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“Wrath has done that dozens and dozens of times. That’s why he has so many loyal soldiers,” Torin continues.
“Because he raised orphans,” I say.
“Exactly.” Torin puts a little shading on the painting. “You can’t touch Wrath without infuriating hundreds of saurians and their extended families. A lot of the whelplings he raised have their own families now. Wrath is the father of the underworld.”
“And Avel…”
“Avel attacked him publicly, with no regard for Wrath’s position. The entire city is talking about it. It’s the biggest scandal I’ve ever heard of. An alpha’s enforcer and saurian executioner going rogue in the street like that? Saurians are calling for him to him to be removed from his role.”
“He might lose his job?”
Torin shrugs. “I dunno.”
Avel
“I can’t have an enforcer who takes the law into his own hands.”
I relented and allowed myself to be taken to the alpha. Torin is a dead end. He has disappeared off the face of the planet entirely. I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get Raine back, including dealing with Thorn’s annoyance.
The irony of being dressed down about a lack of professionalism while in my oldest friend’s lounging room is not worth mentioning at this point. Thorn is sitting on a couch with his human mate slumbering next to him. I suspect he wanted to do this more formally, but then she was comfortable, and he did not want to wake her up. The alpha is absolutely besotted with his human mate. She often tires herself out with senseless rebellion. Seems to be a human trait.
Thorn looks very comfortable, albeit in a stiff way that suggests he doesn’t dare move for fear of waking her up. I envy him the simple pleasure he is enjoying. It is one I have not been able to enjoy myself, and now may never experience.
“I cannot serve an alpha who does not support me when my mate is taken from me.”
We stare at one another, stony and aggressive, and at loggerheads in a way we have never been before. Thorn is constrained by his role, and I am bound to follow my heart. For the first time in my life, and certainly the first time since serving him, I find myself seeing cracks in his dominant facade. I’ve never questioned Thorn before. I helped him quite literally without question. Discovering that the sentiment does not go both ways is very unsettling. Have I ever been more than a loyal servant to him?
“Choose your words carefully, Avel. I do support you. What I do not support is public scandal, unrest, and the appearance of lawlessness. You are more than a servant of mine. You are a figure that the entire city looks up to. You are the manifestation of law and order itself. And for the last day, you have been going absolutely rogue, both publicly and privately. My own soldiers have witnessed your refusal to follow orders. Cirrus, Garris, Fang, and Karn all have firsthand experience of it now.”
I do not appreciate Thorn’s lecturing tone. He is speaking to me as if I do not understand the significance of my actions. I do understand them. I simply think that Raine is more important. She put her life in my hands, and I put her in a cell from which she escaped, only to be taken and hurt.
“I do not have time for this.”
Thorn’s eyes narrow. “This is all you have time for, Avel. I am your alpha. Have you forgotten?”
I do not want to fight with Thorn. I quite literally do not have time to argue with him. I need to get back on Raine’s trail.
“I can at least give you credit for finally coming to your senses and reporting to me. Eventually. In the future, I need you to come when you are called. I need to be able to trust in you, Avel. I used to trust you. Now, I am no longer sure.”
His words hit me like barbs, producing immediate hurt and fury. How dare he. Once, in all the years we have known each other, I have made my personal concerns a priority, and instead of understanding and supporting me, he has done nothing but put his own concerns first. Looking at him now, I wonder if all the goodwill I once assumed from him was merely a sham.
“If anything happens to Raine because I am wasting time listening to this, I will never forgive you.” My words are clipped and short, my voice expressing barely-contained rage. How dare he! I always thought Thorn looked after his own. Now I realize Thorn always looked after himself.
“You are the last of my guard I ever imagined I would need to warn about tone, Avel,” Thorn says. “Flying off on your own to follow a lead given to you by a gangster you illegally abducted is not a smart move. There could have been a trap waiting for you.”
“I had Cirrus and Garris. And I am prepared to risk my life for Raine. She is mine. The same way that human you spoil and pet is yours. I would have thought you would understand. Or is only the alpha permitted to have feelings?”
“Of course not. But I rely on your sense prevailing. This is not happening because you want to rescue Raine. This is happening because your methods are reckless, violent, and scandalous. There are images of you and Wrath tumbling head over heels, scrapping like a pair of oversized whelplings. You are the enforcer, Avel. You have an image to uphold. You are the manifestation of the law. Saurians count on you to be dependable and respectable.”
I do not need this lecture. I know who I am, and I know what my role is.
“My role is to make it very clear that those who cross me will experience pain like no other. It is good for the city to be aware that the enforcer will not tolerate being stolen from.”
That is a good argument. Thorn should listen to it. I wait to see some glimmer of understanding in his eyes, but he is absolutely fixated on his point and his point alone.
“You had no right to touch Wrath. No legal right. It was not done on my orders. You do not act on your own accord.”
“Wrath knew who had Raine. Squeezing contacts is something we do all the time.”
