Kestrel didn’t understand what was happening, only knowing that alphas could be very odd sotis.
In the blink of an eye, the delicate and gentle Ren had changed into a battle-ready beast, a threatening creature.
Ren stood in front of Kestrel, his aggressive stance clear.
Tarian recognized Ren, rembered his psychic incarnation as an orca. He also knew Ren was just a civilian alpha recently promoted from the outpost, low-ranking and minor.
A wave of anger rushed through Tarian. He rembered when Ren’s psychic incarnation appeared—a huge orca’s head bursting from the roof, overpowering all the alphas present, including himself.
Tarian couldn’t believe that Kestrel was involved with such an insignificant person—a low-class alpha of civilian background.
A deep cheetah growl echoed from the floor. A pair of huge golden beast eyes appeared from the emptiness behind Tarian.
Facing him, Ren rely chuckled. He didn’t even show his psychic incarnation, just shaking out one wrist with his other hand.
Ren’s smirk was too annoying to Tarian—the black glove on his hand, the bloodied sleeve, and the bite mark on his hand, all stabbed into Tarian’s eyes.
A massive cheetah stepped out of the void.
The air was thick with tension, ready to burst at any mont. The coming clash between the sea beast and the land beast was evident.
Tendrils started to yell excitedly:
"Wow."
"Fight, let them fight!"
"Hurry up!"
"Pull hair!"
"Tear clothes!"
"Scratch faces!"
"I love watching this."
"Sir, Mr. Riker, this is not the ti for a fight." The first guard to enter quickly grabbed Tarian.
He finally understood that this conflict had nothing to do with the murder—he had just gotten mixed up in a lovers’ spat.
From Tarian’s face, everyone could guess that Kestrel was important. Just a few minutes ago, she had Ren, a tall and muscular man, wet and wounded, and now she had Tarian, of noble background, all twisted up.
What was even more surprising was that Kestrel now seed relaxed, innocently ready to watch the show unfold.
Stuffed into the small room, the guards who ca to investigate the murder felt out of place. But they were stuck and couldn’t leave or stay. They had no choice but to hold Tarian back, advising him to focus on the big picture and deal with official business first.
As for the killer—they didn’t believe any of these people could be the culprit, since no killer would have ti to argue out of jealousy right after committing a cri.
Staying here any longer would only waste ti.
The room’s door was wide open, the outside buzzing with noise, the footsteps of alphas rushing around.
The guests who were forced out of the room were talking and shouting all over the place.
Outside, the crowd was moving around in confusion, countless eyes peering in.
Fire sparked in Tarian’s eyes, but he swallowed his rage over and over, finally pulling back his psychic incarnation. Gesturing to the guards, he said, "Let’s go, we’ll search sowhere else first."
Tarian had received an elite education within his family from a young age, learning the importance of restraint and decorum. He understood when and where to do what. His aunt, a powerful figure within his family, had just been killed upstairs. The responsibility of finding the killer, as well as managing a series of other matters, was now his. This was not a ti to be caught up in personal feelings. Besides, he and Kestrel had already... ended things.
He gave Kestrel one last intense look before turning to leave.
In the hall, a crowd had gathered, buzzing with conversation. Most people had just heard the news and had been ushered here.
A girl, with a head full of curls and wearing expensive clothes, noticed Kestrel and Ren as they appeared, their belongings with them. Lifting her dress, she elbowed her way through the crowd.
"Kestrel, Kestrel," she called out Kestrel’s na happily. "I heard you ca back yesterday. How co you didn’t co to see ?"
Kestrel opened her mouth. She recognized the girl from the blimp, but couldn’t rember her na.
The girl, a beta, quickly captured that Kestrel didn’t rember her, but she didn’t seem to mind.
"I’m Nicole." She slid her arm around Kestrel’s, leaning in close. "I’ve been back for a while. Why did you only return now?"
Nicole waved her hand and several other betas approached. They were Serge and so students they’d fought together with on the blimp.
"Do you want to co to my place?" Nicole suggested sweetly, leaning closer to Kestrel, "Or I can visit you. We were classmates after all. I have no idea where you live."
Kestrel had spent many years at the beta academy, yet she rarely interacted with her classmates. Apart from Priscilla, no one had ever visited her ho.
At past social events, she usually sat alone in a corner, passing the ti or waiting for Tarian to occasionally co to her.
Kestrel had never been part of a group of classmates, never joined them for their cheerful chats.
Kestrel realized that not only at the outpost, but even here, her life was starting to change. She was now surrounded by a variety of friendly people.
The betas also recognized Ren and greeted him warmly.
"You’re that alpha, right?"
"We didn’t get a chance to thank you that day. You left so fast."
"Yes, we’re all grateful to you. Thank you for rushing to help us."
"Nice to et you, I’m Serge."
"Right, nice to et you."
As they all gathered together, they began to quietly discuss the night’s events.
"Do you know what happened?"
"Yes, the Minister of Military Affairs is in trouble, she died upstairs. A lot of people have co, we probably won’t be able to leave tonight."
"This is the second ti this has happened, the last ti was at the Earl’s house."
"I really want to know who is so skilled."
"Keep your voices down. Be careful not to be overheard."
"You don’t know, these two guys weren’t good people at all. This is their punishnt." The beta who said this was gritting his teeth, unable to hide his emotions. "My sister, she went to a party here once... and never ca back."
"Don’t talk about it here." Serge put his hand on the beta’s shoulder and made a quieting gesture. He looked hesitantly at Ren, as they were still not well-acquainted.
"Yes, yes... I know," the beta’s shoulders trembled, his lips pressed tightly together, "I just can’t help it. My sister, she was an alpha. She was strong, incredibly gentle, and kind to us all."
"My wonderful sister, just vanished, with no explanation given to us..." The young boy choked on his words. "I really want to know who killed these pervs. I want to thank the killer."
Several of his friends hugged him. Betas were always gentle creatures.
Ren stayed quiet, looked at them, then politely stepped back a bit.
Upstairs in the hallway, many people were looking for Tarian—the head of the security team, the head of the Public Security Departnt, a ssenger sent by the queen, family elders...
The scene was chaotic and complex. Luckily, Tarian was young and full of energy, able to handle it all. But he couldn’t help but split his attention, looking for that one person in the crowd.
Tarian saw Kestrel walk out into the hall and walk side by side with Ren. He noticed people greeting her, and several betas from the academy gathering around her, warmly linking their arms with hers.
Tarian wanted to call out to Kestrel, to bring her back to his side, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. All he could do was watch as she gradually walked away with others.
Tarian wondered when Kestrel had changed like this. He rembered that at past parties, Kestrel would mostly be alone. She was always there, waiting, waiting for him to have so free ti to find her.
"Maybe she really won’t co back to ," Tarian thought, his heart feeling tight in his chest, causing an uncomfortable feeling of suffocation.
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