Chapter 140 - My loyalty is to my people

EMMA

Dex pushes himself off the sofa. “I guess I was wrong.” He gets a bottle of whiskey from the shelf and pours himself a generous amount of the hard liquor. The liquid sloshes from the bottle into a tumbler.

“I do understand,” I say. I get up from the sofa and throw the blanket aside. “For years, I felt that same rage.” I try to explain, but my words fall on deaf ears.

Dex takes a generous swig from his glass and his throat bobs as the liquor flows through it. He closes his eyes and releases a slow exhale as if calming himself down. “When was the last time you ate?” He asks and when he opens his eyes, his anger is gone.

I blink at the random question and the rapid change of behavior. The change comes out of nowhere. *What just happened?*

“Uhm, yesterday.” With all the anxiety and everything going on, I didn’t exactly feel hungry. But my body notices the depletion.

Dex rubs the back of his neck and there appears a tinge of red on his jaw. “I made soup, I was going to bring it to you.” He shuffles his feet as he spins to the kitchen.

The glass tumbler is empty beside the bottle and I only now notice that he finished it in seconds. I don’t know what to make of his behavior and I stand there flabbergasted for a moment.

Loneliness consumes me in a new way and my body is at war with all the different emotions.

Lucas hasn’t been seen since yesterday. Hadrian is trapped somewhere. And where has Graciella gone? In less than one day everything changed and I’m back to being alone.

My heart is tugging to find a way to Hadrian first. He was injured and the thought alone brings tears to my eyes. The warm fire in my solar plexus is still there. I take solace in the warm presence and I know that he cannot be far. *He must be close.*

The sound of metal clashing in the kitchen reaches my ears and I hear Dex mutter a string of curses. I carefully start to roam around in the living room.

I hold my hand over my solar plexus and try to hone in on the energy I feel. It tugs as if a delicate string is pulling me in one particular direction, but it doesn’t have the strength to force me. It’s more like a suggestion.

I follow it and find myself in front of the closed door that leads to the basement. It’s where I stock most of my ointments and herbs. It’s cold and dark and therefore a perfect place for herbal medicine. Whenever I’m not training, I’m making ointments to the point it started to overflow our basement months ago.

The door is made of sturdy oak. It doesn’t budge when I try to open it. I look around for a key but something else catches my attention.

A small wad of black fur is stuck between the floorboards and the door. The familiar fur is dark, it’s black without absorbing light. I would recognize Nero’s fur anywhere.

*He’s here.*

The texture is familiar beneath my fingertips. The ends are rough and softer near the roots. I stand back up and look at the locked door before me. The clashing sounds from the kitchen have stopped.

“What are you doing?” Dex says behind me.

I spin around and hide the clump of fur in my back pocket. “I— uh, I wanted to get some ointment for my injury.” There is a small stretch of silence and every inch of my skin starts to itch under his gaze.

“I’ll get you some.” He says with a smile, but his eyes are hard. “There’s soup for you on the table.”

I hover for a second at the door, but Dex doesn’t make a move to open it.

“Right, I should...” I reluctantly move away from the basement and take a seat at the table.

There’s a bowl of steaming chicken soup and I know I need to eat, but my stomach is turning with nausea. I listen to the sound of the insert of a key and a turn of a lock. The door creaks when he opens it and there is a soft click when he closes the door.

The rational part of my mind is telling me that I’m wrong. There’s no way that Hadrian is locked in the basement. Some thin barrier of wood is not enough to hold him. *He could break out of there, right?*

I pick up the spoon when Dex comes out of the basement. From the corner of my eye, I watch him lock the door. The key is attached to a leather string and Dex places it around his neck. He hides the key in his shirt before he walks over to me.

I swallow a spoonful of chicken soup. The liquid is warm and soothing. “This is really good.”

My gaze locks on the center of his chest when he hands me a small glass container. I need to get that key. I will get to Hadrian and I will do whatever it takes.

Dex doesn’t sit down and pours another generous amount of whiskey into the tumbler. His demeanor seems poised at first glance, but his knuckles turn white at the neck of the bottle. “Why were you really at that door?” His hand shakes as he lifts the tumbler to his mouth.

I place the spoon back in the bowl. His momentary light-heartedness has disappeared like snow in the sun. His eyes are filled with the anger that he suppressed earlier. He knows that I lied and my silence must be confirmation enough.

Dex rests a hand on the table and hangs his head. “Get out.” He says through gritted teeth and his voice is ice cold.

This unpredictable side of him makes me afraid. I stand up from the table to give myself a little more leverage.

There’s a tremble in my fingers and I clench my fists. I place my hand on his strained shoulder. “Please Dex, listen to me,” I say even though I know that I won’t get through to him, I already tried enough. But I need that key.

Dex turns his head my way and spins us around. “What are you doing to me?” His whisper is low and painful.

My back hits the edge of the table. His glass tumbler slides over the wooden surface and knocks into the bottle. The glass tilts and settles back in place, but not without spilling whiskey over the table.

Dex hugs me and leans down to rest his head on my uninjured shoulder. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

I can see the knot of the leather string at the back of his neck. I move my hand to his neck and he must see it as reciprocation because his arms tighten and his hands hook around my waist. His nose runs along my neck before he pulls his head back to look at me with heated hunger.

It’s a hunger that I’m all too familiar with, but never in hazel eyes. The string around his neck beckons me as it disappears in the neckline of his shirt. I know what he wants and I know what I need.

“Then lose it.” I find myself saying.

“Fuck.” Dex groans and pulls me flush against him. His erection presses against my stomach.

I feel dirty and I turn off my body when the cold floods through me and numbs everything. His hands travel lower to my backside and he lifts me on the table.

“Are you sure about this?” Dex murmurs against my skin and he sucks along my neck and behind my ear.

I grip my fingers along the hem of his shirt and lift it upward. “Yeah.” My voice is low, cold and devoid of emotion. The rasp of betrayal makes it almost alluring.

Dex grumbles and helps me remove his shirt. His painted bare torso is revealed and his scars are more prominent up close. In the middle hangs the key.

With his hands still tangled in his shirt above his head, I wrap my hand around the key. I pull hard and the leather knot snaps. I push Dex away from me and he stumbles back. His eyes move from his chest to the key pressed in my hand.

I jump off the table and take a second too long to find my footing.

Dex is quick to catch my wrist and the leather string dangles between us. “Is this what it's all about? You’re going to release that monster?”

His jaw locks and his teeth grind with the anger seeping into every feature. “Where is your loyalty to your people?” The hunger in his eyes is gone and replaced by hatred and disgust.

I try to pull my arm free, but his grip is too strong and cuts off the blood flow to my hand. I can already feel my grip around the key loosening.

“My loyalty is to my people.” The truth spilling from my mouth is raw and honest. Humans are my people, but so are werewolves. I am both and I will always protect the ones in need. “And that includes all innocent lives.”

Dex spins me and the edge of the table digs into my stomach. His arm locks over my chest and traps me against his torso. “You’re just a fucking traitor.” With his other hand, he covers my mouth and blocks the airways of my nose. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

“Let me go!” I scream against his hand with blind panic. The cry releases the oxygen in my lungs and no new air comes in through the barrier of his hand.

I struggle to get free, but Dex only tightens his arm around me. “I will eventually, but I won’t let you jeopardize this mission.”

I can see the door to the basement and it beckons me. Black spots appear and threaten to overtake my vision.