“Yes, but it is never whatIwant, it is what is necessary. I often worry their tempers will flare and one will bite something off that I love, like my cock. They’re spiteful like that. You’re a wolf, though—a calmer, more balanced species that can see the duty he must perform and doesn’t explode in a temper when asked to perform it.”
“What if she gets in trouble?” I ran my hands through my hair, gripping the roots in frustration. “What if she needs me and I’m not there? It feels wrong to let her go.”
“That woman is also a wolf, right? And your true mate? She is certainly a balanced sort of lady who is only prone to explosions when incensed--by you, usually—but I have no doubt she’ll rise to the occasion as necessary. She has lived through some extraordinary circumstances and survived despite terrible odds, through both her childhood and Granny’s reign of terror. She will prevail, and if she needs help, she’ll ask for it. She’ll find you again, sir. Give her a chance to clear her name and thenshe’ll find you again, I know it. At the very least, she’ll find me. I was the favorite, obviously. She and I have a connection, you see. She’ll definitely seek me out when she’s ready.”
I didn’t know why, but that last part was actually reassuring. Even if she hated me, she might still find him. Given he served the same court I did, it was quite possible I’d see her again.
Gods, how I wanted to see her again! I’d been awake mere minutes and already I missed her fiercely. I’d rather her be by my side and hating me than forgive me and not be here. It was selfish, but there it was.
I sighed and sat up.
I wouldn’t allow myself that luxury at her expense. Her happiness was the most important thing, and she hadn’t been happy here with me; she’d made that abundantly clear.
“There we go.” Hadriel stepped back. “Fantastic. A wonderful start to a dismal day. It could be worse—you could be back in the demon dungeons, being loaned out on a nightly basis.”
“Do not bring that up again.”
He shivered at my release of aggressive power. “See there? I proved my point. It could be worse. Like the terror shart I might’ve just released. Not ideal to shit oneself right before we cause an uproar about a missing prisoner. I’m going to go ahead and check things out, probably change my knickers, and then I’ll be right back. You just roar and growl and wander out there in your fabulous nudity and get the show started. I’ll be back momentarily.”
He dashed out, holding his ass. He was such a strange wolf, but he did know his stuff.
Stopping myself from reaching for my clothes, I then conjured up faux frustration and anger and stormed from the tent.
“She’s gone,” I shouted, gathering everyone’s attention. “She drugged me. Aurelia left sometime in the night.”
Tanix jogged up with his brow furrowed, Sixten with him. Nova stood from a crouch near the breakfast station where Sylvester was chopping fruits, the cook not looking up.
“Start getting the camp broken down,” I told Tanix in curt tones. “Get everyone ready. I’ll send a few people into the nearest town to hunt her down. The rest of us will continue on our path slowly, waiting for the hunt to return with her. She’s not worldly—she shouldn’t take long to recover.”
They nodded and jogged away, shouting instructions. Nova grabbed something off the table and walked right, her gait unhurried. Ordinarily that would cause me to yell after her, something I’d never had to do before. Something I didn’t do now. She was incredibly good at reading the situation, she must know something was up. Given she went through the motions anyway meant she was playing along.
The woman was due for a promotion.
“Alpha.” Dante jogged over to me as I ducked back into the tent to grab some clothes. He stepped into the tent with me, the flap closing behind him.
I glanced at him in confusion. He didn’t usually enter my living quarters unless invited. “What is it?”
“I thought I should inform you that I saw Aurelia last night,” he murmured, his voice too low for anyone hurrying outside to hear.
Pants on, I turned to give him my full attention. “What’s that?”
“The woman has absolutely no sense of direction. She was angling my way instead of toward the town, making enough noise to rouse the dead.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “I pointed her in the right direction and then shadowed her for a bit to make sure she got there. She went off course again—she has literallyzerosense of direction and is apparently hard-pressed to follow straight lines—so I guided her until she was close to town and then drifted away.”
My face was a hard mask to hide my surprise. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You guided her?” I finally asked. “Why?”
“The same reason the dozen or so people she must’ve passed didn’t stir as she tramped by and are currently feigning surprise at her disappearance. She’s had a hard fucking life, Alpha, you must see that. We needed her journals and her knowledge of her products but she’s no more at fault for what’s going on than that gardener poet or anyone else in that village. She was a product of her environment, trapped there like everyone else. She didn’t know what was going on outside the village and she doesn’t seem like a person who would be okay with what her product has become. She’s not one of them, Alpha. She’s one of us. She doesn’t deserve to be on trial for Granny’s sins—she deserves a fair shake at a life that isn’t so gods-damned depressing. How can that woman find it in herself to smile, you know? Her stories have given me nightmares. I kinda hate hearing about her life. What a shitty existence.”
“Who else knows you helped her escape?”
He shrugged, looking uncomfortable but determined. “I didn’t see anybody else. Not sure if anyone noticed I wasn’t at my post for a while.”
I pulled on a shirt and grabbed the few things I’d need for the day’s ride. “You’d do best not to tell anyone else. There are a few people who would not understand. They want justice. The memory of their loved ones makes them irrational.”
Dante half bowed. “Yes, Alpha.” He hesitated in leaving, tone still quiet. “You let her go, correct? The weak sentry line was on purpose. Right?”
“Is that why you’re telling me of your involvement? Are you insinuating I played a part in her escape?”
