The Alpha and the Oracle (The Belesone Pack #1)

Chapter 35

Leo was alone in the house when the delivery came. Grene was still at work and he had no idea if or when he might return to the house. As for Josanna, he figured he wouldn't be seeing her again any time soon. She would want to be as far away from him as possible. And he didn't even bother expecting Milo and Katarina back at a sensible time. The Alpha hadn't let his wolf run free for fun for weeks; he would be taking advantage of every moment of freedom he had with his mate.

The problem Leo had, with being on his own, was that he had no-one to explain the gift to him. It came in a large cardboard box, with a gift tag stating only what Katarina had already told him: "To Leo. This should clear the fog in your mind, Constantine."

Well, right now he wasn't sure what fog was doing the worst damage; the one over his mate or the one over Milo's relationship with Katarina. But he guessed he would find out. And he would have to do it alone. The guards would have no clue and he wasn't going upstairs to disturb Milo's father, Oswine, just because he was curious.

Leo pulled a pen knife out of his back jean pocket and sliced open the box. He wasn't best pleased to find that there was a heck of a lot of tissue paper inside. He began pulling it out, as he sat on the sofa, not caring about the mess he was making.

Instead of finding an object inside, he found another box. Two inches smaller than the main parcel. He lifted it out and discarded the large box to the side of the sofa, in case he needed it later. He sliced open the smaller box and frowned when he saw more tissue paper inside. He extracted it and cursed when he saw yet another box.

He repeated the process of lifting it out, cutting it open and removing the inside box four times, until all he was left with was a lot of frustration and a matchbox. He guessed Constantine felt like playing with him.

Reluctantly and unsure of what he would find inside, Leo opened the matchbox. He found not matches inside, but a single capsule of two colours. One side was black, the other was white. When he lifted it out, he was relieved to find a small piece of paper inside, folded in on itself until it fit the box.

Dear Leo,

Katarina has told me of your trouble. Take this capsule and the world will be open to you for an hour.

Everything will be as the pill suggests - black or white. There can be no confusion while under its influence.

I strongly suggest you ensure you are alone during the hour you are controlled by its powers. You will know what I mean when the hour is over.

Sincerely, Constantine.

Leo frowned again as he read the letter a second and third time. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he was pretty confident that he could trust Constantine. So, he got up off his seat and headed to the living room doors. He closed and locked them, just in case he became violent or began hallucinating. He didn't want to hurt anyone.

Once that was done, he moved over to the windows and ensured they were secure too. Then he tidied up the mess he had made with the continual boxes and the tissue paper.

He could understand Constantine's reasoning now. If the capsule was so strong that it cleared up his entire world in one hour, to simple black and white truths, he could understand the secrecy. Anyone who handled the package would feel its strength and importance. Constantine had wanted to disguise that with necessary blockages as much as he could. Leo was grateful.

He got himself comfortable on the couch and sat the matchbox on the coffee table. Being very careful, he lifted the capsule out of the box and looked at it.

"You better be what you say you are." He thought aloud, before popping it onto his tongue and swallowing it.

Instantly the whole world lit up in exaggerated colour and Leo found himself smiling.