"I still think you should be resting in the infirmary. You don't look well," Kaelith huffed, adjusting his grip on Isaldora as he carried her bridal-style down the hall. She felt infuriatingly light in his arms.
Isaldora just rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. "These are just scratches and bruises. You're acting like I was stabbed a dozen times and left for dead." She fixed him with a glare and he glared back lightly, his brow furrowed with concern. "Well you were practiaclly left unconscious for dead. That's serious enough for me."
Earlier, she had declared she wouldn't spend another second in the "depressing" infirmary. Kaelith wasn't happy with the thought and tried to reason with her but had to agree anyway. However only on one condition that he'll carry her back to her room. Isaldora had seen no logic behind it but regardless agreed all huffing and puffing.
As they stepped into the main hall, they found Xavier, Renna, and Lucien as if waiting for them, their expressions a mix of worry and relief.
"Ms. Aether!" Renna rushed forward, her voice cracking slightly. "Xavier told me you were kidnapped! How did this happen? Are you alright?" She looked on the verge of tears.
""You're looking much better than the last time, Luna. I'm glad it wasn't something serious." Xavier said with a relieved, kind smile as he wrapped his arms around Renna's form pulling her gently back against his side.
"Yeah, kindly tell that to your Alpha," Isaldora said, giving Kaelith a pointed look. "He's been grumbling non-stop about that."
Kaelith just rolled his eyes, but held her a little tighter.
"How are you feeling now, Luna?" Lucien asked, stepping forward but keeping his gaze lowered, unable to meet her eyes directly.
"I'm perfectly fine Lucien. You don't have to fret about what happened. Plus you did your job perfectly." Isaldora said to him, and Lucien looked up surprised.
"How do you know that I—"
"That you are throwing yourself on a guilt trip? Isaldora finished for him. "Yeah, it's written all over your face." She pointed out. "Now just get over with it already."
Lucien nodded at her, his shoulders relaxing instantly. A visible weight seemed to lift off him. "Yes, Luna."
"Yeah, Lucien just like I told you, you did your job following the orders. So don't be hard on yourself." Kaelith added nodding at him, his voice firm but supportive.
"Thank you, Alpha, Luna." Lucien said with a smile.
Kaelith carefully set Isaldora down on a large plush couch in the lounge area, and the others followed suit taking seats around them.
"By the way," he said looking at Isaldora, his voice softening with genuine admiration, "I wanted to say... I was seriously impressed and dumbfounded by your courage back there. You acted like a true Luna."
Isaldora looked at Kaelith with confusion. "How come you know what happened back there?" She asked not figuring out how he knew what happened at the roadside.
"Alpha saw it through my memory Luna." Lucien clarified.
Isaldora looked shocked like really surprised shocked. He saw it? How?
"Hmmm," Kaelith hummed, his brow raising, a playful, knowing smirk tugging at his lips. "You didn't know about that? Guess you don't know as much as you pretend to." He was clearly amused. "Well wolves can share certain memories with each other, especially with their higher-ranking wolves."
Isaldora could only manage a soft, "Ooh," as her mind raced.
Yeah, I clearly did NOT know that, she thought, filing the information away for later. It was a dangerous gap in her knowledge.
"You looked ethereal," Kaelith murmured, leaning in so close his breath tickled the shell of her ear, his voice a low, intimate whisper meant only for her. "All fearless and calm. It was a huge turn-on."
Ialdora blinked at him, her mouth hanging open in disbelief and he chuckled thoroughly enjoying her reaction.
Isaldora huffed, quickly averting her eyes and felt a warm blush creep up her neck. Damn it. How does he say things like that so casually? Freaking flirt.
"Speaking of which," Kaelith said, pulling back a bit with renewed curiosity and amusement, though his eyes stayed on her. "How did you know about blood contracts or oaths? That's some serious, high-level witch shit. Not common knowledge."
The question hung in the air. Lucien and Xavier leaned in, equally intrigued. Renna, however, just looked between them all like a lost puppy, completely out of place. But she shifted in place at hearing the word blood oath.
Isaldora looked slightly taken aback by the direct question, but she composed her features into a mask of casual indifference almost instantly.
"You could say I learned about it from an acquaintance," she shrugged lightly, as if discussing a common recipe. "Though, why do you sound so surprised?"
Kaelith, Xavier, and Lucien exchanged a look—a mixture of uncertainty, amusement, and sharp calculation. They clearly hadn't expected such a calm, dismissive answer. Isaldora fought the urge to roll her eyes again. Yeah, what did you think? That I'd stutter and be at a loss for words?
"Blood contracts are very dangerous, risky, advanced magic," Kaelith elaborated, his curiosity hardening into something more serious. "It's the kind of knowledge witches guard fiercely. I'm intrigued about this 'acquaintance' of yours." His tone suggested the word was woefully inadequate. His mate was clearly swimming in dangerous waters.
"Is that so?" Isaldora countered, a sly smirk playing on her lips. "Well, I find blood contracts quite useful. They don't leave any room for doubt about betrayal." As she spoke, her gaze flickered to Renna, holding the woman's eyes for a fraction too long.
Renna stiffened, shifting uncomfortably in her seat under the weight of that look. Isaldora's smirk deepened. Yeah, Renna knows very well all about it.
Kaelith watched Isaldora intently, trying to read the subtext. Something stirred in him when she spoke of betrayal. He detected a slight, almost imperceptible bitterness in her tone, a shadow of personal experience.
"Have you been betrayed before, Ms. Aether?" Xavier asked, his brow raised in a assessing look.
"Haven't everyone, at some point?" Isaldora replied smoothly, tilting her head. "Everyone gets betrayed. Sometimes by friends, sometimes by those you trusted most, those who swore loyalty." Her eyes held Xavier's until he gave a slow, stiff nod, conceding the point.
"Luna," Lucien interjected, leaning forward with genuine curiosity. "There's one thing I wanted to ask. How did you get that witch to comply so easily? One moment she was clearly mocking you, and the next, she was willingly accepting your terms. It was like a switch flipped."
Kaelith's focus sharpened. That was the exact moment that had stood out to him in the memory. The witch's sudden, unnerving change in demeanor. Things weren't adding up.
Isaldora offered a light, almost playful smile. "Well, about that... Let's just say I can be very persuasive when I want to be. I've got a hell of a stare." She chuckled lightly, and the others joined in, taking her remark as a simple joke.
But inwardly, Isaldora was impressed. She had to give them credit—their attention to detail was sharp. Even in the middle of all that chaos, Lucien had noticed the exact crucial detail. It was commendable.
In truth, Isaldora had simply taken control of the witch's mind. Mind control was one of her innate powers, its strength depending on the will of her target. It typically worked best on the weak-willed but that rogue witch had been strong, enough to resist.
But Isaldora was no ordinary witch; she was the true, born ruler of their kind. Even though she had not yet formally ascended to her throne, her royal bloodline granted her a primordial authority that allowed her to effortlessly subdue the mind of any other lesser witch. It had been as effortless for her as Kaelith's Alpha command was over other werewolves. It was a fundamental hierarchy of power.
Now one might wonder, if she could control the witch's mind so easily, why did she allow herself to be abducted in the first place, not forgetting that she was powerful?
For Isaldora, the abduction was less a crisis and more a blessing in disguise. She had wanted to learn more about the rogues—who was leading them and what they truly wanted. What better way to get answers than to have them take her directly to their hideout? When the opportunity literally walked up to her on that road, she decided to take it. She saw a chance to investigate from the inside, and she used it.
Isaldora could see the conflicting expressions and instinctively glanced at Kaelith who was staring at her with an intensity that felt like he could see right through her. It unsettled her, and she quickly looked away, but he kept staring.
Kaelith had listened to her vague answers, and his instincts prickled. He could sense an underlying meaning in everything she said, a hidden layer to her story. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but he was absolutely certain of one thing: there was definitely something more going on with his mate.
Her casual admission of having "acquaintances" in the supernatural world—confirming what Xavier had uncovered—only deepened his suspicion. The feeling was frustrating, like a crucial puzzle piece that refused to fit. But one thing was sure: whatever she was hiding, he would get to the bottom of it.
"Well, I think you should rest now," Kaelith said, turning to Isaldora as he stood up. He gave Lucien and Xavier a look that they immediately understood. The two men promptly excused themselves. Renna followed closely by Xavier's side, but not before shooting a nervous, fleeting glance toward Isaldora—a look that Kaelith did not miss. She definitely knows something crucial, he thought.
He moved to scoop Isaldora back into his arms, but she held up a hand to stop him.
"Absolutely not. I've been carried enough for one day. I have two perfectly functional legs," she stated firmly.
"Are you sure?" Kaelith asked, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "I rather like having you in my arms right where you belong."
"Phleaseee, I clearly don't want to be in your arms," Isaldora retorted.
"Why?" he teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Does being close to me make you nervous? Make it hard to think straight?" his voice dropped to a low, intimate tone. "Or perhaps it makes you think of something... more interesting we could be doing."
"Wha...What?" Isaldora scoffed, her cheeks flushing despite her best efforts. She shot him a glare, hoping to hide her fluster. "You are impossible."
"But you like it," he countered confidently. "I can feel your heart racing."
"That's from annoyance," she shot back, though the effect was ruined by the slight tremor in her voice.
"Of course it is," Kaelith chuckled and without awarning he bent down and scooped her up effortlessly. She let out a small yelp, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck.
"Hey! Put me down right now!" she squirmed in his arms.
He just snickered, holding her tightly against him. "Never, sweetheart. Not even if the world ended." He squeezed her gently.
Surrounded by the warm, intoxicating scent of his cologne, Isaldora tried to focus as he began walking. "You must've been a legendary charmer," she said, her voice laced with amusement. "The way you throw around flirty remarks so smoothly. I'm sure you've made countless women swoon with that routine. But let me make this clear," her tone turned serious, "I am not like the women you're used to."
Kaelith stopped walking and looked down at her, his gaze becoming intensely serious, capturing hers completely.
"You're right," he said, his voice low. "You are not like any other woman." He held her stare, making sure she heard every word. "Because you are the only woman I've ever been madly in love with."