Page 4
Patryn intercepted him. “I’ve trained Saren well. He would not lie. Not about this, General.”
The boy hadn’t stopped staring at Saren. His eyes were sharp with understanding. Hope blossomed in Saren’s chest, a beacon of blinding light that seemed to encase the boy. Oh, how he wanted to smile—to show this newcomer he meant him no harm and only wanted to keep him safe. Despite his rapidly growing curiosity, there was a burning inside him—a longing. He knew this boy was the answer to his loneliness—the friend he was always meant to have.
“Give him to me,” Saren said, breaking the contact and facing Avis. The other council members watched him much like they had last year when he was cut open and screaming. “He can be my ward.”
While they debated, Saren tentatively reached out again with his mastery and found nothing but silence. No thoughts. No emotions. Nothing to indicate this newcomer was anything at all. All he felt was a firm yank on his mastery—a force so strong he had to stop immediately. His heart beat like thunder.
“Saren, he still has to be quarantined.”
Right. They’d grow suspicious if Saren told them the boy wasn’t infected because he couldn’t be. His mastery signature was probably the loudest Saren had ever felt. Its absence was like a chasm in the energy field that entrapped them all.
“After. Once he’s…cleared.”
Patryn exchanged glances with the council. The eldest of them all, Horris, gave a single nod. “Very well. I’ll see to it that he’s moved to the compound after quarantine.”
Relief slammed into Saren as he looked over at the boy whose life he just spared on a whim. Those eyes bored into him, mistrusting and calculating, trying to figure out a motive, he was sure. Of course, this boy had no clue what it was, but he would eventually. Saren smiled.
Finally, he’d have a friend.
Someone just for him.
2
Saren
It’d been two weeks since Saren claimed the boy as his own.
Two long weeks of waiting and fantasizing about their life together.
They’d be best friends, this boy and Saren.
They’d do everything together…
But when the time finally came for his ward to come home, those dreams and hopes came to a skidding halt.
The boy hadn’t spoken once during his time in quarantine, barely ate, and when Patryn brought him up to the compound, he looked so weak a slight breeze would topple him over. It hurt to look at someone so helpless. Every instinct inside him begged to soothe and comfort, but he didn’t know how. That part of his being had been severed a year ago.
Saren fidgeted with the hem of his shirt nervously as Patryn gave a tour of their estate. He tried to be discreet, quietly sniffing the air as he tailed them. It was rude to do it out in the open, but he was addicted. The boy’s scent was so lovely—so right. He gobbled it up like one of those long-extinct raccoons he’d read about.
Patryn kept going over their strict rules about not leaving the grounds or mingling with other children. It was necessary. Saren didn’t know if his guardian suspected the boy, but he did. And the last thing he needed was some snot-nosed brat running to Avis or the council flapping their lips about the boy.
No, Saren’s job was to protect him now. Patryn rarely placed such faith in Saren, but this single act of trust meant the world to him.
As with all orphans in New Grove, guardians were the closest they’d ever get to having real parents. Today, Saren felt like Patryn was his father. He almost wanted to hug the older alpha, but knew it wouldn’t be well received. Still, he found himself beaming from ear to ear whenever Patryn had his back to him.
After following them through the hedge garden and back into the house, Saren picked the room beside his for the boy. He preened over the grandeur of it all while the boy didn't react. He stood in the center of the gaudy room, eyes flicking over the crisp wallpaper and gossamer curtains, to the four-poster bed and soft duvet. Unimpressed, he was, and Saren’s smile fell. Was he doing something wrong already?
“Fresh garments are in here,” Patryn explained, pulling open the wardrobe to reveal tailored clothes similar to the ones Saren wore. Instead of navy shirts, the boy was given dull grey. Only leaders wore blue. “Facilities are across the hall. We have hot water, a luxury not all places are afforded, might I add. So do be considerate with how long of baths you take.”
The boy said nothing. Didn’t make any move to show he’d even heard it, but Saren could tell he had. That he’d been absorbing every word, every tiny detail. For what purpose, he couldn’t say. With a sigh, Patryn glanced between them both, raked a hand through his thick dark hair and said, “Do not let this interfere with your studies, Saren. Your exams are in a week.”
“I won’t, sir.”
“Good lad. Supper is at seven.”
Saren nodded primly, slapping on his best smile, one he felt down to his bones. Even if his new ward wasn’t excited, he certainly was, and he couldn’t wait to learn all the boy’s secrets.
***
