Burial Site

Maureen's POV

“Thank you, Your Majesty. This here shows a child hiding behind a curtain as this man here beats this woman,” Weaver stated as he pointed at the pictures with his finger. Seeing this, Lance picked a long ruler from a corner in the room and handed it to him.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Weaver said as he collected the ruler from Lance. “As I was saying, this shows the child talking to someone, a female who is about his age, and here the female is comforting him. Here, he watched again as the woman was beaten, but he was much taller and bigger. But here, where he is bigger than the first and second time, he stepped in and fought the man beating the woman. And here he killed the man, and this female here, with her mouth opened, came in and saw what he did. Here, she was promising to keep his secret under one condition: that he allowed her to do this and …”

“Are you saying she kept his secret just so she could hawk goods?” I asked frowning and interrupting Weaver’s explanation because the supposed female in the drawing was carrying goods on her head with a tray.

“Only that those aren’t legal goods,” Weaver said and dropped the ruler with a bang. “I have to go now, the Citadel teacher will be looking everywhere for me,” Weaver said and ran out of the quarters.

“Can someone tell me what just happened? Did a four-year-old boy just talk like a forty-year-old?” Lucia asked.

“Stop being dramatic Lucia. We have seen too many things that should make us understand that in our world, there is more than meet the eyes," Dominus said.

“From everything Weaver has just explained, does it mean that the Alpha of White Sky killed his father?” I asked thinking out loud.

“That is the summary of it all and somebody saw him doing it and is holding that secret over his head to perpetrate evil in his pack,” Dawn said.

“Lucia, you must find a way to get in contact with the Alpha of White Sky. I think his thoughts are that he slept well because he is in the Citadel. Let's give the Alpha another wonderful night before he departs,” I said to Lucia. Dominus frowned but he said nothing against it.

“I think we should also start preparing to go to White Sky after the departure of the Alpha,” Lance said with his eyes still fixed on the drawings.

“Yes. Please get everything in order, we will leave the day after he leaves. It is better to catch them unawares,” I said and we all agreed on those who were going and those who were not.

After the meeting, I decided to go and see Torrent. I had postponed the visit enough. Lance followed me to her quarters.

Torrent jumped up from her seat the minute she saw me, and Lance entered her room. My thought was that she thought I had come bearing news.

“Are we set to go, Your Majesty?” Torrent asked with her eyes wide with anticipation. Lance and I exchanged glances as I frowned lightly.

“Going where Torrent?” I asked.

“I know you plan to visit a pack to check if he is there. Please, Your Majesty, take me with you. I can't just stay here and wait for news anymore. I am going mad as it is,” Torrent pleaded.

“How did you know about my intended plan to visit a pack?” I asked frowning deeply.

“Asher told me," Torrent answered as Lance and I sighed.

“Sit down, Torrent,” I said, and we all took our seats.

“Asher was not supposed to tell you that…”

“I am sorry Your Majesty. Do not blame him. I kept pressuring him to tell me something, so he told me that,” Torrent apologized, cutting off what Lance was saying.

“I am not angry with you or Asher. I am just saying he shouldn't have told you because I don't want you agitated. I don't think it is a good idea for you to come along. It is supposed to be a secret mission. You are too emotional to get a grip on yourself,” Lance said and the sadness in Toreent’s eyes broke my heart.

“I promise not to compromise the mission. I promise to get a grip on myself. Please let me come with you," Torrent pleaded.

“It is okay. You can come, but if at any point I think you need to leave, then you must return to the Citadel immediately,” I said, ignoring the sharp look Lance sent my way.

“Thank you so much Your Majesties. I am grateful," Torrent said smiling.

Lance didn't wait for me as we left Torrent's quarters. With the way he was walking, I knew he was angry.

“Lance,” I called his name again as we entered the study.

“What. Why are you calling my name like that?” He asked, turning to me, and I could see that his eyes were those of his wolf.

“What have I done this time?” I asked folding my hands against my chest.

“You just asked Torrent, whose emotion is all over the place, to come with us to White Sky. How dumb can a decision be?” Lance said throwing his hands up in anger.

“Lance, I can't stand that look in her eyes when you told her she can't go with us,” I said defensively.

“You are a leader, Maureen. You can't be sentimental or emotional when making decisions like that. Taking her to White Sky might jeopardize everything,” Lance argued.

“How?” I asked.

“If Torrent should catch Rocha's scent in the air for a millisecond, her wolf will go crazy. How, then, do we go from there?" Lance asked.

I sighed as the reality of what was likely to happen from then on dawned on me. I sat down and rested my head on the back of the couch, thoughtfully staring at the roof of the room.

“Now you see your folly?” Lance taunted.

I felt Sheila's anger like a molten larva crawling up my chest. She will never allow anyone, not even her mate, to talk to her like that.

“How dare you talk to me like that?” I asked standing up toe to toe with Lance. The look in his eyes told me exactly what was going on. I knew my eyes had turned golden and my hair was shining brighter.

“Sheila,” Lance whispered, and to my surprise, she allowed her to touch me.

Lance gently placed a hand on my cheek and the other hand found its way to the base of my neck. He started to gently massage my neck.

“Sheila, I am sorry. I was angry. I am just worried about Rocha. If he is in White Sky, I don't want his rescue jeopardized,” Lance explained as Sheila moaned from his attention to my neck.

“Marshall,” Sheila demanded. She wanted Marshall.

“No, Sheila. You are having me today. I just want to look at you. You are so beautiful,” Lance said then kissed me on the head before looking into my eyes.

Lance's eyes reflected the gold color of my eyes at that moment. Sheila purred like a cat. I rolled my eyes as I sat back in my head and watched the interaction. A powerful wolf like Sheila pouting and purring in the hands of her mate?

“I love mate.”

“And I love you more, Sheila,” Lance said, then kissed my pouting lip.

In a second, Sheila gave me back control just as suddenly as she had taken control. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the electricity that pulsed in my neck at the touch of his hand on my neck.

“She is hopeless,” I said, smiling as I attempted to step away from Lance, but he held firm by dropping the hand on my checks to my back.

“No. She loves me,” Lance said with laughter in his voice.

“I thought she was going to tear into you,” I said as I opened my eyes to stare back into his eyes.

“No matter how pissed Sheila is, she will never harm me or intend to harm me,” Lance said smiling.

“Yeah. How do you walk straight with an ego that big?” I sneered.

“That is why you love me. We should let Marshall and Sheila have a go at each other soon. Besides, it would be good to watch,” Lance said winking at me playfully.

“Let's do that after we return from White Sky. Torrent goes with us though," I said.

“As your lordship pleases,” Lance said, but instead of letting go of me, he took my lips with his, and somehow, I ended up on the study table; we might have gone further if the door hadn't opened so suddenly that we had to scamper for decency.

“I am sorry Your Majesties, I didn't mean for that to happen. I was so distracted that I forgot to knock,” Ian apologized profusely as he ran back out and closed the door after him.

To say I was embarrassed was an understatement but I knew Ian would never intentionally do that.

“Come in Ian,” I said loud enough for him to hear me since he was standing outside the door.

“I am sorry Your Majesties. I was distracted,” Ian said again as he stepped inside.

"What could have distracted you, Ian?" Lance asked, raising a brow,, and when Ian blushed, I knew exactly what was distracting him. He and Leila seemed to be permanently stuck in the honeymoon phase.

"I am sorry Your Majesty," Ian apologized instead of explaining himself.

"I asked you to come. We have an important journey to go, and I will need you to read the minds of whoever we meet, and mind link us all of their intentions," I said to Ian.

"I will do whatever you want Your Majesty," Ian said quickly.

"Fine. We leave in two days," I said. Ian apologized again before leaving.

The day came, and we headed out to White Sky, leaving my Mum, Leila, and Grandma Gina in charge of Lucia. That was the only way to put Dominus’ mind at rest.

We went to the land he wanted to claim first. Suddenly, I felt the atmosphere tense, and a smell hit me.

"What is it?" Lance asked.

"I can smell rotten flesh in the air," I said frowning deeply.

"I can't smell that," Lance said.

"You might be right Your Majesty. I just stepped on a shallow grave," Asher said.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked him in bewilderment.

"There," Asher said pointing at some spots. Have bodies buried in them," Asher answered.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Tate drew us standing here like this with graves all around us," Asher said, then brought out a drawing from his pocket, and we were all standing there in the picture with signs of graves all around. It didn't take a genius to see what was going on.

What the hell was happening in White Sky?