CHAPTER 41: TENSION

My eyebrows raised involuntarily in surprise.

"What?"

That was the only thing I could say that was meaningful enough instead of the gibberish sound threatening past my lips. Every other word seemed to be stuck in my throat.

Lesra took a deep breath. "We’re not sure about the how. But what we are sure of is that some of those scientists up there aren’t just trying to find a cure in those labs in Parthenn. Kinley is our inside man. He was able to climb through the ranks to Head Scientist so he could find out exactly what the deranged ones are up to and also so he could keep an eye on you and protect you from Darek."

I didn’t see that coming. It was frightening how that made so much sense. Kinley did seem more protective of me when it came to Darek, and at the same time, he had access to all the tests done on me to measure my powers.

The perfect inside man.

I had so much more I needed to know. So many more questions I needed answers to. But before I could get into all of that again, the door was sliding open and Valden came in, accompanied by another man in his Beta uniform.

Valden’s authoritative presence filled the room before he even spoke, with his broad shoulders and his sharp gaze, and my lungs tightened on their own with every step of his. His eyes lit up the moment he saw me awake and talking to Lesra. The look was so genuine that I stopped myself from asking him about the pendant right away. Even though everything dumped on me now felt overwhelming, seeing his familiar face was a relief. Everything else could wait.

His lips stretched into a smile but stopped when he realised I wasn’t doing the same. He slowly walked towards my side, his face a pleading mask of worry. He was about to open his mouth when a voice interrupted him.

"I sense a lot of unresolved tension here."

We all turned our attention towards the Lycan who had come in with Valden. He had his arms folded now and his face grinning like it was the most entertaining thing he had seen today. His Beta uniform looked like the one worn by the ones at the Parthenn towers but his collar lay unfastened, sleeves half rolled like he intentionally didn’t follow the rules and wanted everyone to know it. But his face showed hints of his discipline. A defiant jaw, mixed with brown eyes and honey blonde hair curled at the ends.

Lesra groaned as she turned around in her chair and noticed him. "Joren? Are you even supposed to be here right now?"

"Honestly? No, I’m not. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to finally see the girl who has Korvash on his knees. I won’t lie, I was picturing someone taller. And scarier. Maybe someone with glowing eyes and two horns. No offense."

"None taken," I replied dryly.

He walked forward and extended his hand to me as if we were meeting at a casual garden party instead of in a secret underground hideout with glowing stone walls to keep out werewolves.

"Joren Wilker, nice to make your acquaintance. So you’re the one who keeps everyone up at night because Korvash can’t stop obsessing over you, right?"

My lips twitched but I masked the smile immediately and instead shook his hands.

"That could be one way to put it, I suppose."

Jorden nodded vigorously. "It makes sense. You’re way prettier than that psycho chick he keeps by his side all the time."

Valden let out a low grunt in warning. "Maybe don’t flush out everything that crosses your brain, Joren."

Joren turned to him with innocence, his eyes widening mockingly. "What? I’m just saying she looks good for someone who’s been in a coma for two days. You dragged her in here with her looking no better than a corpse. Scary stuff. I thought we were about to plan a funeral or something. Pretty sure I started rehearsing a speech."

"That’s enough," Valden snapped at him before turning back and shifting closer to me, his hands supporting themselves against the bedframe. He looked good, more than good but the shadows underneath his eyes were evident. "Maeve, are you...are you alright?"

"Better than before, definitely better," I mumbled as his eyes searched my face in yearning. The silence stretched between us, so many unspoken words waiting to be said. We never really got the chance yet to talk about everything between us. Never a dull moment to clear the air.

Joren let out a loud exaggerated cough, breaking the trance between us.

"For goodness’ sake, if you two were just planning to stare each other into oblivion, at least warn the rest of us so we could leave? Oh wait, better yet, don’t. I think watching Valden try to remember how to do human is turning out to be the highlight of my day."

This time, it was Lesra who got up, the floor screeching from her chair being pushed back, interrupting his rant.

"We’ll leave you both to it then. I’m sure there’s a lot to unpack between you guys. After Maeve’s better, we’ll show her around and proceed with our plans." She said with finality and sent a sharp look at Joren.

But he only threw up his hands, grinning wide. "Fine. Fine. I’ll stop for now. But only because I like her." He turned to me, eyes gleaming. "Don’t let Captain Broody over here scare you too much, Maeve. He looks all growl, but really, underneath all that pent-up sexual frustration, he’s just a giant angry puppy."

I couldn’t stop myself. I burst out laughing just as Lesra dragged him out by his collar, muttering something about ’idiots with too much energy’.

And then it was just me and Valden, and with the way he was looking at me right now, I wondered if Joren was right about that pent-up frustration.