Chapter 37 Trust Issue (Part 1)

[Stephanie]

"Why would Triton want to poison you? He wouldn't be stupid enough to try to take your place on your throne, would he?" I asked Arthur.

I could think of why Triton wanted to poison my father because he wanted the territory of our pack. But I couldn't understand why Triton would poison Arthur. It sounded like the head of a village trying to kill the king of a country to become king himself.

"Steph, you know there are more stupid wolves in this world than you think. His father united with rogues to assassinate my father to get the throne about fifty years ago. Then, after being defeated by my father, Triton's father and those rogues were exiled to the Demon Forest." Arthur said, and he laughed.

My eyes widened. Arthur's father sent Triton's father to the Demon Forest? This was the first I'd heard of it, and Mrs. Evans didn't even mention it in her history class.

Arthur shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, "Twenty years ago, Triton couldn't beat me at the Alpha Conference either. Now, he's got the mysterious poison weapon. And, I happen to be near his pack. So, I don't think he will let go of this great opportunity to kill me."

"However, he may not be completely confident, so he chose to use Patrick as a test subject for the poison weapon." Arthur offered his guess.

Knowing that Triton wanted to kill him and still laughed, how strong his heart was? Or was he confident enough in his own power to not take Triton's desire to kill him seriously?

Hell, I gotta admit Arthur piqued my curiosity about him once again.

"I choose to believe the latter. I mean, he's confident in his own power. Steph, I suggest you be careful when you're talking to him." Rose said. My muscles tensed up again due to Rose's words.

"Don't worry, Rose. You can take a break for a while. Trust me, I know what to do." I said. I tried to lighten my tone and cut the mind link with Rose.

I had confirmed that what Rose said and what she thought would seriously affect me, even though I was not very wary of Arthur. I had to choose to avoid hearing Rose's voice for a while until I figured out what I was judging Arthur to be.

Yes, it should be me, not my wolf.

I needed to have my own judgment.

"So, you brought that silver bomb to keep Triton from killing you?" I said. I thought getting my sanity back would allow me to be fair to Arthur.

"You're talking about the Nerve Poison Bomb?" Arthur asked.

"That's it, the one you brought in with the two antidote serums," I said.

He nodded, suddenly being enlightened. "So that thing is why you suddenly looked at me very warily after I entered the room. You thought I was going to hurt your pack with that weapon?"

He was really intelligent.

I didn't answer. But I was not a good liar. I believed my heated cheeks had told him the answer.

My stomach churned as he gave me a hurt look. It made me feel like a badass.

My wariness to him (or, more accurately, Rose's) was silently implying to him I didn't trust him after all the help he'd given me.

"Steph, do you suspect Arthur of hurting us?" My father said. His wide eyes told me he didn't obviously understand why I had become so suspicious.

"I'm sorry, Arthur," I said.

"Dad, I know I shouldn't have acted so paranoid about Arthur, who saved Patrick's life. I just can't control..." My volume got lower and lower, and I didn't say Rose's name by the end.

My poor father had gone through so many changes in just half a day. I should put my shift thing aside for now.

"Well, Eric, would you mind if Steph and I have a talk?" Arthur said.

I nodded to my father because I did need to be alone with Arthur to figure out all my questions.

***

"This is a good place to talk," Arthur said and glanced back at my father standing in the hospital room 80 yards away.

"Yep," I shrugged with my hands in the pockets of my jean shorts.

Grass, a few trees, benches, rudimentary children's facilities, and then just the two of us.

At lunchtime, the small park in front of the hospital was usually unoccupied. My dad would have a clear view of the entire park.

It was indeed a perfect place to chat.

"The nerve poison bomb, I've transferred the access to Eric. I don't have any weapons with me now." Arthur said.

"What?" I said.

I was wondering if I should talk about something else like the sun is shining, but it might rain later, and then start our formal conversation.

Arthur, however, chose to come straight to the point.

"The reason I brought that neurotoxic bomb in was to give it to Eric. Because the weapons that Triton has have made your pack unsafe. Eric, no, your pack needs a weapon that can protect members." Arthur said.

His voice was cold. His eyebrows drew together the whole time he was explaining to me.

My throat was dry, and my stomach was sinking. I thought I was ready for him to yell at me and scold me in anger.

But all I got was a sigh.

"You kissed me in front of your pack members, and I was happy to assume you'd be willing to accept me as your mate. But, I didn't expect you and your wolf to suspect me of wanting to harm you because of that thing."

His arms were limp at his sides. His dark blue eyes told me that he wanted me to give him a reasonable explanation.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Steph, that's not what I want to hear. Can you tell me what's happened?" Arthur said, shaking his head.

He softened his tone.

If he'd ranted at me, saying that I was paranoid, that I was ungrateful. I might not have felt so guilty.

But he didn't do that.

"About that nerve bomb." I cleared my throat.

"I was a little surprised when you introduced me to that silver bomb. You know I've asked you about the reason for carrying that silver weapon." I said.

He nodded.

"Then you brought it back to my pack along with the antidote serums without telling me the reason. This upset Rose, and she warned me several times that you were dangerous. I admit she overreacted a bit, so I temporarily cut the mind link with Rose." I said.

It was meaningless to lie and conceal something in front of Arthur. Besides, I wanted him to know what I really thought.

It was meaningless to lie and conceal in front of Arthur. Besides, I wanted him to know what I really thought.

Arthur didn't interrupt me and just listened to me with his patience.

"You know, in my last life Rose and I were killed by a strange silver dagger and the silver arrows, which made us both have a trust issue. But, you resurrected Rose and me and saved Patrick, and I'm truly grateful for that. So, in fact, I already consider you a trustworthy, em,"

I bit my lip and thought of a word that sounded appropriate, "friend...."

"...who I kind of having a crush on." My heart shunned my sanity and quickly directed my mouth to add a little polish to this "friend."

His mouth curved in a wonderful smile. His smile relaxed my tense nerves, and I knew my face must be heating up faster without having to touch it.

"I feel better now than after knowing you suspected me." He said.

I patted my cheek gently. Heck, Steph, be serious. That's not the point you want to talk about.

"Arthur, this may sound ridiculous. But ... I feel like I can't control my wolf. Rose's thoughts and moods seem to seriously affect my own judgment and mood. This morning Rose almost rushed out of control, and since then, I've been feeling a little strange."