This time Balin couldn't even hide his nervousness as he raised his sweaty palms to knock on Alpha Arshe's door.
Wiping both hands on his pants in fear the second he heard permission for him to enter.
Which he slowly did with his head already lowered and his gaze fixed more on the floor than on his new surroundings which happened to be Alpha Arshe's office.
"What happened?" Arshe asked the second Balin entered without beating around the bush.
The fact that something happened at the border coupled with the new member of his pack made him even more cautious than usual.
"It was a fire Alpha! We're yet to determine what caused it but I'm sure it had nothing to do with Tahra, the new girl!" Bali reported even as he felt a drop of heavy sweat slide down his face, which only made him more anxious considering the huge secret he was hiding.
"You stayed with her all through like you were supposed to?" Ahrse asked, setting stormy dark eyes on him, which made Balin immediately turn to stone.
He felt like one mistake was enough for Ahrse to find out that he hadn't been completely truthful.
Again! He had no idea what he ate and even before the alarm went off, he had been in the toilet trying to poop, something he failed miserably at before he finally succeeded hence the still burning sensation in his bum.
'If he finds out, getting demoted from Sergeant is the least of my worries!' Balin thought to himself as he vigorously nodded right before he lay with his full chest.
"Throughout! I had my eyes on her even when the incident happened, I still continued to watch her," Balin said, trying to hold Arshe's gaze even as he felt his heart thump hard enough in his chest for him to feel like he was on the edge of a heart attack.
"That's good! Still—" Arshe began to speak only to pause the second his phone beeped.
He immediately picked it up, and scrolled through it, with a frown on his face, one that quickly turned into a broad smirk, one that spelled doom for whosoever was on the other end.
Balin, with his bad conscience, was just wondering if the information Arshe just received was about him or whether or not he should prepare for his funeral when he saw Arshe turn to look at him, speaking to him in a severe tone.
"On second thoughts! Stop watching her! I'll do it myself," Arshe said to which Balin couldn't hide his surprise as he immediately nodded his head, the thought of asking Arshe 'why' not once popping into his mind.
"You're dismissed!" Arshe ordered and Balin immediately bowed to show his respects, hastening his steps as quickly as he could.
'I better fix my stomach! How can I be a good Sergeant if I'm spending half of my day stuck in the toilet!' Balin mused within himself, the second he got out rubbing his belly with a frown on his face as he realized that he suddenly had to go again.
Meanwhile, Arshe couldn't take his eyes off the message he had just gotten which happened to be from Alpha Zane of the Z territory.
"If anything happens to Tahra, I'll drag you in front of the high council myself!"
A message that instantly made Arshe chuckle the second he was sure that Balin was out the door.
"He just happens to send this the exact day something happens at the border?" Arshe mumbles to himself even as looks down at the message one more than with a smug look on his face.
'He's been here! I don't know how but I'm sure of it,' Arshe thought, thinking back to how sketchy Balin looked when he asked him if he had stayed with her through the day.
"That idiot! The only reason I promoted him was because I thought he did a pretty good job," Arshe said aloud right before he got to his feet, moving out from behind the table where he had been seated.
He threw his fingers against the table as he moved to sit right in the center of it, as he thought about Tahra, the last person he would have expected to be his mate.
'I wanted to leave her to Marina, but now I have got a taste!"
"I wonder what MATES taste like," he said to himself, licking his lips ever so slightly, in a way that looked so sexy and domineering that even Tahra would have been taken aback if she had seen it.
Arshe immediately picked up his keys and headed out of the office. It was no longer office hours and even if it was, being the boss has its perks.
Without glancing at anyone, even as they lowered their head to greet him, Zane walked to his car intending to pay Tahra a visit.
He was in an excited mood, one that could clearly be seen by the lengthened gait with which he walked.
But he had just gotten to his car when he heard a familiar voice, one that could only belong to his lover, Marina.
"Arshe! You're leaving so early. That's unlike you," he heard her say, even if he could hear the accusatory tone underneath, something he allowed considering her role in his life.
Moreover, he enjoyed it when she acted out So that he could always punish her later.
"I'm heading out! I'm going to see Tahra!" Arshe frankly told her without seeing the need to hide it.
At the mention of her name, Marina had to use every bit of energy to mask the instant anger she felt considering the fact that she was sure that Arshe was yet to reject her.
"That's good! You must have something important to tell her considering the time" Marina smoothly replied with a small smile on her face, one that looked icy cold, from which Arshe derived great pleasure to see.
"I just wanted to see her! I was curious to know whether or not she had fully rejected Zane,"
The warning bells going off in Marina's head were immense and if looks could kill, Tahra would have been dead.
A look Marina herself didn't know she gave off as she thought to herself.
'I'll kill her! If ever Arshe decides to accept her as his mate! She'll die a merciless death!'