– Chapter 129

Selene

Having Drake here is an absolute Goddess-send.

Not only is he precisely the kind of familiar and loving face I needed to help soothe Lila’s overwhelmed nerves, but he was with me throughout my first pregnancy and knows exactly how to make me feel better.

When I crave something sweet, the Eros Alpha knows what brand of cookies to buy. When I turn green and make a run for the bathroom, he knows to turn up the air conditioning and pour me a glass of ice water. When I start to cry over nothing, he knows which jokes to tell in order to make me laugh.

Still, as relieved as I am to have my friend close by, his sudden appearance makes me uneasy. “I don’t understand.” I admit once the initial excitement has died down, “when did Bastien call you?

Lila and I are seated on the edge of the bed in the guest suite, watching Drake and Sophie unpack. It’s sort of strange to see them together, but both look happier than I can ever remember seeing them. I grin every time Drake catches Sophie’s eye and a bright red flush works its way up her cheeks. In fact, they’re so preoccupied with each other, Drake almost misses my question.

“In truth he called me before he left.” The Alpha admits, “we were going to come in a couple of weeks, but then…” He trails off, glancing at Lila.

“Then he met his welcoming party and asked you to come sooner?” I surmise, censoring my words for the sake of my pup.

“You guessed it.” Drake agrees, pausing to ruffle Lila’s hair. “But that was fine by me, I wasn’t sure I’d survive another week without seeing my favorite little bean.”

“Uncle Rake, I’ve so much to show you!” My daughter replied eagerly. “We have to go to da forest, and Mommy’s new cafe and da museum.”

“We’ll go to all those places and more, munchkin.” He promises, pausing when he sees the exasperated look I shoot him. “Assuming your Mommy agrees its safe.”

“Why wouldn’ be safe?” Lila inquires, cocking her head to the side, “dis is Daddy’s city.”

“Yes angel, but Daddy’s not here right now.” I sigh, “So we have to be a little extra careful. That’s all.”

“I don’ understand.” Lila confesses, looking confused.

Sophie offers me a sympathetic look. “Well maybe you can help your Mommy teach me some recipes.” She suggests, “I have no idea what I’m doing at the cafe and I could use all the help you can give – assuming you have time.” She adds, speaking directly to me now.

“Of course!” I leap at the offer, it’s the perfect activity to keep Lila both entertained and safe in the house. “I’d be delighted to help you Sophie.” Just then a wave of nausea rolls through my belly, as if the baby heard me speaking and decided to remind me that these things are no longer up to me,

“Though I have to warn you that some dishes will have to be off limits.”

“I completely get it.” She assures me warmly, seeming more confident than I can ever remember seeing her before. “We’ll take it one at a time.”

I slip out of the room a little while later, taking Drake up on his offer to babysit Lila while I take a nap. However instead of going upstairs and climbing into bed like I so desperately want to, I make a B-line for Bastien’s office, where I know Aiden and Donovan are busy reviewing their plans for our security.

I knock softly and walk inside without waiting for a signal to enter, embracing my own newfound confidence. The Betas are seated on the couches in the corner, a pile of papers littering the coffee table in front of them.

“Selene,” Donovan says, rising to his feet, “Is everything -”

“How bad is it?” I interrupt, crossing my arms over my chest.

The men exchange a wary glance. “How bad is what?”

“The situation with Frederic.” I clarify, starting down the powerful wolves, “I know Bastien didn’t tell me everything. You two have been hovering over Lila and I like a pair of gargoyles and now Drake turns up out of the blue because Bastien didn’t seem to think your protection was enough.”

“That isn’t the reason.” Donovan sighs, “He just thought having a friend nearby would help take some of the weight off your shoulders.”

“Don’t.” I growl, “I don’t want any more well-intentioned lies told to protect my feelings. This is my pup we’re talking about. I have a right to know how much danger she’s in.”

“Selene, we have everything under control, there’s nothing you need to worry about.” Aiden tries to appease me.

“Stop it. I know you think you’re helping but being kept in the dark is only adding to my stress, not reducing it.” I exclaim, my overwhelming frustration growing larger by the minute.

Silence stretches between us, and Donovan and Aiden seem to be having some sort of telepathic argument. I can’t tell what’s being said or who’s winning, only that both Betas seem very reluctant to grant my request.

“Are you going to stare at each other all day, or are you going to treat me like a goddess-damned adult and tell me what’s going on?” I finally burst.

Donovan emits a heavy sigh, raising his dark eyes to mine with grim determination.

“It’s not Lila, Selene.” He tells me gently. “It’s you.”

“What?” I repeat, feeling both baffled and relieved. It’s not Lila. I think over and over again. It’snot Lila. But what does he mean when he says it’s me?

“Frederic didn’t just send assassins for Bastien, he also sent him a message.” Donovan continues, ignoring Aiden’s disapproving look. Clearly the younger man’s opinion about sharing this information was overruled.

“He plans on taking over the pack. And then he plans on claiming you for himself.”

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Bastien

This city is a nightmare.

I crossed into Tartarus late last night, and though the city seemed bleak and dim in the darkness, I told myself things would probably look better in the light of day. Oh how wrong I was. It turns out the night’s shadowy cover obscured the sprawling metropolis’s worst blemishes, rather than exaggerating them.

The rogues and criminals who lurked in the maze of underground passageways beneath the city only multiplied in the cold morning air, terrorizing the impoverished inhabitants of the Calypso pack’s capital. Packs of hungry orphans form bands of pickpockets roaming the filthy tunnels, and the scent of fear fills the air wherever I turn.

I can feel curious eyes on me as I move through the barren slums, and for once I make no effort to conceal my power. Usually I try to keep a lid on my dominant energy unless I need to unleash it, but now I let it pour out of me in waves, pleased to see shady figures scattering when I draw near.

It’s in these living catacombs that I discover the posters advertising Blaise’s reward on Volana wolves. Like in Asphodel and every other city I’ve visited across the continent’s northern territories, these ads are reserved for the seedy underbelly of society, rather than the mainstream populace.

The difference here is that the vast majority of the Calypso wolves have been relegated to this harsh existence, with only the wealthiest members of the pack actually permitted to live in the exclusive districts built atop the subterranean ghetto.

Only after I’ve explored the entirety of Tartarus’s underworld do I finally emerge into the fresh air of the aboveground city, the autumn sun blinding me with its harsh rays. The lavish excess of the city proper does nothing to erase the images of squalor and suffering from my mind.

If anything this false dreamscape makes the depravity of the municipality’s crowded understories even starker, and I’d honestly like to kill Blaise on principle alone. What kind of Alpha does this to his people? This is a new low, even for a homicidal narcissist like Denizen.

Now that I’m out among the nobility I do leash in my power, not wanting any of these pompous aristocrats to run tattling to their leader. I don’t know how Blaise keeps the population so divided, but I can only imagine it’s through extremely harsh deterrence. Only the most stringent enforcement and severe punishments could keep people so desperate from breaking the rules and traveling outside of their designated spheres.

Whatever the implications, there are no threats to mitigate now. Quite the opposite, showing people how dangerous I am in these parts will only get me into trouble.

Exploring the opulent neighborhoods in concentric circles which carry me closer and closer to Blaise’s over the top residence in the center of the city, I absorb every last detail of my surroundings. As expected, there are no reward posters or signs of discord here, only empty beauty and extravagant wealth.

I’m almost at the Pack House’s front door when a familiar scent meets my nose, one which makes my blood positively boil. Following my nose to a designer boutique, I catch sight of a tall, blonde woman happily chatting with a clerk while posing in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror – looking right at home.

I’d know her anywhere : Arabella.

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