Andre’s POV
Doran’s light, mocking chuckle came with curiosity as he searched around my room while I closed the gap between us and stretched my hand for a handshake.
“Nice to have you back, Doran.”
Typical Doran, he ignored my stretched hand and went in for a full hug.
“How was your trip?”
He smiled and finally settled on a chair.
“Was good. There’s not much to tell. But you, on the other hand, have a lot to spill.”
I chuckled and sat beside him.
“Are you going to tell me who this lucky lady is or what?”
I smirked and rolled my eyes.
“Why so silent, Alpha? Or did Nicole finally work some magic and seduce you? It has been obvious that she has been craving you for years.”
I chuckled and threw my head back. As my Beta and best friend. He knew how I felt about Nicole. There was zero chance of it happening.
“Hello? Earth to Andre? Are you going to spill the secrets or not.”
“You had better mind your business, or I will put someone else to be my Beta.”
Now, it was Doran’s turn to laugh.
“Come off it. We both know that you can’t do that. If you really wanted to, you would have fired me the day I switched your conditioner for shaving cream on April Fool’s Day.”
I scowled, feigning anger, but Doran’s expression made it impossible, and we ended up bursting into fits of laughter.
We both had a good laugh. I was more than happy to have him back. Putting up with Nicole alone was exhausting.
I watched him look around and sniff the air.
“Andre, I am pretty sure that there is a lady or ‘was a lady’ in this room. You really don’t want to tell me who she is?
I looked at his face and saw the eagerness in his eyes. Doran had wanted me to find a mate for years and was the only one who supported me against the Council’s decision to force Nicole on me. He had the right to know.
“Well, just to put your mind at ease, it isn’t Nicole. Happy now?”
I saw a grin spread on his face.
“So if it isn’t Nicole, who is it?” He asked, not backing down.
I shook my head with a smile on my face. I couldn’t believe that I had missed Doran this much.
“Drop it, Doran. I will introduce the both of you later.”
He lifted his hands up in surrender and smiled.
“All right, all right. I won’t ask again till you introduce us. But I, on the other hand, am more interested in the look on Nicole’s face when she finds out that you have found a girl you are interested in this pack?”
His words made me remember Olivia’s decision, and my heart couldn’t help but be filled with a bittersweet feeling of pride and pity.
Nicole was lucky to have someone like her. I saw the way she treated Olivia and spoke harshly to her. Yet, despite all this, Olivia still took her feelings into account and refused to take up the title of Luna immediately, scared of the devastating effects that it would have on her mother.
“I believe that you have some news for me, Doran. I hope you won’t mind if we speak outside the room?”
He shook his head.
“Not at all. But you might want to get a shirt on. We can’t afford to let your maids have nosebleeds this early.”
I chuckled, put on a shirt, quickly scribbled a note, and left it on the pillow for Olivia.
Doran tried to take a peek, but I pushed him away, and we left the room together while I closed the door slowly behind me.
We stood in the hallway and looked around to ensure silence. We were about to discuss this delicate case, and the last thing we needed was people eavesdropping on us.
“So, what have you been able to find so far?” I asked Doran in a hushed tone.
He exhaled and looked at me.
“I have set some traps, but they have yet to catch anything. Everyone has been treading lightly these days. I think they’re up to something big and don’t want to make a costly mistake. But I assure you, if they make one slip-up, we will be all over them faster than they can blink.”
I lowered my head slightly in worry, and Doran noticed my falling countenance. I needed the information, and I needed it now.
“Andre, I can tell that you are worried, but this person moved into this pack 15 years ago. Getting any dirt on him will take a lot of strategic planning. He has lived here for so long that he knows the ins and outs of this pack. Plus, digging up the archives about him is quite time-consuming. We are still trying to dig up his past records, but we haven’t found anything tangible yet. Just have a little patience; information like this is very hard to find. But I promise you, it will all be worth it in the end.”
I nodded my head slowly. Doran was right; We had to be patient about this. The last thing that we needed was for him to know that we were on his tail and he would go into hiding.
“What about his former pack? Were you able to find any information on them? Were you able to visit the pack and meet the Alpha?”
Doran looked around swiftly and was silent.
“I do have some info on that, but this isn’t the proper place to talk about any of it. How about we continue this in your study?”
“All right, then. Let’s go.”