If there was anything I knew about Alphas since I became Alpha Winter’s second son, it was their close affinity to their sons.
To an average Alpha, having a son was the best thing they could ever accomplish in our world. To them, having sons meant they were doing something right. Securing the future of their packs, continuing their bloodlines, ensuring their legacies would survive long after they were gone.
Most of the time, fleeting thoughts of my parents would flash through my mind, even though I had no recollection of my childhood. I did hear the healer who had taken care of me after I was rescued from the last fighting ring whisper to my Master that he was sure I had an Alpha heritage.
That, that was the only reason I’d been able to survive the poison.
Most of the time, I think about what it would have been like for me if I were still with my parents, and my dad turned out to be an Alpha. Would I ever come to Ravenshore? Would I be constantly under the pressure faced by Alpha sons to outdo each other?
Would I come to Ravenshore to network with the right clique of Alpha sons and form connections, bonds and secure my stand with the Alpha King rulership council before I graduate? Would I take any of the girls from Ebonvale as my Luna, regardless of whether she’s my fated mate or not?
And years later, when I find my mate, maintain the front that my marriage was perfect while I seek the arms of my fated mate each night?
That was practically how everything worked here.
Alpha sons were one of the most messed-up groups of boys I’d ever seen, and the status of their families reflected in everything they did.
But as I stared at Alpha Terry, Rhett’s father, sitting with his head in his hands and staring at the floor with blank desperation, I thought this was probably the first Alpha I’d met who just wanted his son to survive.
Not because Rhett was his heir or for whatever political advantage he might represent, but because he truly, genuinely loved his son as a person.
The realization made me understand that the problem Rhett had with his father was a result of miscommunication. They didn’t talk a lot.
Rhett thought his father hated him, and Terry, in his bid to save his son, had distanced himself from him, hoping that even if Rhett dies finally, he could find the strength to survive again, just like when his mother had left him.
I took a deep sigh, wondering how I kept getting roped into everyone else’s business. I was supposed to be focused, disciplined, and dedicated to my mission.
Instead, here I was in a hospital waiting room at midnight, worried sick about people I’d only known for a few months and days.
I checked my watch and it was exactly midnight.
The surgery had been going on for six hours now. More than anyone, I was supposed to be resting because today was supposed to be a big day for me. Headmistress Vale would be leaving Ravenshore, and I would be going with her.
It was the perfect time to infiltrate Ravenshore’s underground network, to gather more intelligence for my Master.
Just as I started to wonder where Slater had disappeared to for so many hours, my phone buzzed with a message. I slipped my hands inside my jacket and pulled out the device, glancing toward Alpha Terry to make sure I wasn’t being observed.
When I opened my phone, I saw the message was from my Master’s messenger assigned to me. It contained a video file, which was unusual. Since I hadn’t brought my earbuds and didn’t want to disturb the tense quiet of the waiting room, I turned down the volume on my phone before I pressed play.
In the video, I could see Slater weaving through a throng of people in what appeared to be a crowded market or shopping district.
The person secretly recording him followed from a distance as he made his way through the busy streets.
The footage tracked Slater until he reached what appeared to be a laboratory hidden in the lower villages of Ravenshore pack territory. It was an old building that could have been anything—a clinic, a research facility or even a private doctor’s office.
The video fast-forwarded through a long stretch of waiting, and when it returned to normal speed, the timestamp showed that two hours had passed before Slater emerged from the building. Then the footage ended abruptly.
A follow-up message appeared immediately after the video: "Master said to check this out and see what he went in there to do."
I sighed deeply, running my hands through my hair as I turned off my phone and set it down on the bench beside me. The timing couldn’t be worse. I couldn’t leave now, if I did, Eamon would be alone, and anything could happen.
Given Ravenshore’s track record, a student could be healthy one minute and pronounced dead the next, with the cause being something completely bizarre and unexplainable. The thought of something happening to Eamon while I was away made my chest tight with anxiety.
No matter how much I tried to suppress these strange feelings, I couldn’t. When I wasn’t with Eamon, it felt like something would go wrong. These days, I was beginning to be genuinely scared about Eamon staying at Ravenshore, but I couldn’t ask him to leave either.
What excuse could I give?
My phone buzzed again. When I checked it, the message read: "You there?"
I texted back: "Yeah."
"So? Are you leaving now?" came the immediate response.
Sighing and knowing I was about to put myself in serious trouble, I rose from my chair and walked a considerable distance from Alpha Terry before dialling the number that had been texting me.
The messenger picked up on the first ring. "What’s up?" he asked without preamble.
"I can’t go," I said quietly, keeping my voice low.
"Because I’m currently at the hospital. Rhett is sick and—"
"So?" the messenger interrupted impatiently. "This is a perfect opportunity to check it out. The distance from the hospital to that place is about three hours back and forth. We will send you—"
"I still can’t go," I interrupted him. "Someone needs to keep an eye on things here."
There was a slight pause before the messenger asked. "There’s no one from Rhett’s family there?"
I gritted my teeth. "His father—Alpha Terry is here."
"So why can’t you leave then?" the messenger pressed.
I didn’t know how to explain that I couldn’t leave Eamon. The thought of being away while Eamon was vulnerable in an operating room made me feel physically ill. How could I articulate feelings I didn’t fully understand myself?"
After a short pause, the messenger scoffed. "Let me guess—Eamon is there?"
After several beats of silence, I said grudgingly. "Yes. He’s in the operating room with Rhett. Blood transfusion."
"I warned you about this, didn’t I?" The messenger’s voice was filled with disapproval. "You’re letting yourself get distracted by this Eamon boy. Can’t you see how he’s affecting everything you do? We’re not supposed to develop feelings to the extent where we lose focus on the things that matter most to us. For fuck’s sake, Kael, get your ass out of that hospital or I’ll tell Master everything."
I swallowed hard, turned back, and stared at the door of the operating room. No one had come out of it since Eamon had been wheeled in hours ago. No updates, no progress reports, nothing. The silence was agonizings.
I couldn’t leave. Eamon might need me. I’d promised him that I would be here no matter what. What if something went wrong and he called my name? What if there were complications from the blood donation? What if—
"I’m sorry, but I cannot leave," I said finally. "I promised Eamon that I’ll be here waiting for him. I’ll check out the lab later today and try to get information from Slater when he returns."
"You promised?" the messenger yelled into the phone. "How about your commitment to your mission? Are you going nuts? You know what, you need to go back to therapy. This is not normal. Your obsession with this boy would be your ruin."
"I’m not obsessed with him," I insisted. "I just care a little more because he’s naïve and innocent. He’s barely 18 and I feel responsible for him."
"A boy whose information I couldn’t find," the messenger scoffed. "Shouldn’t that worry you at least? He could be using you, Kael. Open your eyes."
I considered his thought line and shook my head as if to expel it. Eamon was anything but a user. He just happened to be effortlessly clueless and innocent. That was his only crime.
"I’ll give you feedback if I go to the lab. I’m hanging up now."
I didn’t let him finish his threat before I hung up the call and immediately turned off my phone. I couldn’t handle any more pressure right now.
Just as I returned to my seat and sat down, the elevator dinged, and Slater finally appeared, looking exhausted, carrying what appeared to be coffee and food.
"I"I’morry, guys,""he said with a smile. "" know it took so long, and I’m sorry." As he spoke, his eyes scanned the room, looking for Eamon.
He paused and turned back to me; his eyes had gone wide with confusion.