it—but when I held it, my stomach twisted.
Strange.
I quickly pulled my hand back and tried to ignore the odd, unjustified sensation. It must be nothing.
I asked his name, and he revealed it was Orion. Odd name.
“He said that? That I stole his heart…?” I couldn’t miss the opportunity.
“Of course not!” The alpha of Cyndrael laughed at Orion’s remark. “We deduced that. Right, Konrad?”
...
Before he could agree, Nerin cut in:
“Aldren hates it when people talk about him behind his back. Restrain yourselves.”
“Did we say anything inappropriate, my Tahitian pearl?” Konrad directed the question to her.
“Not yet, but I know you gentlemen.”
Orion approached me, extending his hand again.
“If we can’t talk, let’s dance. Will you join me for a dance, Elowen?” His offer surprised me, but not in a good way.
Dance? Has he lost his mind?
“It’s… better not.”
He used the hand he had extended to raise his index finger in realization.
“I knew it. I knew things were truly serious.”
“What’s serious?” The deep, imposing voice sounded behind me at the same moment one of his large hands settled firmly on my waist.
“Aldren, my friend, I was merely observing that you and your female are in a serious relationship,” he replied in an amused tone.
“I see,” Aldren said, before placing a warm brush of lips over his mark on my shoulder. “Are you cold?” he whispered near my ear.
I lifted my head to look at him. In the vastness of his green eyes, passion and care shimmered.
“You just warmed me up.”
He attempted a smile.
“Will you join me for dinner?”
“I only ate a little because I was counting on that invitation.”
Aldren intertwined our fingers and invited everyone to join us at the main table. Walking beside the alpha, I received smiles that had never before been offered to me with such warmth during my visits to the center of the village.
I couldn’t judge them. I was a stranger. Only today had the alpha introduced me as his.
The gigantic table, covered with a moss-green cloth, was set. Various meats and side dishes were served, including three whole roasted pigs. Among the rustic decorations of dried branches, golden candleholders occupied the empty spaces.
“I’ll ask them to light the candles,” my gentleman said, pulling out a chair for me to sit.
I accepted his kindness, settling into one of the wide wooden chairs. A whisper of astonishment sounded, and I raised my face to see what it was about.
Orion and Konrad were staring at the table with furrowed brows.
I followed their gaze, noticing that all the candleholders had lit at once.
“What was that?” Orion murmured, dumbfounded.
Aldren cleared his throat and sat beside me, limiting himself to saying:
“I suppose the gods did us a favor.”
Suspicious, the omega and the alpha took their seats along with the others. I felt a hand on my lap beneath the table. I turned to look and saw it was Korlina, giving me an understanding half-smile.
Something strange was happening, but I couldn’t say what.
“Yes. Must be the gods…” Orion commented, glancing sideways at me before picking up the knife to serve himself a piece of pork.
“Which cut do you prefer, so I can serve you?” Aldren drew my attention by touching my other hand, resting on the table. His offer eased the tension I felt.
“I like the loin. Thank you for the kindness.”
“You’re welcome. I take care of my female.”
And he did.
I thought no one would ever share the largest part of my heart with Lunara, but the child she carried and Aldren now occupied that purest place within it.
Konrad was laying on his charm for Nerin, Aldren was serving me, and Orion chewed his meat with a stern expression, looking at me from time to time.
What was his problem?
At the sound of a repetitive beep, he dropped his utensils and fumbled in his pocket, pulling out his phone. I watched him answer the call and grow paler with every word he heard.
His hands trembled, and his frantic eyes searched for Aldren, who stopped cutting the meat he was serving me when he noticed Orion’s distress.
“Orion?”
“She’s dying, Aldren…”
…
Four days without him.
“I can’t stand being without you anymore…” I whispered to him over the phone, clutching his pillow.
“I’ll negotiate with the alpha for the family as quickly as possible and come back…”
“It would be so, so much simpler if you could just take a normal flight and bring them all,” I complained.
“That’s true, aleasa mea. I even have fake passports, but my men don’t. As I explained, it’s risky to visit a recently devastated village. I needed company.”
“If you had gone alone, I wouldn’t sleep at night.”
“There’s also the issue of the medications. If we’re caught transporting the amount we’re carrying for the negotiation, they would try to arrest us. I would have to kill many innocents to escape.”
“Where are you now?”
“Catching a jet from Toronto to Oregon. In the city of Bend, we’ll travel through the forest to the secluded village.”
“That’s so far.”
“We passed through Austria, Iceland, Canada, and finally the United States. The route through the woods was smooth. I only feared some human might grow suspicious of us during the discreet boardings onto the jets we took. Nothing happened, and nothing will. The worst is over.”
“What did that alpha ask for in exchange for the family Orion wants to bring to Valmorin?”
“A lot of money and lupine medication. But nothing we’ll miss.”
“And it had to be you delivering it?”
“As I explained yesterday, it was a requirement. I owe Orion that much. I gave him my word that if he helped me, I would bring his family to Valmorin.”
“I admire that you keep your word, even if his help didn’t accomplish anything beyond what you already knew about the traitorous wolf. Do you think… his female is still alive?”
“She is. I instructed her mother by phone to prepare some elixirs. It’s the alpha’s wife who seems to be at death’s door. I hope to arrive in time to save her.”