Chapter 80
A large tent was set up in the middle of Central Plaza.
Some soldiers were gathered outside of the tent.
They all turned to look at Janet with an awed look when she came close. One of them rushed to lift the curtain for her.
âGamma Janet, that was a great fight!â the soldier said to her enthusiastically.
âThank you,â Janet replied with a smile.
âAlpha Daran is expecting you inside.â
Janet stepped into the tent.
Daran was standing in the middle of the room, using a towel to clean the blood stain on his body.
He turned around abruptly when Janet walked in.
Their eyes locked for a long moment.
Daran abandoned the towel and strode forward. He seized Janetâs shoulder and pulled her into his arms forcefully.
Janet was taken aback.
She could hear his quickened heartbeat and heavy breathing. His hands were also slightly shaking on her back.
âWhat is the matter?â Janet broke the silence and asked.
Daran shook his head and buried her face into her hair, taking in a deep inhale of her
scent.
âI was afraid of losing you,â he said deeply.
âAre you serious?â Janet said under her breath, âI am standing right here. Safe and sound. What made you think that?â,
âThis is the first time that I saw you on the battlefield. I know that you have a strong wolf and everything. But when that rogue came at youâ¦My heart almost stopped beating. I couldnât help but wonderâ¦what would happen to you if I was a minute lateâ¦â
He tightened his arms around her, hugging her more tightly.
Janet could hardly breathe in his arms.
Yet her heart swelled.
This was the first time Darán revealed his true feelings to her,
He used to be so cold, so closedâup, and it was impossible for her to figure out what he was thinking through his expressionless face.
But now, he opened up to her voluntarily.
He said that he was afraid.
Janet once thought that a brave man like Daran was not afraid of anything.
But he was afraid of losing her.
âHey.â
Janet stroked his back gently.
âYou got there on time. And I am fine. There is nothing to worry about.â
âI know. But-
âEven if you didnât, I would still be alright. I am a Gamma, remember? I proved myself capable of fighting side by side with you. You can trust me with your back, just like I trust you with mine.â
Daran straightened his back and cupped her face with his hands.
He stared deep into her eyes.
âAlways,â he murmured. âI trust you. With my life.â
Janetâs heart rate quickened. Her mouth was dry as well.
And it was probably an illusion butâ¦somehow the room temperature seemed to be rising.
They were only a few inches away from each other. They had not been this closed since Daran rejected her.
And now, they were leaning toward one another.
Janet fluttered her eyes shut and felt her heart thumping wildly in her chest.
â
She could almost feel the gentle touch of Daranâs lips on hers-
âAlpha Daran! What a great fight!â
A sudden voice came from the door, and they separated almost instantly.
Steven, Jeff, Maxie, and Glen just walked in. Each one of them had a large grin on their face.
They froze by the door when they saw Janet and Daran inside.
Daranâs hands were still on Janetâs cheek.
âOh.â
Jeff let out an awkward laugh and scratched his head.
âDo you want us to come back?â
Daran cleared his throat and dropped his hand, âThere is no need. Come on inside.â
Janet felt her cheeks on fire/
It almost felt as though her parents walked in on her while she was making out with her high school boyfriend in bed.
The six of them took their seats.
âLast night was a good fight. Great work, everyone.â
Daran looked around the room with a faint smile.
âYet before you go and have some rest, I do want to take some time and recap last night. I believe that you all have some questions.â
The 5 Gammas exchanged looks.
âOK. I will start.â
Jeff spoke up first.
âMy man and I were waiting outside of the East Gate. Around 3 oâclock, we heard fighting noises coming from the north-â
âThat is me,â Glen said. âI attacked the North Gate and the rogues attacked back fiercely. If it werenât for Alpha Daran and Gamma Janet, we would have lost this battle already.â
âBut that is weird,â Maxie said. âI received no resistance from the South Gate.â
âNeither do 1,â Steven said.
âYeah, same here!â Jeff added with a nod, âThe East Gate was wide open. It was almost like that no one was guarding it.â
Glen raised an eyebrow, âSo you are saying that all the rogues were at the North Gate last night?â
âIt would appear so,â Janet said coolly.
âWell, that is kind of crappy for me.â Glen shrugged, âBut it works out for the Just because all the other 3 gates were wide open, we can take down Crimson Fort this easily.â
army.
The other 4 Gammas agreed with a nod.
But not Janet.
She exchanged a look of apprehension with Daran.
âSo did anyone you see the Rogue King?â Daran asked.
Maxie answered, âNo. I tried to ask a rogue, but he said that he didnât know who the Rogue King was. I am not sure if he was lying or not.â
âHe is telling the truth.â
Janet straightened her back. A cold gleam was in her slit eyes.
âThe Rogue King has been hiding from their own men, giving orders through
Sterning and Sterning only. It is very clever. Even though they lost the battle, we still
have no idea of where our biggest enemy is.â
The room fell into a deadly silence.
Everyone was gripped by the fear of the unknown.
âWell, letâs cheer up a bit, shall we?â
Steven stretched his body and grinned.
âSure, we donât know who the Rogue King is. But we just won a huge battle and saved most peopleâs lives in Crimson Fort! We deserve to celebrate. So what do you say we pop open some beers and go wild for a night? Huh?â
Glen smiled, âI like that idea.â
Yet before people could be completely relaxed, Daran raised a hand and said, âHold on a second. I think that you have forgotten about something.â
She exchanged a look of apprehension with Daran.
âSo did anyone you see the Rogue King?â Daran asked.
Maxie answered, âNo. I tried to ask a rogue, but he said that he didnât know who the Rogue King was. I am not sure if he was lying, or not.â
âHe is telling the truth.â
Janet straightened her back. A cold gleam was in her slit eyes,
âThe Rogue King has been hiding from their own men, giving orders through Sterning and Sterning only. It is very clever, Even though they lost the battle, we still have no idea of where our biggest enemy is.â
The room fell into a deadly silence.
Everyone was gripped by the fear of the unknown,
âWell, letâs cheer up a bit, shall we?â
Steven stretched his body and grinned.
âSure, we donât know who the Rogue King is. But we just won a huge battle and saved most peopleâs lives in Crimson Fort! We deserve to celebrate. So what do you say we pop open some beers and go wild for a night? Huh?â
Glen smiled, âI like that idea.â
Yet before people could be completely relaxed, Daran raised a hand and said, âHold on a second. I think that you have forgotten about something.â
Everyone turned to look at him.
âThe mole,â Daran said.
The smile died upon their lips.
ââ¦You are really a buzzkill, Alpha Daran,â Jeff murmured.
He slumped back into his seat and sighed frustratedly.
âSure, if you want to talk about that, let us talk. We still donât know who the mole is, donât we? And we managed to win this battle anyway. Maybe the mole didnât take action.â
âOr maybe keeping information enclosed within this small group helped,â Maxie said. âThis system works.â
âNo.â
Janet shook her head firmly,
âThe mole did take action. The battle plan was leaked.â
Maxie gasped sharply. And the others rounded their eyes in shock
âOnly the 6 people in this room know about the battle plan!â
Steven straightened his back and glared at Janet.
âAre we back to that conversation again? Are you saying that the mole is in this very room? Let me tell you. I am so f**king tired of you making random accusations without any proof-
â
âI have the proof,â Janet said calmly.
She stood up and glanced around the room.
She saw different looks on peopleâs faces: shock, wonder, perplex, angerâ¦and fear.
And you are right. The mole is indeed here in this very room.â
The atmosphere tensed up instantly.
With everyone watching, Janet slowly raised an arm.
âThe mole is-â
She pointed at a certain person in this room.
â-him.â