Chapter Twenty-Six
Suspicions
“Where’s Edgar?” Elena demanded to know from Brianna, the housekeeper who served her breakfast in bed.
“He had to meet a client,” Brianna replied.
“Is that what her told you?” Elena asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Brianna placed a napkin on Elena’s chest.
Elena flung it aside. “Get out!” she said. “You don’t have the right to touch me. And shut the door behind you.”
Brianna didn’t need to be told twice. She rushed out, looking far too relaxed and at ease for Elena’s liking. She didn’t know why Edgar hadn’t gotten rid of the half-human, half-wolf girl yet. She despised half-wolves. They were neither wolf nor human and tried to fit into both worlds. Once Brianna’s footsteps faded, Elena pulled out one of her burner phones and dialed Harry’s number. He answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Harry,” Elena said.
“How was your first night home?” Harry asked, jealousy evident in his voice.
“How do you think it was?” she asked, unable to keep the venom from spewing into her voice. “Listen, I need your help.”
“I’m all ears,” Harry said.
“Edgar left earlier to meet someone. This half-wolf girl that works here said he went to meet a client. Can you check where he went for me please?” she asked Harry in her sweetest voice. Would Harry even know where to begin looking?
“What do you mean he went out? Who would have a business meeting this early? It’s barely seven a.m.”
“I know, right?” Elena said. “He’s not here.”
“What about the surrogate?” Harry asked. “Have you checked if he’s with her?”
“It’s like she doesn’t exist, Harry. I never sensed her essence or her presence or anything.” Elena sighed. “Do you have any idea what she looks like?”
“No,” Harry replied, “Edgar’s family witch introduced them. I never met her. I almost saw her once at the mansion.”
“I want to see her,” Elena said, “I want to see what’s so special about her that my Alpha leaves our bed to go see her.” She gritted her teeth. “How can a human woman possibly satisfy a werewolf Alpha?”
“You need to calm down, Elena,” Harry said. “Edgar could be on his way as we speak and we wouldn’t him to suspect you know about the surrogate. For now, it’s something you can hold over him if he comes to close to the truth about your secret business dealings.”
As usual, Harry was right. She could use as much dirt as she could collect on Edgar to ensure he didn’t kick her out, penniless, if he ever fell head over heels for the human surrogate.
“I’ll check if he’s at any of his popular meeting spots and let you know,” Harry said.
“Thank you, Harry.”
Elena devoured her breakfast. It had been a good few months since she’d had a decent meal. Her latest startup had drained her energy, and taken up a huge portion of her time. She’d gone to bed too exhausted to eat too many more times than she cared to remember. She’d poured her life’s savings into the Evening Club only to have her most lucrative business venture yet stolen from under her nose. She knew Edgar would take her revenge on her behalf if she told him the truth. But then she would have to pay the price for allowing humans in to their world, allowing wolves and other supernatural creatures to break the rules. She shuddered. Would she ever be able to tell Edgar the truth? If she ever found her courage, it would make claiming her share of the seven figure profits so much easier. Elena downed the jug of orange juice while trying her best to think of excuses that would make her look like an innocent victim in the mess she’d singlehandedly created.
***
Where had Edgar hidden his surrogate? Harry wondered. The Alpha hadn’t even called him since he’d dropped Elena off at the mansion last night. And this morning he’d left before the start of his usual business hours. Harry suspected Edgar was with his surrogate. But where had be hidden her? He wouldn’t have gone back to Long Island. She would be holed up somewhere nearby. Harry signaled a cab, and asked the driver to circle a few apartment blocks. The easiest way to spot where Edgar was hiding his mysterious surrogate was to spot a pack of wolves. Edgar would undoubtedly have hired an army to protect his precious surrogate. What was so special about her? Harry wondered. Her baby was already half-human. That would compromise Edgar’s heir's wolf genes. So why go to all the trouble of protecting this surrogate like she was carrying the most prized future Alpha on the planet?
As far as Harry knew, no half-wolf had ever rose to the seat of Alpha. Edgar was fooling himself if he thought he could keep the peace between the packs with his half-human heir.
After an hour of circling the most sought-after apartment blocks in Manhattan, Harry paid his cab driver and jumped off at the park where Elena had been found. How had Edgar managed to move his surrogate within such a short space of time and hide her? he wondered. The only way to find out where the surrogate was hidden was to follow Edgar from the mansion.
Harry had a nagging suspicion that Edgar didn’t want him at the mansion. Things had changed since the arrival of the surrogate. He couldn’t show up at the mansion uninvited. He also didn’t want to go to the mansion on the pretext of visiting Elena–just in case Edgar suspected that Harry and Elena were more than just friends.
Harry sighed as he took a seat on a park bench close to where Elena had been dumped. He gazed at the ground, trying his best to come up with a plan to expose the Alpha’s surrogate when something on the ground glittered, catching his attention. Harry jumped up from his seat and rushed towards the object. It was Elena’s ruby ring–one he’d gifted her on her birthday two years ago. How had it ended up here? How had nobody else found out? Unless someone had dropped it there especially for him to find? He glanced around the park, afraid he was being watched. How would someone know he was here if they hadn’t followed him?
Damn. He rushed out of the park. This time he used an Uber to return to his apartment. He rushed inside and shut the door behind him. Elena never wore her ring unless it was for a special occasion. She wouldn’t have been wearing it when she went missing. Only someone who had access to her personal items could have planted the ring in the park.
Had Edgar done it? Harry wondered. Was the Alpha trying to trick him into admitting he and Elena were more than just friends? Harry shivered, then broke into a sweat. Things were getting a little too heated for him. Maybe he needed a break from both Elena and Edgar, he decided. Elena would eventually find someone else to groom to become her lover and accomplice in whatever she did. He grabbed a suitcase and started packing. He had no idea where he was going, he just knew that he needed to get out of here before Elena dragged him further into her messed up world.
***