Chapter 131

After training, back in the hotel, Xandar and Lucianne just came out of the shower when Chief Dalloway’s

emails came through. With a towel wrapped around her body, Lucianne buttoned-up her mate’s dark blue

shirt while he blew dry her hair. After Xandar zipped up her black skirt and planted a deep kiss on her

neck through her dark blue, high-neck lace blouse, they still had two hours to spare before dinner. 1

Xandar opened up his laptop on the armrest of the couch and started reading the email. He was

presented with two documents, one is the transcript of Sebastian’s interrogation, the other was the report

from interrogating the rogue Lycan before he escaped.

He forwarded the document on the rogue Lycan to the alliance members before opening up the transcript

from the interrogation with Sebastian. Lucianne got out her own laptop, and she sat sideways on

Xandar’s lap, her back facing his laptop before she turned on her device on her own lap.

Without taking his eyes off the screen, Xandar’s arm circled her waist like it was the most natural thing

for him to do. And Lucianne’s head instinctively leaned against his warm chest as she started reading the

70-page report on the rogue Lycan.

Xandar decided to start with the document on Cummings first because it was a much shorter

document… and also because Sebastian was his mate’s ex-mate. —

‘Question: For the record, what is your relationship with the suspect?

Answer: I’m her brother.

Q: Have you been in contact with your sister?

A: Not since the day she was arrested. The last time I saw her was in the evening the day before last,

when I visited her here in prison.

Q: So, after you left that evening, there were no phone calls, text messages, emails, notes or

correspondence of any kind?

A: No.

Q: And have you been in contact with your father lately?

A: …

Q: Mr Cummings, should I repeat my question?

A: No, no. It’s just. No, I haven’t been in touch with him either.

Q: When did you last see him?

A: I paid him a visit late in the morning today after he called to tell me that Sasha disappeared. You can

check the visitation records. My name should be there.

Q: Do you believe that your father aided in your sister’s escape?

A: What? How does that make any sense? If he could get her out, why wouldn’t my father get himself

out? He is resourceful as a minister but with the current charges against him and with his assets frozen,

it doesn’t take a genius to come to the conclusion that there is no way he could’ve helped anyone

escape. M y sister is no exception.

Q: So, you’re saying that your father couldn’t have been the one to break Sasha Cummings out of our

facility because the minister is in police custody and his assets are frozen?

A: That’s what I said.

Q: Then, could it be you who has helped Sasha Cummings escape, Mr Cummings? Seeing that you are

not i n police custody and your assets are not frozen, you would have every opportunity to…

A: I didn’t break her out.

Q: But you have the means to do it.

A: That doesn’t mean I did it! After what she did to Lucia- the Queen, I was relieved that Sasha was

imprisoned.

Q: You were happy that your own sister was imprisoned?

A: Happiness may be taking it too far, officer. I was relieved, I’ll admit that much. I was relieved knowing

that she could hurt…anyone anymore.

Q: When you visited her yesterday, what did you talk about?

A: Don’t you have the transcripts to answer that question?

Q: I ask the questions here, Cummings. What did you both talk about?

A: It really wasn’t anything important. I asked her why she did it, why she hurt the Queen.

Q: And were you surprised by her answer?

A: Hardly. It’s all that she’s been saying since the King…found his mate.

Q: So, you’ve known about her intentions to injure the future Queen but you did nothing to notify

anyone?

A: I knew about her intentions to break-up the King and Queen by seducing the King, not by hurting the

Queen.

Q: Are you saying that you’re unaware of the fact that Sasha Cummings insulted the Queen on the very

first day of the collaboration?

A: I am very well-aware of that incident but I didn’t see her ability to exacerbate verbal attacks to physical

ones. Officer, if you listened to the recording of my visit with Sasha, you’d know that I did not agree with

anything she did.

Q:I have listened to it, Mr Cummings. And in that very same conversation, Sasha Cummings said that

you both were accomplices when it came to separating the King from the Queen last year.

A: That was Sasha’s accusation. What happened last year was not planned.

Q: So, is it true? That you made sure that the Queen-to-be never met the King last year?

A: She wasn’t his mate last year. She was mine. I had every right to do what I did. And how is this

relevant to my sister’s disappearance?

Q: Well, I’m trying to gauge the proximity of your relationship with your sister, to understand how likely or

unlikely it is for you both to help each other when one is in trouble. Seeing that she kept the King away

from the Queen, and you kept the Queen away from the King, there seems to be a consensus of goals,

don’t you think?

A: I see you’re marked, officer. How would you react if some other male’s eyes kept finding their way to

your mate? Would you have introduced her to this creature, or would you have kept her away like I did?

Q: You went against the Crown, Cummings. I didn’t. And…

A: For the last time, she was my mate! The King was nothing to her. I did not go against the Crown

because there was nothing between them. Nothing. She was bonded to me. Questioning what I did is

questioning our Goddess.

Q: So, after the severance, would you say that there was never an occasion where you and your sister

both went against the Crown?’

“Xandar, darling. Is everything alright?” Lucianne’s voice of concern pulled Xandar’s attention away from

his screen. It was only then he realized that his arm around his mate’s waist was tightening.

He loosened his grip around her immediately but the worry in Lucianne’s black orbs did not fade as she

waited for him to speak. A warm smile graced his features before his fingers ran down her hair as he

said, “I’ve fallen in love with you from the first moment I laid my eyes on you, my little freesia.” After

pecking a kiss between her eyebrows, he uttered, “I love you.”

Lucianne was still confused. How did reading about a rogue Lycan raise any thoughts of his feelings for

her? “I love you, too, Xandar. Which part of the document are you reading by the way? I don’t see

anything that…”

Xandar silenced her with a deep kiss before he uttered, “It’s not the report on the rogue, my love. I’m

reading the transcript from Cummings’s interrogation. He mentioned that I couldn’t take my eyes off you i

n the collaboration last year, which pissed him off quite a bit. It seems this beast has been under your

spell even before we met, before we were bonded.”

Lucianne blinked, trying to keep up with her mate’s train of thought before she uttered in confusion, “As

romantic as that is, dearest, why was it in the transcript? How does that connect to Sasha’s

disappearance?”

He brushed his nose against the bridge of her nose as he explained, “The police suspect that the brother

may have helped the sister escape.”

“Did he?”

“It doesn’t seem likely for now. But I haven’t reached the end yet. I’ll let you know when I’m done,

sweetheart.” Another kiss on her temple, and his eyes retumed to his screen but that was when a small

hand reached for his cheek.

Lucianne turned his face towards hers. With a shy smile and her doe-eyes, she said in a soft voice, “For

what’s worth, I’ve always thought you’re the most handsome creature I’ve ever seen, even before we

met.”

“Is that so?” Xandar asked flirtatiously as he tucked a loose strand behind her ear. He even felt his

animal’s ears perk up at Lucianne’s confession.

Lucianne started blushing when his thumb stroked the warmth on her cheek as she admitted, “It is. From

afar, you’ve always looked…brooding and maybe a little scary but I don’t know why, I just never felt

intimidated by you. I’m not sure if the others felt the same way but to me, there’s always this…confidence

and…assurance that you bring into a room which makes your people feel…looked after in some way. It’s

kind of hard to explain. Even when you don’t smile and look…menacing on most occasions back then,

there was never a time I felt…unsafe in your presence.”

Xandar felt a gentle warmth embracing his heart, making him peck a kiss on her lips before he declared,”

Not feeling unsafe is not enough, Lucy. I want you to feel safe when you’re with me, completely safe.”

“I do. That was last year, before we met. I do feel safe with you now, Xandar. More than safe, actually.”

“That’s good.” Xandar uttered before his animal had the sudden urge to tease their flustering mate so he

said, “And, my dear, maybe you’ve never been intimidated by this menacing beast because of your

unusual tendency to venture into dangerous waters.”

“So, you’re saying that I shouldn’t have such tendencies, my King?” Lucianne challenged with a

coquettish smirk in retum

“It’s far too late for that, my Queen.” He pecked a kiss on her palm before he pouted, “You wouldn’t want

to break this poor beast’s heart by staying away now, do you, my love?”

Lucianne continued tracing his eyebrows as she muttered, “I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.

Staying away from you would hurt too much, Xandar.”

Xandar’s Lycan cooed when Lucianne’s words showered it with a blissful waterfall of love, affection and

devotion. Their lips collided until they became breathless, and they reluctantly tore their eyes away from

each other to return their attention to the documents on their screens.