138: THEIR HEARTS WERE SO FAR APART

THEIR HEARTS WERE SO FAR APART

Iris was sleeping when she felt someone hug her from behind, which shocked her, since their strong arms wrapped around her waist tightly and drew her closer to them.

It was a man's arms!

Startled, Iris was about to scream when she turned her head and caught sight of Cane's sleeping face. He had his face buried in her nape and breathed evenly.

"Al- alpha…?" Iris' eyes widened, as her face wore an anxious expression. Was he sleeping? Why was he hugging her tightly like this?

All of a sudden, Iris felt her face become so hot as her throat dried. She wetted her lips and waited for Cane to move away from her, but he didn't.

"A- are you really sleeping?" Iris' voice was so low, it sounded like a whisper and her skin became very sensitive when his warm breath caressed her neck. His strong heart was thumping against her back, because of how close they were.

Iris could even feel her own heart beating so fast, but in the end, it fell into the same rhythm as his and it helped her to fall asleep again.

The next day when she woke up, Cane was no longer there and there was a set of breakfast waiting on the table beside her bed.

Iris pushed herself up and rubbed her sleeping face. She looked around her groggily and decided to wash her face first before she ate her breakfast.

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"There is not much information about the efficacy of the Asturi stem I can find, but from what I gathered, the stem of the Asturi plant is used to lure poisonous beasts," Ethan reported to Cane after he was done trying to gather information on that item.

Especially after he learned that the crown prince, Alan, also wanted the same thing and it was the order from the king. That old and lecherous sovereign must be up to something.

"Poisonous beasts? What kind of poison beast?" Cane narrowed his eyes. He was in a good mood this morning because he had a good sleep last night, thanks to Iris. Somehow, holding her helped him to ward off his nightmares.

Cane didn't want to think about it too deeply and reasoned that it was the mate bond between them that helped him to calm down whenever he was with her.

"Serpent and the like," Ethan said, he couldn't say for sure because not many people sought out the Asturi stem.

While the stem could be used to lure poisonous beasts, the flower itself was very poisonous, therefore, it was hard to get the stem. If you were not familiar with poison, it would be the end of you.

"Serpent…" Cane rapped his fingers against the table, his eyes became slightly darker. "Poisonous beasts like serpents are mostly found in the North kingdom, Celestial Moon pack."

The Celestial Moon pack was the only pack in the north, they lived surrounded by a fortress, where they had to ward off wave after wave of the monster attacks, most of which were caused by serpents and dragon subspecies.

What did the king want the Asturi stem for?

"You go out first and tell Nexus to investigate what happened in the Celestial Moon pack." Nexus was one of the six men that he met in the Bloody Wolf pack. His father's spies.

"Right away, Alpha," Ethan said. "Are there any more orders for the other men?"

Cane thought about it for a while. "Is there any news from Aderan?"

Aderan went to the Celestial Moon pack a few months ago in order to find a sorcerer, but the last piece of news that Cane received was on the day before they departed to the black market.

"The last message was him finding a sorcerer in the Celestial Moon pack and trying to poach him to our side, but after that, there was no news from him."

"Tell Nexus to find Aderan there and both of them can exchange the information," Cane said.

That night, Ethan left the black market alone to meet with Nexus in the Arleen city and relayed the command from Cane.

On the other hand, after they had gotten the rations and dried meat they needed, it was time for them to leave, but there was something that Cane wanted to check first and he needed Iris to come with him.

"Where are we going?" Iris asked, as she followed Cane, walking a step behind.

She would feel this strange feeling of being watched whenever she was in the public, but she couldn't find out who that was. This made her restless.

Cane said nothing, but he grabbed her hand all of a sudden to enter a shop, where he bought a huge hooded cloak to cover her auburn hair, which was very noticeable and also two masks for both of them.

Before they walked out of the shop again, Cane stopped to make sure there was no strand of her hair coming out of her hoodie and her face was indeed concealed behind the mask, with this, it was hard to tell that it was her.1

"Did you bring that creature?" Cane asked.

"Yes, here." Iris showed her pouch to him and he nodded. This time, he took her hand to walk in the crowded street.

Iris looked at his side profile and couldn't help but remember what happened that night when he held her in his arms to sleep.

But then, the moment they woke up, everything seemed like a dream. Cane didn't say anything, it was not like there was something that needed to be said, but there was this tacit understanding between them that they wouldn't discuss what happened at night in the morning.

Cane was so different those two times. At night, he would hold her as if he didn't want to let her go, but then when day came, he would put his guard so high and maintain some distance between them. He didn't let anyone get close to him.

Even though he was holding her hand right now, actually, their hearts were actually miles apart.

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