Chapter 24
Thankfully he didn't. It was clear when he did not question her anything about the call.
She called her friend again after she heard the shower.
"Is this what I get for treating my assistant as my best friend?" Safia's attempt at sounding bossy fell flat, even to her own ears. She knew Tyla wasn't buying it.
"Your assistant didn't become your best friend, Safia, it's the other way around," Tyla shot back, her voice laced with amusement. "By the way, regarding your previous inquiry, your dad is safe and sound. I've had Dr. Williams visit him weekly, just as you requested. But there's another issue here."
The sudden change in Tyla's tone, now grave and serious, sent a shiver of dread down Safia's spine. "What is it? A message, a call or a rogue that attacked our pack?"
"No. It's from an encrypted satellite phone."
Safia's blood ran cold. An encrypted satellite phone. The only people who used those were…
"The messages... They are in a code we've never seen before. But our analysts were able to decipher one of them. It was a single word."
"What was it?" Safia's heart pounded in her chest, a primal, frantic rhythm.
"It was a word that links to a long-dead pack of werewolves. The word was 'Lycanthropus.’ Tyla said in fear.
A gasp escaped Safia's lips as the phone slipped from her grasp, clattering to the floor. The word echoed in her mind, a name from a forbidden history. Lycanthropus. The very first werewolf pack, said to be created by the Moon Goddess herself, a myth whispered in hushed tones among the most ancient of the kind. They were thought to be extinct, wiped out centuries ago by the Elders for a crime so heinous, its details were lost to time. Yet here it was, scrawled across a message to her pack.
The pieces of the puzzle began to click into place with a terrifying finality. She remembered the old legends, the lore of the Lycanthropus line. They were a pack of shapeshifters who could not only turn at will, but also harness the power of the full moon. They were said to be able to create a new breed of werewolves, not through a bite, but through a different, more intimate connection. The thought of it sent a jolt of ice through her.
She staggered to her feet, grabbing her keys. The night was no longer just a backdrop for her turmoil. It was a living thing, full of shadows and secrets she was only just beginning to uncover. Her mind raced, a frantic search for any logical explanation. The Lycanthropus pack, extinct for five hundred years, was communicating with her pack.
She had to get back to the root. She had to know everything. The past, the secrets, the truth. She had to know if her pack was in threat.
Just then Sion came out of the bathroom. “Where are you going?”
Safia didn't answer. He was only her temporary husband and he needs not know the details about her life, her pack or its problems.
“Safia. I asked you something. What is bothering you? Your face…” he looked at her sceptically.
“What happened to my face?” She tried to sound calm but her frenzied breath conveyed everything to him. He looked deeper, his blue eyes turned golden. That means he was using his werewolf powers
“It is about the Lycanthropus pack, right?”
“You can read me?”
Sion left a breathy smile. “You are my mate. Of course I can but only if I want to. Don't worry about it. It's my pack. But it's cryptic.”
Damn! The most dangerous werewolves in the history of mankind belong to his rule? No doubt Sion Canes the Alpha of Silver pack is reputed the most powerful and now she knows the reason.
“How dare you put your eyes on my pack?”
“Don't talk nonsense Safia. You're my mate. So the security of your pack is also my responsibility. I told you not to worry about it and that's where the matter ends.” Sion called it a night. But Safia couldn't sleep.
She called Tyla again later in the night. After getting the information from Sion, Safia in a way had a breather. She needed to share everything with her friend but Tyla didn't sound as relaxed as she expected.
"Your lawyer called yesterday. It seems the bank never received the last installment payment for your company. They're going to seize it at the beginning of next month. Ask your prick of a husband about it—maybe he forgot to send the money."
Safia's mind reeled. "What?" The words were barely a whisper. She couldn't believe it. This was the exact reason she had agreed to marry him in the first place—to save her family's vineyard.
"Safia, are you okay?"
It took a few moments for the world to snap back into focus. "Is this why I'm married to this schadenfreude? To have my vineyard sealed, despite everything I've suffered as his assistant? I'm going to kill him when he wakes up tomorrow!"
Tyla’s laugh was a burst of light. "I'm sure you will, you little firecracker. But don't go bombarding him just yet. Give him a chance to explain. I think there might have been a slip-up somewhere. I don't see him as an unreliable person."
"Oh, and what else did you see?" Safia scoffed, her anger rising. "I wonder if you're my friend or his. Did he bribe you to take his side?"
Tyla's giggles were infectious. "I saw pure love in his eyes for you when he first came to our office, and he didn't have to bribe me to say it. And I admire your ability to ruin things with such panache. Don't forget to say 'hello' to me."
Safia chewed on her lip, a flicker of doubt now mingling with her fury. A small, rational part of her wondered if Tyla could be right. She still couldn't put a name to what she felt for Sion, but there was an undeniable pull, a magnetic force that he had claimed as his from the moment they met.
---
When Sion returned to the penthouse, it was late. He went straight to the shower, but the events of the day replayed in his mind: Safia's refusal to go to the Stans', Tisra's blatant flirting, his abrupt confession that he was married, and his father's warning. Was he a fool to give Safiya the benefit of the doubt? Could her absence from the Stans' have been born of jealousy, a subtle acknowledgment of their bond?
He had been teasing her, testing the waters. The truth was, he had no interest in any other woman after meeting Safia. She was his first and last love. Even the show he had put on with the girl at his office on their first day of marriage was just that—a show. He'd married Safiya for revenge, yet he couldn't stand the thought of her being unhappy. His father was right; he was falling for a woman who had once betrayed him, a woman he knew was capable of great deceit.
He tossed and turned in bed, sleep refusing to come. He missed her beside him, her scent still lingering on his sheets from their wedding night. She had been a wild creature in his arms, making him more needy and desperate than he had ever been. He wondered if it was the effect of the moon's pull on them, or if she was naturally this captivating. She was a puzzle he was desperate to solve.
He had foolishly shut her out of his room after their nuptials, and Safia, a woman of immense pride, had never returned. He had waited for her, hoping she would defy his instruction and come back to him. But she never did.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, jarring him from his thoughts. "Damn, why is he calling so late?" he muttered, answering with a menacing growl. "This better be important, or you won't see tomorrow's sunrise."
"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir," his security chief said, his voice urgent. "But the situation demanded it. We've noticed some suspicious activity from a new number on the madam's phone."
Sion was instantly alert, all traces of sleep gone. "What is it? Don't tell me it's Levis Garner."
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