Chapter 13:
Abe's POV
The suite the King had provided was nice. It wasn't here nor there to be honest. He couldn't appear to be petty and put us in anything less than befitting a station of alpha. But he somehow found a way to just meet the requirements of a good host. There was only one bedroom even though Pavel stayed with us and there were only two chairs. Even though the scuff marks on the floor indicated there had been three or maybe four at some point recently. The curtains were off a rich fabric, the thick velvet smooth and soft to the touch, but the busy patterns on the curtains were horrendous and distracting. The same could be said about the bed and its linens. The table held refreshments but all were just a day old, had just lost their freshness, not enough to complain, but enough to notice.
He was very deliberately mocking us.
But I smiled. He had considered me a threat and now thought to control me, and piss me off with these little inconveniences.
Growing up I had very little. My parents weren't alpha or beta. And the south had been poor at the time. Pavel had been a slave and was glad when he got any food at all and he spent most of his childhood sleeping on the floor. And my beautiful mate was a warrior taught to endure days of starvation and hard conditions.
No, busy curtains and day-old bread didn't hurt us at all. He just thought he was being rude because he had been fed with a silver spoon, quite literally. If he thought this was in any way going to affect us, that was his weakness, not ours.
"You are loving this, aren't you?" My mate accused me as she often did. I did like playing my games. It is what made life interesting... Also I always win. So there is that.
"I might take some pleasure in his attempts at disturbing us." I picked up the whine that was good, but not great and poured myself a glass. I didn't offer my partners any. I knew both didn't indulge.
My mate's red curls moved in front of her eyes, a clear sign she was hiding her emotions. It was unconscious I think, she was so trained to betray nothing, even in the confines of our current quarters she couldn't be completely open. She only was when she was with me in our own home.
"Any news on Rosemarie?"
I took another sip before disappointing her. That had been the other business of why we were here. To both of us it was more important that our attempt at a coup although the two did have overlap. For my daughter to be free now, the King would have to be removed from the throne.
"I have a meeting with a contact later. I have tracked her to Sorokin but he was taken down by the crown a few months back.'
The only sound decision the King had ever made.
We had put our daughter in the care of a fellow alpha and beta. She was disguised as a slave in Alberta's slave mansion. It was to keep her safe and for over a decade she had been. Being with us would have been too dangerous. But never did I think Alberta would have been targeted.
We had been deep into the south when it happened, the message reaching us late. By the time we were able to get out to Alberta's mansion. Every trace of her was gone. The region had been destroyed, most of the slaves sold off.
We had been devastated, but we knew Rosemarie was tough, she would survive, she would be strong like us and we will find her. She just had to hold on for just a little longer.
Now we were here and I had contacts in the palace and surrounding areas. If she had been taken even half a year later than she was, I would have had spies here too. But even my growing influence hadn't been enough to track her then. Now I had found someone who knew someone who used to work for Alberta, saying it had been Sorokin who had destroyed Alberta. And that he kept most of the slaves.
A solid lead except that Sorokin himself had been taken down two months ago, the process repeated. There were hardly any records of slaves being traded. Nobody cared. But Rosemarie was unique. Someone would have noticed her. Someone would remember who she had been sold to.
And if not I would make them remember.
"What about her friend? Vasilissa?" My daughter had had a friend growing had been a slave, but I knew Alberta would have treated her the same as any child in her care. I was grateful, growing up without parents was hard enough, growing up alone would have been even worse.
"I have a few feelers out for her too. She might be our best bet at finding Rose." Because I knew my daughter even if she had been four the last time I saw her. She would protect her friend, and wouldn't allow herself to be seperated. Because that is what I would have done.
"Who are you going to see?" Pavel asked and I just grinned. Janine wouldn't like it. But she would accept me meeting her if it meant we could get our daughter back.
Seeing Tatiana wouldn't raise suspicions either. I think every male ever has set food in her quarters. Not that she indulged herself. She was strictly monogamous with one of the younger slaves. But as she iterated on more than one occasion 'she liked to watch.'
She also liked to listen and knew of things no other cortier knew. She was quite the spymaster. It made her dangerous, I had to be careful with her in a way I wouldn't have to be with the King. I knew her loyalty lies with her family.
I walked the halls towards her chambers. Pavel beside me. He was always there, protecting me. I had a keen sense of seeing a battle coming. Avoiding it, or winning it before it even began. But just in case I missed something he was there. Physically I could hold my own, but I was nothing in comparison to Pavel.
When we reached Tatiana's chambers I didn't bother to knock. I swung the doors open, nearly decking a guard. They were pointing their swords at me in a flash, but Pavel drew his own and pressurized the room with his power. I stood behind grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Zmey, Do come in."
Once they had the okay from their mistress they let the swords down, slowly.
"And close the door would you?"
I turned around and closed the doors with both hands and then walked over to Tatiana Ivashkov. She had aged since I last saw her, but her features remained striking. Her green eyes bore into mine. I bent down and took the hand she offered and placed a small kiss on her knuckles.
"My lovely Tatiana, the years have been kind to you."
She waved me off. She knew my brand of flattery all too well. Randall had no idea of how deep my connections ran, but Tatiana knew. She was one of them.
Tatiana hadn't always stayed at the palace and I hadn't always ruled the Southern pack. The first time I met her I knew she would be a powerful friend. I had maintained the connection between us for the past few decades and it seemed my efforts paid off.
She motioned for me to sit with her. We passed several cubicles filled with carnal pleasure, but I paid it no mind. I was used to the exibitionists in my region. The people were rather free. It didn't matter if you were Alpha or not, your wolf could run free, and so could you. And somehow freedom equaled sex.
When I sat across from her, Pavel leaning against the wall behind me, she pinned me with her gaze. She was far smarter than her nephew and she was determining if I was a threat to the throne. It would be hard to betray her, but in the end I knew she would side with her family. If not she could have taken the throne years ago for herself.
"So, Zmey, what brings you here?"
"Your nephew summoned me."
She rolled her eyes. Although I had needed to placate the King for now, we both know she meant here with her.
A slave arrived to bring us some hot tea. She had made my favorite Turkish Tea. Bitter like coffee, but so much more flavorful. I thanked the slave, and got a strange look from Tatiana, before taking a sip of the hot liquid. It burned my throat but in a good way. The warmth spread through my stomach. I hadn't lied to the King. The capital was colder than I was used to.
I sat the cup down and looked at the ripples of the flavored water as I did so. Tatiana wouldn't demand anything less than the truth and if I wanted to keep the coup from her, I needed to be honest in my next task.
"I have come here looking for my daughter."
She sipped her own cup, she herself had gotten coffee by the smell of it. She used the motion as a diversion so I wouldn't see her shock. Nobody knew I had a daughter. It was that way by design.
It had been the single most difficult decision I had to make in my life, but I had done it to protect her. I was gathering enemies as fast as I was gathering allies and one whiff of her and she would have been a target. Janine had stayed with her the first few years, me keeping my distance but still somewhat in her life. But when she was four, we couldn't deny it anymore. She wasn't safe with us. Sending her in a life of slavery had been hard, but I knew growing up scared would have been even harder. She might not have grown up with her parents, but I knew she had been loved.
"You daughter?" Something flashed in her eyes, something calculating. She was probably finding all kinds of ways to use this against me should I rise against her family. But I had to take the chance, I had hit a dead end.
"Yes, she would be almost eighteen now. I have tracked her down to the Sorokin pack but have lost the trail there. Slave records are hardly ever kept."
"A slave?" Her voice strained with pretend shock. She knew I had expected the forced emotion, but it sounded flat. She obviously knew something. But I could play this game with her, if it got me closer to Rosemary.
"Her name is Rosemary and she was taken from her safe haven by Sorokin two years ago. He was taken down two months ago. Do you know of any slaves that might match that age and Turkish looks?"
I could see the edges of her lips threaten to pull up, but she remained otherwise motionless. She knew her. And something was apparently amusing. She took a long time responding. Probably calculating many different scenarios in her head. It was what I was doing.
"I can take a look. But for a price."
Of course, I didn't think she would just hand me the information. I wasn't born yesterday. I stayed quiet. She was coming up with a price I knew I wasn't going to like.
"I want to know if you plan on taking Randall down."
So she came right out and said it. This was a difficult situation I was in. It was check on her end. She had backed me into a tight little corner. Tatiana was too good to fall for a lie. But if I told her the truth, my plan for a coup would be all but over. But I would have a lead on my daughter. However, if I did tell the truth she might just withhold the information anyway. I could make her write it down, but she would take offense to that. Tatiana prided herself on her honor.
I suppose I would have to trust her. An emotion that did not come natural to me. But sometimes, arrogance could very well be a substitute.
I leaned back into my chair, crossed one leg over the other and grabbed it at the ankle. "Yes." I said with a smile.
Her eyebrows furrowed, as if sizing me up if I was serious. I had said it with so much confidence, she was now doubting the truth behind those words.
Or maybe she was wondering if I had the strength to do it. There seemed to be a bit of hope in her eyes. She wanted me to take down Randal. I tried not to let the shock show. I knew he had deteriorated, but so bad that even his own aunt would turn against him?
"General Belikov took down Sorokin. He would know if there was a girl matching your description. He has a soft spot for them. Would have made sure she was alright."
There were so many things unsaid in that statement. So much information she wasn't giving me. But I would talk to Dimitri. I could always come back to get more from Tatiana if I needed to. They called me a snake, but I recognized her as a fellow viper. I would much rather deal with the stoic General. His motifs were clear. He was meant to protect and if he helped my daughter I knew she was alright.
I nodded my thanks and indicated I would talk to him.
"You might also want to talk to him about that other thing." Her eyes met mine. I didn't have to ask her about what other thing she meant. I smiled my wicked smile that left many women at my feet and men afraid for their wives.
"I already did. He needs a little bit more encouragement."
She took one of the fruits on the table. Took one bite herself and gave the rest to the slave man at her feet.
"He will come around." She mirrored my own smile. I had never met a woman who could match my games. It was both infuriating as well as exciting. I didn't like not being in control, she obviously knew more than she was letting on. She was dangling that information in front of my eyes expecting me to reach for it. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Not when I knew I could simply get the information another way.
I hoped that when this was all over Tatiana would still be Tatiana. I had no quarrel with her and if she was indeed onboard with a coup she could remain here. I only wanted to remove Randall, I had no desire to end an entire Royal line. Like I had said to Dimitri. People were either useful or not. And Tatiana was useful.
RPOV
The full moon had passed and Dimitri and I hadn't spoken since. The burning need to be with him had subsided a bit, but not a whole lot. I could still feel his breath on my skin, his hands in my hair and his lips on mine. Sometimes it woke me up in the middle of the night in a fever dream. I never wanted another man to touch me.
But Dimitri would never give in. He couldn't afford it and honestly neither could I. Our lives were not our own. But getting rid of the temptation would mean not being his concubine anymore and being someone else's and that also didn't seem like something I could do.
Maybe I didn't need to be thinking about this right now. It was a nice day, Lissa was coming over and I was safe and well fed. That was more than I had had the last two years. So what are you complaining about Rose?
Just pick a hobby, maybe read a book, so the next time Dimitri calls for you, you won't be ogling him, but you could talk about something else. Like Politics, or art or something else mind numbingly boring. Because there is nothing that kills a mood faster than talking about politics.
I sighed deeply but decided I might actually try it. I went to the small library in my apartment. Every concubine's apartment had been stocked with pass times befitting a lady, reading, art, crocheting if you wished. That is where I would draw the line.
I was lucky enough I knew how to read. Alberta had been a kind master, she had me and Lissa tutored. The more I thought about it the more I realized how truly lucky I had been. Being a slave often meant being illiterate. Concubines could learn, but Kirova had been surprised to notice I didn't need the lessons.
I picked up the first book that caught my eye. 'Proper decorum in higher circles.' That was a big fat nope. I wanted to curb my sexual tension, not end my will to live.
On to the next. It took me two more tries until I landed on a book I found interesting. 'Evolution of wolves.'
I opened the book on the first page. There was a drawing of a man with a wolf beside him. The man in the drawing had been an alpha no doubt judging by the size of the wolf, but also the boldly printed letters 'alpha' above the person gave me a pretty significant clue.
I read the first bit. It talked very clinically about how alpha's seemed to work. Most of it I recognized, but some things were new. Maybe I would take the book with me so Dimitri and I could read it together. How about that, I did actually find a nice pass time. Although when I flipped through the pages I did see a mating and rutting chapter, so maybe we would skip that one.
I was on my third chapter when Kirova walked into my apartment. She held an invitation in her hands. It was customary for the clients to use those invitations as formal requests, although I knew Dimitri didn't use them. I had gotten one from Tatiana. But I had thought that it was a one time thing.
I got up and was about to ask if Tatiana requested me again when I noticed Kirova's expression. The deep lines around her mouth were hard, her eyes held almost pity for me. She was gripping the invitation more tightly than was necessary.
No, it wasn't Tatiana. And Dimitri didn't use them so… that only left one possibility.
"Rose, you have been requested."
