Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Jules hoped his baby brother would be able to find a nice match. That said, everyone knew Liam was the brother who would be marrying up: he would probably marry some rich, handsome, and important alpha, maybe even one from the upper crust of society. As for Jules… Uncle Wayne said Jules would be lucky if he got any marriage offer at all. Jules kind of hoped he wouldn’t get any marriage offers, but obviously he didn’t share that opinion when Uncle Wayne was around.
“There’s no cure,” Eric said, his forehead wrinkling as he read something on the screen. “It’s funny that you asked about that, actually. I can see increased activity for search terms ‘Xeus’ and ‘kerosvarin.’ Something is up. Considering the rumors…”
“What rumors?” Jules said.
Eric shrugged, his eyes still on the screen. “There have been all sorts of rumors circulating since the Opal House event last month.”
“Really? I thought the event was NDA-locked?”
“It was,” Eric said. “But the NDA technology wasn’t enabled immediately, so some things were still leaked. For example, the video of Prince Haydn choosing his husband over King Stefan was leaked before the NDA tech locked everything down. And there are reports of a feral Xeus alpha attacking guests—there are some blurry pictures—but those reports are really confusing, and no videos had leaked before the NDA tech was enabled… Interesting...”
Jules frowned. “Why would they even use the NDA tech for such an event? It’s weird.”
Eric shrugged. “If the rumors of a feral Xeus were correct, the Xeus might have maimed or killed someone important. Or the Xeus was someone important. In either case, they’d want to protect the Xeus’s identity. It’s actually common practice at high-profile events, especially political events.”
Damn it. So Jules was pretty much back to square one: he had no leads. The feral Xeus in their basement might or might not be the same feral Xeus that attacked people at the political event last month, but since the event was NDA-locked, Jules had no way of ascertaining it.
“All right, thanks,” he said, dropping an absentminded kiss on top of Eric’s head before wandering away.
He was disappointed by how little he’d learned, but even if he still had no clue about the Xeus’s identity or how to help him, it didn’t mean he couldn’t try to help him.
Jules spent the rest of the week planning. This time he knew what to expect and prepared accordingly. He grabbed a flash drive, intending to copy files from the computer he had seen in the basement, his first aid kit—and some food. He had noticed how thin the Xeus was. Jules didn’t doubt that the alpha could still easily snap his neck, but he really was thin, all muscle and skin, with no body fat at all. He could definitely use some food.
When everything was ready, Jules went to Liam and attempted to talk him into distracting the guards again.
This time his older brother wasn’t as cooperative, though. “Why?” he said, looking at him suspiciously.
He looked ridiculously endearing.
Jules patted him on the head. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”
He got a punch to the gut for the “pretty little head,” but eventually, Liam grudgingly assented after Jules promised to tell him everything later. They agreed that Jules would message him when he wanted to leave the basement so Liam could distract the guards again.
As soon as Liam successfully did his part, Jules darted downstairs. He had been half-afraid that someone would already be in the basement despite the late hour, but his concern turned out to be unfounded.
The Xeus was alone. He was still shackled to the metal table, his long, powerful body covered in bruises and cuts. Jules winced in sympathy. It looked worse than last time.
“Who are you?” said a hoarse voice.
Jules froze.
His gaze snapped to the alpha’s face. He found him looking at Jules with narrowed eyes. It was bizarre. The Xeus’s face still looked ugly as sin, his features harsh and predatory, but there was real sentience in his eyes. How was it possible? He couldn’t communicate last week at all.
“Hello,” Jules said when he recovered from his surprise. “You don’t remember me?”
The Xeus’s nostrils flared. He was inhaling his scent, Jules realized with morbid fascination. It seemed it was true that Xeus alphas had much better senses. Jules couldn’t smell him from such distance. Granted, his own senses were dulled by the suppressants he was on. All Dainiri omegas were on suppressants after their first heat.
“You smell familiar,” the alpha said. His voice was hoarse and gravelly, and it seemed every word took an effort. The suspicion in those glowing green eyes wasn’t gone completely, but his body relaxed a little.
It wasn’t surprising, Jules mused. He had heard that untouched, unmated omegas smelled sweet and soothing to alphas, and it seemed Xeus alphas were no exception.