7. Bathhouse #2
Since I’d come to Nocturne, it had been one incident after another. The southern clans clearly looked down on us, and I didn’t see a way to get them to support us without begging.
Perhaps it would be more practical if we sought alliances from other northern clans. We had been antagonizing each other and fighting each other for resources and territories for so long that we forgot we were closer to each other than some fancy nobles in the south who thought we were savages.
A servant left wine and food near me, knowing we were likely to be hungry after the hunt. I had to admit that the Nocturne servants were attentive and detail-oriented. Even the wine they chose was the one I preferred to drink during the banquet.
I drank some wine yet decided to eat after the bath.
The warmth made me a little drowsy. I think I dozed off after a while.
Then I had that falling-off-a-cliff sensation that everyone experiences sometimes, and my body jolted me awake.
I blinked several times, realizing the bath was mostly empty. The other noble alphas were gone.
Except for Damien.
He was sitting on the edge of the pool, drinking wine from a silver goblet.
“You shouldn’t sleep in the hot spring, may get heat stroke, especially when you are used to a colder climate,” he said without looking at me.
I rubbed my eyes and grunted, “How long have I slept? Where is everyone?”
“Not long, only a few minutes. I told the others to leave,” Damien said casually, though he glanced at me over his wine glass.
I sat up straighter, trying to drag my head out of the sluggish comfort and ready my body for fighting, sensing he might be looking for trouble.
“Why?” I asked with a husky, threatening voice.
“You saved my life,” he said as he put down the goblet, looking squarely at me. His expression was earnest. “I wanted to say thank you.”
I was slightly relieved, though I still raised one of my brows. “You didn’t want others to hear you thank me?”
“Well, if you’re into grand gestures, I can buy you flowers and offer them to you on one knee in the middle of the courtyard tomorrow.” He smirked impishly.
I rolled my eyes. “No, thank you. This is sufficient.”
We smiled a little at each other, and in a few moments, I even thought maybe we could be friends, after all. But then I had to open my mouth and say something I didn’t have to, albeit with good intentions: “If I were you, I would have been more concerned.”
“Concerned? Why?”
“That was a sea serpent; they don’t live in mountain lakes. Someone put it there and trained it to recognize your scent. It was an assassination attempt rather than an accident.”
He didn’t react as I expected. He shrugged and said, “You are exaggerating. It was probably just a regular water serpent.”
“Have you ever seen a water serpent that big? With venom that can melt rock?” I scoffed. “Trust me, that’s a sea serpent. Someone who knows you well must have put it there.”
His frown deepened, and the lightness in his dark eyes dissipated. His voice grew slightly colder. “How would they know if I was going to the lake? That spot is not even in the hunting region. I took your brother there on a whim.”
I didn’t back down. We were both too competitive to admit the other might be right. “Tell me, was this the first time you’ve taken an omega you were wooing to that spot?”
He paused for a few seconds before answering, “No ...”
“Do you always take your omegas to that lake?”
“ ... Maybe ...”
I gave him a smug smile. “You are more predictable than you think.”
“So you are saying, one of my close friends might want to assassinate me?” he said as though the idea was preposterous. “For what? They are not in the royal lineage, even if I die. My brother and my sister are still alive and well.”
“Maybe you should think even closer,” I said nonchalantly. “Only one alpha can be THE Alpha of Nocturne, yet your parents have three alpha children. I’ve seen more nasty sibling feuds in other northern clans; the alpha siblings sometimes fight each other to death for the jarl throne.”
Damien’s countenance darkened as though a thundercloud had gathered over his head.
He stepped forward, making his way across the pool, approaching me with deliberate steps.
“Are you suggesting my brother or sister tried to kill me? Just because a serpent attacked us? That’s a very bold statement based on pure speculation. ”
I sensed the tension between us had risen again, and I mildly regretted telling him that, even though I was pretty sure a sea serpent absolutely wouldn’t show up in a freshwater lake without a cause. Not to mention it was clearly targeting Damien.
“Look. I’m just telling you what I know. Just pretend I didn’t say anything if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“Makes me uncomfortable? You came here for three days, know nothing about my family, and you dare to suggest my brother and sister are trying to murder me,” he asked.
He was now standing right in front of me.
His voice was quiet, only a tad more than a whisper, yet it was so dark and husky, it reminded me of the summer night right before a raging storm.
“Who do you think you are?” He hissed into my face, baring his teeth. His naked chest almost touched mine; his scent, enriched with cold, perilous anger, enveloped me.