The Alpha's Bride

Chapter 670 The Guardians (3)

　　"Vin!", Declyn called the male that was idling in the lounge with his legs up on the coffee table and a wine bottle in his hand.

　　Vincent was also one of the Guardians that attended the Council of Alphas, and he was introduced as Vin. Other than indulging in fine spirits, Vincent had a gift for disguise and concealing his presence, which made him an ideal candidate for covert operations and infiltrations.

　　"Greg has another task for you."

　　Vincent frowned. "Now what? I just got back."

　　"He wants you to get in touch with ex-Alphas of the Midnight Guardians pack and see what you can find about the current Alpha."

　　Vincent clicked his tongue impatiently. He was at the Council of Alpha, so he understood that they wanted more information on Alpha Talia.

　　"Did our mighty leader find his next target?" Vincent asked, even though he knew the answer. "Do you think this one will survive?"

　　Declyn's expression didn't change, but he could feel painful knots forming in his stomach as mental images of numerous females flashed in front of his eyes; some of them were dear to him.

　　One of the reasons the Guardians' population was dwindling was because they didn't reproduce. It's not that they didn't, but they couldn't.

　　Without females of their own kind, they were forced to look for others, and Gregory was set on finding powerful females to join them for a valid reason that went beyond not diluting their powerful bloodline.

　　Human females were out of the question because they would die during gestation. The offspring of a Guardian gathers energies from nature while growing in the mother's womb. Those energies carry the lifeforce for the Guardians, yet weak creatures (like humans) will die of it. All human females carrying their offspring perished before the fetus developed enough to be able to sustain itself in the outside world.

　　Will Talia be able to carry an offspring of a Guardian? Declyn didn't have an answer to that question.

　　"Don't think about useless things.", Declyn said. "Your job is to gather information."

　　Vincent made a face. They were treating him as an errand boy, and he didn't like it. "You are asking me to infiltrate the Midnight Guardians pack. Again. Do you think it's easy like buying milk in the supermarket?"

　　The biggest weakness of the Midnight Guardians pack was that they believed they were safe as long as no one passed through that one portal they were guarding religiously. 

　　"I know it's a lot, but you are the only one who can do it. Finish that bottle, sober up, and head out. If you delay longer than that, I won't cover your ass when Greg loses it."

　　Vincent's eyebrows shot up. "How come you are letting me rest?" The Guardians were aware of different passing of time between realms, so they knew that every hour of delay was much more for the Midnight Guardians pack.

　　Declyn didn't want to explain himself. "If you want to leave right away, that's also an option." He waved like it was not important and left the lounge.

　　Why did Declyn give extra time to Vincent when Gregory was eager for information? Declyn was not sure himself.

　　It was not like him to interfere in direct orders from Gregory.

　　On the grand scale, one female more or less wouldn't change anything because they needed many, and even if they found many, it wouldn't work unless they convinced other males to return. The biggest problem was that people lost hope. Other than being cursed with no ways to reproduce, they were also cursed by a life force that was impossible to extinguish. The Guardians were immortals who lived for more centuries than they cared to remember. They saw civilizations rising and crumbling, which turned their emotions dull as they witnessed cataclysmic events like something that didn't impact them in the slightest.

　　A small voice sounded in the back of Declyn's head, telling him that they shouldn't bother Talia. Was it because it would be another failure, or because she was different? It didn't make sense, but he couldn't ignore it. At the same time, he couldn't openly defy Gregory either.

　　Declyn had a good idea of what Gregory's plan was. Since Talia doesn't know what he looks like, Gregory will attend an event in order to approach Talia with a fake identity. He will use information collected from Sophia and Isaac to his advantage, and he won't reveal that he is a Guardian unless it's necessary. 

　　Two Alphas had only one child, and that was Axel. Declyn couldn't imagine a scenario where two ex-Alphas approved of Talia becoming an Alpha instead of Axel, and that was with the assumption that they stepped down willingly. The only logical conclusion was that they were forced into giving their Alpha position to Talia. But Declyn doubted that she used tricks; if that was the case, the pack wouldn't accept her, and their intel confirmed that the pack supports her.

　　Declyn mentally replayed what happened at the Council of Alphas, and what stood out the most was Talia's impressive performance with the Sphere of Power. He never saw anything like it, and he wondered how far she would push the device if he didn't interfere. 

　　Talia handled those Alphas with confidence, making them kneel and submit while extorting large amounts of money from them, and she did it with her chin held high even though Declyn could pick up her discomfort which told him that she didn't want to be there.

　　They attacked her first, yet she didn't enjoy teaching those Alphas a lesson. Was she so kindhearted or naïve? Maybe a bit of both.

　　Declyn was unable to forget her curious gaze filled with the innocence that revealed how she didn't see the ugliness of this world. In a way, he wanted to protect her; he saw Talia as a pure creature that shouldn't be soiled with the gory truth, and he wondered if she needed protection or if she could take care of herself.

　　When Declyn confirmed that Talia saw the runes as they suppressed the power of Alphas, Declyn was carried away with excitement he thought he was incapable of sensing again. After all, the ability to see their ancient magic didn't belong to humans, werewolves, or witches, so… how could she see it?

　　And then she injected him with something that started hazing his mind. Luckily, it didn't take much effort for Declyn to suppress the effects, and he played along in order to reveal her motives. Declyn was surprised to see that the only thing she wanted was to be left alone. So, he did that.

　　Unfortunately, now Gregory was suspecting him. The old guy always had good instincts. It's not that Gregory could really harm Declyn, but it was creating some obstacles in moving freely. When Gregory's paranoia kicked in, everyone suffered.

　　Why didn't Declyn tell other guardians that Talia could see their magic and that she tried to mess with his mind? Declyn himself didn't have an answer to that question. Talia stirred his curiosity, and he wanted to see what her next move will be.

　　After centuries of boredom, he found someone who was… interesting.

　　Declyn had no intention of warning Talia about Gregory. Besides, if she fell into Gregory's net easily, she wouldn't be worthy of Declyn's attention.

　　Declyn wondered if he should attend those events also so that he sees how Gregory will approach Talia. Will she make him crash and burn how she handled those pesky Alphas? But if Talia could see the runes, maybe she could see through their disguise magic also. If she recognizes him as Dex, his cover will be blown.

　　Ah, what to do?

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