"Wait… your brother did this?" Felix growled as his fists clenched into balls at his side. "We're not on good terms." Lexi's father snapped as Felix eyed him dubiously. Lexi looked between the two of them and suddenly, it seemed like both Felix and her father had more in common with each other than any of them had ever thought possible. A centuries old Daemon Lord, and a relatively young Werewolf Prince. Lexi swore internally at herself as she began to question her earlier hastiness at assuming Felix's guilt based on his brother's actions. Had her father been trailed his whole life by his brother's deeds too? "So, you can fix this, right Papa?" Lexi asked, trying to pull herself out of her feelings surrounding her guilty conscience. Lord Brarthoroz grunted in response as Lexi and Felix exchanged a look. "Papa, if you know where she might be, we have to hurry…she might still be alive..she.." "Don't you think I know that? Aoife, your mother…" Lord Brarthoroz's voice cra
Ann sat in a stunned silence as she tried to comprehend what they were telling her, her heart shattering as Maeve whined mournfully in her head. "But… why?" Ann asked as they filled her in on what they knew so far. "We don't know the answer to that yet. But if my twat of an uncle is involved, then it's nothing good." Lexi answered morosely. Ann glanced up at Felix, who despite being obviously devastated by his wife's uncertain demise, was holding it together pretty well. "If the scent of Aoife's blood wasn't overpowering everything else in the room and driving my wolf insane, then I would have been able to help with scenting the other person that your father identified." Felix grimaced. "Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that, Felix. Papa has plenty of ways to track down the sneaky little fuckwits that don't want to be found." Lexi smiled in what was supposed to be a reassuring manner but it didn't seem to have the impact she desired as Felix scowled back at her. "Are yo
Felix trailed behind the figures of Allen and Lexi still bickering quietly and he smiled ruefully to himself. That should have been him and Aoife… minus the bickering of course. He had to admit, he shared the same confusion as Ann did. Why was Aoife taken out of all of them? If they had wanted to make a significant impact on the Dubois family then surely whoever it was would have gone after him? There had been plenty of opportunities while he was dealing with the rogues at the border with Adam. Surely the Enclave was a more risky target. But, what if they hadn't been aiming for the Dubois family and had instead been aiming for disruption within the Veritas family line? He scowled as his mind ran with possibilities. If that was the case though then they wouldn't have chosen Aoife as a target because it would have minimal impact…other than preventing a possible alliance after years of tolerable neutrality. Had that been their goal? Could it have been a case of mistaken ident
Felix swallowed his own fear and inhaled deeply, forcing all traces of emotion from his face as he held his brother's gaze steadily. He could feel the lazy smirk that was spreading across his brother's face rather than see it, and Felix's wolf reacted accordingly, readying himself to defend at a moment's notice. He didn't trust his brother as far as he could throw him. "Nervous are you?" Jasper sneered into the darkness, his tone mocking. "Of what?" Felix growled, "You? We are not children any more Jasper. You don't frighten me." Jasper's disbelieving laughter rang in his ears as he reached up and gripped Felix's wrist tightly with both hands, his bony fingers digging painfully into the skin. "No? Then why is your heart beating so quickly?" He continued to mock as he increased the pressure on Felix's wrist, laughing as he twisted his arm away easily and pushing him backward. "You would react in the same way if you woke to find an intruder in your quarters whilst you were
Felix could feel Jasper scrutinizing his face for a reaction as he made his way over to the mini-bar and poured himself a shot of whiskey. He needed something to steady his nerves and settle his wolf who was howling in rage at the certainty that Jasper had killed their mate. Felix turned to face Jasper and downed the glass in one gulp, savoring the spread of the fiery liquid as its warmth spread down his throat and radiated outwards, allowing a feeling of calm to settle over him as he fixed his brother with a steely gaze. "Ann isn't dead, Jasper." He said calmly as Jasper's face creased in confusion. The reaction from him was instantaneous. "No, that's not possible." He laughed as he shook his head, "I know for a fact that she is no longer living, if you have heard differently then they are merely covering it up to buy time for a new Alpha King to succeed the throne and prevent unrest." Felix felt as though he had been punched in the gut. His wolf had been right. He had k
Lexi and Allen were welcomed into Lord Brarthoroz's room almost immediately. The dagger that he had removed from the scene of Aoife's disappearance sat on top of a rectangular slab of quartz in the center of the coffee table, right next to a large steaming teapot of something that called to Lexi's soul. Allen rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself at Lexi's delighted squeal as she skittered excitedly across the room, heading straight for the teapot where she lifted the lid and inhaled deeply. "Oh my GODDESS! This smells like christmas…" She exclaimed giddily as Allen peered over her shoulder at the creamy looking liquid inside before his eyes drifted to the unsavory object right next to it. "Don't worry Allen, the two things aren't related in any way." Lord Brarthoroz rumbled as he placed three good sized glass coffee mugs on the table in front of them and sat back heavily on the chair opposite. "I wasn't worried, I just wondered if this was something you whipped up to help
"I just can't figure out how so many men could disappear so easily like this. It doesn't make any sense that there would be no sign of any of them" Bertram continued with a deep frown. Allen could feel Lexi's tension rise as Bertram spoke, so he reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He knew damn well that her anxiety was rooted in her concern over Greyson more than anything, and as much as he wished that their relationship would only ever be about the two of them, he had long since accepted that the Moon Goddess had plans for them all, and it was a matter of trusting in her wisdom rather than his own selfish desires. "Do you think they are in some sort of trouble?" Lexi asked softly. "Who knows," Bertram snorted, "The whole area is a dead zone for communications. The last contact I had with them was here," he said as he pointed to an area on the map, "and with the second team here," he continued, moving his finger to a location slightly to the west of where Gr
Lexi and Allen made their way down to the cells, with Lexi still grumbling loudly about Bertram's incompetence. All she wanted was answers and the fact that everywhere she turned there seemed to be another hurdle to cross was starting to piss her off. Aoife didn't deserve to suffer as she had and none of them really knew whether or not she was alive or dead. Especially with her uncle's involvement. If Eromaug was behind both Aoife's and her own mother's death, she hated to think what else he was capable of putting them through. Lexi vaguely remembered him from the few occasions that they had met when she was a child and even then she had been overwhelmed with just how uneasy he made her, and her mother feel. She shuddered involuntarily and pushed those memories aside as her face hardened. At least now she knew why her mother had distrusted him and disliked the time that Lexi had spent with him, and why her father always seemed to hide his fury whenever Lexi had gushed about j