Chapter 33
Chapter 33
*CAHIR*
"Man, I am almost jealous of you." Aristo flopped into a seat after walking into my office without knocking. "Congratulations, my man!"
There was something going on with Aristo – Something I could not place a finger on.
"You don't barge into my office, Aristo." My tone was level when I spoke but that blatant disrespect irked my wolf. "The next time you do that, you may end up crippled."
"Oh –" His cheeks reddened. "I am sorry, Alpha." He bared his neck and my wolf was placated.
"What's the update on Silver Moon?" I fingered the collar of my shirt as I spoke.
"They haven't said anything. It may be too early for them to make the connection," my Beta replied, going into business mode. "The Alpha put up fliers and they are seriously searching for her but he doesn't know she is here yet."
"He will know soon." I leaned back into my seat, calculating the fastest moves that would deliver Silver Moon into my hands.
"You want them to know?" Aristo sounded surprised. "We just started the process to place our first order from them. Don't you think it would affect the process?" He asked. "They might not uphold their end if they find out you took her."
"A blood contract is binding, you know that. Even if they don't want to, they will surely be compelled to honour the contract." I almost smiled as I thought of Kade and his fellow leaders.
The man was a smart man but he did not have enough sense to realize oil and wolf's bane were not enough to stop me from having Sia.
Perseus purred at the reminder of last night. ver thought an inexperienced woman would make me unravel the way that woman did. Her shy touches ignited me, spreading a fire that only her could quench through my being. Alpha Kade thought I would look at a woman like Sia and let him have her?
The blood contract we signed would not bind me because in all technicalities, Sebastian, my guard, was the one to sign the contract. His blood was already on the knife I pretended to use to slit my thumb for the contract. Also, the contract only said in exchange for the trade deal with Silver Moon, I would leave the healer with Silver Moon. I left the healer with them– it just happened that she was delivered to my doorstep.
"On Friday, we will hold her Luna ceremony. She will be officially introduced to the pack as their Luna. I want as many reporters as possible to cover the event." After that, Silver Moon would come raging for a fight. I cracked my knuckles in anticipation.
"Is that – Wise?" Aristo fidgeted. "Isn't it better to keep her hidden for a while?" He asked.
"Is she a criminal?" I demanded. "Why does she need to be hidden?"
The minute the world knew I had a mate, they would target her. I didn't take Alpha Blood by playing nice and befriending other Alphas. When I was named the Alpha of this pack, many Alphas started to withdraw their alliances with Alpha Blood to show their solidarity with Alpha Boston who was already cold in the ground.
"Why are you laughing?" Aristo asked when a harsh sound escaped my lips.
"Remembering," I answered, not paying him any attention.
Those packs had fallen from their places of grace and one by one, they came back to beg me to cooperate with them. Alpha Blood was the pillar of more than twelve packs and the Alphas of those
packs hated me for humiliating them. They expected Alpha Blood pack to crumble after they withdrew their support, they wanted me to fail so they could point fingers and laugh at me. The plan was to put me at their feet, to be at their mercies, but I did not take over Alpha Blood to ruin it. I took over to make it mine and everything that belonged to me had to flourish.
These Alphas who saw me as their enemy when I had not even touched their packs would seize any opportunity to bring me down. A mate was a very obvious weakness that they would not fail to target. This was one of the many reasons I did not want a mate: I didn't want a weakness any man could exploit, a weakness so strong it could be used to bring me to my knees in one swift move, that and the fact that I did not know what to do with a mate.
"If we do this, there will be no going back," Aristo warned me.
It surprised me that my Beta would caution me about acting recklessly. He advocated for 'fuck it, fuck this, let's fuck things up,' which was his motto in life.
"This will put her in danger," he reminded me.
"Anyone associated with me is in danger."
"You know what I mean." He scrubbed his palms down his face. "This is a risky thing to do and she's a healer too so –" He shook his head.
"Do you think you are more concerned about my mate than I am?" I didn't understand the anger that took over me but I squeezed my fists to keep from lashing out.
There it was again – another reason I didn't want a mate; the power she held over me.
After I escaped the dungeons where Alpha Boston kept me to torture me for his sick pleasure, I came out with a temper. I destroyed everything in my path, anyone that looked at me the wrong way
felt a taste of my wrath. It got to a point where I thought I was destroying myself and it was at that point I turned my anger on the man who made me like this. I refused to succumb to the bloodlust.
I didn't want to become the man I used to be – the boy I used to be. Someone who could not control himself. When Sihana was involved in anything, I felt the grip I had on the reins of my demons slip. The slip-ups were getting too much. She wields too much power over me and a man is only powerful when he can control him emotions. She threatened my power.
"No, I don't think I care about her more than you do but –"Aristo shook his head again. His worried expression irritated me to the point a growl slipped from deep within my chest.
"Have you read the report your friend sent?" I asked him but he blanched. From that expression, I knew he had not. "You haven't but I'll give you a rundown. There were people after them – People that are not from Silver Moon pack." His brows furrowed and he bit the side of his lips.
"Kamal and his gang are notorious. There must be people who want to see them destroyed," Aristo said.
"Are you missing my point on purpose?" He was not. "They were not from rival gangs. They were following her." His lips rounded as did his eyes. "Have you seen Lawrence today?" I asked him and his eyes widened further. "You know who Lawrence works for."
Lawrence was a spy who came into my pack three years ago. He reported everything he saw to Alpha Alexander and today, he had gone to report to duty. Himself and the man he served thought me too stupid to notice a spy in my house but they did not know I let him be because he would come in handy soon – handier than he was now.
"They know she is your mate but if more people know, they'll start digging and Silver Moon, feeling betrayed will sell her out," Aristo cautioned.
These were good points but they were points I already factored in. No matter how much I hid Sihana, the world would know of her. She was a light – a beacon on a hill that could not be hidden.
"Do you believe no one knows she is a healer yet?" I asked Aristo who shook his head. The man I left behind in Silver Moon told me they had started to use her as a healer less than forty-eight hours later so it was not a secret that could be hidden anymore.
The fact that she was my mate and a healer put a double target on her back but I was capable of protecting her.
"People know but more people would know –" Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
"Aristo, shut up." For once, he shut up. "In a few months, whether I announce her as my Luna or not, people would know who she is. Do you want me to wait, to hide her and wait till then?"
"It may be wise –"
"It would be stupid. On Friday, I will announce to the world that she is my Luna then we can wait for any fool that thinks he can harm her right under my nose. The faster they know of her, the faster they will come and the faster I can deal with them to live a peaceful life with my mate."
Let them come. I would be waiting.
"You have made up your mind," Aristo sighed.
Yes, I'd been calculating from the minute I perceived her scent.
Her relationship with me could prove deadly to her. Men who wanted to see my downfall would want to use her so whether I hid her or not, they would know of her. I knew that at least three Alphas knew of her and at least one of them knew she was a healer. She was already in danger, hiding her
would only give the impression I was afraid. Fear and Cahir Armani did not belong in the same sentence.
"The world will know she is my Luna and Silver Moon will be the first to retaliate. They may even find a way to terminate a blood contract but unfortunately for them, I have my mind set on their ruination."
They would all pay for touching Sihana Asena.