92
JARIS
“Daddy!” Xyla screamed when she noticed me from the counter.
I didn’t miss the color that crept onto Lyric’s nose the moment she saw me. Why did she always have this reaction around me?
A dark thought settled in my mind: Did she also have this reaction when she let Zarek touch
her?
I pushed the thought aside, deciding to enjoy the moment.
I went closer to the kids, taking Xylon into my arms while I planted a kiss on Xyla’s hair.
“Good morning, Alpha.” Lyric dipped her head, her nose still pink.
I was starting to grow irritated with her calling me ‘Alpha.‘ In her dream mode, she always called me by my name. I think I liked that better.
“How was your night, Lyric?” I regarded.
I noticed the color reached her ears as well. But now, I think she was embarrassed about
something. About having those ‘dreams,‘ maybe?
“It–It was fine.” She quickly went back to stirring what was in the pan.
“Daddy see! We are making breakfast!” Xyla said excitedly.
I glanced at the pile of waffles and pancakes.
“I thought you didn’t like waffles?” I drew my brows at her.
“Yes! But aunty promised I’d like hers. So, I want to give it a try.”
It was still amusing to me how well Lyric handled the kids. I’ve never seen them this free and happy around Marta or even their nannies. What was it with Lyric?
“So, what did you learn? Can you make waffles on your own?” I teased.
“Yes, daddy! All you have to-”
“Liar!” Xylon cut her off, laughing.
“I’m not lying! I can make waffles!!” Xyla glared daggers at him. Then, she went ahead to state the recipe.
“Is that correct, chef?” I looked at Lyric who was already laughing. Even I knew the answer to
1/4
02
+25 Bonus
my question. I didn’t need to hold a spoon in the kitchen to know my dear daughter had just said gibberish.
“Yes! Yes, of course, I’m right!” Xyla clapped for herself.
Thirty minutes later, we all ate on the table.
And just like that, the burden from two days ago was gone. I didn’t worry about the DNA but focused on the precious moment before me, which was all thanks to her.
If she hadn’t taken the bold step to bring the kids to me, none of this would’ve happened.
I was starting to get confused about Lyric. She could make everything feel good one minute, and the next, she was ruining it. Why did she have to go sleep with Zarek? Why… why did she have to ruin the perfect moment we were building?
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget that. It was the constant reminder that she could do it again to another man. Someone else would get to see her smile, see her laugh. Her her
moan.
While none of that should bother me, it did.
The sound of my phone ringing interrupted the moment. I’d been getting a lot of calls since two days ago, most of which I ignored, but when I saw the name on my screen, I knew it had to be important.
“Hey, Patrick.” I dropped my fork.
Patrick was a Deputy for the Packs. He oversaw inter–Pack crimes and mostly helped to keep everyone in check.
He never called for pleasure, only when there was something important.
“Alpha Jaris. I think you might want to come down to Willow Way,” he said.
Willow Way was not too far from my Pack. As a matter of fact, every member of Darkspire had to travel through that road before getting to the Pack.
“Why? What happened?”
He hesitated. “It has to do with some of your guys. Just get down, please.”
I dropped the call, breakfast already tasting sour in my mouth.
“Did something happen?” Lyric’s eyes were filled with concern as she asked.
2/4
92
“Yes. I’ll be back.”
I went upstairs, changed and was soon out of the house.
5)
+25 Bonus
*****
Five of my people had been killed. They all seemed to have been in one car as there was only one found by the side of the road while the bodies littered everywhere.
“We think they must have been driving in this car,” Patrick said as he walked me to the car which was turned upside down. “Then, something must have hit them. Although, there is no sign of a car crash anywhere. So it’s possible someone or a group of persons must have lifted the car off the road while they were driving.”
“While they were driving?” I knitted my brows in his direction. “It shouldn’t be possible for a wolf to do something like that. They’d have been run over by the car. Unless the car wasn’t in
motion.”
“That’s the only possible explanation, Alpha Jaris. Because as we can see, the car was turned over. Then, the men were dragged out and murdered. And that’s where the problem is.”
He led me to one of the bodies, squatted and tilted their head for me to see. “Take a look at this. Bite marks. It looks like someone had sucked on them. Those bloodsucking creatures are a myth and do not exist, and to further prove it, these claw marks indicate that this had been done by a wolf.” He pointed at the claw marks on the victim’s hand.
He was right. Those were wolf claws.
“So, a wolf clearly did this. But why would they bite another wolf? We only bite humans when we want to kill them, but the bite of a wolf can’t kill another wolf. And strangely,” he frowned, his eyes lost staring at the corpse. “It’s the only marks they have on them. There’s nothing else indicating how these men were killed.”
The atmosphere suddenly became uncomfortable for me. I adjusted the neck of my shirt, the fabric suddenly choking.
I didn’t like this one bit. Majorly because it was looking too familiar. But it shouldn’t be possible.
“I need to know who did this, Patrick. These are my men.” I looked at the faces of the victims on the ground and named them. They were born into Darkspire. I couldn’t begin to imagine how devastated their families would be.
“I’m working on it, Alpha J. I also want these bastards found.”
I made arrangements for the bodies to be taken to Darkspire. But I couldn’t go back there. Not
3/4
25
92
+25 Bonus
yet.
On my way back to the vacation home, I called ‘her‘ again. Margaret.
She didn’t take the first call. So, I had to call again.
“Alpha J-
“Where was your phone, Margaret? You know how much I hate waiting.” I couldn’t help the irritation that filled my voice.
“I–I’m sorry, Alpha. The first call ended before I could get to the phone.”
“My brother.” I adjusted the neck of my shirt again. Why was it so tight. “I want a photo.”
“Oh.” She hesitated. “Is there a reason, Alpha?”
“I need to see him and be sure he is in there.”
“I see. O–Okay, Alpha. Unfortunately, I am not at the location right now. But-”
“Margaret, I need that photo within the hour. Not even a second late.”
I dropped the call, my hand tightening around the steering.
Comments
Support
