CHAPTER 36

LEO'S POV
Just then, the door to my office opened. A woman walked in.
She was a tall and slender woman with high cheekbones and a perfect side profile. I remembered the first time I saw her. I was utterly captivated. There was something about her that drew you in.
Her eyes were such a pale gray that if she stared at someone for the first time they would think she was blind. I had thought she was blind. Until she looked at me and commented on the colour of my t-shirt.
Her eyes were so blank and cold they made me uneasy. But Esther proved herself to be someone I could trust.
Her lips were coated with that red lipstick again. The red lipstick that made me want to smear it against her lips. I had asked her once if she had cast a spell on her lips to make them seem so red. She had only smiled and said it was lipstick.
I released a breath as she smiled at me. "Hello, Leonard. Were you waiting for me? I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." I shook my head, guiding her to a seat. "No. You didn't keep me waiting. You came at the right time."
Esther's eyes twinkled, as if she was laughing at me. I decided to ignore it, sitting across from her. She glanced at the tea on the table, arching her brows. "You lie. I did keep you waiting. The tea is cold." I shrugged, picking it up. "It's nothing I can't handle. Cold tea is not a big deal."
Esther shook her head, gesturing at me to drop the cup. "It's not, but I wouldn't want you to suffer because of me." She closed her eyes, waving her eyes over the table.
A pale blue wind flickered over the tea and when it faded, everything was hot again. The tea even had steam wafting off the top of it. "I am quite sure you would find it more pleasurable now."
I glanced up at her, wondering if my skepticism was showing in my eyes. I didn't want to drink something she had cast a spell over, but I picked up the cup and took a sip anyway.
Esther smiled slowly, lifting a cup to her lips. She blew softly, making the steam flow in my direction. "I hope things are going well." I winced, lowering the cup. "That's the problem. That's why I called you here."
Esther arched a brow, popping a bun into her mouth. "What's the issue, Leonard? Have our plans been derailed? Did someone find out?" I shook my head, giving her a reassuring smile.
It felt nothing like the turmoil I was feeling inside. My belly was flipping over on itself and I took a deep breath. "No. It's not about our plans. It's more about me."
A brow lifted, and an expression I could only decipher as disbelief entered her eyes. "I don't understand. What happened to you?" I put my hands in my lap.
"You remember that you gave me a powder?" Esther's eyes turned murderous, and I could feel my wolf growl at her. Calm down. "Did you lose it? Leonard, without that powder, our plan is as good as gone.You have to find it. Whenever you kept it."
I shook my head, channeling in my alpha aura. Esther recognised it instantly, immediately narrowing her eyes at me. "Are you trying to shut me up, Leo? You do know I am far stronger than you, right?"
I kept my face straight as I stared her down. I wasn't going to let her get to me. "I know. I was going to say before you rudely interrupted me that the powder isn't working. I have the powder here with me. I can't feel the effects again."
Esther's eyes widened and I could smell genuine fear. I wondered why she was afraid. "What do you mean it's not working?" I rolled my eyes, laughing crudely. "I said it's not working. You promised me infinite power."
I slammed my hand down on the table, sending everything on it shattering as it split in half. "If the powder was still working, we both know that table would have disintegrated. So tell me, Esther. What the fuck is going on?"
She shook her head, gripping the front of her robe. "I don't know. I didn't do anything. Everything is perfectly fine on my side." "Well, you have to explain or our deal is over."
I could feel my alpha aura rising and with the twitch in Esther's eyes, she was aware of it too. "Calm down, Leo. We are going to get to the bottom of this. You just need to breathe and answer all my questions."
I pushed my aura down, storming over to the other side of the office to sit down. "I am listening." Esther brushed her robes, glaring at me as she cast a quick spell over herself.
She glimmered with golden light and it quickly faded as she sat down. I didn't comment as she waved her hands over the table, returning it back to its previous state. Refreshments on it intact and all.
She looked at me then, eyes turning a deep red. "You are going to answer all my questions truthfully. No alpha aura and no sass. Understood?" I felt a tightening in my belly and it was slowly wrapping itself around my throat.
I nodded, but it only tightened. I coughed out a yes, sucking in a deep breath when it released itself from my throat. I lifted up my eyes to glare at her, but she only smiled sweetly. "Thank you."
She smoothed her coat again, turning around to face me. "Did you ever miss a daily dosage of swallowing the powder?" I answered before the tightening started. "No."
She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head. "Okay." Those goddamn red lips of hers glimmered as she ran her tongue over them. They were so red they reminded me of blood and I remembered her telling me they were pigmented from the blood of her enemies. Knowing her, I knew she could do it.
"Did you tell anyone about our deal?" I wanted to roll my eyes. Did she think I was that stupid? "No. I kept our deal a secret. Even from my beta." She nodded, tapping her chin as she looked at me thoughtfully.
She made a tepee with her hands, lowering her gaze to the floor. I wanted to know what she was thinking. It was frustrating being not able to probe into her mind. "Did you move anything from your house?"
I shook my head. "No. I didn't. Why would I?" Esther's head lifted and her eyes were glazed over with determination. "Are you sure? Even if it's something as small as a pin?"
I shook my head, shrugging. "No, I didn't. I have been preoccupied with other things. I haven't been staying in the land a lot. If you want to know, you can ask my maids and villagers."
Esther shook her head, getting to her feet. "No. I feel something is missing. Think, Leo. What have you lost in the past week? Anything." Realization suddenly hit me in the face like a truck. Olivia. "I lost my Luna. But she is not really my Luna. I bought her from her father."
I thought back to Julian's visit, which was around the time she hadn't been since again. "She was gone a few days ago. Is that important?" Esther' eyes narrowed. "Take me to her room." "You mean the room where she stayed while she was here?"
Esther nodded, a pensive look flickering across her face. "Yes. But first, I have to do something." She moved to the center of the room, her dress shifting around her like water. It was mesmerizing, watching her.
Her eyes went completely white, and she opened her mouth. Steam poured from her mouth, swirling around the room to make a fog so thick I had to put my hand over my mouth. Incantations poured from her mouth, sounding like thunder in my head.
I was sure I was about to drop when everything cleared and Esther was holding out her palm to me. "The traces of magic in your house have been seriously affected. Like something...triggered them."
In her palm were golden flecks, and I glanced up at her. "Is that magic?" "Yes. What is left of it in this room and the next 3 feet around it." She came closer. "Look closer. There's green in the gold. My magic shows itself in many colours, but not green. Someone else was here and they disrupted my aura."
I shook my head. "And you think it could be Olivia?" Esther grabbed a cup of tea, flipping it over to pour the contents out. She poured the magic flecks inside, dropping them on my office table. "Let's go to her room. I need to do a quick scan of it."
I nodded, taking her hand. "Follow me." Esther's eyes were tracking every door we passed, and it wasn't until we got to the third door I realized what she was doing. "You are looking for traces."
She lifted her eyes to stare at me. "You are very smart, Leonard. I am looking for traces. Seeing them is an easy feat. Collecting them is another." She gave me a smile. "I suppose I should apologize for nearly killing you in the office."
I smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "A warning next time would suffice. Let's just get to the bottom of this so we can finalize the next step in our place." Esther released a loud laugh, tipping her head back. "Someone is determined. Worry not, my dear Alpha. We shall both get what we desire."
We got to the door of Olivia's room and I opened it for her. None of the maids had come around to clean it since we found out she was missing. And It was only because we wanted to have her scent to track her down. Even though I already had an idea of where she was.
Esther smiled once she stepped inside the room. "I am half impressed you didn't clean it. It's like she is still here."
I leaned against the doorframe, putting my hands in my pocket. "I am not going to be offended. If you must know. We didn't clean the room because we wanted to track her. Her scent is essential."
Esther looked over her shoulder, purring. "How delightful." She gestured at me to step out. "I am about to do the spell again. If you don't want to choke, I advise you to step out."
I nodded, moving backwards. Esther went further into the room, lifting her hands. Smoke filled the room not more than a second later and it seemed this one was even thicker than the one that she did in the office.
It had been over three minutes and the smoke was only getting thicker. Wisps of it were licking against the door frame, threatening to spill into the hallway. I glanced down the hall and made sure no body was within radius before I stepped in.
I knew finding her would be moderately easy, because she was at the centre. And that's where the smoke was the thickest. I couldn't see her, so I closed my eyes and honed my wolf senses. I had located her exact location and was reaching out to touch her when the smoke immediately cleared. I knew because the air around me shifted.
I opened my eyes, dropping my hand from my nose. "I..." Esther was holding out her palm again and green flecks were almost spilling over her hand. "She is the reason." Her face was conflicted, but it disappeared as soon as she cleared her throat. "Do you know where she is?"
I nodded. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. My brother had taken her from me. I smiled at Esther. "I have an idea."