Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 261 Make Yourself at Home
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 find the location of your brother or the other culprit.” Allen answered defensively as he watched Lexi eagerly pour the steaming liquid into the cups and hand them out.
Allen frowned down into his cup. Clearly this wasn’t some demonic alchemical tracking potion as he had originally thought.
Lexi settled back onto the sofa with a contented sigh and inhaled the intoxicating scent that drifted lazily from their mugs.
“Mmm, smells like Christmas,” She murmured contentedly as she kicked her shoes off and tucked her l*egs underneath her, the childlike happiness fading into seriousness as she looked across at her father.
“Felix has gone to rest for a while Papa. Is there anything that we can do to speed this up? I know you’re working on finding Eromaug, but what about the other scent on the handle? Do we have any leads?”
Lord Brarthoroz shook his head as he stared at the dagger in front of him.
“I know the scent of every damn shifter within the Enclave but this one, I’ve not encountered yet.” He frowned deeply.
“At least we can rule out someone from inside the Enclave being part of this as well. I had a list of Elders in my head that I was ready to beat the s**t out of to try and get them to confess,” Lexi sniggered as Allen suddenly drew in a sharp breath. “Wait, we still have Linus held in the cells. Is it worth us asking him?” Allen asked.
“Ugh… do we have to? He’s such a f ***** g sleaze,” Lexi shuddered.
“I’m happy to do the interrogating if you want to take a back seat this time.” Allen shrugged easily, “It’s about time we got him shipped out of here anyway.”
“That’s not a half bad idea actually. It might be that he knows something without realizing it,” Lord Brarthoroz hummed.
“We need to figure out what’s going on with Greyson’s team as well,” Lexi added as she chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.
“Well I would have been further on with that if you hadn’t insisted on me joining you here,” Allen reminded her as Lord Brarthoroz raised an eyebrow.
“Is my company not good enough for you now, Allen?” he asked with a lazy smirk as Allen ran his hand through his hair in frustration.
“No, it’s not that at all. I just feel like I’m being pulled from all sides here and as quick as one thing is
resolved, something else inevitably crops up to take its place. Quite honestly, I need more hours in the day.”
“Look, it’s no big deal, Allen. I’ll come with you to the barrack and we can poke around together. Teamwork right? Many hands make light work and all that.” Lexi beamed.
“I get the distinct feeling that it’s going to end up more along the lines of ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’,” Allen grimaced as Lord Brarthroz chuckled at their bickering.
“Don’t be a negative nancy, furball.” Lexi huffed, “At least we know there isn’t much that we can do to help Papa, now.”
Allen stood as he jammed his hands in his pocket and rubbed his neck tiredly.
“If you don’t mind, Lord Brarthroroz, I’m going to head off to the barracks and see if I can catch
Bartholomew. Perhaps he’s heard something and just not had chance to catch up with us, what with everything going on.”
“Not at all. Let me know if you need any help. The Hellhounds have already been released to their hunt. They were far more enthusiastic about it than I expected.” He chuckled as Allen looked at him warily.
“Don’t worry furball, they won’t show up here and hump your l*eg while you aren’t looking.” Lexi grinned, “They’re pretty single minded and won’t waste any time as they pursue their target.”
“Thanks for the reassurance,” Allen snapped as Lexi drained the rest of the cup and sighed contentedly. “Thanks for the Chai, Papa. We’ll keep you updated,” she grinned as she followed Allen out.
They dropped by Bartholomew’s office only to find it empty so after a quick discussion they decided to make their way down to the barracks. The interrogation of Linus as going to take far longer than speaking to the Commander for an update, so it made sense to head there first.
Both Lexi and Allen were met with suspicious glances as they entered the communal lounge, and when they asked to speak with the resident commander, the guards reluctantly pointed them to his quarters.
Commander Bertram looked up from his desk with a frown at the interruption, but as soon as he saw who the would-be offenders were, he stood hastily and saluted.
“Beta’s,” He nodded in welcome before gesturing to the seats opposite his desk, “Please, make yourself at home.”
Lexi held back the snigger at his invitation to sit.
Make yourself at home? It was so sparsely decorated in here that she was almost positive that she would need to hire an interior decorator to transform the almost clinical environment into anything that resembled the warmth of a home.
“Apologies for the interruption Commander Bertram. Has there been any news regarding Commander Greyson’s position?” Allen asked with a serious face.
“No,” Bertram sighed in frustration as he threw his pen down onto the table, “Nor has there been any word from the scouting parties that we sent afterwards. I’m beginning to think we sent the lot of them headlong into some sort of trap.” He said darkly as Lexi’s heart leaped into her throat.
With no word from Greyson until now, she was already beginning to fear the worst. To hear this from
Bertram only seemed to reinforce her fears that something terrible had happened to Greyson.
Their parting words ran through her head as she bit her lip nervously to distract her from this sinking feeling in her heart. She prayed to every god that might be listening to
keep him safe, after all, he had promised to return to her…he couldn’t break that promise. She would never forgive him if he did.