Heir To The Iron Crown: Dyrith

9 - Níunda

Valente had pulled me into a warm hug, his arms wrapped around me tightly, and I wished this moment wouldn't pass.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, relishing the bond between us. The bond that made even this simple hug seem so intimate, intense, and filled with pleasure.

"I want to go to my place first Valente," I told him, my arms still wrapped around him.

He slowly let go of me just enough to look at me.

"Your place?" he asked.

I nodded my head.

"I'll have to take care of a few things, if I'm leaving the country, you know?" I told him. "I have been living a human life for the past few years. I can't just up and leave."

He nodded his head.

"I'll ask Sven to postpone our flight to tomorrow morning then," he said.

I wondered how he'd managed to book a flight in such a short time for me. Maybe Alfie was right, Valente was quite eager to take me back.

"You asked Sven to do all this? To keep an eye on me? To protect me?" I asked him.

"Who else would I ask? He's my Beta after all," he said.

I looked at him in awe.

"Sven is your Beta?" I asked like a daft person who cannot understand simple words.

He smiled, kissing me again before starting the car.

"Yes," he said. "Yes he is."

"But he doesn't even live in Fathilagt," I told him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said.

"If he is the Beta, why didn't he come back to Fathilagt? I'm sure he has family in-" I stopped myself as I finally made the connection.

I couldn't believe I didn't make it sooner. He did tell me he was the son of Beta Alstein.

"He's Sylvia's lost son," I said, more to myself than anyone else.

I hadn't thought of Sylvia in such a long time, even her name on my tongue tasted bitter.

"I thought you'd have improved in all these years but you're just as slow as you always were Rayne," Valente said, chuckling.

"Maybe it is because the protagonist of the story is always frustratingly oblivious," Ima said.

"I'm not oblivious," I replied, rolling my eyes.

I looked back at Valente who seemed a lot calmer now.

"Why didn't he go back? To Fathilagt?" I asked him.

"You can ask him that yourself," Valente said.

The thought of seeing Sven again made me happy. He was the closest thing I had to a brother, a best friend. Werewolves didn't need years to form strong connections, like humans did. The bonds they shared were easy to make, and the most difficult to tear apart.

After a few minutes, the anxiety at the back of my mind had resurfaced.

"What did we do?" I asked him. "At Fala? What do you think went wrong?"

Valente audibly sighed in response.

"Sgriosaire is convinced that the person of interest belongs to Fathilagt. Now that they can't narrow it down to someone in particular, they think as the Alpha I'm protecting someone. I'm sure they were keeping an eye on me. That's why I put Sven in the middle of us, so that they couldn't get to you.