Chapter 114 Cheat the timeline
Ruel's POV
I step back before I can change my mind, then stride to the door and pull it closed behind me with a quiet click.
I should have stayed.
The thought claws at me with every step toward the study.
“No,” I shake my head sharply. “I can't let emotions ruin my sense of judgement. My priority right now is winning the war in the East. I can't afford to fail.” I mutter to myself.
The fixed date for the invasion is in two weeks. And now I know there's quite a number of snitches in our base.
Therefore I must cheat the timeline by at least a week. I have to move first. It will be a surprise to a group of people but I have to be ruthless and unhesitating.
Feelings can wait.
My obedience to the alpha king cannot.
I shove the door to my study open and I'm not even surprised to see Elric already there, leaning against the edge of my desk with a note on his hand.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he says the moment I step inside.
“I know.” I mutter, moving further inside and closing the door.
He extends the paper to me. “Here. It's the list of trustworthy warriors. I narrowed it down twice. Only the ones I’d stake my own life on.”
I take the paper from him, my eyes scanning the names. “Twenty-three.”I utter after counting. They're fewer than I’d hoped, but better than I feared.
“Good,” I say. “They’ll take all the strategic posts. No one else gets near the inner perimeter until we move.”
Elric nods. “Agreed.”
And in a minute we're bent over the map together, tracing routes, marking choke points, adjusting what needs to be. All the while, Ruel's voice stays steady but my mind keeps sliding back to the bedroom.
To Ira curled on the bed… alone, clenching the sheets when she should have me to hold.
I force my attention back to the plot. We have seven days Ruel, focus!
“Here,” I say. “We double the watch here, and we can secretly start moving supplies tomorrow night.”
Elric glances at me, something unreadable in his eyes.
But he only nods. “Yes,”
The restructuring of the plan continues for over an hour and I find myself nodding more than I'm contributing after a while, my mind struggling to focus on the matter at hand and not the woman who's probably cold now because I refused to stay by her.
What if she's crying again?
I do not notice I'm staring dead at the wall until Elric clears his throat.
“Your mind is elsewhere,” he says like he's been holding that discovery for a long time.
I glance at him, feeling ashamed of the reason for my absentmindedness. Elric watches me with an unreasonable stare.
“What’s troubling you?” he asks after a minute.
I set the map down. “It doesn’t matter.”
He leans back in the chair. For several seconds he says nothing, simply studies me. Then he speaks again, his voice quieter this time.
“I needed to speak with you last night. Came as far as your door.” he smirks. “Then I smelled you. Not just that… I heard you two going at it.”
Heat crawls up the back of my neck but I keep my expression flat. “Last night has nothing to do with this.”
Elric lifts one shoulder. “Not last night.” He says in agreement. “But Ira? I dare you to tell me this isn't about you mate. What, did you guys fight? You weren't good or what?”
“Stop it.” I warn, although I know he's joking, the idea of her not being satisfied unsettles me.
“Relax dude, I'm only joking.”
I force my gaze back to the map, thoughtlessly tracing our preplanned hideouts.
“You only get this lost in thought when it’s about her,” he continues. “And you have been staring at the same side of the map for minutes.
I exhale through my nose then push aside the map and lean back, mirroring his posture. “Can we not talk about her?”
He folds his arms tighter. “We can ignore whatever happened between the both of you. But we won’t get this done if you stay half here and half somewhere else. So what is the problem? Did you fight?”
I shake my head. “No. She woke up crying and I… I feel guilty for leaving her like that.”
“The fuck Ruel, how could you leave her in tears?” Elric looks disgusted.
“No, I didn't leave her in tears. She already got a hold on herself but she was still shaken and I know she didn't want me to leave.” I mutter.
He nods then speaks, “How about this,” he says. “We hurry up and finish this then I’ll take the afternoon training session with Scarface myself.” He grimaces at the name. “It’s a huge sacrifice on my part, you know. I’ll have to argue with him nonstop but it means you can go back to her early enough to keep your heart from failing.”
A small, surprised smile slips out before I can stop it, and I feel some of the tension leave my shoulders.
“Thank you,” I say.
Elric releases a low chuckle. “You are so whipped.”
I open my mouth to argue out of habit. The denial is already sitting on my tongue. Instead, I realize he’s not wrong, I allow the thought dwell in my mind, it's uncomfortable but true. So I don’t deny it.
“Maybe I am.” I whisper, meeting his gaze.
Elric’s brows lift and for once, he doesn’t have a comeback. He blinks, then lets out a short breath that’s almost a laugh.
“Well,” he says after a second. “look at you.”
I simply shrug and get back to work, knowing I'll be with her anytime soon.
“So like, you love her now or…”
“No. I don't love her.” I respond sharply. Love is too great a word to use to describe this. I just, like her… nothing more. If I loved her, then I'd be willing to give my life for her. And it'd be impossible to live without her.
But none of that is the case right now.