Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty -five
My thick brow curved upward in question as he flashed me a toothy grin.
“She’s a virgin. Unskilled. Untainted.” he licked his lips as if to savour the taste of a forbidden fruit and something in my crackled. If he weren’t already my closest ally, I would have struck him down without even thinking about it.
“I mean, you could show her a few things,” he chuckled.
“That’s enough, Aquila,” I warned him, but he kept pushing.
“You know I can see desires, right? These things don’t go unnoticed by me and from the way her eyes raked over your body--” the corner of his lips stretched into a cocky smile as his eyes dragged over my exposed torso before landing on my very annoyed face. “Yeah, what woman wouldn’t want that?”
“I said no.” simple and firm. “And try not to scare her off with your…”
“Libido? Don’t worry I don’t go after marked women.”
“That’s what you said about that Governor's wife,” I hissed.
“That was a moment of weakness.” he shrugged. Laughing it off as if I didn’t spend a fortune making things right before he was dragged into the streets and marched around for being a shameless manwhore.
“And the other times?”
“I’m a victim of my nature, sue me.”He hopped off the desk, pushing his long hair back. “You know that’s how my kind feeds. The essence gotten from lust is addictive and sustaining. A beautiful blessing and a curse. You know this.”
“Just stay away from, Crystal.” I waved him off as I pulled another drawer open and took out a few maps.
“As you wish, dear Alpha.” he chuckled softly,
“It’s good that you’re here though. We can discuss this were tiger situation properly.”
“More work. How awfully drab.”
“Aquila.”
“I kid. I know you don’t just keep me around for my devilishly good looks. You enjoy my good company too.”
“I wasn’t aware you qualified as good company.”
He pressed a hand to his chest as if wounded. “Cruel. And after I bring good news too.”
This had my attention and I looked up from the maps.
“Well?”
“Well, you were right about the beast, I may have discovered a pattern to it and it's led me to belive its somewhere around…” his sharp eyes narrowed on the map of the territory I controlled until he stopped somewhere near the edge of that. His finger making invincible circles on the parchment. “…here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am almost 80% certain.”
“What happened to the other twenty?”
“Hey, I’m no magic, I just give you probabilities based on findings. We can take a few wolves out there and--”
“No. I can’t risk their lives if it really is a weretiger.”
“So, you’d rather risk ours?” he deadpanned. “Whether they like it or not, you’re still the Alpha of this pack, Asher.” his smile fell. “I get that you want to protect them, but you can’t let them be lazy when it comes to protecting themselves.”
I could feel the irritation in his tone. I couldn’t really blame him. It’s been more than a decade since the old Alpha adopted me as his son since he had no children of his own. That alone was against what the wolves believed in.
No outsiders.
It was even worse when he made me his successor, trusting the fate of the pack into my hands.
Many were opposed. Some were won over after a while, but that didn’t make the ten percent who hated me sting any less. Still, I made a promise to the old Alpha.
“It’s fine. We can handle it.”
Aquila crossed his arms over his chest. “I say we let the weretiger satiate its hunger, teach them what true fear means.” his features darkened into that demonic glare.
“And what about the ones worth protecting? Should they suffer because of the grievance?” I asked, not really expecting an answer, because I knew what he would say.
Aquila was only loyal to me and if he decided to, he would leave them behind in a heartbeat. But, he stayed…as annoying and infuriating as he might be, he was perhaps the only true family I had in this land that was not ours and I knew he felt the same.
“I’m just saying. The least they can do is put in the effort to protect this territory that they claim as theirs. I don’t need to remind you that you don’t have much time left, Asher.”
I didn’t say anything to that. Just stared into the burning flame.
“I’ll summon the elders tomorrow, hear what they have to say, and if they can rally a few able-bodied wolves who can fight if the need arises,” I say with finality in my tone.
“That’s much better.” he nodded. “But what do we do about the girl? Going back to Covenant City is out of the question.”
“Why don’t you talk to her. I feel she might not want to see me after tonight.” I admitted.
“Didn’t you just say I should stay away from her?”
“Aquila.”
“I’m joking!” he threw his hand up in mock surrender. “I am quite able to speak to a woman without seducing her.”
“Maybe I should get Miridath involved.”
The smile on his face instantly fell flat. “Don’t insult me.”
The corner of my lips twitched as I tried to suppress a bubbling grin. Miridath was a stern woman who always kept Aquila
on his toes.
“Then we have an understanding.”