“We have to do this, Talius,” Agelius insisted. “Or it won’t be believable.”
I shook my head. “We’ll have to find another way. I am not hitting you. I feel bad enough about what I’ve already done to you.” Besides, at this point, I hadn’t yet decided what to do about Agelius’ companion.
Agelius shrugged, swung around suddenly and with a horridthumprammed the side of his face into the doorframe.
“Fuck!” he swore, reeling. “That was… that was harder than I … ooh, fuck!”
I grabbed his forearm, steadying him. He staggered, blinking, quite dazed and I hurriedly pulled him against me, sending calming vibes his way. This didn’t work as well with alphas as it did with omegas, but a Pack Alpha could sometimes soothe other members of their pack this way.
He rested his head against my shoulder and took a few deep breaths, before stepping back. As he did, fresh blood trickled from where he’d split the skin on his cheek, the bright red droplets sliding down the side of his face.
“Sorry, Alpha,” he murmured, eyeing my shirt. I looked down. A red stain had soaked into the upper chest area of my white shirt, which was clearly destined for the rubbish bin.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “You didn’t need to do that though.”
“Yeah, I did.”
I grimaced. He was right. I just hadn’t thought the crazy young alpha would do something like that. An ugly purple bruise was already starting to form under his cheekbone, garish against the softness of his features. Around it, his cheek and lower jaw were puffy. I winced simply looking at it.
“You’re going to feel that for a while.” I reached out and ran my index finger lightly over the oozing wound. He flinched. Blood coated the tip of my finger, and I painted a stripe across his eyebrow, and a dash across the bridge of his nose for good measure. “There, that’s better.”
I twisted his arm behind his back, not applying any pressure this time. It was for appearances, as there were windows in the shed walls and we’d be in full view walking across to it from the house. I didn’t want Zarbius’ beta to think Agelius had re-aligned himself with our pack.
I steered him out the door, pushing him out of the way as Isca came barreling in. I could sense the turmoil in my mate, loud and clear through our bond. He must have picked up some of my emotions through it himself and come to see what was going on.
“Oh!” His breaths were raw and pitiful. His eyes fixed on Agelius’ bruised and bloody face, and the way I had his arm twisted behind his back. His eyes widened in shock and horror.
Then those beautiful brown eyes welled up, tears tumbling down his cheeks as he let out a heartrending cry.
“No!” he sobbed, hunching in on himself as if he’d been punched in the gut.
It’s all right.I tried to send reassurance through the bond, but he was so distraught, he wasn’t listening. He hadn’t had the telepathic bond long enough to be adept at using it. I could feel his turbulent emotions swirling, and they were so intense they were blocking anything from reaching him. We probably needed to train him in this, but I’d expected to have plenty of time for it to develop organically.
I put my free hand on his shoulder, spoke at a volume for his ears only. “Go inside, Isca. It’s not how it looks. Everything will be fine.”
He choked down a sob, and stepped in close, resting his forehead on the bare skin of my upper arm. The close contact seemed to settle him. He sniffed. I felt his throat against my skin as he swallowed hard, then he stepped back.
He gave Agelius one more glance, another tear trickled down his cheek, and then with another sniff, he ran inside the house.
“Fuck!” murmured Agelius, wearily.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Don’t worry, I’ll put him straight. I know he’s your friend.”
Agelius took a deep breath and straightened. Then he remembered he was supposed to have been beaten up, so he slumped again, assuming a battered and worn-down posture. It probably wasn’t too difficult with the injuries he’d given himself.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yes, Alpha, let’s do this.”
I still had his arm twisted behind his back, though I didn’t exert any pressure as we walked towards the shed. He stumbled a couple of times on the way across, and I had to restrain my instinct to steady him. I was fairly certain he was acting but we were too close to the shed and the ears of the shifter inside for me to say anything.
Two betas were guarding the door as we approached and I winced internally as they both gave Agelius a filthy look. The entire pack was aware of the situation with Irian, and with what they saw now, their anger would be boiling over. Agelius kept his eyes averted as we waited for them to open the door. I released his arm.
“Get in,” I said harshly. “I don’t keep any money on the premises. You’ll have to wait until the bank opens tomorrow.”
As Agelius stepped through the doorway, the nearest beta stuck out his foot, and the young alpha went sprawling onto the ground inside with a loud grunt. He was still lying in the dirt as the door slid shut.
It would have added credibility to the situation Agelius and I were trying to present, but I was going to have to speak to the beta later about treatment of prisoners. I understood thatemotions were high. The entire pack loved Irian, and they had accepted Agelius as one of their own. His apparent betrayal would have hit hard.
