He’d never told anyone, but he’d always been a bit afraid of Kestrel. This was a secret he’d never dared admit. As an alpha, the idea of fearing one’s own mate was deeply shaful.
He dared not tell anyone, especially not Kestrel, that every ti Kestrel perford a psychic grooming on him, he was so frightened that his legs would buckle.
Kestrel, she had a large and terrifying psychic incarnation, and despite knowing her for many years, Tarian still hadn’t fully understood it.
Every ti those massive beings, like monstrous creatures, appeared, they’d impatiently enter his psychic landscapes. They would sweep across the space, effortlessly eradicating all the filth. They were a violent, potent, efficient, and aggressive psychic grooming that ended almost instantly. Then it would depart coldly, leaving Tarian alone, shaking in fear.
Also, Kestrel and Tarian only ever had the most basic, therapeutic psychic grooming. They never had a deeper connection.
The problem wasn’t with Tarian. Whenever Kestrel was on duty in the grooming chamber, the number of alphas seeking help would drop significantly. Those who did co reluctantly and received Kestrel’s treatnt would exit, leaning against the wall, their minds seemingly elsewhere. When questioned, they would just shake their heads in confusion.
"It was too powerful. I didn’t even get a good look at her psychic incarnation before everything was over."
"It was impressive in a way that’s beyond words."
"Her psychic grooming is just like the legends say, highly efficient. My psychic landscape is now fresh and clean, with no traces of built-up darkness. It’s just too dominant. I was so scared my legs went weak."
"Next ti I’d rather seek help from a different beta, even if it takes more sessions. This is just too terrifying."
"It’s not my fault," Tarian thought. No alpha would want such a powerful mate. Tarian had always believed that his later infatuation was a minor mistake, that he’d been accidentally bewitched by a gentle girl. A gentle girl whose adoring gaze was filled with nothing but him.
Her psychic incarnation was a rabbit, docile and fragile, nuzzling against his side, causing him to lose his footing for a mont.
"It was just a mistake, Kestrel," Tarian sighed silently in his heart.
Kestrel pulled her arm from Tarian’s loosened grip. In that mont of skin-to-skin contact, she seed to read all of Tarian’s thoughts and emotions. Suddenly, she felt a strange sense of disappointnt, yet also relief.
"You seem to rember it wrong," Kestrel rubbed her reddened wrist. "The one who made the mistake wasn’t . The one who should be blad isn’t ."
"Though many people said it was my fault, that I hadn’t perford well, they blad and pitied . But I think they’re wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong." She held up her smoky black skirt and rose to leave, leaving behind a soft sentence scattered in the cool night air.
Tarian opened his mouth, wanting to call out to her again, but his throat seed to be choked, and he couldn’t make a sound. Those shadowy creatures left with Kestrel’s steps, each casting a disdainful and disgusted gaze at him.
Tarian felt as though he had just lost sothing substantial, a precious treasure that should have been cherished. Now, he might never be able to grasp it again.
On the other side of the mansion...
Jax was roused by the sound of ssy footsteps. He woke from a chaotic dream and saw Ren just like before he fell asleep, neatly dressed, with black gloves removed and washing his hands in the sink.
"Strange, how did I fall asleep?" He shook his head in confusion, "How long did I sleep? It seems to be noisy outside."
"It’s been a while," Ren dried his hands, put on his gloves, and gave him a slight smile, "Sothing seems to have happened outside. I was about to wake you."
Jax knew that since he had started using those incense with Cass, his physical condition had significantly declined. Falling asleep in broad daylight when relaxed was a common occurrence.
However, he felt that Ren seed different at this mont. He seed a little more relaxed.
Yes, relaxed. Since returning here, Ren had been like a bow stretched to its limit, always giving off a tense feeling. Now, he even gave Jax a smile.
His face and hair carried a hint of dampness as if he’d just washed. His hair was combed again, with a few strands falling loosely on his forehead. His eyes and eyebrows had softened, and his cheeks were slightly flushed.
"Did he encounter sothing good?" Jax wondered suspiciously.
The shrill alarm sounded at that mont. A line of the Earl’s guards rushed through the corridor in haste.
Cass, in disarray, opened the door and stuck his head out, frowning. "What happened?"
Jax felt a wave of anxiety. He obviously couldn’t admit that he had just fallen asleep and knew nothing. Moreover, he was slightly fearful that Ren might seize this opportunity to undermine him.
"They said there was a homicide sowhere. I just asked a passing alpha, but he wouldn’t say," Ren explained, erging from behind him. "We were about to go out and ask when you woke up, sir."
The word "we" included Jax, effectively covering for his lapse in duty. Jax looked gratefully at Ren, thinking, "This person really is different now, dealing with things so smoothly."
The Countess erged from the room, gave Cass a reproachful look, quickly fixed her hair, and left.
Cass led Jax and Ren towards the main hall. All along the way, alphas were rushing around in panic. Jax stopped a subordinate from the Public Security Departnt to ask about the situation. The alpha looked panicked, "It’s bad, sir. The Earl, Earl Jas, was assassinated in his bedroom. Just now."
"What did you say?" Cass looked extraordinarily shocked, his eyes wide open in anger, and grabbed the alpha by the collar.
"It’s true, sir. They say the scene is horrific, his face is unrecognizable," the alpha swallowed, "An officer from the Tower who happened to be there sealed off the scene, and now he’s having all of us gather in the main hall. Nobody can leave, even us from the Public Security Departnt, we’re all on the list of suspects."
Cass let go of the flustered alpha. He stood there, his face gloomy and pale. This news was as shocking to him as a bolt from the blue.
Over the years, his rapid promotion was due to the path paved by the Countess and the now late Earl. For this, he had endured humiliation and flattery, serving this couple in public and private. Now, the ’tree’ that provided him with shade had fallen overnight, making all his efforts in vain.
However, now was not the ti to dwell on these things. The imdiate issue had to be resolved.
Cass’s gloomy eyes swept back and forth between Jax and Ren, landed on Ren, and his smile returned. He still appeared to be the composed, elegant, and friendly principle. "When soone asks later about our whereabouts, Ren, what should we say?"
"You were taking a nap in the rest room, sir, and I’ve been with you and Jax all the ti, not leaving for a mont," Ren answered.
"Very good. The three of us were together all the ti." Cass smiled and patted Ren’s shoulder, "Ren, you’ve made progress. That’s good."
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