Chapter 88 - 87. Back Home

The Soul Healer turned to Silphie, a fake smile on her face. Seeing Elias' back as he walked away, she had a feeling that what she had dreaded when she discovered Connor had marked his partner, was going to come true.

If the chief attacked his boyfriend, the young man would without any hesitation retaliate. She had to prevent this from happening at all costs. Alana excused herself and left the house to go back to her business in the village and the old werewolf took the opportunity.

"Excuse me for disturbing you, do you have a phone to lend me? I thought I was going back right away so I didn't notice my disciples. I'd like to tell them that I will be away for a while."

The sad expression on Silphie's face faded a bit as she forced herself to smile back.

"Of course, I'll bring mine to you right now, just give me a moment." The woman went to one of the rooms in the house. She was soon back, a cell phone in hand, and stopped in front of The Elder, head bowed, hands clenched around the device.

"You know, he wasn't like that before. Since the ceremony he…"

The old werewolf put a hand on her shoulder startling her and Silphie looked up.

"I'm not one to make hasty judgments. I only rely on actions to determine the nature of a person. So I hope that those your husband will do won't arouse the anger of the young Everett."

"What do you mean?" Silphie watched The Elder with a genuine expression on her face and the werewolf shook her head before picking up the phone.

"Allow me to search on the internet. I would like to contact another person, but I don't have their contact details in mind."

After the woman nodded to give her permission, The Elder tapped on the digital screen. A slight smile curved the corners of her mouth as she found the information she was looking for.

__________

On the third floor of a building, a woman rose from her desk to knock twice on her superior's door. Unanswered, she fixed her hairstyle and decided to open the door. She found a man with ash-blonde hair walking back and forth behind his desk, his cell phone tucked to his ear.

The woman remained standing until he noticed her presence.

Usually, she wouldn't dare to come in unnoticed, but the situation wasn't normal since the man's hasty return. The announcement he had made had the effect of a bomb and the whole lab was upside down.

When the man finally laid his ultramarine eyes on her, he nodded for her to step in and paused his conversation with his interlocutor. He asked her then in his same detached yet soft voice which make everyone melt.

"What is it, Miss Avery?"

The woman recovered immediately. She had a mission to accomplish and she had to be professional. Greg Douglas was the eyes candy of the WIA's main laboratory, but he was ruthless towards those who slacked off or neglected their work.

"A person is asking for you on the phone. Sounds like personal communication, I was wondering if you would like to take it, or if I should put the person on hold.

"Who is it?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow, puzzled, as he had no idea who in his circle would call him at his office rather than his cell.

"It's a woman. An elderly woman by the sound of her voice. She told me to tell you it was The Elder."

"Pass me the call," he replied promptly.

Greg then announced to his interlocutor that he was going to contact him again later before hanging up. He strode up to his desk to sit down. When the telephone on his desk rang, he grabbed it right away and placed it to his ear, turning his chair to face the large window that let in the dim midday light.

"I didn't think I would have the chance to talk to you again."

He silently listened to the response from the person on the other side of the phone and his expression remained unfazed.

"I see. Well, thank you for the notice. Is there anything else?"

He chuckled when he heard the woman's words on the phone and bid her goodbye. After hanging up, the man stretched and cracked his neck.

Since he had returned in a hurry the day before, Greg went from work meetings with his superiors to meetings with his assistants. He needed to discuss the various results of his ongoing research. He pressed his digits against his closed eyelids in hopes of dissipating the fatigue.

The man had barely slept last night and his body started to remind him that if he was planning on not getting enough rest, he should at least eat properly.

He decided to place an order with a caterer he had taken a liking to lately and picked up the phone he had just hung up. The scientist had no desire to waste time by going to the refectory and still preferred to optimize his time and review the latest results of his research with his assistant.

Greg completed his order and, satisfied with the deadline announced by the delivery man, hung up. He got up to go to the door of his office then opened it and stuck his head in the opening to call out to his secretary.

"The usual caterer is coming to deliver an order, can you pick it up when he's here? You can use the credit card I left to pay the bill. I haven't seen you take your break yet so, I took the liberty and ordered enough food for three people. A chicken salad and a dessert, that suits you?"

The woman beamed a wide smile on her lips and nodded enthusiastically.

"Very well. Let my research assistant know that I'm waiting for him with the latest results to go over together in my office, and you can go on break once the delivery man arrives. Have a nice meal, Miss Avery."

"Thank you! You too, Doctor Douglas."

The door closed and the woman's smile didn't disappear. His superior was a remarkable and capable man in addition to being a caring person. What a pity he was taken.

When his boyfriend showed up at the lab over a month ago, the news spread like wildfire. The man everyone thought was single was taken and his partner was a man. A younger one at that.

It had taken less than half a day for all the lab secretaries to dig up the information on the one who had announced himself at the reception desk as the partner of the most coveted man in the lab.

The news had upset a lot of people. Many bad tongues had loosened to criticize and comment. They were all people that the man had rejected and who had taken the refusal badly.

However, seeing her boss arrive the morning after this famous day, with an even more devastating smile than usual and a devilishly sexy aura emanating from his body, Miss Avery had immediately chosen her camp.

The secretary had taken out her virtual pompoms to encourage this mysterious lover. Anyone capable of transforming a man with a dandy charm into an Apollo with a body sweating lust deserved to be left alone and do his magic in peace.

She finished her documents humming happily and tidied her desk to prepare for her break before making a phone call. A few minutes had barely passed when a man with a long nose and a slender neck entered the room without having knocked.

Miss Avery's smile faded as soon as he stepped inside, a tablet in his hand, but she forced herself to greet the newcomer anyway.

"Hello Doctor Sharks, I will announce your presence to…"

"Don't bother. He called me after all, he's waiting for me."

He walked forward without letting the woman react and knocked on the door. As soon as the voice answered him from the other side, the man lowered the handle and opened the door.

Greg, his tie slightly loose around his neck and his shirt open enough to show his collarbones, looked up from the file he was reading on his computer. He straightened up when he saw his research assistant.

"Doctor Sharks, you are already here! Come in, sit down please."

"Sure, will do."

When Miss Avery saw the honeyed smile plastered on the young doctor's face, a shiver ran down her spine.

________

Connor parked and Glen turned to the back passenger seat to wake up Eden who had fallen asleep shortly after their departure due to a food coma. Bloodhood's territory was huge, and it had taken them over an hour to reach the cavern from the lost cabin near the northeast border.

The omega got out of the car and shuffled toward the cave entrance, leaving his mate and his friend behind.

Inside the car, the agent checked one last time with the alpha what he intended to do.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me? Alpha Silver is there, you could see directly with him what he thinks of the situation. It's also an opportunity to test your new strength." He added, wiggling his eyebrows which made Glen laugh.

"No. At least until tomorrow evening, I will rather be with Eden in the cave. If Light ever shows us, there would be the rest of the pack to protect him."

"It's you more than him who needs protection from her if you want my opinion."

"You didn't see what she tried to do to him when we were in the magic dimension. I don't want to take any risks."

"Okay. As you like. I'll let the Alpha know you've returned to the cave. I guess Eden himself should announce to him the idea he had regarding the tribe."

"About that, Connor…" Glen paused. He didn't know how to phrase what he had to say to his friend. Given the animosity he had witnessed between the man and the tribe, he didn't think the man was going to accept that part of his identity anytime soon, but he didn't want a misunderstanding to arise with the Bloodhood's Alpha if he ever found out that Connor was a descendant of the Skinwalkers.

"Are you going to tell the Alpha that you are a Skinwalker? I don't think it would do any good to hide it from him."

Connor rested his forearms on the steering wheel and moved forward to lean on carelessly.

"I guess you're right. Although, I don't think it will change anything for me. Having Skinwalker blood doesn't mean I can use their magic. After all, until I have activated the blessing and I have no intention of doing so, I am just an ordinary human being."

"That's right, but I don't want the leader to get the wrong idea and think that you approached them with bad intentions by hiding your true nature."

"Nonsense! In the worst case, Oldie will defend me by revealing the truth. After all, she was the one who taught me that my grandmother was a rebel who fled her clan to be with a human.

If despite everything, Alpha Silver no longer wants me as a liaison agent, I still have my place as an assassin waiting for me. Don't worry. I'll come clean and it will be alright."

"I hope so." Glen opened the door and got out of the car. With a wave of his hand, he greeted his friend and looked at the vehicle as it drove away.

The dominant turned away and went to join his mate who was waiting for him, leaning near the entrance. He held out his hand and the omega grabbed it immediately before letting go to cling to his arm. Many fighters and healers had left for battle and the cavern was quiet.

Eden had discovered that Dante and Cherry had returned to Red Creek to resume their class and he realized that, between the banquet and the events that followed, he had missed almost two weeks of classes.

Seeing the pile of homework and notes his beta friend had left on his desk, Eden sighed. The return to reality was much more boring than he had anticipated.

After a quick detour to the hot pool to bath, he locked himself in his cave with his homework to catch up. Glen had decided to make use of himself by joining the patrol officers guarding the border with Crescent Moon.

Night had fallen early as usual in winter when the blond stretched and stood up. His ears had picked up noise and he wondered what could be going on.

Eden arrived at the main entrance and found Connor kneeling on the floor, hands tied behind his back, his face bruised and surrounded by several fighters.