438: THE NIGHT IS STILL LONG

THE NIGHT IS STILL LONG

'If I can, I want to be a normal woman, having no duty to fight the darkness and having a family of my own.'

'How many children do you want?'

She laughed and he swore, that was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He could hear it forever and would never get sick of it. Her blue eyes shone so brightly, as if she held the vast sky. 

'As many as I can.'

He still remembered how her voice slightly cracked with sadness when she said that. That was the first moment, where she showed her fragile side. 

Unfortunately, the memories came from so long ago and the image started fading away in his mind, he desperately held onto it, though the feeling he had at that time still heavily lingered in his chest. 

"Lu, I am not your mate. I am not the woman from your past," Iris said softly, but the lycan simply lowered his head, seemingly refused the obvious fact vehemently. 

"You are my mate," Lu said stubbornly. He promised to find her in every lifetime. "You are mine. You are mine to protect."

Iris wanted to tell him that he had mistaken her to someone else, but seeing how despondent Cane's face was, she couldn't bring herself to say it. 

But a second later, Lu raised his head and looked cheerful. "Come on! Drink the concoction! Let's make babies, my sweet moon!"

Iris threw her sympathy to this lycan out of the window, because right now, she felt like she wanted to facepalm herself. Why he had nothing else in his mind, except for that. 

Somehow, Iris was not uncomfortable when Lu kept talking with vulgarity with her, but she legit annoyed. 

"Get away from me!" Iris facepalmed Lu when he was about to kiss her again, which made him pouted his lips. Iris was sure, the sight of Cane pouting like this would forever engrave in her mind. "Behave, Lu! And answer my question."

Lu mumbled. "Okay…" he said in small voice. 

Iris took a deep breath, she stared at the sky out there that had turned so dark. The king would arrive early tomorrow morning, which meant, they only had less than twelve hours to sort out the problem with the lycan. 

At this point, Iris really wanted to shake Cane's body and get him back, as they were clueless about what to do when the king was here, wrong move and Cane's plan would crumble. 

For now, she tried to get as many information as she could from something that Lu would know, especially about the Serafim and…

"Lu… I have this dream about the five swords, what is that?" Iris asked him. 

Lu scoffed when he heard that. "Those must be swords of the useless knights, who knew nothing and only become a burden to Na." He then grumbled something, which Iris couldn't read. 

"What did you say? I couldn't catch it."

"Those five knights were useless."

If Cane was a reserved person, then Lu could easily cuss you out without even thinking. He spoke his mind so freely. 

================================ 

"Where have you been? Why it took you so long to bury the girl?!" Jace snapped at Ethan out of frustration. He had been waiting for his return from the mountain after he buried Jemma's body, but only late at night, he come back. 

"Come here," Ethan said, his voice sounded so dark, as he dragged Jace away from alpha Dristan and Sir Elijah. 

Since they couldn't meet with Cane for now, with the reason the alpha had a lot in his plate to deal with, it was Jace, who handled the problem regarding the five packs and the border warriors that Sir Elijah had brought with him, because tomorrow, they needed to report what had happened to the king. 

Meanwhile, alpha Dristan had started to be suspicious with the absent of Cane. Fortunately, Koda was with Lou in the Riverside pack, so he didn't have someone to move behind the scene. 

"What is it?" Jace frowned when he saw how serious the gamma was. Seriously, they didn't need more problem. They needed solution, not another headache. 

But, seeing the expression of Ethan, he knew whatever he was going to say, it wouldn't be something nice. 

Meanwhile, alpha Dristan listened to the conversation between Sir Elijah and Oliver, but his eyes followed the beta and the gamma. He could sense it, there was something wrong and he really needed to know what it was…

On the other hand, Ethan stopped dragging Jace with him when it was only the two of them, as they stood in the balcony of the second floor, which facing the annex of the warrior.  2

"What is it?" Jace frowned. His voice turned serious. He had prepared himself for the worst, but what Ethan was going to say was something he didn't expect at all. 

"Aria's body is gone," Ethan said straight to the point. His brown eyes turned a few shades darker and he gritted his teeth. 

"What? Probably a monster dug the grave…" Jace was shocked to hear that, but then he felt there was more into it. "Didn't you dig so deep so the monster wouldn't be able to find the body?"

Ethan shook his head. "Someone dug the grave, Jace. Someone took Aria's body."

"Ethan, seriously. I am not ready for this. I don't know what happened to Aria's body, we will figure it out later. It might sound cold, but we have another important problem to think about, okay?" Jace sympathized with what happened to Aria's body. 

However, as cruel as it might sound, she already died and there was nothing they could do about it, it was not worth it to spend their resources or man to figure out what happened in the mountain out there, while they were here waiting for their impending doom without a single light of solution. 

"Probably the monster dug the grave and found her body. Let's think and focus our energy to something more important." Jace felt bad to be so cold toward Aria's dead body, but the situation right now, couldn't afford them to do anything about it. 

Ethan growled, because Jace didn't get it. He grabbed his elbowed and prevented him from leaving. "Someone dug the grave, Jace! Don't you get it?" Ethan said in frustration, but when he saw Jace really didn't get it, he explained hastily, which sounded like a rumble. "There is no way monster dug her grave, because after her death, winter came and the monsters were in hibernation. Don't you get it? Someone wanted Aria's body."

In another hand, if someone knew about Aria and even went to extra length to retrieve her dead body, which meant that person had a hidden intention in their mind. What were they going to do with her body was beyond them, since they were clueless about black magic.

"Jace, this is not good." Ethan shook his head. "We don't know who was that person and what their motive, but if somehow the fact was twisted and the Howling Wolf pack was accused of engaging with the black magic, Cane's claim to the five packs will be nullified."

Everything could happen and proof could be procured, Cane had proven it time and time again. Therefore, you couldn't let your enemy caught your tail, because they would cut your head. 

Just like with alpha Gallot. By sending Sofia here, he opened a path for Cane to reach out to him. If alpha Gallot thought he had Cane wrapped around his fingers, it was actually the other way around. 

"You are thinking too far." Jace shook his head. 

"Everything could happen, Jace. That's why Cane has been very meticulous with his scheme, but even so, there is still a few things that slipped from his hand." Ethan had seen how Cane was deep in thought, as something didn't go as he predicted. 

"Okay, let's talk about that later when Cane is here."

"When?"

"I don't know, Ethan! Damn it! My head is going to burst!" Jace was under so much pressure right now. He couldn't imagine, how Cane could handle everything, while figuring out his next steps, it was so much for his brain to handle. 

"Can't Iris do something about the lycan?"

Jace shook his head. "She is trying, but no one knows how to get Cane back."

"What actually happened to them? Why the lycan suddenly appeared?"

======================================= 

Iris couldn't sleep, her mind wandered in the bright room, as she stared at Cane by her side, but she knew it was not him.

The lycan didn't answer many of her question and he looked lethargic, as he curled himself on the rug near the fireplace to sleep, but Iris shook him awake to go sleeping on the bed. She didn't want Cane to get sick or something to sleep on the rug for two nights straight. 

And here she was, trapped between his arms, as Lu nuzzled her neck and slept like he was dead. 

Iris couldn't help it, she extended her hand and ran her fingers through his hair. She felt the comfort that she used to get from Cane, thinking it was him, who cuddled her. 

However, when her mind was wandering aimlessly, Cane suddenly opened his eyes. He looked sleepy and tired, as he pulled her even closer to him, he literally squeezed her. 

"Sleep, it's still night," Iris said softly, but Cane lifted his head and leaned over to kiss her lips gently, as his other hand held the side of her face. 

pqdm.com