Chapter 76

76 Preparing For Shock

Luke.

I woke up by four in the morning to get ready. Tia was sleeping, and I did not want to wake her up, but I

knew she would not forgive me if I did not say goodbye before leaving. I woke her up with a kiss, and she

grumbled. Soon she realised what was happening and sat up in bed. “Are you ready?” She asked me,

and I nodded.

“I just want to speak to you before I leave. You can go back to sleep, darling,” I said, and she shook her

head, got off the bed and went to the bathroom. I heard her gurgling, so I knew she was using the

mouthwash. I laughed a bit. She was persistent about her breath in the morning; She returned with a

fresh breath and a clean face.

“Three days?” she asked, and I nodded. She wrapped her arms around me, and I held her close. We

hadn’t been apart for that long before, but thankfully I wasn’t leaving to go and fight like the last time, so

there was no tension in the air. I knew I would miss her. I took in her scent, and she kissed my neck. I felt

her hand stuff something into my jeans pocket, and I wondered what it was.

“Three days, Luke or I will come looking for you, and we both know you don’t want that,” she said, and I

laughed. “What did you put in my pocket, Tia,” I asked, still holding her. “Check it when you are away and

alone,” she teased, and I figured what it was and smiled. We kissed passionately, and I wished I had

woken her up earlier to make love to her, but time was not on my side. I picked up my bag, and she

followed me downstairs. Kimberly was holding Emma downstairs while Caleb kissed her.

I smiled, glad to see my brother making headway. I intended to discuss the wedding with him when we

returned and possibly get them a place. Mike came to pick us up, and we headed to Diamond corp to go

take the chopper. Caleb was still sleepy. He claimed Emma kept both him and Kimberly awake all

through the night. He was worried that something might be wrong with her but soon found out she was

just mad about something and fell asleep the moment he placed her on his chest. “That girl will be

daddy’s little girl,” Mike said, and I laughed. Caleb was trying to sleep in the car.

Mike would fly the chopper to keep our mission secret. Kirk also knew what we were up to, and I

instructed him to report to Tia for the three days I would not be around.

We arrived in Neev by seven-thirty in the morning. People were waiting by the helipad to receive us. The

place wasn’t as remote as people tried to make it seem. It was developed and very green. It looked more

like an ancient green city with clear skies. It was also quiet and serene. I understand why the

environment was referred to as peaceful. We checked into the hotel, and most of the female staff were

flirting with us. I sighed with relief when the three of us were alone in our room. “The women here are

forward. See how they were throwing themselves at us. Somehow I

wished we brought our mates,” He said, and Caleb laughed. “I doubt if that would have been a deterrent.

From how they behaved, I think it is common practice here,” Caleb said.

“Let’s just do what we need to do and get the fuck out of here,” I said, and Mike laughed. I was pressed,

so I went to the bathroom. I felt something in my pocket and pulled it out. It was Tia’s red lace panties. I

did not know when I started laughing. My wife was very naughty. I could just imagine pulling this out in

public. She definitely deserved a spanking when I returned. It had her scent, which was not good for my

cock, so I stuffed it into my pocket and tried calming myself down. While I eased myself, I made a mental

note to punish Tia for this when I got home.

I left the toilet.

“So when do we see her?” I asked Mike, and he put down the intercom.

“Her daughter will come and pick us up,” he said, and Caleb went to the bathroom.

“I have ordered us breakfast and told the hotel to send a food taster,” Mike said, and we both began to

laugh. He was right. We could not allow ourselves to be sloppy. It was essential to get to the bottom of

things, but there were people out there that wouldn’t want that.

Two hungry hours later, our food arrived along with a food taster that looked more like entertainment than

staff. We could not chase her away because we had requested for her.

“What’s your name?” Mike asked the girl while she dished samples of our food on a plate to

eat.

“My name is Patricia Moses, sir,” she said with a seductive voice, and I knew she wasn’t from Neev

because people from there did not go by English names.

“Where are you from, Miss Moses?” I asked her, and she blushed and looked at me as if I had asked her

something sensual.

“I am from Dome, Alpha”, She replied, and I wondered if this was the general trait of Dome women; loose

and forward.

“Are there no hotels in Dome?” Caleb asked her, and she shook her head.

“Dome is a poor city. Most of us come to Neev to earn a living. The women in Neev are very selective

about the job they can render, so we are allowed to do the jobs Neev women won’t do, ” she said, and I

did not need to figure out the kind of job she was talking about.

“So you mean most of the serving hotel staff are from Dome?” I asked her, and she said yes. That was

interesting. I watched her eat the food. She tried to give us a lap dance, but we stopped her. I gave her

some money for her trouble, and after thirty minutes, she left our room. Since nothing happened to her, it

meant the meals were safe. The last thing we wanted was to die from poison.

We ate our fill, and it made us sleepy, but we could not afford to sleep because we had an appointment

to keep. I made an expresso for myself to keep me awake while we waited for Ummul’s daughter.

“What’s the woman’s name?” I asked Mike.

“Amirah,” He said, and I nodded. I was expecting her name to sound like that.

The coffee helped me. Caleb and Mike drank coffee, too, while we waited.

Soon Mike got a call from Amirah, and we headed out to meet with her. She was waiting in the parking

section far away from the main building. We were on high alert that no one was following us. Why did we

have to be this careful if this was an old and buried case? Something told me we were about to open a

can of worms, and I would not like what I found in it.

She exited the car, and Mike shook her hand. She had thick full Persian hair and dark skin like Tia’s. She

greeted all of us politely. She looked at me lovingly. She was too old for me. She could easily pass as my

aunt. I doubted she had a crush on me, but the look meant something, and it bothered me. I just hoped

she wasn’t crushing on me, especially after knowing she asked that I come. We got into the car.

“I am sorry for keeping you waiting, Alpha Moon, but I needed to care for my mother before coming,” She

explained, and I told her everything was okay, and we got to rest while we waited for her.

“Be careful of the female company from Dome in the hotel. Most of them are criminals,” she warned, and

I wondered why she warned us.

“We are all mated,” I said to her.

“The best catch,” she replied, and I was silent. There was a lot about Neev that I was yet to discover. We

drove to the countryside and arrived at a small cottage.

“Your parents bought this place for us. We are still grateful.” Amirah said, ushering us into the cottage. It

was modest, and I wondered why my parents would buy a cottage for their staff.

“Was it after the poisoning or before?” I asked her, and she looked at me and smiled. “Before the

poisoning,” She said and looked at us.

“My mother is frail, so please do not stress her. She is good at sign language, so I will tell you everything

she says. I know why you are here. I was around during the incident, so I can give you a full account of

what happened from our perspective,” she said and locked the door behind us.

“You see, after the incident, my mother shut down completely. The memory of the incident still

traumatises her,” she explained, and I nodded.

We were ushered to a bedroom where an elderly woman sat by the window in a wheelchair; she looked

as if she were in her eighties, which meant she was older than my parents. Her eyes looked sad and

lifeless. It was clear that she was struggling internally with demons from her past. I felt sorry for the

woman and was even more sorry for what we were about to do. Making her relive the memory of the

past was cruel, but it was necessary. I needed to get to the bottom of my mother’s death. The old woman

looked at me and smiled. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she tried to beckon me to come closer to

her, but I refused. I was still wary of them. The old woman made some signs with her hand. It was slow

but not too slow to pass the message. “She says you look like your father,” Amirah said to me, and I

smiled at Ummul, who returned the smile warmly, tears streaming down her face. Then she made

another sign. “You have your mother’s eyes and smile,” Amirah said, and I thanked Ummul for the

compliment.

I moved closer to the old woman and held her hand. Looking into her eyes, I pleaded with her.

“I am sorry for what we are about to do, Ummul. I wished there was a better way to go about this than

making you go down memory lane, but it is important. Many things have happened, and we need to

address the problems. Please do not be offended by our presence,” I pleaded with her, and she pulled

her hand from mine and caressed my cheek, smiling softly. She looked at her daughter and signed.

“It is okay. This is what family are for,” Amirah said, and I was taken aback by her statement. How were

they, my family? My mother wasn’t from Neev; she was from Eastwood.