Chapter - 74: Faedra's Secret

(Castor's POV).

Maximus, what was he doing here?

I silently wondered, staring at the silhouette. Or was I hallucinating? It was Maximus; I'd recognize him anywhere. And he seemed to be sneaking around—it looked suspicious. My eyes narrowed as I looked around; the coast was clear, and I had to find out what was going on.

A part of me wondered if he was involved in what had happened. Otherwise, why would he be here and sneaking around, acting suspiciously? I silently wondered if he was the one who had sent the killers after Faedra.

But why would he do that?

Different thoughts ran through my mind as I silently and carefully trailed him, hiding behind everything in sight so I wouldn't be caught.

I was walking slowly, and Maximus, on the other hand, was walking quickly and quietly, with no idea that he was being trailed by me.

I saw him go around a corner, and I quickly and quietly snuck there, not wanting my footsteps to make the slightest noise and sell me out. As I rounded the corner, I peeped; it was a dark alley, and it was empty. There was no sign of Maximus anywhere.

I bit my tongue; I had been too slow, and I'd lost sight of him. He could be anywhere, and I didn't want to blow my cover by randomly searching for him. I didn't want him to find out that I was sneakily following him.

I stood there by a dark corner, wondering what to do. Maybe I should just go back; perhaps it wasn't Maximus. I must have been seeing things.

Just as I'd lost hope and was about to leave, my ears twitched as I heard little footsteps. I froze and remained in my position. The footsteps were slow and light, almost soundless, but I could hear them; they were becoming louder and clearer, like the person was walking towards where I was.

I bit my lower lip and slowed down my breathing, not wanting to get caught. The footsteps stopped, and there was silence for a while before I heard someone speak.

"No," he whispered, so lowly I could barely hear a sound. I couldn't make out what he was saying. Slowly, I knelt and took a peek behind.

I was caught off guard when I saw Maximus standing there, in the dark alley with a suspicious-looking man. I couldn't see the man's face, as he was dressed in black clothes and was hiding in the shadows, but it looked like they were talking about an important secret. I could make out the serious look on Maximus' face as he spoke in a hushed tone. I leaned in, trying to get closer to pick up even a word; maybe I would have an idea about what they were talking about, but I couldn't hear a single word they said.

They spoke in whispers under their breath. My eyes narrowed. What was Maximus doing here with this strange man?

Perhaps I was right about his involvement in the incident. I needed to talk to Alpha Zed. After standing there for some minutes, I still couldn't hear what they were saying, so I decided to leave before I got caught.

I quickly snuck away from there after taking one last glance to confirm it was Maximus and I wasn't mistaken. It was him.

When I had gotten away and walked a safe distance from the alley, I took out my phone and dialed Zed's number. I needed to tell him about what I had seen.

The phone rang for a few seconds before I heard a beep, indicating he had answered the call and was on the line.

"Castor," his voice rang through the phone. I took it to my ear and walked faster away from there.

"Zed," I called out. "I need to meet you; we have to talk."

"Let me guess, you want to show off your jealousy. Aren't you tired of doing that already?" Zed said in a mocking tone, and I growled. My grip on the phone tightened.

"I need to see you now! It's urgent. And I do not feel jealous about anything. Shut the hell up now and tell me where you are. I've got some important news about the incident with Faedra," I snapped at him, and he remained silent.

"Okay, let us meet up," Zed said in a serious tone, and we spoke about how and where to meet up. I got to where I told Zed I'd be and waited impatiently for a few minutes, my feet tapping the ground before I finally saw him coming.

My eyes widened slightly when I saw Faedra with him, and they walked towards me together.

"Zed," I called out, my gaze darting to Faedra and back to Zed.

"Faedra has been with me all this while," Zed explained, and I felt embarrassed and looked away. She was there when I called him?

As if he read my mind, Zed continued. "She went to the bathroom at that time, so she knows nothing." I unconsciously let out a breath of relief, feeling less embarrassed, and Faedra looked confused.

"But I can't leave her all alone now, can I?" Zed said, smirking, and I glared embarrassingly at him.

"Now tell me why you demanded to meet me," Zed ordered, and I cleared my throat and swallowed my anger, annoyed at the tone in which he spoke to me.

"I saw Maximus," I stated, and they both had a look of surprise on their faces.

"I saw him earlier sneaking around and decided to follow him. I ended up hiding in a dark alley and saw him meet up with a suspicious-looking man dressed in black. I couldn't see the man's face, but I'm sure and confirmed it's Maximus."

"What?" Zed mumbled. "Where are you getting at?"

"I think he's involved in the incident with Faedra—"

"No, that's not possible!" Faedra blurted out, interrupting me, and both Zed and I turned to her. I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously.

"What?" I threw at her, and she cleared her throat and looked away, avoiding my gaze.

"I-I mean, Maximus c-can't possibly be behind it," she stuttered.

"How are you so sure?" Zed questioned her while she looked away, looking nervous.

"What are you hiding?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

She looked like she was hiding something or covering up for Maximus. What could it possibly be? Did Faedra know something we didn't?

Were we missing something?

"I... I can't tell you now. But I'm sure Maximus has no hand in it."