Free Web NovelChapter 82: Turn of Events I
"House Regulus?" Damon echoed. "You do realize that Blaise isn’t there right now, yes?"
"I know that all too well," I said dryly, pointing to the newest addition to my wrist. I wracked my head for a plausible excuse and blurted out the first thing that came to my mind, "I want to see Blaise’s old room. He was in charge of that packhouse, yes? As his mate, I want to see how he runs things. Maybe he decorated that packhouse differently."
Damon stared back at me, unimpressed. A muscle twitched in his jaw. "Blaise runs things the way I tell him to run things. There is no difference between House Regulus and House Sirius." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"There will always be differences," I maintained adamantly. "And I want to visit Blaise’s room. He must have spent more time there than in House Sirius―"
"So you want to inhale his month-old scent, as though you’re a vacuum cleaner sucking up dust?" Damon curled his lips dismissively. "Because that’s what you’ll be doing when you go there. No one has cleaned up his office and rooms. My brother lives like a heathen."
"Lies and slander," I said, crossing my arms. I shared a room with Blaise, and his side was... not untidy. Certainly not to the point where dust bunnies were roaming free, at the very least. "So will you let me go or not?"
Damon pretended to think about it.
"No."
"Why not? Are you jealous that I’ll be a vacuum cleaner for Blaise’s scent?" I asked, purposely antagonizing him. "Are you so petty that you won’t even let me see where Blaise worked for the good of the pack? Do you feel that you cannot even measure up to Blaise’s bedroom messes?"
If I angered Damon enough by insulting his manhood, he might let me go to House Regulus out of sheer spite to prove me wrong.
Damon closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. If I focused carefully, I could almost see him count to ten in his head. Finally, he focused his gaze on me, causing every hair on my body to rise in anticipation.
"I don’t need to give you a reason," Damon growled bluntly. "No means no. Get that into your thick head."
And then he turned around and slammed the door, leaving me stuck in his bedroom.
Fuck. Well, that tactic didn’t work. I let out a frustrated growl and threw myself angrily on Damon’s bed. The mattress was suspiciously soft― something I didn’t expect the mighty alpha to have. Unfortunately, Damon’s heart was not like his mattress, it was as tough as stone.
I would have to find another way to get to House Regulus. But before I could think about ways to sneak away, there was another knock on the door, before Nicole let herself in with a cheery grin. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"Hi, Harper! I must say, you’re looking a lot better now. Damon is better at caretaking than I thought," Nicole said, pulling out her stethoscope from her bag.
"Damon can hear you," Damon’s deadpan voice rang through the room from outside. He stood behind Nicole, causing her to let out a tiny meep in surprise.
I gulped; he hadn’t left at all. Thankfully I didn’t make an escape attempt so soon.
"Sorry, Alpha! I’m just teasing. I know you’re a great man who would make any woman happy!"
"Just do your job," Damon said, sounding resigned. His eyes darted to me before he looked away, and I frowned at the unidentifiable emotion in his pupils. How strange. "I have reports to look at, so I’m leaving her in your hands."
"Yes, Alpha! Leave it to me!" Nicole promised.
She closed the room door and began my examination, humming in pleasure as she noted the improvements in my body. I looked and felt healthier than I’d ever been, but mentally, my mind was whirling a mile a minute, desperately thinking of ways to meet Lydia and bring her to join Blaise at the border.
"Harper? Harper!"
"Yes?" I asked, startled. "Nicole, what is it?"
"I’m just telling you that you have a clean bill of health. You can resume training this very day if you wish."
"Really? Thanks, Nicole!" I exclaimed, leaping up from the bed.
"Don’t thank me, thank Damon. He did follow my instructions to the T! I wasn’t kidding when I said I was surprised at his caretaking skills."
I snorted. "That’s the least he could do after nearly killing me."
And sending my other mate away to do the cleanup.
If Blaise got injured, nothing would stop me from haring off after him after I gutted Damon in the stomach. I instinctively touched the new bracelet on my wrist, the tiny moonstone jewels giving me pinpricks of comfort. It felt like Blaise was here, laughing at my words.
"I’ll let him know about your condition," Nicole said as she made the move to leave, diplomatically choosing not to respond to my words.
"I’ll tell Damon myself, you don’t need to worry," I said, sensing an opportunity to make a run for it.
If Damon thought I was busy with Nicole, and Nicole thought I was busy with Damon, that left me with enough buffer time to run to House Regulus to take a quick look now that Plan A failed― or at least, find a way to send a message to Lydia. Worst case scenario, I could tear off a bit of Blaise’s note to write Lydia.
"Fair enough," Nicole said so trustingly, I almost felt bad for lying to her. "I’ll see you then!"
"See you!" I waved her goodbye and then made my way downstairs. Time was of the essence. Unfortunately, Damon was waiting right at the bottom of the stairs, causing my feet to still.
"I have bad news," Damon said before I could even open my mouth to form an excuse. If he’s not interrogating or attacking me first, circumstances must be dire.
"What is it?" I asked warily.
"I just received the news that Blaise requires reinforcements at the border," Damon said with gritted teeth. "Those vampires have made a counterattack, resulting in injuries. Our operations may have been compromised."
I had been given a clean bill of health mere moments ago, but when I heard his words, my heart nearly stopped right in my chest.
"Blaise? He’s injured too?"
Damon nodded woodenly. "I’ll be leaving to handle this. Elijah will train you from now on till we return."
