423
Tony was still wondering how to salvage the conversation when he noticed Thalia’s inquisitive eyes boring into him.
“Did you just say you know Shadow Seeker’s identity?” she asked, enunciating each word carefully.
“I…” Tony trailed off, regretting his slip of the tongue. “Argh! Me and my big mouth! Why on earth did I blurt that out?”
“What?” Thalia fumed. “You know, don’t you?”
“Maybe a little?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Well then, I do know a little,” Tony replied with a grin.
Thalia took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Oh, please! Who’s going to believe that? When did you find out about it?”
“Uh, not too long ago…”
“Okay, and how long ago was that?”
“It was pretty early on. I don’t remember the exact moment…”
Thalia took another deep breath as she paced around the room, trying her best to hold her temper. Seconds later, she finally opened her eyes and glared at Tony. “You knew my mission in Moonwalk pack was to look for Shadow Seeker, so why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to,” Tony mumbled, pretending to be in a dilemma. “But it was a matter of morality. Since I’ve promised to keep it a secret, wouldn’t I be betraying my morals if I divulged it?”
“Morals? What about the morals between us?” Thalia retorted. “It’s not like I’ve betrayed you!”
“What about your conscience, then? Can you live with it?”
A smile tugged at Tony’s lips. “Well, from what I know, Shadow Seeker hasn’t done anything. I guess my conscience is clear!”
“Y-You-” Thalia sputtered with rage. “Fine! You’ve got some guts, Tony Jackson! To think I’ve been so open and genuine with you!”
“I know you want to persuade Shadow Seeker into joining Darknetz,” Tony hastily said when he saw how angry Thalia was. “But didn’t I tell you before that Shadow Seeker won’t agree to it? I even checked and confirmed it for you! Long story short, there’s no way Shadow Seeker would join any organizations. Not now, not ever!”
Alas, that wasn’t enough to quell Thalia’s rage, and Ben had long since shrunk into a corner. After all, given the tense situation, one would be wise to stay away from it as much as possible. When Tony realized it and gestured for his brother to return, the latter shook his head defiantly. “Oh, hell no! Going out now would be asking for trouble, and I’m no fool!”
Exasperated at Ben’s lack of loyalty, Tony shot him a helpless look before turning back to Thalia. “I know you’re mad, Thalia, but Shadow Seeker has a hold on me too. If I revealed their identity, they’d undoubtedly leak my information. Wouldn’t everyone just end up suffering heavy losses?”
“Do you think I’d betray you if you told me?” Thalia asked.
“But how can you be sure that Shadow Seeker’s information is accurate? What if it’s fake, and they get alerted when you try tracking them down?”
For a moment, Thalia was rendered speechless. “Oh, please. Do you honestly think everyone’s as petty as you?”
“That’s a common tactic, isn’t it? When you don’t know someone well enough, it’s only normal to resort to that to protect yourself.”
“Even so, that doesn’t change the fact that you hid the truth from me! All right, tell me, what must I do to resolve this matter?” To Tony’s surprise, Thalia said nothing.
“Shall I admit my mistake and apologize?” he added with raised eyebrows. “No. I’m sick of hearing apologies.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
Thalia turned to look at him with a twinkle in her eyes. “Will you do anything I say?” “Of course! As long as it’s within my power!”
Having noticed his father, Ben couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong and quickly ran after him.
“Daddy, where are you going?”
Alpha Kilian turned around and looked at his son, his brows slightly arched as he feigned nonchalance. “I’m just going out for a walk.”
Ben didn’t buy that. Judging by his father’s earlier expression, he knew something must be up.
Since Alpha Kilian didn’t say anything else, Ben decided not to press further and merely nodded. “Oh, okay.”
With that, Alpha Kilian smiled and went on his way.
After a moment of contemplation, Ben turned to Tony and Thalia, both of whom were still playing and laughing.
“Tony!”
“What’s up?” Tony answered.
Ben shot him a look. “Daddy just went out. When I asked him where he was going, he said he was only going for a walk.”
Even though Ben hadn’t suggested anything more, it was enough for Tony to pick up on his concerns. Seconds later, the smile disappeared from Tony’s face. “Come on, let’s follow him.”
Ben nodded.
Seeing how well the two brothers worked together, Thalia stared at them, bemused. “Have you guys gotten addicted to stalking people?”
“I’m sure Daddy’s hiding something from us, and since he’s not saying a word, we’ll just have to find out for ourselves!” Tony said.
Thalia scrutinized the boys, unsure if she should believe them.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“All right, we’ll be on our way now. I’ll leave Sam to you. Now that I can take a breather from the Midnight Fang Pack, we must ensure Sam stays in his place,” Tony reminded. “Don’t let him come over!”
Thalia pursed her lips. “I got it.”
Tony and Ben soon left to follow their father. However, Thalia couldn’t stop worrying about them. “Do you guys want me to come along?”
“No. We’re only following Daddy. It shouldn’t be much of a problem. Besides, the more people there are, the more likely he’ll be alerted to it!” Tony reasoned.
“All right. Be careful, then.”
After giving her a reassuring nod, Tony promptly left the room with Ben in tow.
As soon as they walked outside, Tony suddenly recalled something. “Oh, by the way, where’s Alpha Dave?”
“I haven’t seen him,” Ben replied with surprise.
“I want you to head back and check on Alpha Dave. See if you can get any information from him. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to follow Daddy. We’ll keep in touch.”
“Sure,” Ben answered without hesitation and returned to the hotel.
Tony followed his father closely, and after walking down several streets, he began to find his surroundings strangely familiar. Upon nearing the destination, he finally realized they were at the place where Alpha Kilian used to stay with Spencer.
Seeing his father walk up the stairs, Tony became even more intrigued. Huh? What is Daddy doing back here?
Even though Tony’s original plan had been to wait downstairs, he became so curious that he eventually decided against it.
After making sure he had put some distance between himself and his father, Tony carefully crept up the stairs.
Keeping as quiet as he could, he stuck his head around the corner, thinking he’d scope out the area before advancing further.
The next moment, however, he got the shock of his life.
Alpha Kilian was nearby, leaning casually against the wall and looking as though he had already been waiting for a while.
Tony could feel his heart pounding as he slammed his back to the wall. Oh my goodness! I almost died of fright!
After composing himself, he sighed and stuck his head out once again. As Alpha Kilian stared at him, Tony squeezed out an ingratiating smile. “Daddy, what a coincidence!”
“Indeed, what a coincidence,” Alpha Kilian replied, mimicking his son’s smile. “What brings you here?”
Tony’s smile grew wider. “Well, since we got you over in such a hurry the other day, I was worried you might have left something behind. That’s why I decided to drop by and help you clean up.”
“Is that so? How sweet and considerate of you,” Alpha Kilian quipped as a smirk crept across his face.