Chapter 165

Chapter 165 Do you want to see Cora?
ASHER
Just as the thought left my mind, Ector’s eyelids began to flutter, and then moments later, his eyes opened and met my gaze. His green eyes resembled Cora’s albeit murky. The whites of them were red with irritation and there was an emptiness in his stare at that tugged at my heartstrings.
For a moment, I thought Ector recognized me, however, he quickly averted his stare and glanced at Silas and the guard. His eyes widened as a guttural sound rumbled in his throat. The terrible noise was panicked and angry at the same time. Ector managed to push his b*dy in a swinging motion and sat up in bed.
I instinctively took a step back and braced myself for the worst as Ector began to snarl at us. The sounds that escaped his mouth were garbled, and we couldn’t understand him until he managed to say one thing clearly.
“Go!” he shouted. “Go!”
When I took a step closer, Ector pressed his back against the wall and let out a gruesome shriek. I retreated and remained still so I wouldn’t scare him.
“Ector, it’s me, Ash-” I started to say, but just as I was about to speak my name, Silas stepped forward and halted me.
“Your identity might agitate him further,” the Beta uttered just low enough for me to hear. “After everything he’s been through, I mean. Your name might trigger some unpleasant memories for him.”
Right. Of course.
Silas was correct. If I mentioned that I was in fact the Asher Collins of his past, it might set off an adverse reaction and escalate the situation further.
Even though I wanted nothing more than to rea*sure my old friend and put his
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mind at ease, Ector wasn’t in the right me ntal state to handle this. So, I took a pause and stepped back.
We remained locked in this tense situation until Ector’s breath managed to steady a bit. His emaciated chest began to heave less and less until finally, he appeared calm. While his eyes were still distrustful, the severity of his gaze had lessened significantly, and I decided to try again.
“Ector, I’m here because of a lady’s request,” I spoke slowly but calmly.
He didn’t seem as agitated by my words this time, so I continued on.
“The lady’s name… is Cora,” I said gently..
Something seemed to come over Ector when he heard his sister’s name. He suddenly froze and his dry, cracked l*ps parted in surprise.
“Cora?” he whispered, and when I nodded, tears burst forth from his eyes and spilled down his dirt-covered cheeks. He began to murmur her name repeatedly as he cried and stared at me as if he were a lost boy. The sight was almost enough to make me cry as well, but instead, I simply nodded and softly smiled at my old friend.
“Yes, Cora,” I said.
Suddenly, Ector groaned as if the name had brought him great pain. He lifted his hand as if he were reaching for something, and without thinking it through too much, I took the chance and stepped forward and grabbed his hand. Though Ector flinched at the sudden movement, he didn’t pull away.
“She’s doing perfectly fine,” I a*sured him quietly. “And she wants to see you, Ector. She’s missed you so much.”
Ector mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out and then fell quiet. Then, after a while, his l*ps twisted into something resembling a smile, but tears still streamed down his hollow face. He continued like this for a minute until his cries turned to so bs, and he gently pulled his hand away so he could bury his face in
them.
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remained crying. I waited for a second and then spoke.
“Ector, would you like to see Cora?” I wondered.
Suddenly, Ector’s sounds of despair stopped, and he lifted his head from his hands. His green eyes remained locked on mine I briefly wondered if he was going to lash out again or tell me to leave. But much to my surprise, he nodded his head.
“Yes,” he whispered. “Yes.”

Under normal circumstances, we would have shifted to wolf form and returned. to Anemond at once, but Ector’s physical condition was too poor for that. If we wanted to bring him back to the capital, a car and a healer were necessary.
The guard that Silas brought with us went to make the necessary arrangements while the Beta and I took a moment outside the wooden house to catch our breath.
Ector had long since drifted off into sleep. The stationed guard remarked that he had never seen him so calm while resting. Normally, a statement like that would have made me feel better, but instead, it made me feel sad. I wished so badly that Ector hadn’t had to suffer like this.
Standing side by side another, Silas and I gazed at the moon. Though the
A
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deserted borderlands were terrible and ill-suited for life, the beauty of the sky was unmatched. With no buildings or wildlife to interrupt the view, the crescent moon was on full display and shimmered stunningly bright.
“I could understand why you might prefer staying at the borders over returning to Anemond,” I remarked jestingly. “It’s tranquil here. And of course, there aren’t any complicated politics like back in the capital. Given the opportunity, I’m not so sure would ever return.”
“I have no intention of shirking my responsibilities,” Silas replied, and then he glanced over at me. “I apologize for my delay in returning to Anemond, Asher. I know I was gone for a while-”
“There’s no need for an apology,” I a*sured him with a shake of my head. grateful for you, Silas. Without you, I might never have found Ector. I have to ask though… I’m surprised by your lack of animosity towards him. In Anemond, most people believe that the Felix family were a bunch of traitors. They were accused of attempting to
kill your father, after all. So, why didn’t you kill him when you found
him?”
Silas took a long deep breath and then turned to face me.
“I thought it was necessary to report this to my Alpha King before any decisions were made,” he noted diplomatically. “As a Beta, I understand that I don’t have the right to pa*s judgment on a wolf on a whim. Even if I did… I don’t know that I would want to. I value other’s lives too much to act on impulse. I don’t want to be like my father”
That sentiment was surprising. The Moses’ weren’t known for their compa*sion, but then again, Silas was so different from his father and sister.
I didn’t press the issue further. Instead, I cleared my throat and shifted the subject just slightly.
“As my Beta, do you have any questions or concerns? I wondered. “About any of this?”
Silas hesitated for a second. “I suppose I worry that if Ector discovered that
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Cora died, he might not be able to cope with it. I know you said what you did to convince him to leave. But I worry about what might happen later on.”
I
I nodded thoughtfully. I wanted to tell Silas the truth, but it wasn’t my secret to reveal. Cas sandra’s real identity was hers to share and hers alone.
“That’s a valid concern,” I decided to say instead. “Aside from malnutrition, hist condition is largely due to his me ntal state. He’s been through so much. But whatever comes next, I’ll handle the situation. Right now, we need to get him out of here and get him help.”
Silas nodded and then we got to work and crafted a plan.
We were going to move Ector to the military base for proper medical care t next day, however, if Ector strongly insisted on seeing Cora, we would return to Anemond right away.
Now that I knew it was really him, I needed to speak with Cas sandra before! made any important decisions regarding his well-being.
Though I was under a lot of stress, thinking of Cas sandra brought me a sense of relief. I looked forward to seeing how she would react upon learning that her brother was alive. While she had been opening up to me more and more lately, I couldn’t help but admit that I desired her to be happier.
Perhaps Ector’s return would help bring back the Cora I’d known so long ago.
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