Chapter 8 : Secrecy

AJAX. I stare out of the window, the summer sky ablaze with nothing but blue. There’s not a single trace of clouds, and the Pacific is as endless as ever. It’s beautiful, and yet the only thing that’s on my mind is my plan and the one who’s supposed to be helping me. The one that should have been here three hours ago. “Draco, where the hell are you?” I whisper, narrowing my eyes as I look in the distance. It’s been two days since Father confronted me about the event at my birthday party, and I’m yet to make a move to see Maxine Kane in the Unclaimed Camp. I don’t know how to get there, much less where it is. Draco promised he would help me, but he hasn’t really gotten back to me about it. Today, though, he told me he would bring me a map as well as some instructions on how to go there safely, preferably without a big fuss. It’s not really common for Alphas and their heirs to visit such places, so I know that my presence would cause some sort of a buzz. That’s why I need to be careful. That’s why I need Draco. “Hey,” I tell him through mind-link, but I can’t feel his presence there. “It’s almost time for my training, and I need to talk to you before I go. It would be good if—” Knock, knock, knock. The sound of someone aggressively tapping on my door nearly makes me fall off my stool. I gather myself and head to the door, smiling at the thought of the good news Draco is going to deliver. But all the happy emotions vanish when I see that it’s Father. “You’re late for your training,” he says without preamble. “Is this what you’re going to do? Just lie around? That’s not what I expect from you, is it?” “No, Father,” I say after a beat. I glance at the clock and see that it’s not even close enough to my training time. I’m afraid this means more trouble for me. “I’ll be going to the gym—” “No.” He motions me to follow him. “You are coming with me.” With that, he turns around and leaves, and I’m forced to bound after him like a puppy nipping at his ankles. He doesn’t lead me to the gym. Instead, we take the route to the backyard where the grass is clipped and nearly dried off under the hot sun. But to my surprise, we are not alone. Standing there in the corner is Beta Jackson and his daughter Yelena. “Why are they here?” I blurt out, and Father gives me such a scathing look that I find myself flinching. I quickly rearrange my own expression into one that is neutral, then I face the guests. “It’s wonderful to see both of you here in our estate. It is indeed a pleasure.” “The pleasure is all ours!” Beta Jackson hugs me and pats me on the back. Then, he beckons his daughter to come forward. “This is my daughter, Yelena. I’m sure you have met before.” “We have, yes,” Yelena answers with a sweet little smile. Yelena Chavez is my age, with flaming red hair and green eyes. She’s quite a stunner and she’s very popular in the uni, but it has to be said that she’s not exactly what I would call a likable character. She likes to be recognized for her status, and anyone who doesn’t want to always bring that up gets treated like dirt. She’s always been nice to me, though. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. “We run into each other in uni a couple of times,” I say, just so our parents don’t get any idea that we’re close or something. “To what do we owe this visit?” “Well, I have some business to discuss with my Beta,” Father says, grabbing my shoulder as though to pat me but he just squeezes. Be on your best behavior, that squeeze says. Don’t fuck this up for me. “I will leave you and Yelena alone.” Beta Jackson waves at us and together, he and Father enter the mansion again. I’m left standing there with my face burning with Yelena taking a seat under the shade of the crawling plants in the garden. She pats the space beside her and I reluctantly sit next to her. “So, did you find your mate yet?” she asks in a sweet tone. She’s batting her eyelashes at me. I’m not new to this, but at the same time, I’m not an expert in this either. Draco is the ladies’ man. Not me. But even he hasn’t found his mate yet, so I don’t know why I’m getting this question. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “I think we’re still too young for that.” “You are one of the Alpha’s heirs, though.” She shrugs innocently. “Maybe it would be good to find her early and start building things early.” I know what this is all about. I don’t know why she feels like she has to be subtle about it, since I know that our dads probably talked about setting us up together and now she has the idea to make it real. It’s annoying. But of course, because this is sanctioned by my father, I have to play nice. However, the only thing I can say is, “Of course.” “I’m glad you agree.” Yelena smiles at me. “You know, my father also wants me to explore more and meet more guys. I told him that I only have one person in mind and I think he will like him very much.” Ah fuck. Here it is. If I say something, she’s going to pile on it until I have no choice but to look at her as a viable option for a mate. The only option. So I don’t say anything. But that doesn’t stop her. “It would be very good to keep it within the powerful families in charge,” she says. “You know very well that more and more Humans are wanting to turn into Werewolves. Soon enough, there would not be Natural-Born Werewolves. It would just be the Human lot. Can you imagine that?” “Oh.” I ignore the rest of her implications. “So you mean more and more people are in the Unclaimed Camp?” “Yeah.” She frowns. “But anyway, as I was saying—” “Hey, Ajax!” The glorious sound of my brother’s voice rings in my ear like a gospel. I whip around to see him running towards me with a big smile on his face as well as a big brown envelope clasped under his tucked arm. “I got the files,” he starts, but I stop him with a pointed look. He trails off and adjusts his words. “I got your class records. Damn, Dad can be such a pain, huh?” Yelena gets to her feet and is about to introduce herself to Draco, but he brushes past her and says in the most charming tone, “Excuse me and my brother, please.” He sounds so disarming that even she is affected. Her persistence melts away in a single look and she just smiles at me before heading back to the mansion. Now Draco and I are alone. I look around to make sure the coast is clear before facing him. I hold my hand out excitedly for the files when I notice a smear of dried blood around his wrist, staining the edge of his sweater. He quickly rolls down his sleeve all the way to his palms when he notices that I’m looking. “What’s that?” “It’s nothing,” he mutters. “Just… border control. The attacks are getting out of wack, but don’t tell anyone I told you that. I’ve been trying to watch out for the monster who attacks them, but we really can’t find a trace of that. They’re saying it’s from the Unclaimed though.” My jaw clenches. I take the envelope from him and open it, finding a detailed map and blueprints of the Unclaimed Camp. “You can only come there at night when the security is down and the Overseer is most generous,” Draco tells me, closing the envelope to signal to me that I can’t open it out here. “Everything you need is there, and I will prepare a car for your travel. You need to be careful, sharp. The only soul who should know who you are is Maxine Kane. Anyone else who finds out… well, make sure they’re taken care of.”