Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
He let me trail off, even as I wanted to ramble for the next ten minutes to cover up my awkwardness at the request. And he promised a few minutes ago that he wouldn’t get mad, but taking a physical relationship off the table the same day I was half-naked under him and begging him to fill me up… Well, he might feel like I was a tease. Or someone who couldn’t make up her mind.
“Of course we can be friends,” he said with no tension at all, and I felt my shoulders relax, just like that.
“Thank you,” I whispered, suddenly without another thing to say.
By the time we left the atrium, I was emotionally wrung out, but happy all the same. I felt lighter, freer than I had in a long time. Since before Marcus, before the gathering. Gael led me with our hands linked, back through the twists and turns to the main area of the castle. I counted each one because I couldn’t wait to go back to that atrium and spend an afternoon just walking around, checking out all the different plants, and basking in the sun from the glass ceiling.
It would be a great place to hold a morning yoga class. So peaceful.
“There you two are. We’ve been looking for you. You didn’t take your phone after the challenge.” Shay elbowed Dirge, who held out the phone for Gael.
“What’s up?” he asked as he slid it back into his pocket.
“Results came back on Kane’s mother’s blood tests. It was confirmed,” Dirge said with a grim expression. “She was magically sedated and presumably killed by a magic user.”
“Holy shit,” I murmured, sharing a worried glance with Shay.
“Yeah, not great. We’re all gathering in Kane’s office to discuss next steps and go over the specifics.”
Gael looked down at me. “You up for that? If it’s too much, or you need to rest?-“
“I am not a fainting flower just because I’m pregnant, BD.” I used the nickname with relish, and for the first time, his lips quirked up into a smile when I said it. “But if I get tired or need a break, I’ll say so.” I gave him a smile so he’d know we were good.
“I can live with that,” he said, kissing me on top of the head. “But I’m not promising not to hover.”
Dirge snorted at that. “You wouldn’t be an expectant father if you did.”
A loud crash startled us all.
Dirge and Gael took off at a run, Shay and I hot on their heels. Another crash made me flinch as we reached the door to the office. Gael turned to protectively wrap himself around me, like a human shield. I could feel his heart pounding under my cheek.
Dirge and Shay barreled straight in, unafraid. When the crashes stopped abruptly, he lifted his head. “Stay here.”
I leaned against the wall as he darted into the office, but he was only gone for a moment.
“Come on, we’re clear.”
“What happened?” I asked as I walked in. The office looked like a tornado hit. Kane was in the corner, back facing us with his hands over his head, while Brielle stood at his side, a hand on his shoulder as she murmured soothing words, probably infusing him with her omega mojo. Shay and Reed were standing up overturned club chairs, much like the one that had gone flying through the door a few moments before. Dirge stood like a sentry, arms crossed as he faced the high alpha.
“Kane is having trouble processing the news about his parents’ killer,” Reed said casually from the seating area as he continued righting furniture. The chair wouldn’t stand straight, though, as one of the legs had splintered and hung from a sliver of wood. He lifted it and carried it past, out into the hallway.
“Yes, and I apologize. I shouldn’t have taken it out on the furniture.” Kane looked haggard when he turned around, a man who hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in some time.
“But it’s just furniture, and we’ve all been there,” Shay said, quiet concern lacing her voice as she continued picking up shards of wood.
“I’m glad, but next time, I’ll go for a run. I can’t afford to lose control like that, and I’m sorry.” He hung his head, looking defeated.
“If I found out one of my father’s long-term allies had paid for the hit that killed my parents, I’d want to smash some furniture too.” Dirge finally spoke up.
“What?” I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands.
“That’s not confirmed yet,” Reed said.
“Reed uncovered a paper trail proving that Alpha Varga deposited a hundred million dollars in a Swiss bank account known to be owned by the Drakenia guild ten days before it happened. That’s damning evidence,” Kane said by way of explanation.
Holy shit, these people had unreal resources. But to turn on an ally…
“So, he gets the notice about the great pack gathering, and then he’s trying to put someone else on the throne. But who? He hasn’t made a move yet, right?” I asked.
Brielle shrugged helplessly. “I don’t care why he did it. He killed them, even if he paid someone else to do it.”
“But why is important. If it’s a power grab, we’re not safe. If it’s a personal grudge, he might be content to let it die with my parents,” Kane argued.
“Once they stick a blade in your back, it’s best to assume they’re going to do it again. It’s wishful thinking to hope he won’t,” Dirge said.
“Spoken like an enforcer,” Lucien said from the door, sauntering in wearing a pinstriped suit. “But this is politics.” He looked around and frowned. “What the fuck happened to your office?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s under control.” Kane said, pressing his lips into a thin line. “What’s the word from the council?”
“I didn’t explicitly tell them what’s going on, but I put out some feelers. Spoke to Councilman Lug from the goblin court. It’s amazing that a man with no poker face holds such a high position. Council procedure won’t prosecute someone on a hit unless a signed contract is produced, and you know as well as I do that the Drakenia guild works on untraceable blood oaths. Probably for that exact reason,” he added under his breath.
“So we have no recourse with the council,” Gael said, shooting a worried look at Kane and angling himself in front of me in what was probably meant to be a subtle move, but was as obvious as the broad side of a barn. “But we could call a tribunal.”
Everyone around the room froze for a heartbeat, and then they were all talking at once.
“He’s too new as high alpha-his first move can’t be a disciplinary tribunal.” Reed’s argument was the most vehement. “He’ll spend his whole reign looking over his shoulder for retribution, and the Hungarian pack is well connected.”
“He can’t just let this go unchallenged. Taking the coward’s way and assassinating the high alpha isn’t only a strike against the royal family, it’s a strike against all wolfkind. Kosta was the strongest of all the packs, and one pack can’t unilaterally move to remove him from power,” Gael argued. “They didn’t challenge him to a fair fight. They slunk around in the night and used sedatives against his mate, and a paid assassin. You want to let that go?”
Kane held up both hands in a peace-making gesture. “I see both your points, but I have to side with Gael on this one. It’s no better to look weak and toothless than it is to look bloodthirsty and reckless.”
“We’re going to need witnesses to spread the word that it was a fair tribunal and not a witch hunt,” I offered. “That would help with the whole bloodthirsty thing. Surely people expect there to be retribution for the high alpha’s death. Maybe not reacting is what Varga’s after. Making Kane’s line look weak and leaving the throne vulnerable.”