Chapter 96: Suspicions

Adolph hadn’t expected to run into his son at the graveyard. He had only wanted to see Laurel that night, but he had never imagined that Basil would confirm his suspicions.
*“Laura, please… Please. I’m sorry!”*
He considered the fact that Basil was drunk based on the way he moved and what he’d been hearing from Henry and the servants, but there was an alertness to his gaze that made him think Basil wasn’t that drunk.
Then, there was the way Laurel responded. Cold and sure as if she was Laura. When Basil looked at him, he didn't move from his place, half-cloaked in shadows, but Laurel walked away from Basil with a sure and even gait.
Laurel came to stand beside him and he felt his anger ease. She may have been Laura, Basil’s wife, in her last life, but Laurel, his mate, now and that was all that mattered to him.
Basil looked at them standing together and couldn't breathe. His mind turned, whirling out of control. His emotions were chaotic and spilling out of his eyes in thick streams of tears down his face. He couldn’t look at this. He couldn’t deal with the idea of Laura with his father. Couldn’t imagine him not giving him another chance. What had happened to the young woman who had been so happy to marry him?
He shuddered and struggled to his feet before stumbling back towards the castle. Maybe he would find a cliff to fall off of just to be free of the crushing guilt in his chest.

Adolph watched his son stumble and stagger for a while before gesturing to one of the guards nearby. The man nodded and trailed behind Basil as he entered the castle. He’d make sure that Basil reached his quarters safely and had water to drink to help with the pain of the hangover he was bound to have.
"Your Majesty," Laurel greeted, standing at his side. "I think the prince's access to alcohol should be restricted."
He chuckled and took her hand, "Noted. What are you doing out here?"
"I wanted to see her grave…" Laurel said. Adolph led her back to where Basil had been sitting and frowned. “To pay respects…”
Adolph frowned at the tombstone. It was far plainer than any luna’s headstone should be. Olivia’s headstone had been the best by Gavin’s order.
Had his son not even thought to bury his wife properly?
"This is not the mark of a luna,” Adolph said eyeing the neat script in the stone.
"He divorced her at his engagement party to Delia," Laurel said. “She didn’t die as a luna.”
Adolph groaned at the thought. He hadn’t gotten all the details about how Laura had ended up dead, but if Laurel was Laura, he could trust her knowledge on the matter.
“Perhaps I am out of my depths in trying to take over his re-education,” Adolph said. “She held the position. She should have been buried with the appropriate honor.”
"I am… surprised she was buried here rather than sent back to her home pack to be buried.”
Adolph nodded, “It would have been… understandable depending on the state of her body.”
“They said she fell from a cliff after running away from the party,” Laurel said, her voice distant. “Her body was found days later, waterlogged… He’d banished her from the castle.”
Adolph clenched his fist, "My son has truly lost his mind…"
"Truly," she agreed. "She would never have accepted his apology… She had, at least, her dignity at the end."
Adolph frowned, holding his tongue and listening to her speak as if she knew Laura's mind. He supposed it was as much of a confirmation as he would get from her directly and took a deep breath.
"Once… maybe those words would have meant the world to her," Laurel said, her voice was barely a whisper above the night's breeze. "But to be thrown away with such disdain… so much apathy, there would be no words beautiful or sincere enough to soothe that pain."
Adolph swallowed, "I am sorry, Laura…"
Laurel squeezed his hand and looked at him.
"I don't think she would hold you responsible."
Adolph narrowed his eyes at her, trying to peer into her heart, but he saw and felt nothing off. There was nothing in her gaze that told him that she had registered what he called her. He didn’t push for answers about how or why she was in Laurel’s body and what had happened to Laurel.
Her calm gaze was as fascinating as it was frustrating.
"Let her find peace in the arms of the moon goddess," Laurel said. "It is the least she deserves after putting up with your son for three years."
He laughed, "Yes, at the least… and a better headstone."
She shook her head, "I think she would have preferred it this way: simple and honest."
"...her dignity shall remain, then," Adolph said and they walked towards the castle. “Shall we return to the castle?”
Laurel nodded and they walked in silence for a while before she spoke again, "I have been considering something lately and I want to get your opinion."
"Go on."
"Eden…" she worried her lip. "I believe he is...some sort of vampire."
Adolph flinched and stopped. Laurel met his gaze.
“What makes you think that?”
"He had a strange reaction to my blood and his eyes glinted. I don't know why he is here, but he isn't just human."
Adolph turned over the idea. It would explain why he seemed more or less okay so soon after he had been thrown into a wall, but he couldn’t be a full vampire based on his daytime habits and the way he moved. Vampires had a way of carrying themselves, an unnerving stillness to them when they wanted.
"Is it possible to be part vampire?"
"Yes," Adolph said, thinking back. he'd faced plenty of variations of vampires in his youth. "Though he must be of a strong lineage to withstand sunlight and maintain some semblance of physical hardiness."
He wondered if the barriers around moon goddess temples would keep Eden out the same way it kept other vampires out. Eden might have had no ulterior motives, but Adolph was hard-pressed to believe it. It had been his caravan that had delivered poison to the front lines, after all. Was that a part of the plan?
Did he have decent night vision? Perhaps, his bloodline was too diluted to have much more than hardiness and sensitivity to blood.
That didn’t sound right. He’d have to look into the old documents about vampires and half breeds. Even if a werewolf had a child with a human, they were considered a werewolf. They considered it a result of being favored by the moon goddess, but vampires could weaken their traits by having children with humans.
"One way or another, he'll show his hand if he has one to show."
Laurel nodded and hoped that Eden was simply seeking refuge from the war.

Basil stumbled to his quarters and found Delia sitting on his couch, dressed for bed. She shot to her feet.
“Do you know what time it is?” Delia asked. He turned from her and went to the table where he’d left the bottle of whiskey and sat down. “Where have you been all this time?”
“The graveyard,” he answered and pulled the cork out of the battle before tipping it into his mouth.
“What were you doing there? You’ve been avoiding me for days…”
He hissed and set the bottle down, “Delia… please go away.”
Delia’s heart lurched and she softened her tone, “But alpha, I--”
“My wolf hates you,” Basil said brashly, leaning against the table and looking up at her with bleary eyes. “He’s been indifferent to you since I met you, but now he hates you, and I’m too drunk to care…”
He sniffled as his eyes burned, “I don’t understand why… you’re supposed to be my mate, but he hates you… He at least liked Laura... He likes Laura… I loved Laura…”
Delia gasped, not even breathing as he continued to drink and got up from the table, stumbling towards his bed chamber and mumbling.
“Laura… Why don’t you love me anymore? I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” His voice drifted off as he collapsed across his bed still holding the bottle of \whiskey in his hand.
Delia smothered the scream of panic in her chest before leaving the room as quickly as she could manage. The trembling started in her hands as she made it to her room and closed the door. She rushed into her bed chamber and curled up beside the bed as the shuddering gasps of panic began to escape her.
She couldn’t be losing her grip on him.
She had to make him love her again.
She had to or Eden would pull her from the mission and send her back to the wilds or worse.
She just had to calm down and think. She had to think.
She had to think.