A MAZE OF GREED

Edwin and the team returned to Wrights' mansion at the time of lunch. Ruth noticed how tense they all looked as if something had horribly gone wrong.

Thea was concerned although, she faked obliviousness in front of Ruth. The way they all had stiff shoulders and lines of worry on their faces made her anxious. She caught Rees's eyes as soon as they returned, and that one look in his eyes told her that the situation had turned only more serious.

After the lunch, Alpha Wright asked Lester if they had found any clue regarding the kidnapping. Edwin had already warned everyone to not say a word to others before they were sure of the shreds of evidence.

And Lester did exactly the same. He did not like lying to his father. He knew how much pressure was on his father, both political and emotional. People were pointing fingers at his old age and capability because he could not protect a little cub of his pack.

The demand for passing the title to Lester was spreading its roots amongst the people. It made Lester feel bad for his father. His father had lived a proud life and had led as an ideal alpha. He did not deserve this treatment at the end of his leadership.

"I trust you son!" Alpha Wright said to his son at the end of the conversation.

Lester was adamant about proving his trust right!

After that, the team huddled up in Lester's office. The evidence box was opened on the centre table. All five pairs of eyes stared at it, trying to figure out the mystery.

Thea could be part of their discussion thanks to Mrs Wright. She called Ruth for some help, and Ruth gladly agreed.

"Do you know who that wolf was Elsie? Will you recognise him if you see him again?" Lester asked.

"How can I recognise him, Lester. We are in Bluemoon and not Vincardine!" Elsie snapped, which took everyone aback.

"Fine! I was just asking for confirmation." Lester held his hands up in surrender.

Elsie's eyes caught Edwin giving her a disapproving look. She was wrong for snapping at Lester like that.

Elsie sighed, rubbing her hands together. "Lester, I am sorry! I should not have reacted that way."

Lester understood her frustration. As an understanding person, he gave a small smile with a nod to her.

Elsie's eyes were now normal from the previous red. But they still itched that caused watering.

Thea passed a handkerchief to her, so she stopped wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her dress.

"What I saw was very unusual and unnerving." She said in a low voice.

"What did you see?" Edwin asked, leaning forward.

Elsie released a shaky breath. "Brother that rogue... he was not normal. He was different... very different than the normal rogues."

"What do you mean Elsie?" Now Lester was curious.

"He looked dangerous, barbarious even. He was salivating profusely. His muzzle was covered in saliva. It even dripped down from his mouth. and his eyes... they were... red with dark pupils." Elsie finally told, shuddering at the end of her description.

"Red eyes?" Thea had never heard of it before.

"Master, the rogue that attacked Lord Lester outside Vincardine also resembled these details. He also had red eyes." Rees pointed.

Lester's body stiffened, and his eyes darkened as he stared into nothingness.

Three minutes later, when his shoulders hunched down and his eyes came to their natural olive green colour, he looked shocked.

"What happened?" Edwin asked in urgency.

Lester shook his head which had begun feeling heavy.

"Edwin, that rogue... he was the same rogue from my father's spying network who went missing months ago. The guards who chased him recognised him though they failed to catch him." Lester told the information he just received through the mind link.

"Are the sure about that?" Edwin asked for confirmation.

"Yes, they are!"

Edwin cursed loudly, running his hand through his hair frustratingly.

"What does it mean? Why was he here? And what happened to him?" Elsie asked alarmingly.

"Maybe he is ill just like that previous rogue? And that is why they had red eyes" Thea voiced out the possibility.

Rees raised his brows at her questioningly. "I mean when humans get ill especially if they have a high fever or eye infection, it is likely that their eyes get red. Maybe something like that happened with them?!" She explained further.

Edwin shook his head. "No Thea. There is no illness that has such symptoms in the werewolves. It is something else."

"Brother Edwin, is it possible that this rogue has any connection with the kidnapping?" Elsie asked after a minute.

A thoughtful silence prevailed in the room as they contemplated that possibility.

"But how?" Rees asked in confusion.

They all tried interlinking these two different things, but the equation did not fit well as per their knowledge. Edwin picked up the leaf Elsie had collected. The white patch on it glistened under the light.

Edwin sniffed it closely. Elsie was right. He also could smell the saliva, but there was something strange too. He had never smelled such a thing before.

"Lester, summon a person with good medicinal and herbal knowledge. We need to show this to an expert who perhaps will help us to know what is there in this sample of saliva." Edwin commanded.

Now they needed to wait for the result.

*

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*

As soon as Darius's horse crossed Kinsville's borders, the news reached Ambrose's ears. When Darius entered his house after leaving his horse in the stable, his parents were right there standing at the entrance.

Darius was not in a mood to handle them at that moment. All he wanted to do was vent out his anger in one way or another.

So he decided to walk past by without saying a word to them. Unfortunately, Ambrose Garfield had something else on his mind.

"Darius!" His loud voice thundered made Darius halt at his place.

"Don't you see that your parents are standing here to speak with you?!!!" Ambrose had his hands tied behind his back as he glared at his son.

This time Aurora also had a disappointing scowl etched on her face.

"And don't you see that if I have walked like this then it means I don't want to speak?!!"

It was foolish of Darius to retort back to his father as the next thing he knew was a punch in his gut.

"Where do you learn to speak so disrespectfully with your father?" Ambrose's temper only rose by every minute.

"Darius, where the hell you disappeared? Do you have any idea of how worried we were for you?" Aurora jumped in the conversation with a glare.

Darius recovered from the pain of his father's punch. Looking at his parents with inexplainable emotions, he answered, "Are you really a mother? Because this welcome does not give me the same idea!"

"What is wrong with you Darius. Can't you speak like a mature person for once?"

His mother's words made him laugh mockingly. Mature!

-"Be little mature Darius!", "You are not a child anymore Darius.", "Just do what we say Darius. You know nothing about it."-

That was all Darius had listened to all over his life. By the age the Vampires of his age began acting on their will, he was still unaware of the word freedom.

Darius was tired of living under the shadows of his parents. They all said that Ambrose and Aurora Garfield are this and that. They said their son was lucky that they were his parents and he should learn as much as possible from them.

But nobody cared about Darius. The man who had longed for recognition of his individuality all his life. That Darius was non-existent in the eyes of not only his parents but also in the eyes of the world.

"You always talk like we are not your parents but foes. Do you think that we do not care about our own son?" Aurora continued.

"Don't say that to him Aurora. This ungrateful man has forgotten the sacrifices we have made for him. He has forgotten how we struggled to pave a way for him to become the greatest ruler of the time.

He does not care about any of it. He does not care about us! All he cares about is his personal agenda. And I am getting sick of it Aurora!" Ambrose spat in anger.

Darius had so much to say, and he could have made them listen to him, yet he stood silent.

-'Actions speak louder than the words!"- His mentor had once told him.

"But let me tell you one thing, Darius. If anything goes wrong with respect to my people, my reputation, my goals, then I will not spare you only because you are my son!

Whatever is running in your head... stop it! Stop it before it gets too late.. Do not create a mess that you won't be able to clean because I am surely not going to do that for you."