25. The Thief

twenty-five

The Thief

*FLORA*

E lden and I lay next to each other on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Elden is still holding the letter in his hands, clutching it to his chest. He has his eyes closed, a frown on his face. “It’s not working,” he mutters.

“What are you trying to do?” I ask.

“I am trying to use my gift,” he says. “I want to see who is sneaking into my room and going through my things, but I don’t know where to start.”

“How about you narrow down the suspects,” I suggest. “Then it will be easier to follow certain lines into the future.”

“I guess I could follow an option where I confront the warrior who was sent to snoop,” I say. “By Vincent’s description, it has to be Stanley.”

“Yes! Who are you suspicious of?”

“Only those who can give orders to high-ranking warriors,” he says, his voice blank and void of emotions. “My father, Samuel, Geneva and Emilia.”

“I think we can rule out Geneva,” I say quietly, hoping with all my heart that she is the good person I believe she is. Elden can’t take another hit.

“All of them are too close to me for my gift to work directly,” he says. “But I know it works in indirect ways. I could focus on Stanley, confront him in different ways…”

He closes his eyes again, and for half an hour, neither of us say a word. Beads of sweat appear on Elden’s forehead. “I almost had him in one string of the future, but he got scared and retaliated.”

“How about you try a different approach and follow him,” I suggest. “I think with your gift, you need to be creative.”

Elden opens his eyes and looks at me. “You are right,” he says. “There are no boundaries. Whatever I can think of and come up with might lead me somewhere.”

“Exactly. Imagine yourself randomly dropping the fact that you are going to read your mom’s letter. Say it in front of all of your suspects, and I am sure, whoever it is will alert Stanley, and then you can secretly follow him.”

There is an expression of highest concentration on Elden’s face, while he follows this new idea, or this new path, into the future. Then, his eyes snap open, and he sits up abruptly. “He went into the alpha’s office.”

“Follow him further to be sure,” I suggest.

Elden nods. “I am waiting in a safe distance… now he is opening the door again, Stanley is coming out, and my dad is behind him. They are talking.”

“Where is he going now?” I ask anxiously.

“To my room,” he mutters, before laughing humorlessly. “Oh fuck it, of course it’s my father! But this time, I outsmarted him.” He opens his eyes again, playing with the key in his hands. “I bet he knows that Mom left me something. He must know. Oliver, as his beta, is obliged to report certain things to him, and I bet he knew that Mom left me a letter. Maybe he found out that she left me more than that.”

“He just didn’t imagine I would be the one holding onto it,” I point out. “I don’t get why, though. Why does he want to know what the late luna left you? And why now?”

“Maybe he only heard about the letter recently,” I offer.

“That could be an option. Oliver wouldn’t tell him without being prompted to.”

“And, maybe he is scared of what she is telling me in this letter?” he offers. “She told me to contact her Aunt Elspeth and Tobias. She said they know more and that they would help me. There is more truth than she wrote in the letter, maybe she didn’t want to write it all in it… or maybe she thought I’d be too young.”

“Probably a bit of both. Your father isolated you from the rest of your family,” I say quietly, reaching out my hand to gently take his. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly?” he mutters.

I nod.

“I don’t feel much. It’s just another point on the list, and not the worst of the things he did. That’s how low the bar already is. I am just-” he pauses, swallowing thickly and looking away from it, “I am just glad it wasn’t Samuel or Geneva. I might not always get along with Samuel, and I can’t respect all of his decisions, but…” his voice trails off.

“I know,” I say, squeezing his hand tightly. “At least you know now that he is sincere. And are you aware of what else you know now?”

“No, what do I know?”

“That you have family somewhere,” I whisper. “Family that cares, not the cold-blooded elitists that didn’t care for your mom.”

“You are right,” he admits. “And I finally will get some answers. Fuck, I should have read that letter sooner.”

“No, I think you read it exactly at the moment you should have,” I say. “Imagine you would have read it as a kid? What would you have done? How would you have tried to find Elspeth or Tobias without alerting your father? Now, you have options and allies.”

He smiles slightly. “As usual, your optimism.”

“You know what else I think?” I ask, smiling when he pulls me into his arms.

“What?”

“That your gift is kick ass,” I say. “It’s amazing. And you just found a new way to control it. Imagine how strong it will be once you have full control over it!”

He stares at me, surprised. “Wait… you are right. I just did it like Samuel said I should. Look at a way around the limits of my gift! I didn’t focus on Dad, but on a path that would lead me to him.”

He looks excited all of a sudden, and it’s so rare to see him like that. He always is so mature and serious that it’s truly adorable to see him so happy. We lie next to each other for a while, until the morning dawns.

Elden makes sure to accompany me to school. I wish I could skip, but I want to graduate too, and possibly with good grades. I am not bad at school, not at all, just sometimes a bit of an airhead, but for this last year, I put more effort into my studies than usual, and it’s paying off much to my delight. Vincent doesn’t skip either, equally as diligent to prove his worth.

Elden goes off to do some paperwork and organize some things, as he has already wrapped up his classes and doesn’t need to attend anymore. He always acts like that is nothing special, like he is just a normal kid, but I wish he would see how smart and gifted he truly is.

He is humble, Celeste points out. I like that. It’s charming. No one wants an annoying show-off who thinks they are a gift to the world.

You are right, I like that about him, too. He never looks down on anyone.

Any ideas for his birthday?

I want to celebrate it in a way he would enjoy, I admit. Invite our friends and do something together.

We should do something fun, she emphasizes. He never does anything fun.

Hiking?

I said fun, s he mutters. I have nothing against hiking, but do you think it’s a fun, special experience?

Amusement park?

Better, she agrees. But, maybe nothing too crowded.

A small one, not one of those overly crowded ones, or maybe a place where we could simply do some fun activities. I bet he would love to do some karting or quad biking Oh, and then maybe we could visit his great-aunt.

Celeste raises her head. This woman named Elspeth? Yes! Let’s find her address! I bet Grandma knows where she lives or can at least help us.

With a newfound resolve, I get through the school day although I am bone tired, and then hurry home. As usual, Elden spends the afternoon training and working, which only strengthens my resolution to make him do something fun for his birthday. For that reason, I talk to Grandma.

“Elspeth!” Her eyes light up. “It’s been a long time since I heard her name. She always supported Luna Carolina.”

“Do you know her?” I ask curiously.

“No, Caro was pretty isolated here. I have never met Elspeth.”

“Do you think you could find her?” I ask further. “I mean without stirring up any trouble.”

“You are underestimating me.” Grandma smiles. “When I set my mind on something it’ll be occupied by that one thing, until I solve it. Don’t worry, I am not so clumsy as to alert our dear alpha.”

“Thank you, Grandma,” I say before eyeing her curiously.

“Ask what you want to ask,” she urges me.

“Did you know?” I mutter. “You were the luna’s friend, weren’t you? Did you know-”

“I knew a lot,” she tells me. “Not everything, but a lot. I also promised her to watch over Elden should something happen to her.” Her eyes sadden at this. “It’s the promise I gave her a couple of days before she died. Looking back now, I think she wanted to ensure he was safe and protected. Poor Caro. If only I could have helped her. She deserved so much better.”

“Do you know if she ever met her mate? I mean, her real mate?”

“I don’t know. She never talked about it,” Grandma says. “But, I know that she was always faithful to Caelum, although we both knew he didn’t deserve it.”

Man, the more I hear about the alpha, the more obvious it is that he is a real scumbag.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you something.” Grandma smiles at me. “You are invited to the Alpha Suite tonight, together with Elden’s betas.” Before I can even voice my disgust at being invited by the douchebag in person, Grandma interrupts me. “Geneva invited everyone. She and Samuel are attending, too. She just wanted a loose get-together to have a chance to know the new betas better, and to just have everyone experience a relaxed evening.”

“How relaxed can it be with Elden’s dad being there?”

“Yes,” Grandma sighs. “I asked her the same.”

*ELDEN*

“Did you hear it already?” Vincent catches up with me. “Big dinner at your place.”

“Yeah, I am thrilled,” I say, annoyed.

“I don’t think they meant anything bad by it,” he says.

“I know. Geneva is organizing it, so it can’t be bad. Just wish she would have excluded my father, though I get that she probably couldn’t do that.”

“Hey, I will be there and have your back,” Vincent reassures me.

“Me too,” someone says. Vincent and I turn around to spot Calvin. I don’t even know where he came from and how none of us noticed him. They weren’t kidding when they said he knows how to sneak around. Hopefully, that will come in handy to us in the future.

“Dude,” Vincent chuckles. “You are like a chameleon. How did you sneak up to us so easily?”

“It’s a gift,” Calvin grins, before turning to me. “Say, can we talk for a minute?”

“Of course,” I say.

Vincent smiles at us and heads away to give us some privacy. I do wonder for a moment if I should mention the whole protector thing I heard from Samuel, but then decide against it. It’s not Calvin’s fault, after all.

“Elden, there is something I want to discuss with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Elder Samuel told me that there is a course held at the council in Paris, about the newest security measurements for packs,” he explains.

“That sounds pretty awesome,” I say.

“Yes, it’s not just about devices, but also about security strategies. This is my strong point, and I think it might be beneficial for Silverlake if I take up Elder Samuel’s offer.”

“Oh, you want to go and take that class?” I ask.

“Only if you approve, of course.”

“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” I say. “It will be good for the pack.”

“I am hoping to learn some useful new tricks,” he explains. “The Elder said I should take it, but I wanted to check in with you first. I will be gone for a couple of months.”

I am surprised by how loyal he already is to me. Instead of listening to Samuel, he’d rather talk to me first. “Flora and I can only take over once she is eighteen, so now is the perfect chance for you to do this class,” I reassure him. “Once we take over, we’ll be really busy and will need both you and Vincent.”

Calvin smiles. “I completely understand. Then, I will make sure that I head to Paris as soon as possible. I think Elder Samuel said that the first round starts next week. Although, this means I miss your birthday.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I say. “This class is more important. And I’m not going to be alone on my birthday.”

“Alright, I will take you at your word, then,” Calvin says. I’m relieved he doesn’t argue further and just accepts my decision.

“You are coming to dinner today, right?”

“Yes,” Calvin says. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“How about you join Vince and me for training, meanwhile?” I offer. “We still have some time to kill.”

“Sure, I’d love to. One-to-one combat is not my forte,” he tells me. “I am more for guerilla tactics, so it’s good to polish my skills.”

Although he said that, it’s obvious he isn’t bad. It’s the first time I see Calvin train, and he is right. This is not his strong point, he isn’t as intuitive as Vincent and I, but he is still good, and he has some sly tricks up his sleeve. Samuel and Geneva were right, having someone with experience in my team is going to come as an advantage to this pack.

After training, the three of us separate briefly to shower and freshen up, before we all meet in the Alpha Suite, where Geneva has organized the dinner. To my relief she and Flora are already there, so I don’t need to be alone with my father. Dad just looks at me and nods, but doesn’t say anything.

I know the real reason behind this dinner, is so that Vincent and Calvin can be properly introduced to the family, and unfortunately my father is part of said family, so there is no way Geneva couldn’t have invited him. She went all out with the food though and instead of making it too fancy, she went for popular choices of the younger age group. There are even fajitas, pizza rolls and lava cake.

Samuel and Dad look completely shocked, which makes this so much funnier.

“The food is amazing,” Vincent says to Geneva. “Thank you, Elder Geneva.”

“You are very welcome,” she says with a bright smile. Vincent immediately grew on her; as he does on anyone.

Even Samuel seems to warm up to him. Calvin is on his best social behavior, too. Sometimes, it looks like he is glancing at Vincent to check for the most appropriate responses, which is kind of funny. I’m glad they are both putting so much effort into this.

“Just so you all know,” Flora says. “Next week, on Elden’s birthday, I will completely steal him away.” Before Samuel can so much as breathe, she stares at him. “No training or other duties.”

“I know better than to get in your way,” Samuel says.

“Do you have plans?” Emilia asks her.

“Yes, but they are secret.”

“So, I assume we are not invited,” Geneva says, amused.

“No offense,” Flora says. “If I could only invite you, I would. But it’s all or no one.” I can’t believe the things she says out loud sometimes, but there is a dangerous glint in her eyes, proving to me that she is very well aware of what she is saying.

Mate is dangerous, Regis mutters, intrigued. That’s hot.

I fully agree with you.

“What are your plans for after school?” Samuel asks us.

“We both want to study,” I say. “Although, we will be very busy leading the pack.”

“Don’t worry, I’m certainly not going to university,” Vincent says. “I will cover when you need me.”

“Same here,” Calvin agrees. “I’m already done with my higher education.”

“Right, I tend to forget you are a genius,” Vincent says. “Must be cool!”

“Actually, it can be pretty exhausting,” Calvin explains. “On one side, you get bored very easily, and on the other, people think you are weird. And everyone always expects the utmost perfection from you.”

“If I ever have children, I will not put that kind of pressure on them,” Vincent says.

“Same,” Flora says with a sparkling smile. Again, I’m struck by the air of danger around her. “I will also never beat my children. Instead, I will love and support them. Can I have the Caesar salad, please?” she smiles dashingly. “So, where was I? Right-” She nods to herself, while she continues to babble happily. “I was talking about how I would never hit my child. What do you think, Aunt Geneva?”

“I agree with you,” she says, sounding equally as innocent. “I have a son and a grandchild, and I’m so happy to see how he raises his child with love.”

“What do you think, Vincent?” Flora continues, mercilessly so. She glances at my father, who has paled a bit.

Vincent isn’t holding back, either. “Only a douchebag would take his anger out on his kids,” he says simply, while expressively pouring salt on his salad. “Do you need the salt, Alpha?” he asks my father.

Dad just stares at him, until Emilia elbows him. “Caelum,” she says softly, “Vincent is talking to you.”

“Yes,” Dad says, grabbing the salt, with a gloomy expression.

See? Regis says smugly. Scary mate!