A MAZE OF GREED

Loud gasps travelled in the confined cell walls which had witnessed the gruesome outburst of their owner. These walls would stand for the years to come, giving the testimony of this turbulent night.

"Take that body out of here and clean everything." Rees ordered a guard, who had his forehead and hand wrapped in the bandages. The red blotches of blood showed themselves on those bandages.

Rees turned to look at Lester. He had unmissable expressions on his face. When Rees looked closely, paying attention to every detail, he realised the prominent one amongst them was pain.

Rees had never seen Lester this helpless and hurt. When Elsie was attacked by Edwin, Lester was furious. It was nowhere near what he was feeling at that moment.

"Milord…" Rees called gently.

Lester did not reply. His eyes were trained on the naked, and injured man in front of him, who was unconscious on the cold and dusty floor with a brown piece of cloth clutched tightly in his hands.

Edwin looked peaceful and harmless. Watching him right then would not give the impression that he was the reckless monster that had created the plunder just a few minutes back.

The leader of the breed, alpha of all the alphas, was shattered and lonely. And the irony of the situation was the world that trembled hearing only his name was oblivious to his state. Even the very reason of his misery must be asleep peacefully in the other part of Vincardine.

"Milord, please come out. You need to get cleaned." Rees dared to touch Lester's shoulder this time, and that startled him.

"Huh? Y-yes. I… I need to get out of here." Lester mumbled, and after another glance in Edwin's way, he walked out of the cell with hurried footsteps. As if he was running away from reality.

Rees did not follow Lester immediately. He lingered behind, and when he was left alone, he turned to his Master. The pang in his heart was so absolute that he was sure Thea also could feel it. But he did not care. He needed to feel something… anything.

He crouched down and held Edwin's arms in his. When he lifted Edwin from the cold floor, the burning sprang in his burned hands. And this time, he did not obstruct the loud hisses.

Inhaling through his mouth and biting back the tears, he carefully dragged Edwin towards the stone slab and put his unconscious form on it.

Edwin was a heavy and muscular man, but he had lost much of his weight and strength during these six days of torture. His once bulky form looked weak and slimmer than before.

When Rees removed his hands, Edwin's already bloodied body got fresh stains of Rees's blood. His eyes moved down to that cloth in Edwin's hand. His grip on it was so tight as if his life depended on it. Rees could not bring himself to snatch that sliver of hope from his Master.

Unable to stand there more, Rees also walked out of the cell. He ordered a guard to lock it behind him and clean the cell before Edwin gets back his consciousness.

Climbing up the stairs, Rees stopped outside a closed door, on the first floor of the old building. He knocked on it twice then heard permission to enter the room.

"Milord!" Rees was instantly at Lester's side to take the red cotton from his hand.

They were in the same room where Edwin was on the night he had lost his control for the first time. Rees knelt in front of Lester and started dabbing the scratches and the blood on his hand.

They both were silent, at a loss of words.

"Milord, all the injured guards are treated. The injuries are severe but they will survive." A guard came to inform.

Lester nodded at him. "And the dead body?"

The guard paused before answering, and that made Rees frown. "That is taken care of, Milord!"

"Make sure that whatever has happened tonight, should not leave these four walls. If anyone asks then handle the situation well. Keep watch on Edwin."

While Lester spoke, Rees observed the body language of the guard. He was nervous and uncertain. But he obliged to everything Lester had said and left after closing the door behind him.

"Why do you have that look on your face, Rees?"

"May I have permission to express my thoughts, Milord?"

"Yes."

Rees kept treating Lester's wounds and cleaning him while he said, "Tonight's events has shaken our men, Milord. That guard… he was uncertain and scared. I felt his fear. I know them. I have assisted Master in training them. They all are loyal to Young Master, but…"

Lester sighed, getting an idea of where this conversation was leading. "I understand what you are trying to say here. Do you think that I have not noticed? While you were busy with Edwin, my eyes and ears were alert.

I doubt that some of Edwin's men are attempting to get on Lord Augustus's side."

"WHAT? Who are they? Tell me, Milord. How dare they think about working against Young Master?" Rees's hands stopped working, his eyes widened.

"Rees! You have to understand that it is not because they want to betray Edwin. Which sane person willingly try to get on his bad side?

They are scared, Rees. They all are confused. They do not know what is happening with their Master. They have not seen this animalistic side of his before.

The only times, they have seen something like this was on the battleground.

We are werewolves. We live in a pack, and we need a leader. We follow in his footsteps. What do you expect them to do when their leader is volatile and uncontrolled?"

Rees did not know how to answer that. Lester's words made sense, but he was still not ready to accept the fact that the people Edwin trusted were trying to get away from him when he needed them.

"I think- I think you are right, Milord."

"And one more thing, Rees. Getting on Lord Augustus's side does not mean working against Edwin. They are family. Lord Augustus cares about Edwin. Every relationship has its own problems but that does not weaken the bond between the two people." Lester's words were edgy than before.

He did not like Rees's comment about Lord Augustus.

"My apologies, Milord! But I believe what Master believes. I trust what Master trusts. And I side with what is in favour of my Master!"

Rees never failed to amuse Lester. He was not only a fearless warrior and a loyal servant but also a person with independent thinking and was a brave speaker too.

"Will you care to explain why do you think that Lord Augustus is against Edwin?" Lester cocked his brow.

"I am not saying that. I just do not trust anyone when it comes to Master."

Staring at Rees a moment longer, Lester asked. "Then why do you trust me of all people?"

Not batting an eye, Rees replied confidently. "Because I have seen you awake late in the nights, standing in the balcony and looking in this direction. You are more worried for Master than his family, except Lady Elsie. That is why I tried to talk to you, Milord. I know that my Master trusts you and hence I sent you that letter."

After speaking with Rees, and instructing the guards to keep a careful watch on Edwin, Lester stepped out of the old building.

Rees decided to spend the rest of the night there because he was worried for his Master. He wanted to be there if his Master wakes up.

Lester had cleaned himself and had changed his clothes. He walked towards 'the great manor' with a heavy head. Upon entering 'the great manor', his feet led him towards Elsie's chamber.

He paused before knocking on the door but then did it anyway. The guards stationed outside her chamber were from Edwin's band. Lester realised how much Edwin cared for Elsie, but he also realised the gravity of Rees's words.

The door opened, and there stood the queen of Lester's heart in all her natural glory. She had a violet nightgown on her body, her hairs were unruly, and sleep was evident in her half-opened eyes.

The yawn died down in her mouth as her eyes widened at Lester's untimely presence.

"Lester?"

"May I come in?" He asked, not looking away from her beautiful face.

Her eyes clouded with hesitation for a moment but it dissipated as fast as it occurred.

"Of course. Please come in." She let him enter her chamber and closed the door behind her.

Lester walked straight towards the large window where Elsie liked to sit reading for hours. The dark sky was adorned with the half-moon and gazillions of twinkling stars.

Elsie sensed the tension radiated from his body. Walking to stand beside him, she asked softly. "You went to see brother Edwin, didn't you?"

She tightened her arms around her torso, suddenly feeling the cold. But her action caught Lester's attention as he watched how her bosom lifted up a little while her hands rested around her body.

He only nodded, distractingly, not trusting his voice.

"Do you... do you need anything? How can I help you?" Elsie wanted to do something. But she felt helpless.

She could not help her brother. And now, she had no idea how to help her lover.

Turning to face her, Lester looked deep into her eyes. "Do you want to help me, Elsie?" His words came in a whisper.

And suddenly, the coldness she was feeling got replaced with warmth. "Y-yes." she answered while not breaking her eye contact with his.

"Good, girl!" His words were a promise of danger. But that excited her.

She did not back away when he took a step closer to her. She watched how desperate he was. She could hear how fast his heart thumped inside his chest. The way he looked at her made her body react in such ways which were unfamiliar to her mind.

Placing his finger under her chin, he made her look up at his face. His touch resulted in Elsie parting her lips. Her heart matched the rhythm of Lester's, and her hands came to rest at her side when she needed them the most to protect herself from this hungry beast.

He inhaled deeply and hummed in pleasure. "Your scent is very sweet, my dear mate. But do you know what is sweeter than it?"

Elsie knew that the answer was not something she wanted to hear, but she waited patiently to listen because she needed to know.

Smirking down at her, Lester whispered in her ear that made her blush like a ripened tomato.

"The scent of your arousal!"