Chapter 183
RYKER’S POV
Lyra glared at me for the umpteenth time. She didn’t understand why I didn’t want to make the drug situation with me public yet. She kept insisting maybe I had ulterior motives or perhaps I had taken a fancy to the Sophie girl. She kept giving me the look. Dimitri, noticing the air shifting between us, had to intervene. I narrated everything to him and explained my reasons.
“If she’s exposed, it wouldn’t end there. Whoever it is behind her would only send someone else. I will have to watch her play around, thinking she was making little progress while monitoring her until she leads us to her master.”
Dimitri nodded like it was a good plan.
“I don’t see how this makes sense. What difference does it make?” She argued, crossing her legs and frowning bitterly at me. She clearly didn’t like this plan, and neither did I.
“It’s the only way. What if everything is connected? They tried to attack you, but now that I look at it, I don’t think they wanted to. I think they wanted to render you weak, but didn’t bargain for me being there at the time. I also think they know that I am stuck to you like a shadow and, as such, have resorted to this petty trick to cause strife between us. Just think about it. You don’t trust me completely, even with the bond between us. They are trying to make use of the history between us by setting a new issue regarding trust, knowing that when that happens, you’ll definitely kick me to the curb, but that’s not all. It would make it easier for them to get to you in that state. The endgame isn’t me, princess, it’s you. And I do not have the luxury to waste this opportunity. I will find the mastermind behind this.” I walked over to her and held her hands.
“Trust me,”
She looked between me and her father and me. “I don’t like this idea. What if you fall into one of the traps set?”
“I won’t,” I murmured, kissing her lightly on the lips.
Dimitri cleared his throat, forcing us to break apart slightly. “I think Ryker is right here. I can’t stop the feeling that whoever did this is close, and is here in these palace walls. And because they are all men I trust, it’s awfully difficult right now. We would use that omega girl. Lyra, please bear with your mate. I’m certain he won’t go beyond the boundaries of your mate bond while trying to find the truth.”
Lyra rolled her eyes, “Yeah, right. I’m just going to go. I need space to think.”
We both watched her leave. But something gnawed painfully in my heart. She still didn’t trust me.
“Perhaps I can look for another way. Have someone monitor the maid’s movement. I don’t want Lyra’s wrath, especially now that our relationship is still fragile and she’s just getting to open her heart to me. I don’t want to ruin this chance with her.”
Dimitri offered me a glass of scotch while he had one in his hand. We both drank simultaneously in silence. Then a few seconds of silence passed, and he sighed.
“You know, I remember when I brought Lyra’s mother back to court and introduced her as my mate.” He chuckled lightly. “There had been so much pressure on getting married, solidifying the throne. And I finally find my mate, and then issues start arising from different corners. Issues that never existed. It nearly broke us—the little trust we You see, sad between us. Not after I had kidnapped her. She was prepared to sever the bond between us when she found out I was engaged to another, but I couldn’t bear it. Then, bringing her here, the pressure from the court, it was pulling us apart faster than I could think. I thought I had been doing everything right, and never stopped to consider her opinions in certain instances.” Dimitri shuddered slightly, as though coming out of a faraway memory.
‘What I’m trying to say is that you both are in this together. And as soulmates, you will have to put eachother’s feelings into consideration in most of your dealings without being selfish in anyway even if you mean well in the end. Even if your process is faster and hers might take longer. Women are very interesting beings, but they are also very wise, and tend to see farther than we do.”
A sigh escaped my lips as I drank another round of scotch, letting the drink burn down my throat.
“Let me find her,” I murmured before taking my leave.
I was just about rounding a corner, having opted for the stairs instead of using the elevator, when I felt the undeniable presence of an Alpha aura. I stopped in my tracks as I hadn’t felt this aura all through my stay here in the palace. I’ve had to meet with delegates, royalties, Alphas, elders, council members, and I hadn’t felt this bone-chilling aura. It felt ancient, yet filled with dread, leaving a sour taste in the air like something rotting. Ride paced in the back of my mind, trying to claw its way out as this unsettling chill settled on my bones.
Then I waited and listened with my wolf's ears. Someone was whimpering. The stench of fear rolled out of him strongly as he begged. “I’m sorry, Alpha. It wasn’t her fault. She said—”
“Silence,” The cold voice replied fiercely, and my wolf eyes flared open.
Varkas. That was Varkas' voice.
How come he has an Alpha aura? A few betas have Alpha auras, but I have never sensed it.
I made a mental note to ask Dimitri about it before stepping into the corridor.
As soon as Varkas sensed me, the trace of the aura dissipated into thin air like it was never there, making me more curious. I stopped to stare at him and the guard whose head was bowed. He was familiar, one of Varkas' personal guards who ran his errands.
Varkas gave nothing away with his posture and his glare, but the guard wasn’t that careful under my Alpha gaze.
“Alpha Ryker,” He called out.
“It’s Alpha King to you, Varkas,” I sneered and walked away without sparing him another glance, but I didn’t miss the flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
And when I walked away, I couldn’t help but wonder.
“Who truly are you, Varkas?” as a low growl threatened inside me. I didn’t like the feeling I got from his aura just now, and neither did my wolf.