There was an unpeaceful quietness after Agrip had dropped his question on Anthony and Derek.
Derek bit his lips, his head bowed down, his feet shuffling and drawing unknown patterns on the floor like a shy girl who was being wooed by a man. Only Agrip could make him nervous this way despite his title of Alpha-ship.
He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as he thought of the implications of the truth right at this moment. The old man’s staff would find his head as a good resting place, at least a hundred times. He would be signing for his death!
Should he lie? Should he say that his little witch had traveled to reaffirm her parents that all will be alright?
Contemplating on this, he nodded slightly, thinking that it will be the best option for now till he has laid hold of Emma. Hopefully he can convince her to forgive him and come back to her rightful position. There was no way she had already forgotten him, right?
“Dream on!” He heard Maru say, and almost scoffed but for the fact that he remembered that Agrip was still right in front of him.
“Shouldn’t you be hoping alongside me?” Derek asked his wolf, but Maru snorted in response, obviously holding out a grudge.
“I am. But don’t you ever for once think that it is going to be easy. Be ready to grovel if you must!” Maru stated, and Derek sighed, knowing his wolf was right.
But he was very ready to do anything, anything at all to obtain Emma’s forgiveness, even if it meant losing some of his pack members.
A loud thump on Derek’s head caused him to wince in pain, and sink his fingers into his rich black hair.
“Agrip…” He managed to grit out. The old man still tended to deliver a hard blow on his head with a staff despite the latter’s old age.
And he hadn’t even told the truth yet! Derek screamed in his head. It seems he would be subject to Agrip’s punishment first before Emma.
“Why haven’t you answered my question? Did you reject the young lady?” Agrip queried, keeping his heart beat under control, even though he was beginning to fear the worse.
Anthony’s facial expression wasn’t helping matters either. The latter looked like someone that had supported a friend in committing treason.
Derek kept mute, nursing the pain on his head which had now reduced to a mini throbbing.
Anthony opened his mouth to talk then, but Agrip raised his hand up, signifying him to shut up.
“I want to hear from the horse’s mouth.” He pointed out. “Derek, where is your mate?” He asked again, ready to deliver more blows on Derek’s head.
But luckily, Derek began to speak.
“Yes, I have found my mate.” He started, stealing a glance at Anthony who had a sorrowful expression on his face. Was the dude feeling for him already?
“Yes, I already know that. What is her name? Who is she? And most importantly, Where is she?” Agrip interrupted impatiently, ready to cut to the chase, obviously not in the mood for small talk.
Derek sighed again.
“Her name is Emma. And we believe she is a human.” He replied.
“She is not.” Agrip interrupted sharply, hints of annoyance and impatience underlying his tone; something that of course didn’t go unnoticed by Anthony and Derek.
“Did the sage say something about her? How are you sure that she is not a human?” Anthony asked immediately, even though he had suspected that Emma was not a human. She possessed some willful inhuman spirit and had caused or stirred enough trouble for a human.
“You are not the one asking questions here, Anthony… are you?” Agrip asked Anthony, turning aside to glare at him.
“No, not at all, Agrip.” Anthony muttered, looking elsewhere, managing to curb his curiosity for a bit. Though he was now sure that the oracle had said something about Emma.
The realization of that only made him more unsettled and sure that Derek might have made the worst mistake of his life.
“So, Derek… where is she?” Agrip asked a still surprised Derek, tapping his staff on the ground intermittently.
Derek was speechless. Of course, he had suspected it when he had seen her throw Claire across the hall that night as if the latter had weighed nothing. She had also had affiliations with the Queen of the witches. And there was the fact that she was being sought after by many enemies. And to think he had rejected her, leaving her vulnerable to attacks.
He cussed loudly at his foolishness, startling Agrip and Anthony who thought he might have lost it for a minute.
It only served to weaken Agrip though.
More and more, he was thinking that his beloved student had rejected his mate, their savior. What an idiot! He mused, holding himself from using the staff on Derek’s head.
He could of course see the variety of painful emotions on Derek’s face. They were really in trouble then. He concluded, thinking he needed to change the question since he already knew the answer to the one he has been asking for a couple of minutes now.
“From your reactions, it shows that you had rejected your mate. And although that is foolish and stupid of you, we need to remedy it. Where does she stay? We have to get her back. It is very important. If she is not valuable to you, she is very valuable to the pack, especially in the coming months. Where is Derek?” Agrip bit out harshly, tapping the staff more frequently, as if to control his anger at the turn of events.
“What do you mean by…” Anthony was saying, when a harsh glare from Agrip shut him up.
It was clear that the old man was really angry this time around.
What would happen then when he knows the full story and the full account of the rejection?
“Don’t make me ask you again Derek, or your head will be a resting place for my staff. There is no time for god sake!” Agrip mentioned, his voice rising up at the end.
Anthony and Derek took a step back. It has been a while since they had seen the old man this angry. The last had been when they had broken his jar of herbs.
“She stays at…” Derek was replying, when a loud shout pierced through the whole house.