Alpha Derrick's POV
It's been hours since I asked my men to lock Nathan inside the water dungeon, and ever since then, I haven't been at ease. Every second of the day, my thoughts would be filled with him, and I would groan. I couldn't understand why I should be worried about him, the son of the man who wiped out my entire family. I should be thinking of other punishments to give him; he deserves nothing but pain and torture, even death. But instead, I was pacing around my study, worried about him. I hated how soft I was going with him; the plan was to wipe out everyone in that family, but after seeing Nathan again after all these years, I couldn't find myself doing it, at least not yet.
Grunting, I sat back in my seat and tiredly massaged my forehead. My head was pounding with a great ache, and regardless of what I did, it wasn't helping. Sighing heavily, I picked up a file and started working on it to distract myself, but it wasn't working. Constantly, my mind would drift to him, and I would groan and ignore it.
As I worked on the file, a silly thought came into my mind. I imagined him drowning and dying in the cage before the next morning, and I panicked. I could do anything to him, but I didn't want him dead. Hell no! The mere thought of it got me panicking even more.
"If you are so worried, why not check on him?" my wolf suddenly spoke, and I narrowed my eyes. He sounded like he was also worried about Nathan, which was unusual. My wolf was more brutal, even heartless, so when did all this soft-spot nonsense come from?
Curious to know how he was doing, I decided to check on him, at least to confirm that he was still alive. I left my room and went to the water dungeon while my guard followed.
We were almost at the dungeon when I met a guard who bowed to me. I recognized him as the guard in charge of the water dungeon.
"How is the prisoner doing?" I asked.
He seemed confused. "You are not aware, Alpha?" he asked, and my heart skipped.
"Aware of what?" I asked, scared that it wasn't what I was thinking. Just the thought of it made my heart clench in my chest.
"He has been released by Beta Timothy more than an hour ago. I thought you knew about it," the guard explained, and I raised a confused brow at him.
"Released by Timothy?"
"Yes, Alpha," the guard responded, and my confusion deepened. I became so confused, wondering why Timothy would release him. It had been over an hour, and he hadn't informed me about it.
"Where is he?"
The guard hesitated for a moment before responding. "He is still in his room."
"What?" I blurted out. "His room?"
"Yes, Alpha…" I didn't let the guard complete his words before I began to dash away.
As I made my way to Timothy's room, I couldn't help but panic. I had known Timothy for years. I knew he would not take advantage of Nathan or do anything to him that was against his will, but somehow, I was anxious and restless. I couldn't understand why he saved him. Was Timothy interested in Nathan? Did he have a liking for him? No. I shook my head. Timothy isn't into men, and besides, he has a mate who he loves so much. But that was me too—I also wasn't into men, yet I had fucked Nathan, and I loved every second of it. Damn it! It better not be what I was thinking.
Ignoring the greetings of the servants, I hurried toward Timothy's room, and when I got to the door, I pushed it open and dashed in.
Dashing into Timothy's room, I met Timothy and Nathan in the middle of a discussion, but the moment they saw me walk in, they stopped and looked my way.
My eyes interlocked with Nathan's, and I could see the look of hate in his eyes. If looks could kill, I should probably be dead. Ignoring his glare, I darted my eyes around him and noticed he was still wearing his clothes, which was a good sign that nothing had happened between them. I was somehow… relieved.
Moving my gaze to Timothy, our eyes interlocked, and I shot him a suspicious gaze, wondering what they were talking about.
"You're here," Timothy said and moved over to where I stood.
"And what is the meaning of this?" I asked, angered and jealous. For some strange reason, I was jealous seeing them talking, and I was so curious to know what they were discussing.
"Can we please talk outside?" Timothy pleaded, but I shook my head.
"I want to know what is going on. Why did you set my slave free without my permission?" I asked in an annoyed tone, and Timothy sighed.
"Can we please just talk outside?" Timothy begged, and I glared at him before glancing in Nathan's direction, who had been glaring at me since I walked in.
Without saying a word, I walked out of the room, while Timothy followed suit. When he got outside, I turned and folded my arms.
"Let's hear it."
Timothy sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't let him die in there."
"And who told you he was going to die?" I snapped.
"Come on, man, if I were one second late, he would have been long gone," he defended his action, which irritated me.
"And why do you care? If he dies, it's none of your business. He is my prisoner, and you have no right to set him free when I haven't," I sneered with jealousy. I wasn't angry that he had set him free, but I was jealous because I met them discussing like friends—something I wasn't able to do.
"I'm sorry, Alpha," Timothy apologized. Obviously, he didn't want to prolong the matter.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair before holding Timothy's gaze. "Why do you care about him this much?" I threw that question at him and saw him go silent for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know; I just don't want him dead."
I furrowed my brow at his words. "Why do you care if he dies or lives?"
Timothy sighed. "I thought you didn't want him dead."
"Spare me that bullshit!" I cut him off. "You are doing this for yourself and not for me. Tell me, do you have a thing for him? Do you also want to fuck him?" I accused, and Timothy stared at me with a confused look.
"Excuse me? What do you take me for? That I would want to have a man you already have? He is your slave. Yes, Nathan is fucking handsome—no denying that—but I have a mate and am definitely not into men, especially one you seem so possessive of." He sounded pissed.
With those words, he walked away, leaving me to ponder his words.
"So possessive?!" His words rang in my head. Possessive? Am I acting that way?
Inhaling deeply, I composed myself and wanted to go back to my chambers, but then I remembered that Nathan was all alone in Timothy's room, and Timothy didn't go back inside.
I decided to go back to Timothy's room. As I pushed the door open, my eyes scanned the room, searching for any sign of Nathan. To my horror, I spotted Nathan perched precariously on the windowsill, his gaze fixed on the ground below.
"Nathan, what do you think you are doing?!" I demanded, my voice sounding panicked as I tried to rush toward him.
"Stay back! If you take another step, I will grant you the privilege of watching me jump off!" He warned, and instantly, I paused in my tracks.