Chapter 61: A Battle of Wills
"The real question should be why you would let an acolyte of the rogue king infiltrate the pack, Soren and worse make him a healer."
"What are you talking about?" Soren’s nostrils flared.
"What am I talking about?" Brenna scoffed.
"Come on, Soren. Did you really think I will not figure it out?"
"I do not know what you think you know but you are wrong."
Brenna smirked.
"Am I wrong to assume that Alistair is the rogue king’s informant? The one you snuck into the pack to gather information?"
"You are wrong."
"Your eyes, Soren. There is always something about your eyes when you lie. You try too hard to make them appear dead and that is how I know that I am right."
Soren stared at her for a long moment.
"How did she do it?" He asked.
"Do what? Who?" Brenna raised an eyebrow.
Soren chuckled.
"So we both now have a secret we do not want anyone knowing about."
Brenna hesitated for a moment before she nodded.
"How does Alistair factor into yours?" Soren asked.
"How does he factor into yours, Soren. Will you tell me that?"
"Brenna, I can make you tell me. I can take this matter up with the Alpha. He is dying to know who is working for the rogue king in his pack and I can offer you up like a sacrificial lamb."
"But you won’t" Brenna interjected.
Soren inclined his head to regard her with amusement.
"And why not?"
"Because you need me, Soren."
"I need you?" Soren chuckled. "Your silly plan to get rid of Alistair failed instead I end up with a dead guard and..."
Soren’s voice trailed off as he realized what she had just made him do.
"I knew you knew something about the guard." Brenna shot him a winning smile.
"It does not matter, Eva. I do not need you and quite frankly, you will make the perfect scapegoat to pin the infiltration of our defenses on. You have no loyalty to anyone but yourself and Kieran may be fucking you but I am sure he will see that instantly if I tell it to him."
"And after that, then what?" Brenna shot at him. "After you get rid of me, what happens next, Soren? You are still going to have the rogue king’s fire licking at your tail. You are still going to be on those toes hoping that the rogue king does not one day damn it all and reveal whatever secret he has against you."
Soren considered this.
"You know I am right and you know I know nothing about the rogue king and neither do you. If there is anyone we should give up, it would be Alistair."
"We cannot do that." Soren cut her off. "We need him to keep the rogue king at bay and that is what he is going to do."
"But still..."
"Forget it, Eva. I am not going to try to kill him again."
Brenna’s mind churned.
It was obvious Soren knew nothing about Ayla’s involvement. Alistair had not mentioned it to him or anything at all.
Why? What did he want with her daughter?
"What is going on in that devious head of yours?" Soren interrupted.
"I am wondering what you plan to do after all this is over. I can imagine it would be going about your life after betraying the one person who genuinely sees something good in you."
Soren’s jaw tightened.
"It is for his own good." he muttered. "It is all for their good."
"I am sure it is." Brenna scoffed, shaking her head in disappointment. "Now that we have come to an understanding, I will leave you to it."
She turned on her heels and walked away with Soren staring after her.
How the hell had Ayla managed to kill two men? He thought.
He could deduce that Alistair had hidden the bodies. It was the only way he knew about the well and was able to get someone to die for the crime.
But how did she kill them? Did she have help? Was it one of the princes?
Has she compromised them too?
He scoffed in disgust.
He should have forced Brenna to get rid of that child when she told him about it. Now she was becoming a huge problem to him.
Even if she did, that did not explain what the priestess had said.
The part where they had not a single drop of blood in their bodies.
Soren sighed heavily and turned to the wall.
There hung a picture of his wife, Gia and their daughter, Willow as a child.
She had been a happy child with her golden locks framing her beautiful face. That was before her mother had died and Willow had retreated into herself.
Ever since their conversation, she had made it a duty to avoid him.
He knew she was still seeing Ares. The guard he had put to watch her confirmed Ares visiting her at odd hours of the night.
He wished he could give her the happiness of turning a blind eye to her escapade with the prince but he could not.
Theirs was a union that could simply not be no matter what.
She would understand why when she was much older but for now, he would let her resent him for as long and as much as she wanted to.
He deserved it taking her mother from her.
His mind drifted to a much simpler time as an unmarried man with his best friend, Kieran who was about to be married to the most beautiful woman, Isolde.
Much simpler times, Soren shook his head.
Right now he had to figure out a way to get access to the archives room while Alistair figured out how to get the rogue king out of their pack and back to the borders where he belonged.
Soren sighed again.
He was getting too old for all of this. He had to get his priorities right, to set the record straight once and for all.
After all of this with the rogue king, he will.
Just a little bit more time before everything falls into place.