Chapter 53 - Don’t Tell Me You Only Got Weaker…

'What is happening?' Madeline turned to Briar for answers since Xavier and Adrian were clearly occupied. 

Xavier was out for blood. 

Adrian looked both serious and confused. 

And Emilio's only current concern was getting out of this alive so they would hear him out. 

Sure, he wanted to kill Madeline for a moment, until things began piecing itself together. 

'Yes I came here for her,' Emilio confirmed, nodding. 

Xavier gritted his teeth, 'Then you're going to need to leave before I really just kill you here.'

'What's stopping you?'

Emilio's eyes flashed.

'Don't tell me you only got weaker… What, are you scared to kill me?'

Xavier looked to his left, where Madeline and Briar were. 

Emilio smirked for once. 

For a moment, they were back to what they once were.

A time where Xavier was still a beta and Emilio was the alpha. 

When they were friends. 

"You're not scared."

"You don't want to kill in front of her."

"Been a short while," Miles said to Madeline, waving.

Madeline stayed silent, glaring daggers at him whilst digging her nails deep into her arm. 

Briar gave her a look that asked, 'Want me to kill him?' 

'What?!' 

'I was half-kidding,' Briar mumbled non-convincingly. 

Briar shot Madeline a look, silently asking her if she was alright. 

'I'll be fine.'

'So you're saying you're not fine.' 

Madeline looked away for a brief moment. 

This was the man that nearly killed her standing not too far away from her. And strangely, something was preventing her from acting out. Or perhaps… someone. 

'I'm fine,' Madeline told herself as she stopped digging her nails into her skin from the pain. 

Adrian glanced at her, noticing her reaction to this. 

He said to Xavier, 'Madeline's freaking out.' 

Xavier didn't hesitate to tell Emilio, "We're bringing this somewhere else."

"Oh?" 

'So you are scared after all,' Emilio taunted. 

'Shut up if you want to live,' Xavier snapped. 

'Feisty. You've changed.' 

'So you want to die?'

'What's with you threatening to kill me?' 

'You tried killing my soulmate, and you think me threatening to kill you is merciless?' 

'If I was so merciless you wouldn't be alive,' Xavier said, using their mind link to communicate so the others wouldn't hear them. 

Only he and Emilio could hear whatever they had to say to each other. Not even Adrian could eavesdrop on their current conversation. 

Xavier had forgotten that he and Emilio were friends before he challenged Emilio to a duel. 

And, after you try killing your friend things tend to get rough and… traitorous in a friendship. 

Obviously, the only reason Xavier ever challenged Emilio to a duel was because he was a horrible alpha all throughout his… reign, to put it in one way.

Although, tyranny would be a better way to put it. 

Emilio did as he pleased when he was the alpha, and no one dared disobey him unless they had a death wish. Before Xavier challenged him, life at Eudora was hell. 

He was the beta at the time, meaning whilst he did have some sort of power all he was was a voice of reason. Nothing more. 

However, he was the advisor for a reason. 

Xavier was seconds away from killing him. All the innocent lives Emilio had taken. Emilio was no saint.

Emilio blinked, unable to believe his ears. 

'Did you just say… she's your soulmate?' Emilio asked, seeming shocked and nervous at the same time. 

'I did,' Xavier confirmed. 

There was a reason why he didn't want to kill in front of her. And also, there was another reason Emilio hadn't tried killing everyone already. 

He came there for answers, not a fight. 

Strangely, he wasn't looking for vengeance or revenge. All he wanted was the secret behind how Madeline possessed such powers. 

All this time, he'd thought that it was because she was a special human. That she was of special lineage.

And yes, the first part of his theory had been clearly proven wrong, but the second was not. 

No human could be a werewolf's soulmate. 

And she had powers. 

Everything clicked. 

He looked at Xavier, and inhaled. 

'Was she adopted?' 

Xavier didn't want to answer him, but since this wasn't Emilio the ex-alpha he was talking to and simply Emilio his old friend, he nodded. 

Emilio looked defenseless. 

He had no witty quip at the ready. No move he had planned beforehand. No trap, no anything. 

All Emilio had brought was himself. 

'Let's talk somewhere else,' Xavier said, his voice radiating both anger and worry. 

'What, now that I know you want to kill me?' 

'Why? Do you want me to kill you because I'd be happy to,' Xavier retorted. 

'My office. Now.'

'You mean my office,' Emilio corrected out of instinct. 

'It's my office now,' Xavier said, grabbing Emilio by the arm before… WHOOSH! 

They disappeared. 

"What the—"

Madeline asked Adrian, "What just happened?"

Adrian placed a reassuring smile on his face as he told her, "A reunion of sorts. But, you don't have to worry. Xavier won't let anything happen to you and Emilio's defenseless."

"How do you know that?" Madeline questioned. 

Adrian chuckled, "I can sense it."

'What was Xavier and Emilio talking about?' Briar asked Adrian, secretly communicating with him through a mind link. 

He shrugged, 'I wouldn't know.'

'W-what? Then what were you doing this entire time?' 

'Making sure Emilio doesn't step a toe out of line.' 

Now, moving on to Xavier and Emilio who were at Xavier's office. 

"I see you've redecorated the place." 

"It looks horrendous," Emilio said, looking around with disgust. 

What had he done to his office? 

Right, it wasn't his office anymore. It was Xavier's. 

Reminding himself he was here for serious business, Emilio crossed his arms.

"So, her." 

"What do you know about her?" Emilio asked, talking to Xavier like they hadn't just tried killing each other centuries ago and that nothing was stopping the two of them from waging another battle.

Xavier took a moment to stare at Emilio. 

"It isn't you that's in the position of power here, it's me," Xavier reminded him sternly. 

"So quiet down unless you don't want to know about your daughter," he said, those two words finally leaving his mouth. 

(Author's Note: Mind links are a form of communication between werewolves.. The stronger the relationship between the two werewolves, the stronger the mind link.)