The Alpha: Claiming His Enemy's Daughter
Chapter 713: BLACK RAIN AND DARK SKY (55)

Chapter 713: BLACK RAIN AND DARK SKY (55)

Cane couldn’t answer Iris’s question right away, he was silent for a while and this made Iris imagined a lot of scenarios in her mind and each of it, made her heart felt uneasy.

"You don’t need to answer if you don’t want." Iris pushed the plate that filled with snack and then stood up. She didn’t want to see her expression on the mirror, because her face looked like she was going to cry. "Let’s go, don’t let the Serafim wait for us."

However, Cane grabbed her wrist before she could leave. He stared at his mate and when he spoke his tone was very serious. "I don’t like her in that way, Iris. But, what I feel about her is more like guilty."

It didn’t sound right for Iris, she turned her head and looked at her mate, she could see how complicated Cane’s feeling was. "She betrayed you, she killed three orphan children when she used black magic to harm you, she stabbed you and you are the one, who feels guilty?"

"I feel guilty because I thought she will have different ending if I didn’t even give her a chance in the first place."

Cane did not use to talk about what he felt, but right now, he was talking about what bothered him. Admitting this guilt was a vulnerable feeling for him, as if he put his weakness in the open for people to see.

"I didn’t even think to have a second mate at that time. I clung onto the last piece of Leane’s memory, in which I didn’t even realize it at that moment and I took her because she was Leane’s personal maid." Cane’s eyes dimmed. "That’s not an excuse. I know. That’s pathetic of me to even think and act like that."

Cane’s reluctant stemmed from this guilt, because when he saw how Aria was right now and how she lost herself in her hatred and her obsession with him, how even in her death she had to be revived by dark magic, Cane knew, he was to be blamed for some part of it.

"Cane." Iris came closer to him, she raised her hand and caressed his cheek. "You told me before. This road is not easy and there will be a lot of things that we must do even though we didn’t want it. I think this is one of it."

Probably, Iris’s true intention to remind Cane about it was because she didn’t like Aria and deep down, shamelessly, she had to admit she didn’t want her to enter their life again. But, more importantly was because Aria was dead. For her to be alive, it was against the nature. Dark magic was not a plaything.

"You said it yourself to me before. There will be countless death ahead of us and you have to kill people that you deemed deserved to die for the purpose of your plan." Iris raised both of her hands and cupped his face. "Cane, you know that Aria should die. From the day she wanted to harm you with dark magic, you owed her nothing. She chose the way she wanted to live and she walk in her own consequences now. You have nothing to do with that."

Cane kissed both of Iris’s palms. "Okay."

It almost felt like their role were swapped. What Iris said just now was something that he would say to her a year ago.

Iris had grown so much from that timid girl, who would feel intimidated by people around her to become a figure worthy to be called as a luna. She guided her mate when he lost in this hectic world and entangled his complicated emotions.

Meanwhile, when Cane always put a hard front and wouldn’t let anyone to see the turmoil inside him and all the scars he had, he bared his feeling for Iris to see, being vulnerable with her. He put down his title as an alpha and here he was, he was only a man full of scars with difficult past and feared for the uncertainty of the future.

His past always shackled him, but he was forced to rush forward, while carrying this baggage and had no one to talk to.

But, right now, he had her.

They had each other...

When Cane and Iris entered the meeting room, the Serafim and her five holy knights had been waiting for both of them. Jace, Aliana and Ethan were also presence, so did Eron and Dyne because both of them knew about the fact Cane was the lycan.

There was this subtle tension between the beta, gamma and Aliana, as she stood between the two men.

"Apologize for the tardiness." Cane pulled the chair for Iris and pushed it back when she sat down, he himself took a seat next to her, while the Holy Kingdom’s people sat across from them.

Abby stared at Iris and both of them smiled. This must be the first official meeting between the two of them, since Abby had been avoiding Iris when they were in the Bloody Wolf pack and had no time to meet with each other because of the situation and Iris suddenly disappeared one day.

"We are still..." Cedric was about to say they were waiting for another person, who supposed to be in this room right now, but the door was slammed open and that person walked into the room with a grin.

"I am sorry for being late. I have a hungover last night and wake up so late." Lou walked graciously in his red cloak and took a seat next to Iris, he smiled at the luna warmly, put Iris in the same fate like Aliana. "We can start now."

The people from the holy kingdom gave Lou a look, they didn’t understand why this merchant was invited into this meeting when even alpha Colter and Koda were not presence here.

"Let’s talk about Decratic," Abby started, drew the knights’ attention to the purpose of this meeting. "Alpha Colter and Koda told me about Decratic when the first time I arrived here and they said to ask you, alpha Cane, to get more detail about it. What do you know about Decratic?"

Lou looked at Cane, because he was not sure what was Decratic, or who was this Decratic. Aliana, Eron and Dyne had this same look of confusion, but as they followed the conversation, they could grasp what actually was going on.

Cane told them about the symbol of Decratic that they found in a rickety hut in Riverside pack and what Haco told them about this creature.

However, he didn’t mention about the lycan and the power that Iris had, neither he talked about the first Serafim’s life essence in Iris.

He wanted to see what information the Serafim could offer after he already gave her his part of information. Cane wouldn’t open all of his cards and he needed to gauge the situation first.

"Decratic takes form of the king, Alan," Iris added and only then it clicked with Lou how he was almost killed by Alan and how that coward prince could use magic.

"We have told you what we know about the Decratic. We need to know what he actually is. The history of Decratic is tied close to Serafim, I am sure, you know the information that we don’t." Cane looked at Abby, but she reciprocated his gaze calmly, yet she didn’t reveal anything.

"We need to talk with the sorcerer that told you about this Decratic. You told me he was one of the sorcerers from the holy kingdom."

"Even if you met him know, he is not in his right mind," Cane replied.

"Why?"

"He is very old and becomes senile."

"I need to confirm something."

Cane saw through Abby. She wouldn’t conceal anything and only wanted to get more information from him without providing the same thing. "Why I feel like you don’t want to cooperate in this matter, Serafim?"

"Because this problem is a matter within the holy kingdom. This is something that we can’t talk recklessly with the outsider."

"I thought we have agreed to exchange the information in order to help each other facing this Decratic."

"And I have told you all the thing that you need to know. The rest is something people outside of the holy kingdom no need to know."

"What a bullshit," Lou mumbled under his breathe, which only Cane’s party, who was able to hear him. "What information that you gave us? You didn’t even reveal a single thing when the alpha here had told you everything."

Now Lou could understand why his magical device didn’t work in the capital city. Damn that Decratic or whatever his name was.

"Watch your mouth, merchant!" Liam warned Lou.

Lou stood up, he lifted his chin with the same smug face that he always showed to other people. "I have nothing to do with this Decratic, I was being forced to join his campaign because I don’t have any other choice. So, do whatever you think suit you, don’t count me in, especially when you don’t know how to cooperate."

"Impudent!" Cedric slammed his hand against the table and stood up too.

However, Cane also stood up, which made the Serafim and her knights became cautious.

"Just like you said, this is the holy kingdom’s problem, since the origin of Decratic is from your continent and this is not the cooperation we have agreed upon." Cane helped Iris to stand up. "May you settle this matter quickly."

With that, Cane and Iris followed Lou went out of the room.