CHAPTER 160: BEFORE STORM

The dry night air blew in from the window Zeran had left open, hoping it would bring him some freshness to ease his restless mind.

Zeran sat in his work chair, eyes locked on the TV screen, where the news still aired his press conference.

His fingers reached for the remote, changing channels, and most of the talk shows were still dramatizing his public confession.

He grabbed his tablet, scrolling through the flood of online comments. Everyone was anxious, waiting for Lethia to make an appearance after that explosive conference.

This morning, Derreck had briefed him that Tuffin Corp’s stocks, which had plummeted, were slowly climbing back up steadily.

He chuckled in amusement at the fact that his father’s ridiculous plan somehow worked exactly as predicted.

At first, he’d doubted it, wanting to strike Varrel directly after meeting the assassin. But then, Renar’s words over the phone had convinced him to go along with this soap opera plan.

A knock on the door cut through his musing. His smile faded.

Soon, Derreck stepped in, standing tall before him.

"The preparation for tomorrow is ready, sir."

"Good. Make sure the council’s army is set to seize him after the speech. He might prepare some hidden forces because he expects a trap."

"They’re ready too, sir." Derreck grinned. "I never thought you had it in you to be this romantic. That cold persona of yours has melted away. You’re more popular than Caelum now among the ladies. You’ve become their book boyfriend, sir. Congratulations."

Zeran frowned. "Book boyfriend?"

"Yeah... It’s a thing on the internet. There’s a whole term for it. Don’t worry though, you’re on the positive note."

Zeran stretched his neck muscles, stiff as hell from the tension. He hadn’t slept a damn second since Lethia left.

"That was my father’s idea."

"And the fact that you agreed to it, that’s the real shocker."

"It was the only way to push the council into demanding a public conference from Varrel as soon as possible. And... to minimize the bloody war, because we can bring Varrel down with his scandal."

"That aide girl is really brave to steal the photo like that."

"Hm... protect her well."

Zeran gestured for Derreck to leave him alone. Yeah, no fucking way he would’ve ever agreed to something that would crush his pride like that.

The only thing that convinced him was Renar. He told him Chasey had a photo of Varrel visiting a brothel.

When he met Renar, he was stunned for a moment. The woman in the picture with Varrel, looked a lot like Lethia from the back.

But after zooming in with a specialized tool, the woman had a small snake tattoo on her right upper shoulder—something Lethia didn’t have.

That would be their weapon, to expose just how filthy Varrel really was. And on top of that, they had the corrupted files Chasey had managed to steal during her captivity at Adam’s place.

Zeran leaned his head back on that boss chair, eyes shutting for a moment. He imagined Lethia’s horrified, broken reaction tomorrow, when they finally tore Varrel’s filth into the light.

He and Renar had split the mission. His nephew would scour the countryside, hunting Lethia’s whereabouts while Varrel headed to Ashenhold.

Zeran would be at the public conference to execute the plan, keeping aware,, just in case Varrel dragged Lethia along to Ashenhold.

They could still track Lethia from a close distance by picking up the pheromone from her pup—the one that had bonded them all together.

And quietly, Zeran secretly hoped Lethia was in the countryside, far away from witnessing Varrel’s filth being exposed in real time. She’d be shattered if she saw the truth with her own eyes.

Zeran opened his eyes and reached into his drawer for the medicine box. He downed an Unbonding pill to suppress the wild, stinging desire clawing inside him.

He had learned something new from this bond with Lethia. It had been 33 hours since he last saw her. And the longer he went without touching her skin, the more intense the pain spread through every corner of his body.

His hand trembled slightly as he took his seventh dose today. His breath grew heavier as the pill started kicking in.

Even with that much in his system, he still felt a sharp ache in his chest and along his spine.

Was Lethia going into heat again? Was that why the pain was gnawing at him like this too?

And if she was... how the hell was she going to handle the pain alone?

Zeran clenched his jaw hard, impatience burning through him like wildfire, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

***

Lethia blinked several times, her eyes strained from the harsh blue light of the phone screen in her hands.

She shook her head to ease the tension gripping her neck.

The sunlight had started to peek through the window, coaxing her to draw the curtains open.

She smiled, and her eyes felt fresh again as she saw the calm lake water and cherry blossoms falling gently, one by one, petals rained down.

The mom-to-be quickly grabbed the phone again, her fingers dancing above the screen with sharp focus.

["Are you not done yet?"]

’Just a little more. It’s been a while since I last did video editing on a phone.’

["So many excuses. You sure you’re not gonna mess it up?"]

Lethia huffed in annoyance at Whisney’s belittling tone.

’A Marketing Team Leader should know how to do basic video editing like this. Wait a sec. I’m almost done.’

["Your mortal body needs rest... You know I’ve been sharing my energy for ten hours straight just to keep you awake, right?"]

’Then keep doing that!’

Whisney hissed in annoyance.

["I’m amazed you didn’t even flinch after watching that live porn show last night?"] Whisney giggled teasingly.

Lethia ignored her comment and kept her eyes glued to the screen. The phone belonged to the still unconscious, tied-up oracle on the bed.

Her smile widened as she finally finished her video editing for Varrel’s revelation. Her eyes scanned the room with a newfound satisfaction.

She walked to the small table where a scorched glass bowl sat—the one she’d used to burn Varrel’s hair and the oracle’s blood. She grabbed the bowl and shoved it under the bed to hide it.

Her shoulders still shuddered in disgust, and she tap-tapped at them, remembering how she’d had to hug Varrel just to get close to steal his hair.

Lethia looked at herself in the mirror after washing her face and cleaning up.

"It’s done," she muttered, smiling in satisfaction at Whisney’s reflection before her.

"Are you sure she’ll get your message?" Whisney asked.

Lethia nodded with certainty. "Chasey will read it. First thing she does after waking up is check her email."

"And what will you do now? Is Varrel going to bring you to Ashenhold?"

Lethia’s smile faded. She gently rubbed her belly, trying to calm her pup down, since her heat had started to kick in again since last night. Looked like the pup missed its father.

"Whether he brings me or not... someone will come. Wherever I am."