Chapter 9

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WARNING: THIS IS THE THIRD CHAPTER I HAVE POSTED TODAY FOR LETHAL. PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS TWO CHAPTERS BEFORE PROCEEDING.

I nodded once at Onyx, who gave Cain and I a nervous smile. I had never seen someone so on-edge and anxious for no reason. I hadn't even thrown a knife at her yet.

I thought the pairing of Thane and Onyx as mates was an interesting choice on the Moon Goddess' part, although I could see how they would work well together. Thane is always eerily calm while his mate looks like an erratic, frightened little mouse that would get spooked by a pen dropping. I didn't fail to notice that she wouldn't look Cain in the eyes.

Cain stretched his arm out to shake Onyx's hand, and her electric blue eyes got so big I was halfway expecting them to fall out of her head. She timidly shook Cain's hand, and I don't think anyone failed to notice her hand trembling before Cain's larger one engulfed hers. She was in a room of Alphas, after all.

Onyx pulled away, cowering slightly back into Thane. Annnnnnnd this was why they were perfect soulmates. Thane wrapped his arm tighter around her and I noticed the way her tension almost melted off of her as she relaxed into him. Interesting, indeed.

You and Thane should go talk about guy stuff while Onyx and I go for a walk, I told Cain via mindlink.

Why do you need to talk to Thane's mate alone? Cain questioned suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes at him. For girl stuff. We won't leave the territory.

Cain narrowed his eyes at me, and I batted my eyelashes innocently. I swear I wasn't up to any trouble, nor was I even scheming, for that matter.

Finally, he sighed. "Thane, it appears my mate wants to go for a walk with your female to talk. Alone."

It sounded like Cain was wanting Thane to protest, but of course Thane merely shrugged. "That sounds good to me. Onyx, would you like that?"

The girl's eyes widened once more, and she looked like she would rather do anything besides that. "No guards?" I heard her softly ask Thane. Her voice was like warm honey.

Thane shook his head, one corner of his mouth turning up into a small smile. "You won't need them, love." He matched her soft tone, despite the fact that I'm sure he knew that Cain and I could hear them. It's an Alpha thing.

He was so delicate with her, like she was made of china. It was truly incredible to see. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that all Alphas were rough with their mates, but I have seen Thane angry, and the contrast was astounding.

Thane affectionately tweaked her nose and gave her a little push towards me. She gave me a small smile, but I could see that she struggled to look me in the eyes. I was hoping that she could guide most of the conversation so I could just communicate through typing on a phone, but I could see that she was far too shy for that.

On second thought, Axel should come with us. I have a feeling I'll need an interpreter, I told Cain. He nodded, and I could see hints of relief that we would have at least one guard.

"Axel, you're going with the females," Cain commanded, and Axel nodded, even though I was sure he was bummed he wouldn't be with Thane. They had a bromance thing going on.

Onyx turned to look at Thane one last time before we left, and he gave her an encouraging smile. She turned around back towards Axel and I. Her eyes were slightly downcast.

I gave Cain a kiss before we left, and I could tell it made him hesitant to let me go.

Be good, He grumbled.

Maybe Onyx is the troublemaker of the group, Cain, I suggested, knowing that was probably incorrect. And by the look on Cain's face, he agreed with that. Okay fine, I'll behave. But only because Thane won't let me around his mate if I corrupt her too much.

Cain's posture relaxed at my words, and commanded, "Be back no later than noon." I rolled my eyes at my bossy mate, but to my surprise, Onyx nodded and kept her eyes down, completely submissive. Even Cain looked surprised by her behavior. He expected it from his wolves, but certainly not from another Alpha's mate.

"Go ahead and lead the way, Onyx. You probably know the territory better than Ares or I," Axel suggested at my request.

Onyx looked surprised, but nodded. We walked out of the pack house due north.

"So, what pack were you from?" Axel asked, once again following my request.

Wincing, Onyx mumbled, "I was a rogue."

"You weren't originally from a pack?" Axel asked directly.

"I don't talk about that," Onyx stated, her tone hardening. I was surprised that was what pushed her into getting a backbone. Unfortunately, that only made my curiosity intensify. Maybe Thane could get more information about that.

"Okay, okay!" Axel put his hands up in a fake surrender. "Ares told me to ask you so don't be mad at me."

Onyx smiled. She really is gorgeous. "I'm not mad. I just don't talk about it. I'm sure there are plenty of things you wouldn't prefer to talk to me about, which I understand."

Ahhhh. There's the chill bone in her body that matches Thane. In fact, most of her anxiety seemed to dissipate once we were no longer around my mate. I knew what I had to tell Axel to say in order to get her to open up to me.

"Ares says that you can ask her anything and she'll tell you about it," Axel hesitantly spoke. I could tell he didn't think that was a good idea, but it's not like he could tell me no.

Onyx raised her eyebrows. "Oh, no. I could never..." Her voice trailed off. She was so polite it was killing me.

"Ares will tell you anything you want to know. That is quite an interesting offer from the Blood Luna," Axel encouraged her.

Onyx hesitated. "The... Well... Yknow how when... The whipping?" Onyx choked out nervously, and her eyes widened at the last word, like she couldn't believe she actually said it.

I smiled and told Axel what to say. "Ares offered to take the whipping for someone else," He cringed as he said that, knowing it was him. "And the Alpha had to follow through or he would seem weak."

Onyx considered Axel's words. "I... do not agree with that. Nobody should be whipped by their mate. Alpha or not. The Alphas have a duty to model behavior for the rest of the pack. Whipping your mate sets a bad example."

I was surprised that she had said so many words at once, and that they were so contradictory to what Axel said. I told Axel what to say. "In a perfect world, maybe. In a civilized, human world that may be the norm. But we are werewolves and any perceived weaknesses means that the pack could be in danger. Like Red Crescent for example, is in turmoil because the stand-in Alpha doesn't have the backbone he needs. Of course, your opinion is completely valid, but these ideals are what makes Blood Lake unconquerable."

Onyx scrunched her face, but she didn't disagree. Suddenly, her expression relaxed and almost appeared to be completely tranquil. "We're here," she softly said.

We had reached a small field, on the edge of the territory. Scattered throughout the field was various sunflowers and dandelions.

"You like flowers?" Axel asked, unprompted by me. He sounded flabbergasted by this notion.

Onyx nodded, a huge, genuine grin spreading across her face. "Who doesn't like flowers?"

Axel's face twisted in disgust and he looked like he was about to tell her who exactly doesn't like flowers, but I stopped him. Don't discourage her when she's starting to open up. He nodded in response.

"Ares wants to know why you're scared of Alpha Cain," Axel bluntly asked.

Onyx' eyes widened and she coughed awkwardly. "Oh, um..."

"It's okay, Nyx. You can speak freely about Alpha Cain. Ares and I gossip about him all of the time," Axel told her on his own, and I laughed. It was true.

Her lips turned up into a smile. "Well... One, the whipping thing... Two, because Blood Lake kills a lot of rogues... Three, have you seen him? He's enormous." She chuckled nervously.

I gave her a small smile, but inside I could feel my stomach twisting slightly as I recalled ripping out the rogues heart the day prior. She was scared of the wrong Alpha.

Suddenly, I caught an familiar scent that made the inside of my nostrils burn.

"Luna-" Axel started, but I already knew from the scent and the fog that started to spread over the field. Onyx looked at us in confusion, her sense of smell and vision too weak to see what was happening, which could be summed up in two words.

Wolfsbane gas.

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