190- The Storm Beneath the Alpha’s Skin
POV Aldren Valmorin:
My statement made him drop the clothes and grab the bars, his face red and veins bulging on his forehead, claws exposed. Kehin seemed to be under the effect of witchcraft; only that would explain such stupidity.
“Never say that again, Aldren.” I raised an eyebrow.
“This is me repeating: Elowen is not your fucking mate, you idiot.”
“What is your problem?” he growled, his eyes gleaming lighter with rage.
“None. I’m fine, Kehin, but you…”
“Get me out of here. Where is she?”
“Do I need to remind you of a traitor’s fate?”
“I. Did. Not. Betray. You. Where is she?” he insisted.
“In my cage.”
His features were overtaken by shock.
“What?” He forced the bars again, enraged, until he blinked compulsively and stared at me as if he had reached an unprecedented realization. “I understand everything…”
“What do you understand, Kehin?” I asked, with false calm.
“You want her.”
I laughed with scorn. Whatever spell might have been on him had completely unbalanced him; I could barely recognize him saying such bullshit, so immense was his stupidity.
“What a disappointment, Kehin, what a disappointment.”
“Give up. Elowen isn’t like your females; she won’t humble herself for the ‘alpha’ like all the others.” There was disdain in his tone.
“I wish I were mistaken, how I wish I were, but I’ve just come to believe my friend is a jealous piece of shit.”
“Jealousy?” He raised his eyebrows. “I admit, you’re a good leader and a brilliant scientist, but if I strip you of those two qualities, Aldren, the only things left will be paranoia and emptiness.”
“Go on, I’m loving it,” I sneered, masking my wrath.
“There’s nothing more to say,” he declared and stepped away from the bars, crossing his arms.
At that moment, I understood that I was suffering over the loss of something I had never truly had. Kehin was never a friend. Were there others like him? Was I the beloved Alpha Aldren, or did people simply bow out of fear?
“You know you’re going to die, don’t you?”
He smiled like one who accepts his fate.
“Do that and you’ll be alone, Aldren Valmorin. I’m your eyes and ears in this place, and I know men who are waiting for you to slip up so they can destroy you along with your beloved village.” He played dirty, bargaining with death.
“Is that so? You know traitors and never thought it relevant to tell me?”
“I got rid of them many times without you knowing, but locked up here”—he raised his arms, dramatizing—“there’s nothing I can do to protect my alpha.”
Kehin gave himself far too much credit. Beside me, he was an amateur at any game of manipulation.
“It’s a pity, don’t you think?”
“It doesn’t have to be this way. Set me free with Elowen, and I’ll tell you everything I know. You’ll be able to live peacefully, defending your forest from the serpents.” It sounded like a joke to me, because I started laughing.
“What a brilliant idea, Kehin. I get rid of some supposed snakes and keep two others?”
“I’ll remain loyal to you, as I always have been.”
“Of course you will.” I laughed. “Very well, tomorrow I want the first name. Think carefully, my dear. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll find out on my own, and your grandmother will have the displeasure of losing her daughter and her grandson before she dies.” I played his game.
“I’ll talk, if you free me.”
I shook my head, smiling without showing my teeth.
“Don’t count on it, tough guy. The first name, or…” I slid my hand horizontally across the exposed skin of my neck, mimicking a blade.
Kehin averted his gaze and fell silent. I left that cubicle with measured steps, but inside me a storm was gathering.
There could be others like him.
All it would take was for him to give me the first name, and by my own means, I would uncover the rest, pushing all the supposed traitors into a single web.
My beast and I longed for the pleasure of impaling the head of each one of them, then leaving them on display in the forest as decoration, a reminder of what would happen to anyone who chose to follow that path.
I entered my bedroom, reaching for the switch, and turned off the lights that would turn on automatically before I could see that damned bitch.
With luck, I would find her lifeless by natural causes, but no—the disturbing scent of her heat still intoxicated the air. Alive. Alive as fuck.
I kicked off my boots and tore off my clothes, flinging them away. Even in the darkness, I knew the way to my bathroom and went there. I took a cold shower, dried myself quickly, and lay on my back on the mattress, one arm behind my neck.
Elowen did not say a single word or make any sound.
I brought my free arm to the drawer of my nightstand and took my small vial of sleeping pills. I slid the cap open with my fingers, picked up a capsule, and put the vial back.
I swallowed the hypnotic dry and waited for it to take effect. My head needed rest. Spending the night in paranoia would only give reason to the snake I had raised right under my nose.
A restrained purring, coming from the cage, echoed through the walls of the room.