It took a while for Garth to regain full control of himself. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to calm his body and the restless wolf within. But his mind kept echoing. It was the Alpha.
Garth rose shortly thereafter. He got back into the car, but his destination changed. He decided to return to the palace first. He had to make sure of something before he met Ayla.
Arriving at the palace, Garth immediately went to Usher’s room. He entered and his fast pace immediately slowed down.
Usher was lying on the bed, just like yesterday, motionless and completely helpless.
“Alpha,” Garth whispered as he reached out his hand. He touched Usher’s hand, but there was no response. “Please, Alpha. If it’s really you, please wake up.”
Garth’s plea felt like an empty hope. Usher remained still, not even the slightest movement.
Garth lowered his head. His emotions were in complete disarray. Both of his hands clenched tightly as all those memories continued to swirl in his mind.
That tattoo, Garth was sure he hadn’t seen it wrong. Earlier, during his fight with the man, there were moments when the wind blew. The man’s hood uncovered it for a moment and he saw it. It wasn’t clear, just a glimpse, but he was sure it was the Alpha Mark tattoo, the same tattoo on Usher’s neck.
But Garth’s conviction was thwarted by the fact that was now in front of him. Usher was indeed asleep, so it seemed impossible that the man could be him.
Garth felt dizzy and decided to leave Usher’s room. He didn’t want to disturb Usher’s rest.
“Garth.”
Garth’s footsteps stopped. Cora blocked his way. “Cora.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Cora asked, noticing Garth’s disheveled state. “Why do you look so disheveled?”
Garth couldn’t answer. He just rubbed his face roughly and asked instead, “Is it that messy?”
“Very messy,” Cora cut in, then looked Garth up and down. From the disheveled hair, the gloomy face, the sweat on his neck, the shirt out of his pants, and she squinted, was that dirt on Garth’s pants? She sighed. “I have never seen you so disheveled, Garth. Your current state is the epitome of true messiness.”
“Alright. That seems like reason enough for me to take a shower right now.”
Cora nodded. “You’re right, and oh! I almost forgot to tell you something.”
“What?”
Cora looked around to make sure no one else was there. Then she approached Garth, motioned for him to bend down a bit, and whispered. “Mireya left.”
“Left?”
“Yes. She went to her house, and you know what? My guess is that she went back to her house because she had something to do with her guest last time.”
Garth was silent for a moment. Then he straightened his back. “It seems you’re quite obsessed with Mireya. Do women hate infidelity that much?”
“We do,” Cora replied, her face hardening. She even clenched one of her hands. “You know? Every time an affair happens in front of my eyes, I feel like I’m the one being cheated on.”
“In that case, I hope the man who approaches you later is already aware of that.”
Cora blinked. “O-oh. It seems he already knows.”
“Good,” Garth said, glancing briefly at his watch. “I’ll go to the room.”
Garth resumed his steps. He went to his room and promptly took a shower. He let the cold-water flow over his body, hoping it would calm him down.
When he finished his shower, Garth felt refreshed and cool. All the emotions that had been troubling him had been successfully repressed. He regained his composure and his mind felt clearer.
Garth immediately picked up his phone and called Berg. “Hello, Berg.”
“Hello, Garth. What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you about something very important. Can you come to my room right away?”
“Of course. I’ll be right there.”
The call ended and after that Garth contacted Storm. “Come to my room, Storm. There’s something we need to talk about.”
Garth didn’t wait long. Less than five minutes later there was a knock at his door. Storm and Berg came together.
Garth invited Storm and Berg in. Then they sat down together.
“So, what’s going on, Garth? Why did you call us?”
Garth sighed before he answered Storm’s question. “I want to talk to both of you about something. It concerns the pack.”
Storm and Berg exchanged looks.
“What is it, Garth?”
Garth turned to Berg. “I want you to look into something, Berg.”
“Who?” Berg asked, squinting at Garth. Then he guessed, “Was it Mireya’s guest back then?”
“Yes,” Garth nodded. He returned Berg’s gaze. “I have a bad feeling about this. I get the feeling there’s something wrong between the two of them.”
“All right, Garth. I’ll investigate the man.”
After that, Garth looked at Storm again. “What about your search? Have you found Vione?”
“Not yet, Garth. We’ve lost her trail completely. But we’ll keep trying to find Vione.”
Garth knew that Storm had tried his best. “I know, Storm. You must have done everything you could. But if your suspicions of the other day are correct, I can understand if you’ve hit a dead end.”
“Garth.”
“To be honest, I met her today.”
Storm’s eyes widened. “The man?”
“Yes,” Garth nodded once. “Just like you said.” He took a deep breath. “He’s exactly like Alpha. No.” He shook his head. “I’m sure he’s Alpha, even if I still don’t understand everything that’s going on. We all know Alpha is ill. Alpha is in bed and has been sleeping for days.”
Storm remained silent. On the other hand, Berg did not ask anything, he could sense the direction of the conversation.
“Since we still don’t know what’s really going on, we have to be prepared for all possibilities. That’s why I want you both to start being vigilant,” Garth looked alternately at Storm and Berg. “Our priority is to find Vione and ensure her safety, as well as to strengthen the pack’s defenses. Storm, I want you to prepare your best team. The safety of The Palace is in your hands.”
“Of course, Garth. We’ll do everything we can for the pack.”
Garth nodded repeatedly. At least he had started to prepare. Next, he had to meet Ayla.
*