Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 295 You Know That I Love You
It hadn’t taken their force long to clear the halls and clean up the bodies that were left behind.
The losses had been minimal on their part and considering the forces that they had thought they would be up against, their plans had meant that they had been far better equipped than the coven itself.
The Coven had left very few prisoners alive, and the ones that were still breathing were in pretty bad shape. Lexi and the other healers and medics had done what they could but there was no growing back limbs…no matter how proficient of a shifter you were. Lord Brarthroroz had stationed huge numbers of his daemons within the winding passageways and caverns that the coven had previously inhabited and returned to the surface with his portalmancer Steve at his side.
He strode angrily across the makeshift camp to the command tent and paused at the entrance, glancing across at the medical tent where Lexi had been working.
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Currently, she was cleaning her hands off as her mates watched on protectively and Lord Brarthroroz felt his mouth settle into a grim line as he watched her.
“Forgive me,” Steve began from behind him, his voice no more than a raspy whisper, “It may not be my place to say so, my Lord, but I still think you made the right decision.”
Lord Brarthroroz huffed loudly as he turned to raise an eyebrow at Steve,
“Did I though? All of this…the deaths and destruction… my own mate…”
“Eromaug has always been petulant,” Steve nodded, “Yet, he is not stupid. Your wife is merely a bargaining chip in his eyes… and perhaps your daughter’s friend too. Even if she denied his claims, she will feel compelled to act now with the knowledge that they are both alive.”
Lord Brarthroroz growled furiously, baring his sharpened teeth as his eyes narrowed.
“Then I will just remove that knowledge from her!” He hissed. “My Lord…as much as I would rather avoid a death at your hands, I feel it my duty to tell you…Lexi is a woman now. She has her own mind, her own circle…you cannot just keep erasing her memories.” Steve answered, his face unreadable as he felt himself being grabbed tightly around his neck and thrust inside the command tent at a speed that would have injured the living.
“If it weren’t for the fact that it has taken me centuries to get you to the point you are now, I would kill you where you stood!” Lord Brarthroroz snarled menacingly into Steve’s expressionless face.
“Indeed, you could take that course of action,” Steve answered coolly, “However, my point is still valid. You, as well as I, know that her temper matches her mothers, and if she finds that you have been hiding the very reason from her, or discovers that you blocked her memories as an adult…” Steve trailed off, watching intently as Lord Brarthroroz’s displeased rumble quieted and he pushed Steve away from him in frustration.
Steve brushed at the puff of dust that had erupted from him at the sharp contact and settled on his clothes with a disgruntled snort. “It is one thing to protect your child when they are young…” Steve continued unabashedly until Lord Brarthroroz slammed his fist into the table.
“I know. I do not need you to explain.” He hissed as he stared intently at the large indents that had formed in the surface beneath his fists.
“It seems that you do, my Lord,” Steve pressed, an air of resignation to his tone, “There is no one else who will tell you this and you know that. I would advise that you speak with your daughter and her mates and at least let them know what they are facing and why.”
“I do not remember appointing you as my advisor, wraith,” Lord Brarthroroz sneered as Steve narrowed his eyes and laughed coldly, the sound coming out as more of an unsettling wheeze.
“And I do not remember pledging to serve a coward.” Steve replied flatly as Lord Brarthroroz flinched and turned to him with a furious glare.
“Wow Steve, tell us how you really feel,” Lexi’s voice snorted from the doorway as Lord Brarthroroz froze at the sound of her voice and his eyes snapped to hers.
He shifted uncomfortably as Lexi strode into the tent with Greyson and Allen following closely behind her.
She paused and frowned as she looked between her father and
Steve, the tension positively crackling in the air around her father, while Steve stood impassively at the side.
“Did I interrupt something I shouldn’t have?” Lexi asked as she grabbed a bottle of water from the table and registered the odd indents on the metal surface of the table just behind her father.
When neither of them answered she placed the bottle back on the table and cleared her throat, gesturing to the table.
“Seems like those are about the right size for your fists, Papa. I doubt it was Steve…he’d probably crumble at the contact,” She smirked quickly at Steve who slightly raised his eyebrow at her but remained silent.
“It’s nothing Lexi.” Lord Brarthroroz grumbled as he avoided her eyes and kept his eyes fixed on Steve’s unmoving form.
“It certainly didn’t sound like nothing,” Allen said carefully as he felt Lord Brarthroroz’s gaze land on him.
“You forget that we shifters have an incredibly keen sense of hearing…” Greyson added as he stared boldly at Lexi’s father, “I think that whatever we thought we heard, would look far better coming from you, than it would from us.”
Lord Brarthroroz held their gaze as his eyes flared furiously between Steve, Allen and Greyson, the tension and anger rolling off him in waves.
“Papa, what’s going on?” Lexi frowned as she stepped around the table towards him, “What aren’t you telling me?”
His head snapped towards her and for a moment Lexi saw the fury in his eyes, but it quickly softened as he gazed at her.
He sighed heavily and turned towards her, reaching for her as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
“Lexi.” He murmured into her hair as his voice cracked slightly.
“Papa, what’s going on? You’re starting to scare me.” “Just know that everything I ever did was to protect you.” He murmured as he released her slightly and she looked up at the towering figure of her father and saw for the first time in the lines of his face, an unsettling uncertainty at whatever it was that he was about to say.