ALEKS

There were a couple of reasons as to why I agreed to the trip to Silly-Water Valley despite the increased security risk. Saying Atlas, Malarkee and I were paranoid as of late would be a gross understatement, because despite my earlier excitement, further research had told me that Tyna Snow, the previous Alpha of Abattohn and a current fugitive of the law and cult master, was actually more dangerous than Jason had painted her out to be.

Apparently a witch of the highest level; Tyna was said to wield magic of the most sinister kind and she had no qualms killing and destroying to achieve her goals, goals which at the moment we knew nothing about. It was obvious she didn't really care about Abattohn or who ruled it and the coup ploy was just for the benefit of her lycan followers, we were still wary because she was a missing psychopath who apparently had a grudge against the Hyades and had convinced a bunch of narcissists that killing Atlas would make them unstoppable. I had never dealt with a magic being and I was glad that I inly had to protect Atlas for a month.

Malarkee had become an intriguing, mysterious and incredibly flirty enigma whose main objective seemed to be to protect Atlas at all costs. I knew nothing of him because the only information he willingly volunteered was information regarding our joint mission and information on just how much he wanted to get into my pants otherwise he managed to somehow be gone all the time, and mysteriously available when he was needed.

Because of the threat, Atlas had decided that it was best he mostly work from home and only go into town when needed. It was a wise choice in theory and in terms of security since the house would be easier to monitor than the fortress where the Alpha held office, but it had its vices. Being so isolated meant that I had little opportunity to see the various men and women who were written on the file, most of them part of the Abattohn council, the council of men and women who had looked at me and held me in contempt the minute I was introduced to them. So much of their behavior made sense now. Their invasive questions and their speculations on my character and the truthfulness of my claim; it wasn’t because they were worried I was some lecherous pervert who was sponging off ‘Their Prodigal Prince’, it was because the very existence of my son specifically lay threat to their devious takeover plan. Now I understood why Jason had quickly carted us off of London and into the safety of his wealth and influence. It was so he could keep both his friends and his enemies closer because if by any chance anyone had even suspected that Adrian was Leukas’ son, my son would have been killed before his father even knew of his existence.

Which was more the reason why I wanted to get a chance to get into their electronic gadgets and bug up their offices. The council members who were on our list of suspects were eighteen of the thirty members but Jason had made it clear that no one would be ruled out because as we had gone through the footage of the event where Atlas was poisoned, all of them were present. Which meant that they had some of the civilians in on their plans and doing the dirty work for them. We very much doubted that Tyna was paying much attention to this small blip in her mysterious main plan for world domination so we knew that there was someone pulling all the strings and keeping the council of traitors in line. Finding out who he or she is was our main priority at the moment and all our efforts so far had proved fruitless.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Somehow Malarkee had managed to bug their houses with undetectable listening devices and some cameras which were unlike any I’d ever seen and curtesy of Hunter whose genius seemed to match Leukas’, but we still had nothing. So when Atlas had suggested that for my birthday we go to the recently opened water-park that was in the neutral territory of Azzuire, I agreed. It had been a while since the kids had a full day of fun with someone other than themselves and Leukas because of my busy day filled with plotting and planning, the security measures that prevented their new friends from coming over and my paranoia that prevented me from ever allowing them sleepovers; so a day in neutral territory with all of us having fun together and seeing other parts of Azzuire outside of the lycan territory was highly needed.

And I also wanted to take the day to reconnect with Leukas. Things had been a bit awkward after the sex and my avoidance of him but I thought it was high time we put all of it behind us and worked on our friendship. I had made it clear to him that I wasn’t comfortable to have sex with him again despite the nature of his relationship with Fletcher and he had agreed that it was best we keep things between us purely friends. It was hard though, because on the few instances our paths had crossed since his parents had left, the sexual tension between us was nearly choking on top of flaying. Since he had healed me with whatever the shadowy wisps were, it felt like whenever he came near me, my insides buzzed in anticipation of pleasure and reached out to him, begging for another experience of the phantom beings whose very touch ignited a fiery passion which could not be quenched. I could see a similar struggle of restraint within him and conversation was hard when my panties got drenched and my nipples stiffened whenever I even got a whiff of him and he in turn hardened at the smell of my arousal, which according to Malarkee, is very strong and irresistible. Despite my mortification when he had humorously broached the issue with me a week ago, I was grateful when he handed me a vial of sweet liquid which he called a scent-blocker. A drop of it reduced the tingling of my skin, my arousal and according to Malarkee, the ability of anyone to scent me at all and, I was grateful to take it and use it ever since. With it, maybe Leukas and I could have a civil conversation, as friends. Because whether we liked it or not, we had to co-parent and it would be easier for both of us if we were friends.

We took Atlas’ private jet instead of the state one and luckily the flight lasted for only an hour. The water park was visible even before we landed, and I couldn’t help but gape at the humongous slides, water-roller-coasters and many different kind of water-monster themed water rides and obstacle courses. I frankly found it all very intimidating but no one on the plane seemed to share my reservations. Elena and Adrian were practically bouncing on their seats in gleeful wonder and anticipation, and Atlas was doing the same. Leukas looked amused by his brother and the kids’ enthusiasm, especially Adrian’s frankly unexpected anticipation. Kristin was shaking her head at her husband’s childish enthusiasm but she too had a look of joy that a wiggly Max seemed to share as he babbled on her mother’s lap. Turns out that fear of falling I’d thought I was rid of came back when I was in the proximity of different kinds of colorful, about eighteen-foot long waterfalls.