Chapter 89: Chapter 89
TRISTAN:
The man before us held a rune detector – a magical wand that could sense the presence of spirit stones or the presence of a Shadow Rune wolf…
As such, my eyes were fixated at the other end of the wand where a circular orb was attached. Once that orb starts to glow, it will give away my identity as a Shadow wolf.
Almost instantly, Dahlia grabbed me by the hair and forced my head down towards her neck.
Surprisingly, Dahlia didn’t move away like what she would have normally done out of embarrassment whenever we’d get intimate. Instead, she pushed her legs even closer towards me, further revealing her white thighs from under her skirt while still fondly cradling the back of my head in her hand.
“Make it quick… We’re busy.”
I involuntarily inhaled Dahlia’s smell of honey, milk, and cherries. It was so intoxicating that my hands clasped her tighter even without a second thought.
After several heart-stopping minutes, I heard the man finally spoke.
“All clear, my lady. You can bypass the line now, as your attendant had requested.”
That foolish Gideon! So he requested for us to cut through the line by personally bringing the guards here?!
I understand that Gideon didn’t know my real identity, but it did not occur to me that he was this foolish either. He knew I had some dubious business coming here to Dalrus and all, so he should have been more careful. I must give him an earful of talk later when we get into our destination…
After hearing the carriage door shutting close, Dahlia let go of her embrace over my head. She attempted to get up from my knee, but my hands against her waist did not want her to do just that.
“Just one more minute, please,” I begged, my voice vibrating at her neck where my head was still firmly buried there.
“Tristan,” she said softly, “I only did that to help you…”
“I know,” I said back. “Just a little while more…”
I knew she only did that to mask my scent. Most rune detector work by picking up the scent of soul stones… Dahlia must have known this, which was why she acted out the only countermeasure she knew of…
In truth, I had carried a potion concocted by Samalah in my pocket that would mask my scent during the auction. Since it could only work for a short time, I had to take it at the time of the actual event itself. I did not know that Dalrus would take such a precaution when all we were doing was trying to enter into town.
If Dahlia hadn’t acted swiftly and covered me with her own scent, I would have been caught right then and there…
My hand snaked around her even tighter, fearing that she would fade away inside my arms that very instant.
Goddess, how I missed Dahlia!…
‘Can’t you give me another chance? Can’t you take me back again, Dahlly,’ I asked inside my head.
I knew my faults. I knew how unforgivable my treachery was, so I did not have the courage to ask her out loud although my heart was bleeding out for the want of her…
After a little while, she pushed me gently away again. This time, I did not resist it. I let her go.
She returned back to her seat to my right. She straightened her dress as if nothing had happened. She looked out of the window once more.
I gritted my teeth as I held my excited self and my wolves from pouring itself out to Dahlly.
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DAHLIA:
I successfully went back to my seat on the right side of the carriage after my second attempt to get out of Tristan’s embrace.
Thank the Moon Goddess, he did not seem to notice my utterly red face nor hear the escalating beat of my heart while he held me in his arms.
I forced myself to look out of the window to calm myself down and utterly forget what had just happened between us.
It was a heat of the moment decision when I did what I just did. As soon as I saw five men walking towards our carriage and Gideon’s worried face, I knew something must be wrong…
Gideon did not seem like the type of person who would be careless, so something must have happened when he went to check what the delay was about.
It turned out that even the guards at the gate were on an alert for the presence of the Shadow wolf.
If that was the case, the news about the Shadow wolf’s involvement on the vampire attacks on other villages must have already spread within the Vampire Clan. If so, this mission had just become much more dangerous than I have initially assumed.
Well, does that mean I must always be beside Tristan while in Dalrus? Should I continue doing what I did with him to help him evade being captured?
Since Tristan still bore my mark, his body would naturally react to my scent, and it would be easy enough for him to take it in, especially when he is aroused… Must I continue provoking him in this manner then?
I debated these ideas in my mind. Clearly, this won’t be helping us with our separation at all…
I have no intentions of forgiving Tristan nor have I any intentions of getting back together with him, but at the same time, I never wanted to see him die…
I meant what I told him earlier too. I could not wait to see the day that he could get the vengeance he needed for his family even if papa’s name would get dragged to it…
For all the werewolves who lost their lives because of one man’s whim and for all the families that had been torn apart by that gruesome crime against the Shadow Rune Pack, getting justice would be the only fitting ending for them.
Even if it meant breaking my own heart into tinier pieces, I must help him out, right?...
‘Are you sure about this, Dahlia,’ Eva said tentatively inside our head. She was against me helping Albus and the black wolf from the start, but she had been quiet earlier when I acted out of character as I tried to protect Tristan from being detected.
‘Are you sure you were only helping him out?... There were no feelings involved with him anymore whatsoever?... You really don’t love him anymore?’
I heard Eva’s words, but I couldn’t speak. I could only clutch the part of my breast where my heart resided.
I could already see that this two-day trip to Dalrus would be a really long and arduous journey…