Enslaved To The Alphas-Chapter 232: Close Your Eyes
Zen walked toward the pack house, muttering under his breath the entire way. "Close your senses... don’t be alert... let yourself get attacked... great plan, Zen... amazing plan..." He rubbed his temples.
Every instinct in his body screamed at him to stay sharp, to scan the surroundings, to keep track of every movement. It was what he was. Being alert to all attacks was second nature to him. But no-today he had to pretend to be a clueless lamb walking straight into a wolf’s den. All so Emira could swoop in dramatically and break a bond that he wasn’t even sure he wanted to break.
So what if they could not share the mate bond? Wasn’t the bond they already shared enough? What if they ended up with no bond? If Emira rejected the mate bond...
"Perfect. Just perfect," he grumbled. He was now turning into a pessimist. He needed to remind himself that Lance had made her promise to always choose them over all others.
As he pushed open the doors to the pack house, his eyebrows shot up. Several councilmen were gathered in the front hall, whispering among themselves, pretending to be important. Zen blinked. What were they doing here? They rarely left their houses unless it was for a major meeting or to annoy someone... mostly him. And sometimes Kael and Lance.
But here they were, sitting on the higher table, sharing a hearty breakfast... Did he fall in some sort of an illusion? Was that Teacher Shim smiling? Dam*! It seemed today really was a chosen day for him to see something he had never seen in his life. Then his gaze caught the person Teacher Shim was smiling at and he grimaced. Sigh. He really wanted to go and simply strangle Councilman Aldren. Get everything over with."
He narrowed his eyes for a second—but then forced himself to relax.
"He walked inside with a lazy gait, even though his mind kept trying to sharpen again. "Well, looks like everyone is here to watch me make a spectacle of myself," he muttered. "Great. Amazing. I, the mighty hunter, the fearless warrior, the unstoppable third prince... apparently need protection today."
One of the councilmen glanced at him. Zen flashed a bright smile, pretending he wasn’t already counting possible hiding spots and blind corners. "Good morning," he said cheerfully, even though his tone almost cracked from the effort.
A few nodded stiffly.
Zen continued deeper into the hall, trying to look bored. "This is ridiculous," he whispered to himself, "If someone’s going to attack me, can they at least be fast about it? I don’t want to stand here all day acting like an idiot. And where was Emira? Did she not need to be here to save him when he was attacked?"
***
Emira, on the other hand, was walking hand in hand with Ryn towards the pack house, completely unaware of what others had been thinking on her behalf.
The truth was, she had never intended to break the slave bond today or ever for that matter. She had no intention of using Zen as a sacrifice or bait or anything else. As for becoming the Dark Master’s bride- she had already made her decision. She had offered herself as his disciple instead.
After all, he needed her blood to make his body return. That was all.
So, whether she offered her help as his disciple or bride, should not be a concern to him, right?
Today, was the day she had asked him to give her an answer. She sighed. It was a risk she had taken, but she knew it was successful. Because she had figured out where the dark master was hiding.
Her mind drifted back to the moment she had finally recognized Cassian. She had spent nights forcing herself to recall where she could have seen him. After all, Alpha Cassian was quite good looking so she should not forget such a face. But the problem was, despite thinking repeatedly, she had not been able to recall where had she seen that face before?
Why was it that everytime she met him, she could only recall his angry face while he was always smiling at her....
Until she finally remembered.
When Lance had rescued her from the witch’s clutches last time, they had jumped out of the window at the very last second. She had been half unconscious but the commotion and a loud scream had made her open her eyes.
Glass had shattered above them. Wooden beams had cracked. The air had been filled with smoke and dust. And as Lance held her close, dragging her through that chaos, she had turned her head just once.
Just once-and seen him.
A man standing in the ruins of that room. His face twisted with fury. His eyes blazing as if he wanted the entire house to collapse on top of them. His hand raised, magic gathering at his fingertips and aimed straight at them... they’d escaped even before she could have warned Lance.
That man had been Cassian.
But why would a ’pure blood’ werewolf be able to conjure magic... The answer had finally clicked after the rogue attack and the forbidden power she had felt when she had almost entered the Redwood territory on the night of the Rogue attack.
Alpha Cassian had been acting as a vessel for the Dark Master. Which meant that the Redwood Pack was directly under his control.
This was what had given her the idea to go forward and send the ’gift’ to the Dark master. She’d sent it into the Redwood territory and as expected, it had reached the right person.
Now, it was time for the next part...
Lost in thought, she failed to notice when they had reached the Packhouse. And she would have continued to remain clueless if not for Ryn suddenly shouting," Your Highness!" And racing forward.
Emira frowned at the sudden commotion and that is when she felt her heart in her throat. There was Zen, lying on the floor, frothing at the mouth, his eyes rolled back.
