Alpha's Blind Luna novel Chapter 162

Turning into Auri’s office, I could see Ezekiel had been working out of it but I turned to one of the bookshelves and pulled out the drawers that were beneath them. Auri had a complicated, yet brilliant filing system that spanned over a ridiculous amount of time. Everything was meticulously ordered and filed. Bryan walked in while I was working through drawer number three.

“Hector, what…?”

“I know Auri kept records of everything. Where were the lists?”

Bryan came closer. “What lists, Hector? There are thousands of them in here.”

“The…the ones with the individuals we went after. The BloodHunter coven. When we took down the High Council.” I slammed the third drawer shut, opening the fourth.

“I don’t think it’s on that side. It’s older.” Bryan turned and opened up two of the drawers near the door. “Why?”

I growled, moving onto the next. “To prove a theory wrong.”

Ezekiel came into the doorway next. “Everything okay?”

“Apparently, Rydere has a theory that Hector is trying to prove wrong with decades old paperwork.”

I slammed the drawer shut. “Pipsqueak would have it.”

“No one has been able to get ahold of her. What was it?” Ezekiel came in and opened up the drawers by the window. “Decades old…it might be in the miscellaneous and not filed directly in her system.”

“When we took down the old High Council it wasn’t just them. We split into groups and each of us took on individuals that were known leaders of the BloodHunter Coven. Auri made a list of each leader and each individual we targeted.” I explained as I rummaged through the information.

The room was quiet except for the sounds of papers being pushed around. It was a solid five minutes before Ezekiel pulled a folder out.

“Was it this?”

I came over, adjusting my path to where I was in his line of sight the whole time. Gently, I reached out and took the folder from him. He flashed me a thankful smile and I nodded. Setting it on the desk, I pulled out the chair, sat down and opened it up. Sure enough, each page had an individual leader, their team, and then their targets. I flipped through Auri, Bryan, Mine and then Logan’s name. Rydere was nearly as present in my body as I was. My eyes scanned the page.

“What does the X and O mean?”

“X was BloodHunter, O was High Council. Some behind the scenes in the High Council we also decided we’re too corrupt to continue. They were added to the list. Most of these guys were small time though.” Bryan explained to him.

Bryan was right. The list was full of inconsequential people, small fries low on the ladder of both the High Council and the coven. My finger stopped on the last name though. It had an X and an O next to it. It was the oldest name on this list. Rydere shrunk back.

“Who is…Oran Fellow?” Ezekiel was leaning over my shoulder.

Bryan looked down at the paper and then at me. “You don’t think…”

“High Councilor Oran. We heard rumors he was the leader of the BloodHunter Coven but could never prove it. Logan, after all Oran had done to his family, wanted to personally take care of him. Auri allowed it.” I stared down at the name. “He would have known, Bryan. Not many people would know who she really was. You know you took care of yours, Auri took care of hers, Simon…all of us can be accounted for. Logan is the only one.”

“No, Hector! I won’t hear of this! Logan, our Alpha, said he was dead! He might be a shithead but this? This would be beyond treachery.” Bryan stormed out of the room and I sighed.

“You think Alpha Logan lied about killing this Oran?” Ezekiel looked at me and I realized he was speaking to me as Alpha.

Rydere stepped forward to answer though. “I do, Alpha. Hector has his doubts but it fits. If we can confirm it’s Oran, it’s going to be easier to track him. However, Gamma Bryan is right. If Alpha Logan did this…it would be…”

“He would be brought to the Alpha King for crimes against his own kind. Ushering in this hell we’ve found ourselves fighting against.”

I nodded. “More than that, Oran is unpredictable. He’s old. He’s been on the High Council for so many centuries that some forget how old he really is. While he is predictably out for himself most of the time, his methods run the long term, never the short. And for him, short term can be centuries. Which makes his moves, to us, seem unpredictable.”

Ezekiel leaned against the bookshelf, his arms crossing over his chest. “As leader of the BloodHunter Coven he would have access to the Nova information, I’m assuming. The information about Auri as well.” He paused, chewing on the information. “Let’s see if we can’t reach out to Pipsqueak. Maybe you should try. She knows your relationship with Auri. In the mean time, let’s keep this theory between us. Bryan is right. There are a lot of ‘ifs’ and only one person who can answer them. The issue is answering truthfully without getting Vale involved might be an issue. Try to see if we can find any information on him without doing that.”

He nodded but I could see the gears turning in his head.

“Give him time, Ezekiel. Let him adjust. He will get there. You both will.”

“Even though I basically killed his mom?”

I winced. “You haven’t. Auri made a choice knowing what would happen. That’s on her, not on you.” Standing up, I closed the folder and headed out of the office.

“I’m sorry, Hector, I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s fine. You might be right but I will have to prove that myself.”

Turning down the hall, I closed the bedroom quietly behind me. Peeling off my clothes, I stepped into the warm shower. I was exhausted. As much as I wanted to know, I was already too tired to handle all the information. Now, every nerve felt fried and my emotions were all over the place.

Setting my forehead against the cool shower tile, I closed my eyes. My mind fell to the last time I saw Auri in person. It was months ago. I had gone on the mission with Morgan, then Vale…months ago. She was wearing a blue shirt with some logo on it, dark jeans, and of course, barefoot. Her body perched on the kitchen stool as she leaned over a book.

'I should have kissed her. Should have told her I loved her. Should have held her close and made her promise not to leave.'

Rydere whined. 'She wouldn’t have listened anyways. Not after everything. No matter what, our love will never regret this decision. No matter what they put her through, she would never allow herself to come to regret it.'

I lifted my head into the water stream. 'You’re right. If anything, that makes me madder. The moment we find her, we are talking some sense into her. She isn’t doing this shit again. Not to us.'

Laughing, Rydere nodded. 'We’ll tell her alright. Then we can bring handcuffs our wrists together so she can’t get away again.'

This time, he made made me laugh. I finished my shower and pulled on some boxers before sinking into my bed. It felt big and lonely but at this point, I was too tired to care. Auri, sitting on that stool, looking up at me as I walked down the stairs. The smile on her face that brought a blush to my face. The squeeze of her hand in mine as we said goodbye for the short time it was supposed to be. Her scent, the forest that always followed her no matter where she went. She filled every one of my senses as I fell asleep.