The Story of the Exile (The Belesone Pack #2)

Chapter 8

Grene sat at his desk late into the night, listening to the unusual quiet of the house. It was strange having Katarina sleeping elsewhere, but he understood why.

He had been at home when she stopped by the house before dinner and he'd had to encourage her to pack a few of her things to take with her to Milo's house. The guard had come in handy. He had insisted on carrying the large bag, as if Katarina was too weak or too important to do such a thing herself. He couldn't make out which one of those reasons the guard had, but it had given her the chance to hug him goodbye and take a few herbs that he had pressed into her hand. Just in case.

He knew that her visions were getting worse and he knew that the shakes wouldn't do much, except be a comfort blanket when she was scared. They had only helped douse the flames of her grief, as her father had told him.

Carlton and Grene kept in regular contact, but kept that knowledge away from Katarina for her own good.

It had been Carlton who first realised that her pain was caused by grief, because she had convinced herself to reject her mate. The benefit to her love for Milo was that he never experienced the same grief or their Alpha might have gone insane.

The shakes had been an old herbal fruit mixture that Carlton had once seen his mother make after a particularly gruelling vision. It was the very reason why Milo's attempts to recreate it with just berries hadn't worked. He was missing the important herbal ingredients.

The herbs he had given Katarina that night were different. They were for Milo, who he sensed might find it difficult to deal with the new talents he shared with his mate. He wasn't used to the visions and the sharing of thoughts the way Katarina was. It was important his daughter knew what to do to help him.

Katarina had been surprised by the explanation that the gifts may take their toll on Milo. But she had promised to take care of it and do her best to keep her eye on him, to make sure it didn't happen. That was all Grene could do. That, and contact her father.

There was no point sending a letter to Carlton, since it would take far too long to get to him. Instead, he sat at his desk and lifted a herbal leaf from the tray before him. He was taking his own dream walk, something he did whenever he needed to consult Carlton about their daughter.

Grene chewed on the leaf for a few moments and waited for the effects to take hold. He sat looking at the paper in front of him, until its colour bounced up to greet him in an explosion of white. Slowly, that white turned to green and he knew it had worked, yet again.

"Grene, my old friend," Carlton greeted him.

Grene turned from his now standing position. "Carlton. Good to see you," he admitted, greeting Katarina's father with a hug. It had been months since they had last communicated this way.

Carlton had contacted him just a day ago with that mental link he couldn't manage with Katarina. She wasn't experienced enough to create connections with just anyone, but Carlton was. It had opened a door in Grene that, somehow, was closed to his own daughter. It was irritating, but at least Carlton had got in touch and he had been able to tell him of Katarina's happiness and coming union.

"I need to speak to you about your daughter," he explained gently, as they faced each other outside the Alpha's hut.

"Ah, not our daughter?" Carlton laughed, as he invited Grene to sit down on the sofa in his living room.

The room was as spacious as Grene remembered, but there was a new, very pleasant, chicken smell wafting through from the back room.

"No. Afraid not. I'm here about Bricia," he confessed with a smile. He figured Carlton would have guessed that.