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I was happy she was interested in me too. “I was 26.”
“How about Gabriel?”
“Gabriel’s younger than me by eight years, so he was 18.” Gabriel, the Alpha’s son, had started learning from his father how to lead a sleuth at the same time that we all became wardens.
“So young…” Daphne looked concerned. A moment later she shook her head. “Continue please. What happened when the island was turned into a prison?”
“The Torres family led the Torres sleuth. The Alphas and everyone that followed them became wardens of the prison. The villages that now belong to Santuario, Starry Banes, and Bloody Claws were erected as prison units, and more roads were built around the island.”
“So the buildings around here used to house prisoners?” Daphne glanced around at the terraced buildings surrounding the square.
“That’s correct. We added the walls inside later, dividing the spaces into rooms. But the insides of the houses used to be prison cells, complete with metal bars and places for the wardens to sit and keep watch.” I still remembered very well how Santuario had looked before we had repurposed the houses.
Three years had already passed since then, and even though I was no longer a warden assigned to this prison unit, the sight of those metal bars was always in my memory. I was glad they were gone. The village was a much friendlier place now.
“And a few years ago Victor’s uprising happened, right?” Daphne asked. She must have heard the most recent part of Isla Paraiso’s history from Yoselin already. But maybe I could give her my unique perspective of the events.
“Three years ago Victor organized the convicts to rebel against the Torres rule. He murdered our entire family, except for Gabriel, me, and, as we now know, Hanny. We thought her dead for all those years…” I trailed off, looking into the distance. Hanny wasn’t an easy topic for me.
Gabriel and I still hadn’t reached an agreement on how best to go about rescuing her, but I didn’t want to tell Daphne of the discord between us. Gabriel and I hadn’t fought; we never raised our voices when exchanging opinions with each other… but still we had said a few choice words. We had apologized to each other immediately, but the fact that we couldn’t agree on how to proceed with getting rid of Victor for good and getting Hanny back remained.
Daphne gave me a compassionate look. “After your family’s… death… you escaped and came here, right?” She seemed uncertain how to speak about the murder of our parents.
Before I realized what I was doing, I put a hand on her arm. She looked at me, her eyes wide in surprise.
I quickly took my hand away. A joyless chuckle escaped my lips. “Sorry, you seemed like you needed to be comforted.” The thought was irrational though…
Daphne laughed, and I enjoyed the sound of her happy voice. “You’re the one whose pain we’re talking about right now. Why would you think I needed to be comforted?”
“I don’t really know.” I really didn’t. And yet she hadn’t seemed to mind the casual touch. I considered that experience a win – I had gotten to touch my mate, even if briefly.
“So you came to this village with the other wardens?” Daphne had a faint blush on her cheeks. I realized that she was trying to direct my attention back to our conversation but I was sure she too was interested in the rest of the story, otherwise she would have walked away from me already.
I rarely talked so much, being a man who only opened his mouth to say things that were really important. Daphne didn’t seem to be the talkative sort either and yet, we were able to hold a long conversation such as this one, not losing interest in what each of us had to say. Talking with my mate made me really happy.
I continued telling her Santuario’s story. “Yes, many of the wardens lived with their families on the island. When we escaped Victor, we took them with us and found this area that would become our home abandoned. We told everybody they were free to leave for the mainland; life on Isla Paraiso wouldn’t be easy after all.”
“Judging by the amount of people living in this village, they didn’t listen?”
“There’s currently eighty of us, including children. Yes, many remained. They told Gabriel and I they didn’t want to live in a sleuth that was not led by the Torres. They put a lot of trust in the two of us, who had never been Alphas. So Gabriel and I became the Alphas, and we formed a clan that we called the ‘sanctuary’ for those that wanted to stay.”
“That’s a lot of trust and loyalty to give two people but it’s no different from how sleuths are usually run. In every clan, we bear shifters put our trust in the Alphas to protect us and lead us wisely and I understand the people not wanting to go back to the mainland to look for a sleuth that would accept them. After their clan was disbanded, they essentially became rogues – outcasts in society. So it’s amazing that you two stepped in to become the Alphas and bring everyone together in a new group.” Daphne had a look of admiration on her face.
My heart rose, seeing her expression. I was proud of what Gabriel and I had done for Santuario, and I already knew how significant becoming the Alphas for the new sleuth had been for us. Yet, being praised for my actions by my mate felt exceptionally good.
I gave her a small soft smile. Daphne blushed and looked away. I loved seeing her cheeks so rosy and being the cause of that response. She was undoubtedly attracted to Gabriel and me. I just had to get her to admit the truth.
“Then… you need to be extra careful not to die. What would happen to Santuario if you did?” When Daphne looked back at me, worry made her brows furrow.
“Someone else would take the role of the Alpha. Right now the sleuth is strong enough not to disband if something happened to us. We’re not in the same chaotic situation as three years ago.” We didn’t officially have any Betas to aid us since Gabriel and I took care of the affairs of the clan well enough on our own but there were people who we were sure would step in if a tragedy happened and we could no longer lead Santuario.
Daphne shook her head. “I don’t believe this sleuth would withstand your deaths so easily. Who do you think could be strong enough to be the next Alpha?”
I chuckled, trying to lighten the situation. “I’m very happy you’re worried about our safety.”
Daphne looked angrier with every minute of the conversation. “That’s not what you should-“
“Esteban!” She was interrupted by Yoselin running up to us. The cook had worry painted all over her face.
