Chapter 376: Vampire Visit
Nedra tiptoed back to the main staircase, allowing her thoughts to roam and create hypothetical scenarios that included Penelope Winter as Zagan’s mate. If that were the case, the vampire’s death could truly be on the horizon. She had all but given up hope that he could be killed, but Penelope breathed new life into the possibility. And now Nedra was dying to see Zagan.
If Penelope were his mate, would there be any indication of it? Would he be changed in some way? Would it be obvious? Would his heart already be beating?
Nedra was almost giddy with the possibility, and she had to refrain from skipping down the staircase to find Brandt. She wondered how Zagan would react if he discovered he had a mate. Or would he even be aware of it? Surely if he knew such a thing were possible, he would have been searching for a mate all these years rather than simply gathering alyko. Perhaps she should have mentioned it to him when she came across that notation. But she doubted he would have believed her anyway.
Brandt was making a racket in the kitchen as typical of the rare occasions when Nedra would be here, so he was easy to find.
"Miss Nedra," he startled seeing her appear out of nowhere in the doorway. "Is there something I can help you with?"
While the lycans on this island weren’t respectful to the alyko by any means, Nedra was different. Not only was she the architect of this place and the most important alyko in Zagan’s collection, she was also Seth’s female in every way that mattered. Everyone was aware of it, and so they were also aware to treat her well.
There was one instance years ago when a male named Nick made the mistake of putting his hands on Nedra when she was out walking around the island and crossed a group of males doing the same. Nedra, being a stunning beauty to look at, occasionally would get unwanted attention, but she handled it well alone. She was powerful, after all, and it only took a flick of the wrist on her part to knock a male off of his feet and on his ass.
But Nick must have been in a particularly daring mood that day—strays could get like that—and he approached Nedra from behind, caging her arms in his and whispering lewd things in her ear. She had him flung against a tree and shrieking in pain as she stalked away, and that was the end of it until Seth got word of the event. While Nedra had merely left Nick with a few broken ribs, Seth had him dead within minutes of hunting the male down. Afterward, no one dared to even look at Nedra the wrong way.
It didn’t matter that Seth was rarely seen with Nedra anymore or that there were rumors that they were no longer together. Brandt was one who would never take a chance of offending her, and he knew most other lycans on the island felt the same way.
"Brandt, how are you?" Nedra smiled.
It was hard to contain the giddiness that had filled her at this new prospect for Zagan’s end. She tried not to look too happy, because that would be suspicious. She never looked happy.
"I’m fine. Just working on some things for the alyko in the castle," he said, avoiding looking at her. It was hard not to stare when there were so few females on the island other than the alyko who were locked away, and Nedra’s bright green eyes and raven black hair were so beautiful. It was not difficult to understand how Seth had grown fond of her.
"It is unusual for alyko to be in the castle, don’t you think?" she asked.
"That it is," his eyes flicked up to meet hers before he went back to what he was doing, but he felt his face grow warm. "It gives me an excuse to cook, though. I enjoy it."
"They are fortunate to have you," she acknowledged.
Lycans were such good cooks. She had always thought it interesting. Seth had cooked for her many times, and it was always delicious. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising, though, as lycans took a great deal of pleasure in all things that excited their senses.
"Is Zagan around?" she asked, deftly changing the subject. "I need to speak with him about something."
"The boss?" he repeated, avoiding Zagan’s name as everyone except Nedra did. She was the only one who could get away with calling him by it, and Brandt suspected she did it precisely because it infuriated him. "I believe he is here somewhere. Have you checked his office?"
"I don’t know that he would be happy with me just appearing there. Could you find out for me first so that I don’t irritate him?" she asked.
She was concerned with irritating him? That was new.
"Of course. I need to give him an update on things anyway," Brandt said before excusing himself.
Nedra walked idly around the kitchen as she waited for Brandt to return. Before she knew it, Zagan was standing in the kitchen staring at her dully. Brandt slipped in behind him and went back to doing whatever it was he had occupied himself with before.
"Shall we take a walk?" Zagan asked, gesturing toward the doorway.
"And escape the confines of this dank, dark castle? Why would we want to do that?" Nedra asked, mirth dancing in her eyes. The vampire did not look amused. "Sure, let’s go for a walk, Zagan," she conceded and watched as he grimaced at the name.
He waited for her to walk out of the kitchen first before he followed her, and the two exited the castle, making their way toward the light in the center of the forest. There was a garden there on the exterior of the greenhouse as well as places to sit.
"I thought you may have been out for some time. It seems you awoke rather quickly," Zagan said.
"Did I? It is difficult to register how much time passes in this place," she sighed, looking at her feet as they walked.
"You have been more tired lately," he said, his eyes remaining flat and disinterested. He was making conversation for her sake. He didn’t care to engage with her in this way.
A muscle feathered in Nedra’s jaw, but she didn’t answer. It was true that she had been more tired. She was hoping he hadn’t noticed.
"What is this visit about?" the vampire finally asked, his patience expended when they approached the garden and the sunlight was speckling the grass and green leaves around them.
"You didn’t think I would be curious about this morning?" she replied, searching him for any flicker of emotion that might reveal whether there was anything out of the ordinary with him. But so far he was giving her nothing. He seemed just as bored as always.
"Ah, so you heard about the vanished alyko," Zagan replied, rolling back on his heels. "I should have assumed you would come asking questions. I don’t know what happened, but I am determined to get them back. Seth has already taken a team to retrieve one of them. I received a call that she appeared back in her old pack."
He was staring off into the distance with his hands folded behind his back, so he didn’t notice the surprise on Nedra’s face at this news. That was not what she had come for.
"Who all was affected?" she asked, recovering from her shock before he would notice.
Vanished alyko? That was massive... perhaps this August really was something different. It couldn’t be a coincidence that alyko had disappeared just as she and Penelope arrived.
