CHAPTER 104: CONFLICTED HEARTS...

Kael

I refused to return to Ravenshore.

A week and a few days had passed since the night at Rhett’s pack house, since Eamon had walked away and declared he wanted to sleep alone. Since I’d let my walls crash down long enough to kiss him, to touch him and almost lost control in the process.

Now, I was in Silvermere pack in Alpha Winter’s office, my fake father and my Master. The familiar surroundings of Silvermere pack had done little to ease the tension in my heart.

Despite spending twelve days away from Eamon, all I could do was think about him. I didn’t fear anything in life until him. Now, I was worried that my attraction would spiral out of control.

I knew I needed time away to figure out what was wrong with me, or at least give myself space to think clearly.

I’d contemplated calling Rita and going out on a date with her, hoping I would feel less attracted to Eamon, but anytime I pick up the phone to dial her number, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

"Let’s go over what we know so far, Alpha Winters," My Master said, adjusting his reading glasses.

We were reviewing files, documents, and every other piece of evidence we had gathered over the months of investigation.

"We know for sure that Ravenshore Academy is running a breeding program, specifically using Ebonvale girls who become pregnant. They organise parties, drug the students, and when the girls get pregnant, they allow them to carry the babies to term. Then they sell the infants to human buyers, mostly and rarely to research laboratories."

Alpha Winters nodded grimly. "And the laboratory Kael infiltrated confirmed that they’re using Omegas as surrogate mothers for hybrid embryos created from genetic material harvested from humans, werewolves and Lycans."

"The activity that goes on in that school is larger than we initially suspected," I added quietly. "They’re not just trafficking students, they’re letting them die and covering them up. For example, the so-called students who died from snow rogues were not killed by them..." I paused.

"It was that same creature that attacked Eamon at the summer camp from months ago that attacked them, but the school made us sign NDAs not to disclose what we saw."

Alpha Winters leaned forward, stroking his jaw. "And you think the people behind this act are in Ravenspire, and some of them are board members."

"Yes," I nodded. "I told you, I saw Luna Alice and a lot of familiar faces at the high-end human club. Everything would have been fine until I witnessed an underground auction of breeding omegas to those humans. It’s a sight I would never recover from."

"So, it means we would be going up against major Pack Alphas. Did you by chance see Alpha Riggs in there?" my fake father asked.

"No!" Master shook my head. "I don’t think Raymond Riggs is capable of perpetrating such profanity. You need to get a certain level of inhumanity to be able to peddle people’s children as sex objects. Speaking of the Riggs, you mentioned his son has been disappearing frequently after that hospital incident."

"Yes," I nodded. "When I followed the direction from that day, I discovered he went into the store to buy condoms and sex magazines and nothing else. At Rhett’s Pack house, he left for hours without explanation. Even before that, like that day I had to go with Vale to the human world, the same time I sneaked into school was the same time he sneaked back too. I know he’s up to something."

"Have you been able to figure out what he’s after?" Alpha Winter asked.

"It’s difficult to tell," Master shook his head. "Whatever the boy is doing, he’s cautious about covering his tracks, another indication that he’s not as innocent as he appears, and our men picked up signs of him going into an estate in one of the high-rise parts of Ravenspire, but we have no idea what he was going there to do."

"However," Master raised his hands, preventing me from talking. "We discovered something interesting about the Riggs family," he said, pulling out a file from his bag. He passed the file to Alpha Winters, who opened it and began to read.

"Riley Riggs, the beloved daughter of the Riggs family. As soon as she came of age, old enough to apply for Ebonvale, she was sent there. But eight months ago, her parents were called in and informed that their precious child was missing. They were gaslit like every other parent with a similar plight, and up until now, nothing has been done about it."

"So, you think the boy is investigating his missing sister?"

"I believe so, based on the places we’ve seen him. Although there is no concrete evidence to prove that yet."

"That makes sense," I agreed. "Slater is protective of people he cares about. If he believes his sister didn’t just disappear, that means he’s not sitting around doing nothing."

"Exactly," my Master nodded his head. "I know you don’t like to make friends and all, but get closer to Slater, gain his trust and discover what exactly he’s looking for."

"Should we reach out to the father and tell him to join our cause. We’re all victims of the evil perpetrated by Ravenshore," Alpha Winters said.

"That’s not a good idea, Alpha!" I said quietly. "You cannot judge people merely by their appearance or need. If Alpha Riggs is comfortable with allowing his son to carry the investigation, then I believe there’s a real reason for that."

"Then he’s not our enemy," Alpha Winters grunted.

"Of course not," I nodded.

When will you be going back to Ravenshore?" My Master asked, checking his watch, an indication that he was done with today’s meeting. "It’s time to return to the academy and continue your mission."

"I was planning to go back this weekend, which is two days from today," I said. "I just needed some time to clear my head."

"Okay. The longer you’re away, the more suspicious your absence becomes. We can’t afford to compromise your cover now, now when we’re close to our goal."

We spent another hour reviewing intelligence reports and planning my next moves. When we finished, I walked my Master to his car.

As he loaded his briefcase into the vehicle, he turned to study me.

"Are you alright, Kael?" he asked quietly. "You look troubled."

I shook my head slowly. "I’m fine. I just needed to clear my mind for a while and forget about everything else. A breath of fresh air."

Master stared at me for a long moment before nodding. "I heard you requested to speak with your therapist again. Is everything okay? Are you still having those dreams again?"

I lowered my head, feeling heat creep up my cheek slowly. "No, it’s not about the dreams. It’s far from that."

"Then what is it?"

I hesitated, knowing how this would sound, especially as I was warned several times in the beginning, but I couldn’t keep it bottled up any longer. "It’s about Eamon—Eamon Riggs. I like him a lot."

My Master’s expression shifted from surprise to concern and then to a smile. He bit his lower lip, trying to clamp down on the laughter that was evident in his eyes.

"Ah," he managed to say. "I see."

"It’s not funny," I sighed. "I can’t concentrate on anything else. When I am around him, I lose focus, and when I am not there, I can’t stop thinking about him. It’s affecting my judgement, and I’m worried it would come in the way of my mission and my performance at the end of the day."

"These feelings, when did you think they started?"

"Almost from the beginning," I admitted. "But they’ve gotten stronger over time. At Rhett’s Pack house, I kissed him, there was this wild urge to..." I swallowed hard, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. "My wolf went haywire at the thought of seeing him naked. I’ve never felt that way about anyone, not even with Rita."

Master was quiet for several minutes processing the information.

"Kael," he said finally. "You’re 21 years old. It’s natural to develop feelings for someone, even if the timing is inconvenient for our mission."

"But he’s a boy," I said desperately. "I’ve never been attracted to boys before. I don’t understand what’s happening to me."

"Attraction isn’t always what we think it is. Sometimes we’re drawn to people regardless of conventional expectations. The heart doesn’t always follow logic."

"I want mine to do," I said quietly. "But I feel like I’m spiralling and I don’t know how to stop."

"You’re not spiralling," he shook his head. "You’re feeling."

"Feeling?" I looked up.

"Emotions aren’t your enemy, Kael. They’re inconvenient, yes. Sometimes dangerous, but not wrong. You have trained your mind to suppress everything, to think before you feel. But maybe, that’s not what you need right now."

I nodded in agreement.

"How about you acknowledge these feelings?" he started.

I shook my head, not bothering to wait for him to finish. "If I acknowledge what I feel for Eamon, I’m trapped, Master. I love him."