by KC Kellersen
For two days we searched, or rather, aimlessly wandered around the territory, searching through houses and following trails. It was useless but I figured the Queen would expect it from us. Though, I doubt she will be appreciative when we tell her all her careful planning to obtain my mother has failed.
We left on the third morning at dawn. The first day of riding was just as quiet as the trip here, but we moved faster. There was no dread for the upcoming mission but still no one spoke, and we encountered no one on the road.
That night I laid on my cot, avoiding the dream that plagued me and let my mind drift. It dawned on me that we had not seen anyone. Not even merchants headed towards Ironridge, which there should have been. Almost as if they were warned that no one would be there. That thought led to a more hopeful one; How did all of Ironridge know we were coming? Perhaps there was another group out there, fighting against Lillian. Perhaps I wasn’t alone. Whoever it was started big with the rescue of an entire territory. The same hope from before swelled in me and I fell fast asleep.
I woke on the fourth morning from the same dream. Except on top of an aching chest, I was thoroughly irritated. If that was my new dream, I would never get peaceful sleep again. Perhaps seeing the girl again would ease the ache? I rubbed my chest and let my mind drift to my homecoming, maybe I would take the guys up on their advice. Go talk to the girl, since the last time hardly counted.
The amusement from the encounter flooded through me. She was a feisty little Kitten! Claws and all. I would have enjoyed carrying her back to her room, had she let me. Then I felt guilty, I shouldn’t have even considered enjoying her pain. Hopefully Irene wasn’t too hard on her in the last couple days. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing her covered in bruises, but I wanted to see her.
We hit the trail early that morning on an empty stomach. I was looking forward to going back to the castle for once, until I remembered the rogues. We were meant to be ambushed today, if my letter was received on time. Shit. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop it now. If I rode ahead to warn them, the sentries and the alphas would report my behavior back to the Queen. And while I normally spent a day out on missions longer than them, it wouldn’t fly on the wings of this failed mission.
Around mid-day, as we were about two hours ride from the castle, I heard the wolves approaching. I thought about giving everyone fair warning, but I hoped that Amos would notice we didn’t have any prisoners and they would leave without action. I was wrong.
I should have known Amos wouldn’t skip the chance to take out ten of the sentries. Snarls erupted as the rogues surrounded us. My party dismounted their horses ready to defend themselves. Once the horses were rider free, they bolted from us as pandemonium erupted. I watched the alphas closely. Without the ability to shift into their wolves, the rogues were faster and stronger. But I trained with the alphas, they were a force to be reckoned with even with limited abilities.
I joined in the fight, but it was more like a training session for me. They knew that I needed a few scratches and bruises like the others, but they were not to harm me or the alphas. Permanently at least. Amos’ and another wolf circled me. I smiled at them as they charged. When Amos went low for my legs, I jumped easily over his brown wolf. Just as the other brownish black wolf dove for me, I threw my body down to the ground below him jabbing his underbelly with my elbow as he flew over top of me.
I was distracted by these two when a third wolf surprised me and jumped on me from the side. When we landed with a hard thump, he tapped his head swiftly to my neck, as if to say, ‘I got you’. But I replied with a tap to his chest with my drawn sword. I drew the sword after his body collided with mine. I could have moved the sword easily and drove it through him. But I wouldn’t, these men were not my enemies but my allies. I used my legs and threw the wolf over my head and jumped to my feet.
If anyone looked too closely, which they wouldn’t, they would easily be able to tell it was staged. The guys always enjoyed trying to get a kill move on me, keyword try. I swiped and stabbed, jumped and tumbled avoiding the “kill shots” easily. We had done this too many times to count and they were predictable. Still, I enjoyed letting my muscles really work. Especially after the days of riding on the trail, stiff as board.
I felt Fynn pushing me to let him out, but I didn’t like doing that. He was better at making the fights look real, but I couldn’t let him out when the alphas were around. No matter how distracted they might seem, they would notice, and their pained looks hurt every time. Once Sarina commanded, they would forget the mission. But I would remember. I always remembered.
While I fought with the three wolves at once, I heard the very real screams of the sentries as they were killed. They may have extra strength, thanks to Sarina, but they were no match for the rogue warriors who trained their entire lives for these situations. Even more so lately, with war fast approaching. Each moan from the alphas drew my attention and caused me a knock, a swipe and even once a bite from Amos. I growled at him and he whimpered slightly but kept up the charade. It would add more credibility and it was essentially my fault so I couldn’t be mad, even if I wanted to.
When the last sentry fell, I nodded at Amos to stop the fight. He let out a short howl, and the wolves disappeared into the forest. When the alphas tried to follow after them, I called them back. They returned but they were not very happy about it. I noticed the guys all had varying degrees of lumps and scratches on them, but they were relatively unharmed as usual. I surveyed the bloody bodies around me. There were no wolves killed in the battle, but I know at least a few were injured greatly. Their wolves would heal them quickly, so I wasn’t too worried.
I sighed in relief now that it was over and started walking towards the castle. Without the horses, we would have to make the rest of the journey on foot. What should have been only two hours to the castle, was now going to take up closer to four. At least we made good time yesterday, the sun would still be shining when we arrived. Perhaps I would still have enough time to see the little Kitten.
When we entered the market, I made the first sentry I saw aware of the bodies on the road to Ironridge. He would make arrangements for them to be cleaned up. I could have left them there to the wildlife, but it seemed unnecessarily cruel. I led the alphas up to the castle with haste. Even though I was nervous, I wanted this next part to be over and done with. The desire to see Alina again pulsed through me.
When we walked up the castle steps, I heard moans of pain and cruel laughter coming from the throne room. And I knew, before I even opened the door, that I would find Irene beating on one of the servants. Oh Goddess, it could be Alina! I didn’t want to deal with Irene and her fucked up enjoyment of pain today, especially if Alina was in there. With a low growl in my throat I opened the door, the men stilled behind me.
Irene abruptly stopped laughing and dropped her head, “Hello Alphas.”
The anger that boiled through me was expected, but not Fynn’s. His anger doubled mine and I verbally snapped at Irene, wishing it was her neck. “Get the Queen, NOW!” She flinched at my tone and left the hall without another injury to my fierce Kitten.
I snapped my eyes to Alina, I wanted to see her but not like this. She was on her hands and knees still and she looked beaten but not broken. She struggled up to her feet, with her arm wrapped around her middle. She stood and looked me over, her eyes landing on each bruise, cut or bite that showed. All my rage dissolved.
How could she have this effect on me? Then I realized I didn’t care. When she met my eyes again, I was gone. Lost in her peaceful silvery depths, I wondered what she was thinking about as she stared back at me. I couldn’t form a single coherent thought long enough to say something to her. Anything.
I finally came back to myself, when one of the alphas behind me shuffled their weight. If they weren’t under the spell, they would probably have gotten a kick out of me and Alina having a staring contest. I motioned for the door with my eyes and she took the hint. She left the room q
uickly.
I wanted her with me. I wanted her to leave. Too many conflicting emotions. The only one that was clear, I didn’t want her here when Lillian found out about the failed mission. When she left the room, I motioned for the guys to enter the throne room. We took our normal stance up towards the throne in a straight line.
The alphas and I waited for Lillian. My rage was gone. The peace of Alina’s presence was gone. The only thing remaining was the pride of a successful mission. And the nerves of how Lillian would react. This was the first we have had to tell her that we completely failed her assignment. While I was wholly satisfied with how it all turned out, she was going to be royally pissed. I knew the guys were feeling something similar, but for a totally different reason.
When Sarina applied the spell, they wanted to obey Lillian. They wanted her assignments to succeed. When they couldn’t it was a disappointment to them. They’ve had minor setbacks in the past, none nearly as big as this... I heard Irene and Lillian come into the throne room. We didn’t turn around to look their way.
The Queen sat herself on the throne and Irene stayed propped up next to the door. I could hear her loud breaths from here. The tension in the room was so thick even Flynn was on edge. My body was taut, as I waited for her anger.
“Dale, tell me why you are here, and why there is no Luna of Ironridge as your prisoner?” Lillian’s sweet voice broke the quiet and it didn’t match the hatred radiating off of her.
“We visited Ironridge as requested. The entire village and packhouse was empty, my Queen,” Dale responded, in the same automatic tone. I felt pride expanding in my chest, my mother was safe. And not just her, the entire village was safe! I wished again that I knew how or why.
“What do you mean, empty?” No longer sweet, Lillian’s words turned cold. If she were standing, I could imagine her stamping her foot, like a petulant two-year-old.
“There were no humans or wolves anywhere in the vicinity,” Dale replied. “Ironridge has been deserted, my Queen.”
“Then do tell, why do you look like you’ve been mauled?” the Queen questioned.
“Rogue ambush, my Queen,” Dale answered simply.
The Queen sat still as a statue. I’m surprised her anger hadn’t resulted in her wolf surfacing for the first time in years! After a few moments of complete silence in the hall, Lillian finally spoke again.
“Oliver, full report! Don’t leave out any details,” Lillian commanded.
“Yes, my Queen. We left here six days ago, in route to Ironridge. We did not encounter any wolf-shifters or humans in the two-day journey. When we arrived, there was no warriors posted at the entrance of the pack lands. We were expecting opposition, but we received none. We made our way through the deserted village to the packhouse.
“When we still encountered no one, we decided to extend our search. For two days we searched the entire territory, still no one. Every house, stable, and camp completely empty. We could not determine where they had gone. We took two days to travel back here. When we were a few hours out we were attacked by a small army of rogues. We took care of them and returned here.”
I broke down the mission as I was expected to do. Trying to keep any emotion out of my words and my face was difficult today. I was too proud of what we had transpired.
“You are certain this is the true nature of your visit? You didn’t let the Luna escape simply because she is your mother?” she asked accusingly.
“No, my Queen.”
“Very well. Forget the mission and get out of my site!” She commanded. That would have been a strange request, if not for the spell from Sarina. The guys literally took every word she said to heart. They would have no memory of the last six days.
“Yes, my Queen,” all four of us said in unison. As we were walking from the hall, I heard her scream Irene’s name. We may have gotten off easy, but someone was going to pay for this. I only hope it doesn’t trickle down to the servants, and more specifically, Alina.
I led the way up to my unit, and the guys followed in a daze. All hope of seeing Alina on a normal circumstance went out the window when Lillian told the alphas to forget. It was going to be a long night for me, and a painful one for them.
Chapter 7
Alina’s POV
Seven days. It has been seven excruciating days since Irene took her first shot at me. Not all were as painful as the first day; A slap here, a shove there. Aside from the mission to Ironridge, I hadn’t gained a single bit of information! On top of all the bruises that covered almost every inch of my skin, I was physically exhausted. Each day I worked from sunup to well after sundown. I barely made it to the showers before falling into a deep sleep, though blacking out might be a better description. My body looked sullen, without eating even one proper meal a day I was thin. Too thin.
Today was another rough day with Irene. She was sadistically enjoying watching me clean the throne room from my hands and knees; As if this was her favorite past time. If my arms give way beneath me, I rewarded with a kick to the ribs. If I moaned in pain, I received another kick or even a punch to the back of the head. If it weren’t for the message from Liam that I received yesterday, I wouldn’t be here, and neither would Irene.
Safe. Thank you!
With three words my outlook on my time in hell was solidified. They were safe and I helped them do that. I would gladly put up with Irene for another two weeks if it meant I could possibly save more people. Even if I couldn’t save the alphas. I did this gladly, but that did not mean I enjoy it.
I moaned after a particular hard kick to the ribs. Irene’s cruel laugh filled the throne room. But her laugh died suddenly when the doors flew open. I sighed; do they always have to catch me like this? I didn’t enjoy Irene’s beatings, but I hated having an audience to my pain and weakness.
“Alphas,” Irene said meekly.
“Get the Queen. NOW!” Oliver bellowed at Irene. She scurried from the room quickly. I didn’t turn to her as she fled; I only had eyes for him. He was openly glaring at Irene. I wanted to sigh with relief and scream with satisfaction. I looked him over carefully as I stood. He was banged up and angry. Very, very angry. When I reached his eyes, they collided with mine. The intensity of his gaze held me captive, again. I really should quit falling into his icy stare like this. I tried to read his emotions but as the rage fell away his stare was blank, calm. I couldn’t tell if he was happy that his family was safe, or disappointed that they failed their mission.
Finally, his eyes flicked to the side, breaking the connection. It was enough for me to find my awareness. Irene was headed to get Lillian and I didn’t want to be anywhere in sight when that happened. I passed the four men on my way to door and I realized belatedly, I never even looked at the other men.
I walked, or rather limped, to the back of the throne room; hoping to secure my hiding spot. I already knew the mission was a failure, but I wanted to hear details on how it happened and how they were injured. When I rounded the corner, I saw Henry and Mary headed in my direction. Keeping my head down to avoid their pitiful stares, I continued on towards the servants quarters. After a few moments I turned back. When I was sure no one was about, I slid in between the window and the pillar; wincing as I brought my knees to my chest. The pain was excruciating.
Dale, Ryan and Cord had the most regretful looks on their faces. Irritation shot through me at the spell, that caused that misplaced loyalty. Oliver was speaking to Lillian and his face was completely blank of emotion, “… We were expecting opposition, but we received none. We made our way through the deserted village to the packhouse. When we still encountered no one, we decided to extend our search. For the next two days we searched the entire territory, still no one. Every house, stable, and camp completely empty. We could not determine where they had gone. We took two days to travel back here, where were attacked by a small army of rogues. We took care of them and returned here for new orders.”
“You are certain this is the true nature of your visit? You
didn’t let the Luna escape simply because she is your mother?” she accused. Does she think he can disobey her?
“No, my Queen,” he replied simply, the slight gleam in his eyes gave his emotions away. He was happy about the outcome! Perhaps there is more to him, just like I thought!
“Very well. Forget the mission and get out of my site!” She commanded.
“Yes, my Queen,” all four men said in unison.
I watched all four men leave the room. I briefly wondered about the rogues that ambushed the men but filed it for later. The Queen rose from her throne quickly and yelled “IRENE! Get Sarina in here now!” Irene left the room without a word. The Queen paced as she waited.
The pride in my chest was explosive. The feeling was just more fuel to my fire. More justification to endure anything Irene could dish out. Hearing the men say it was completely empty meant the entire territory of Ironridge was now openly opposing Lillian. I mulled over the possibilities of what this would mean when we finally made a move to stop her. Now I just needed to figure out how to remove the spell from the guys and we stood a fighting chance against her! The doors opened once more, distracting me from my thoughts, when Irene returned with Sarina.
“The alphas have failed! All of Ironridge was abandoned. Without Willow, I cannot find where the fourth Alpha is hiding!” Lillian raged, still pacing.
“Queen, two things if I may. One I believe you have a spy in the castle and two I think it is time to bring in the child she-wolf.” Sarina said. Shit. Is my cover blown? Fear froze me in my spot. I couldn’t have moved even if I wanted to. I needed to know more.
