Metas and Myranda made their way to the upper levels. There were a few citizens, but no one really paid him any attention.
What bothered her the most about this situation wasn't that others saw them, it was that their eyes were filled with resentment and disrespect they cast on him that made her really upset. It also felt even more dangerous that they were strolling right into trouble, but she firmly stayed at his side, and kept her hand in his as though somehow something was going to sweep her away.
When they arrived at the door, Metas' first instinct was to go picking at the lock on the door. After a few seconds of adjusting his body to the right level, and studying the keyhole, Myranda put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
There was a fake rock that looked like it had been apart of the cave wall itself, but when tilted back, it revealed a hidden key, "I think this would be easier, Metas..." she said with a smile and handed it over to him.
"...It would. Thank you, Myranda" he replied and stood up to move so that she could open the door with the spare key.
They entered into a luxurious living room that had been carved out to be large. Just to the right of them was a large set of stairs that went to an upper level. Myranda's jaw dropped. She had never seen living conditions so nice, so large, and not attached to a store-front. It made her disdain for the upper class even deeper as she noted their homes were well lit, warm, and had really nice furniture that actually had cushions and pillows sewn onto them.
Down in the tunnels, they typically slept on bare rock-pads that they would cover with blankets, pillows, or sometimes feathers or straw. No one had something as lovely as the covered bench (we call it a sofa) that Syrana and Silas had in their home.
What upset her the most, though -was that the entire decor seemed to reflect Silas' style and colors, but lacked anything that matched her sister's personality or the pallet she liked.
"...Wow, he's even more self-centered than I thought..." she said flatly.
Metas chuckled and walked in to look around the room and take in everything, and it raised his eyebrows when he saw lots of self-portraits of Silas, and a few of Syrana. Their daughter Syri had pictures everywhere, though - and it made him smile. At least there was one thing Silas loved above himself.
"You've never been to your sister's den? Truly?" Metas asked and looked over to her with confusion. "You seem close, so I wasn't expecting that."
"Silas doesn't want me up here. He always makes some excuse as to why I can't even ascend to the upper levels, but I know it's just a bunch of lies to keep us apart. He detests me, and considers me a bug that should be taken out," Myranda replied and shrugged with a sigh.
"He's an damn idiot, and apparently has issues with his eyesight and the object behind them," he replied soothingly and walked to her so he could stroke her face with the back of his fingers softly. "You are a diamond hiding amongst coal."
Myranda blushed and silently admonished herself, '..and you judged this male before you even spent time with him? He's so sweet.'
"How long do you think we should stay here?" Myranda asked quietly as they made their way up the stairs to the second level slowly, as her eyes were still getting used to the dark. Metas, however was just being slow to keep with his mate, and not because he couldn't see. His vision was fantastic in the dark.
"At the longest, a day. I'd rather leave in a few hours, or when we hear the soldiers eventually come by. You can hear their collective steps almost anywhere up here. The hollow spaces echo the sound everywhere," he answered.
Myranda was just about to trip over a toy that had been left on the floor, but Metas was quick to pull her out of the way, and into his embrace. It wasn't his intention to pull her so close, but they both seemed to enjoy the warmth, and Myranda was blushing from his gentle hold, and once more she felt the desire for him to ravish her right here on the floor.
"I'm sorry if I scared you - I didn't want you to trip," he said quietly into her ear.
His accent and deep voice made her shiver and she pressed into his chest more so that she could nuzzle into him further. No matter what he did, her heart seemed to leap and twist with delight. It was such a foreign feeling to her, but she was enjoying it. To someone who had been starved of affection for their entire life, it was almost addictive to be loved so dearly. It made her happy, and removed her loneliness, but it also gave her fear that if she lost him, what would she do afterwards?
"Myranda?" he prodded gently and looked down to her.
She had gotten lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him ask if they wanted to find somewhere to sit to pass the time.
"Oh- sorry. Yes, they have a guest room from what Jyriah tells me, but I don't know where it is, and I'd rather not go through my sister's house leaving our scent everywhere. We can just sit here on the floor for now -- and wow, what is this covering?" Myranda replied, but as her fingers touched the soft carpet below her, she lost focus entirely and ran her hand over the fluffy fibers with curiosity.
"Carpet? It's made down in the textile tunnels - l think its leftover pelts from other projects that they stitch together. That's part of how it stays so warm in the upper levels. Everyone has this on their floors," Metas explained softly as he took a seat next to her, both of them leaning their backs against the wall for support.
"Wow, it's really nice...and it doesn't echo" Myranda mused out with amazement. She had never seen things so luxurious and comforting. Part of her was really jealous of her siblings now, but the logical part of her knew they hadn't kept her away - Silas had.
"Why does Silas hate you so much? I don't understand - he loves your sister, and you're now apart of his pack, so he shouldn't feel this way towards you, it's not just improper, it's confusing. It goes against our very nature," Metas asked, and smiled when she leaned into him to rest her head on his shoulder.
"My sister and I have always been very close. She put off everything for me until my parents died. When she felt I didn't need constant protection from them, she finally married him and moved up. The thing is...." she stopped and trailed off.
"What?" he inquired curiously.
"I'm..not sure if I should say, it's technically her business..." Myranda hesitated.
"You don't have to share," he offered softly.
"I should, though. It's actually important to you - it could change a lot of your decisions if you've made plans to try to limit the pain on my sister from hurting Silas," she said and kept her head firmly against his arm for comfort, now wrapping both of her arms around the one she was leaning on to get closer.
He smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying her company and contact.
"Silas isn't my sister's original mate... He's a moonlight mate. We don't talk about it - /ever/," she stressed to Metas the word 'ever' very clearly. "We seriously pretend it never happened and never bring it up, mention it, or remind her of it."
"Her original mate died in an accident down in the mining sector. He was being punished for talking back to your mother, actually -- even though he absolutely didn't. It was a long time ago, I barely remember it. My siblings are much older than I am, as I was not intended to be here, if you catch my drift," she continued.
"Anyway, she met Silas long after Veltar died. Luckily the two hadn't bonded, otherwise we are certain she would have died from a broken heart. Syrana met this self-centered asshole with a god-complex a mile wide, and somehow fell for him. He must have something more than I can see, because she sure loves the fucking fool," Myranda finished and turned her head to where her nose and face were pressing into the muscle of his bicep.
"That does change things....I'm glad you told me this, and I won't say anything about this to your sister, you have my word as your Alpha, and my promise as your mate," he replied and leaned his head down onto hers gently.
"--but Myranda, I don't know if you, or your siblings know this about mates entirely. Typically when mates meet, that's it. Unless they are rejected, a lot of the times, mates who are in love will die when the other does. It happens rarely - but if Veltar was killed, she would have at least been very sick. Something doesn't feel right about this," Metas let out as he thought about Myranda's words.
"When we're not in danger, let's speak about this at length. I'm quite concerned about this matter. He could still be alive, and Silas could be manipulating her...." he revealed.
"What? How?" she asked with bewilderment and shock.
"If Veltar is alive, and Silas has access to his blood, he can use that to trick her senses. He could be masking his own scent with Veltar's and passing it off as his own. Moonlight Mates don't fix a broken acceptance - and your sister seems too healthy for that," Metas said with concern.
"Well - this has all just become very different from what I was planning, so you read my mind. If he isn't her intended mate, then we need to expose that as soon as we can - but first, I want to find out the truth so we can find Veltar. If my assumptions are correct, they'll kill him if they think he is useless," Metas finished with a grim tone, and let out a soft 'hmm' as his brain wove the new intel into his already laid plans.
Much like everything else that looked shiny and good in the upper levels, what looked to be true were nothing but lies and veneers. A false face to ensure the rest of society that everything was okay, when really everything was burning in an unseen inferno.