~ISSA
I was not surprised that the dead don’t ever stay dead.
I was surprised that the dead wanted what was mine. Helena Craven was alive and that only meant two things.
Deucalion lied to me or he was unaware that his Luna had cheated death. Either way, I was going to get to the bottom of whatever the fuck was going on.
What did Helena Craven want with Yulia? Why did she kill my sister? The Craven family had a deep dark secret and I would do anything in my power to find out what they were hiding.
“Are you okay?” Yulia’s voice invaded my thoughts as I drove home. “You look sad.”
I frowned at her, puzzled at what she said. “I have a sad face?” I asked in disbelief.
“I think you forget that emotions are part of your being, Issa, even if you do not believe it.” She sounded genuine as she watched me..
“I feel betrayed,” I told her. “Helena is supposed to be dead but now that I am hearing she is behind all these, I do not know what to think.”
I pulled into the driveway of the beach house and switched off the engine. I had acquired the property because it was located by the sea and it was further into my territory. Majority of my pack members, especially high-ranking members, were staying around this area.
“I am so exhausted,” Yulia said, stifling a yawn.
I realized that we had not really slept well in days. One problem after the other had kept the both of us awake.
I trailed a hand down her face and I did not even know when my hand moved. I had missed her touch so much. She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch.
“Issa, I am going to fall asleep right here if we don’t get down from this car,” she said as she stifled another yawn.
I smiled. “That would not be so bad,” I said and we both got down.
The smell of the sea and sand blew towards us as we entered the house. Yulia and I went up the stairs to our new room. I removed my shoes and jacket while she stripped down to her undies. We both snuggled up close and without a word, the god of slumber took away our consciousness.
The sun was up by the time I woke up. I felt clear headed and refreshed as I stretched my limbs awake. I looked over at Yulia who was still curled up and asleep. She looked peaceful and I found myself gazing at her for a while.
Maybe she sensed me watching her or she was done sleeping, I could never tell. Her eyes slowly opened and she stretched her limbs lazily and yawned.
“Good morning,” I said to her with a smile.
She made no reply but got to hug me. We were like that for a while, just holding each other. “What are we going to do today?”
She pulled away to stare at my face. I had come to understand that she loved to watch my facial expression every time we talked.
“We are going to see Deucalion,” I told her.
She looked at me with concern. “Are we going in with our claws out or having a civilized discussion?”
I almost laughed at my bad parenting. I had taught my niece to settle things with violence too much.
“I do not know, I have not planned that far ahead,” I told her.
I honestly had no idea what would happen when I saw Deucalion but it was going to be pretty ugly.
“Can we hear what he has to say for himself before we pop our claws out?” Yulia asked me. “I just feel like a lot of people die before they tell us anything.”
She was right. I needed answers more than I needed corpses.
So instead of answering her, I changed the topic. “Let us check out the bathroom,” I took her hand and led her to the bathroom that had a nice view of the beach.
We soaked ourselves in warm water in the marble bathtub and just relaxed. I was not in a hurry. Deucalion was not running anywhere and Yulia was my mate, so I would spend and savour as much time as I could with her before the bloodshed began.
We got out of the bathroom and dried ourselves up. I noticed that Yulia’s face was squeezed up deep in thought. “What is on your mind?”
“I am just wondering why Deucalion’s luna wants me dead? And I have never even met her.”
“We will know soon enough,” I vowed.
I got dressed up in black loose jeans, boots, a black V-neck T-shirt with a black leather jacket. I let my hair fall freely. Yulia wore a blue jean ensemble with matching jacket. Even her boots were blue.
She always looked attractive in anything she wore. My eyes roamed all over her body as she adjusted the jean jacket. We were ready to go.
As soon as we stepped outside the house, we met a sour looking Miles. I knew something was up.
“What is it?” I asked as I got closer to him.
He was no longer being his usual funny self because of how hectic and dangerous things had been. It was as if being the Beta of the pack was finally taking its toll on him.
“It’s the fucking Russians, Issa,” Miles growled. “They are demanding you face the council for a breach of contract.”
“Petr,” I muttered.
The werewolf was finally showing his fangs. Miles, as my second in command, dealt with the politics that involved the pack and only reported matters that involved me. The rest, he took care of himself.
“Is it about the promise?” Yulia asked.
“That is not what is important right now,” I replied.
“Well, if the council is involved, it’s kind of important, boss,” Miles replied.
“I need you to stall the meeting, Miles, can you do that?” I asked.
He stared at me like he was about to protest but when he saw the string stare in my eyes, he gave in immediately.
“It is going to be tough but I can do it, for how long is the question,” He replied.
“Long enough for me to find out if the Cravens are Friends or Foe.”