Chapter 167
167 Chapter One Hundred Sixty Seven
Trevor stood behind the girl with a grin that announced his feeling of triumph over the royal. He’d only been trying to get the upper hand in the matter and ended up angering her. However, the junior hunter had not noticed the error in his approach to this situation and only continued to feel as though he was on top of the world.
Sandra noticed Katie was barely hanging on to her control, “Hey, Katie. I’ve wanted to race you again. However, you aren’t going to use your gift this time. I want to beat you fairly,” she intervened.
Katie knew her friend was trying to save the foolish boy and thankfully, she complied. She’d caused the royals quite a mess already with the incident with Crysta and Cole wasn’t exactly in the clear with what he’d done to the Mighty Warrior. If Katie were to lash out at this ignorant boy, there would be even more trouble for them.
“You know you will never be able to beat me. Sometimes I wonder why you even try,” the girl replied before rushing off with her friend. Jason turned to the boy eyeing him with all the malice he could muster.
“You’re lucky I have a benevolent Luna. Next time you try something like that, I will personally make sure that I put you in your place,” Jason threatened the boy.
“And you think the words of an alpha can scare me? You’re more ignorant than I thought,” the boy replied. He wasn’t wrong to feel that way... After all, if he was as powerful as his position dictated, then he wouldn’t have that much trouble with an ordinary alpha. Someone like Wyatt would steer clear of this boy.
“Watch yourself, hunter. You might just regret every word you hurl at us,” he commented before turning to follow the three girls. Lina had run off with the others, her love for a challenge in speed getting the best of her.
............
Cole found his way to the King’s office, doing his best to put on a brave face every time he bumped into someone or anytime, he was forced to strain his muscles. He was still sore from having to use his power to heal Frank and it was only going to get worse. Before leaving for school that day, the Mighty Warrior had pledged to take it easy on Katie. He didn’t want to lose the right to train her and Cole, deep down, had known he’d never meant to hurt her in the first place.
.....
He wasn’t worried about the training his mate was about to go through, but he was worried about everything else she’d told him about the dreams she’d been having. He needed to confirm his suspicions with the king before it was too late. He continued up the stairs until he came to the king’s office, a soundproof room that made it impossible for eavesdroppers to listen to anything but allowed those inside to hear what was happening outside.
This design was made in case the room was to ever be completely vacated and the king was inside without any protection. That way, there would never be anything that caught them off guard while keeping their presence in the room a secret as well. It was the perfect panic room (one might add...)
Cole barged into the room only to close the door, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to get the images from his mind. The king and queen making out in the office, their hands all over each other. The royal smirked, ‘The quirks of having a soundproof room...’ he thought to himself while broadcasting his thoughts to the king inside the room.
‘What did you see, Lycaon?’ his voice boomed in his head.
‘Don’t panic, your majesty. I didn’t see anything inappropriate. Otherwise, that would be a memory I’d beg you to take before Katie stumbled upon it,’ Cole replied with a chuckle. It was not unheard of for the king and queen to have fun in that room, but they could at least lock the door... The boy complained in his mind.
“Come in,” Queen Martha’s voice came through the speaker at the side of the door.
Cole slowly and reluctantly opened the door, letting his head through to scan the room. The king was seated at his chair with his head in his hands while the queen blushed couldn’t help but snicker at his embarrassment, “What do you want, Lycaon?”
“Probably tips on how to...”
“Get to the point, Lycaon. Before I lose my temper,” Davin growled, sensing Cole’s joke.
“Simmer down, King Davin. I do have something to tell you in regards to my mate. I think she might be in trouble,” Cole began, finally getting into the room and letting go of the heated moment he found the two enjoy. He silently wished no one ever walked in on him and Katie in such a situation. The outcome of such a situation was simply impossible for him to predict.
The reason for his interruption seemed to catch the couple’s attention, “What about Katie? What’s wrong with her? Did you mark her without permission? Did you yell at her? Did her wolf...”
“You can calm down now, your Highness,” Cole cut Queen Martha off, “Considering you would never be able to guess what happened to her even if I gave you a thousand tries.” Cole rubbed his temples as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table. The queen was seated in a chair beside the king, one that had only been recently moved to get her closer to him. The detail didn’t bother Cole although it did make the desk arrangement feel a little weird.
“Could you tell us everything already?” Davin almost begged him.
“Well, she’s been having dreams of an old... ‘acquaintance’ of hers,” he began.
“An odd way to put it. Katie knew everyone in Brigadia... Well, almost everyone. It was a small town. An acquaintance would be...”
“I see your point, your Highness, but that’s beside the point. She shouldn’t be having these dreams in the first place and now that she’s asked me about bites and their effects, I’m starting to suspect something,” Cole replied, cutting the Queen’s rambling off once again.
“What was she asking in particular? Better yet, who has she bitten? I hope she didn’t bite anyone...” Davin replied.
“I wish that was the case, but she did bite someone,” Cole replied. The king sighed and placed his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. The queen was equally shocked by this revelation, however, her reaction seemed held back.
“Who did she bite?” the queen asked.
“She bit Kyle. During the time that she was trying to keep him from being captured by the rogues, she bit him to keep him within her possession,” Cole replied.
The king spoke from within his palms, “And considering she wasn’t intending to kill him, the bite never poisoned him. Instead, she formed a bond with the rogue...” the king began to voice Cole’s suspicions.
“I told her to wait so that I could confirm my suspicions on the matter. Do you think that mutt will become Katie’s beta alpha?” Cole asked.
“I don’t doubt it. Did Katie tell you the colour of the Kyle’s eyes?” Davin asked.
“She said the boy’s eyes were red. She seems to know what she did to the boy, however, I doubt she knows everything about what happens to the first two bites that a royal takes,” he replied.
“Yeah, that’s true. We can have her kill him the next time she gets a vision,” king Davin replied.
Cole snapped at the man, surprised by his sudden suggestion, but even more surprised by the calmness with which he said it. The king had his hands drop to the table before continuing with what he was saying.
“Katie has been trained to deal with this sort of thing. All she has to do is tell the beta alpha to stop breathing and he won’t breathe until he is dead and gone,” Davin continued.
“Isn’t that a bit too drastic? That boy has information that we can use. Katie can have him obey her as a spy within the rogues.
“That is taking too much of a risk. You know the rules, Cole. The king and queen are supposed to have only two beta alphas in total and that’s the end of that. You already chose the alphas that you will take on as your betas. Katie doesn’t get to make such a choice. In that regard, Kyle must die,” Davin was firm in his opinion on the matter.
“What if Katie doesn’t agree to that solution? You know how the bond between a royal and a beta alpha is... The Beta Alpha will never disobey them and the alpha, in turn, will feel all their pain, all their grief, their happiness. They lose all malice towards one another and gain a different kind of understanding concerning master and servant. They cannot betray each other or rather, the beta alpha cannot betray his alpha,” Cole clarified.
“Has Katie told you she bore no hatred towards the person that killed a rogue she’d only just saved,” the Queen asked.
“She wouldn’t answer me when I asked. That pretty much told me everything I needed to know,” Cole replied. The king was rubbing his temples in deep thought as he processed this information.
“If Kyle gets to live and the hunters find out that he’s a beta alpha, I don’t know what they will do. The rules that bind the royals and the power they hold were drafted a long time ago and for a reason. Two beta alphas per empire, that’s how it’s always been...”
“We’ll find a way, but killing Kyle when he could help us from the inside is not a compromise I will be making,” Cole replied, making his point perfectly clear. The argument ended with him standing in challenge to the King, an action he regretted as his head immediately began pounding with a nearly unbearable headache.