Page 33

Cain’s POV

I no longer think anything will break this stinky, Unwanted she-wolf, but I am curious about Asher’s plan. I have no idea what her tactics are like, because we never got anyone back who had been captured by her unit.

I am entranced by Asher’s whole demeanor—changing the moment she spotted this captive. I notice her nose flares for a second time. She straightens up.

“We captured her baby, Alpha, just like you asked.”

We never bluff like that without a real reason, and a good backup story . Why would Ash act like—

“My baby?” Unwanted whimpers for the first time, shooting her head from me to Asher and again, finally frightened for real, “No, please, no, not my baby, please!”

That’s a pleasant surprise.

I look at Asher. She notices Unwanted hands are nailed down to the chair with knives. She lightly touches one of them, then bows slightly and turns around.

‘ It was a wild guess, I thought I smelled breast milk on her, ’ she mind-links me by herself for the second time today, this time on purpose, while grabbing her backpack and leaving my office.

I look down at the wailing woman. I smelled her before too and didn’t catch that, but I guess her breasts must have started leaking after all these hours with me, without a single feeding session .

‘ Maybe start looking for that baby. It has to be crying at this point, ’ I mind-link my still-stunned Beta, while I put the sharp point of my knife to the incoherently mumbling woman’s forehead.

‘ And what if it is not crying, Alpha? ’ he asks skeptically.

‘ That would mean someone else is taking care of it and our conscience is clear. ’

‘Do we have a conscience, Alpha? ’

I shoot him a death stare. It is just an innocent baby for fuck’s sake.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you everything!” The woman can’t stand the silence while we are clearly communicating in my head.

If I had known it could be this easy, I would have saved one crispy white shirt and at least a couple of hours.

By the time I’m done pulling everything out of the Unwanted, her baby is still out of our radar. I don’t give a fuck about her, but the baby? It deserves a chance.

“We never had your child,” I cross my arms, still holding a knife in one hand.

A painful sob escapes her mouth, and she shuts her eyes tightly.

“I’m going to kill you either way at some point, but you have a choice to tell us where he is so we could help him. Or her. Is it a boy or a girl?”

She shakes her head with a whimper.

“Last chance, you either tell me so I can send a warrior to get the baby and bring it to you for a feeding—or I’m assuming you left it with someone safely and we stop looking for it completely.”

She opens her eyes and fails to look at me defiantly.

I raise my brows.

Okay, if the baby will die because it’s not with someone else, it’s on her now .

I slit her throat without a second thought, at the same time the doors slam open.

I look up. It’s my father in his usual Rogue King attire. A more elaborate version of my warrior gear—with a much longer cape; made of the fur from three mothers of his other children, tinted red with their blood, and no weapon attached to his holster chest-crossing belts.

My Beta trails after him with an apologetic look.

“Oh, I missed all the fun?” Father says with a smile I hate.

“It wasn’t fun.” Not in his sense of humor at least, “She just said everything after my… after one of my officers bluffed that we had her baby.”

He steps to the back of Unwanted with a questioning look.

“Breastmilk.” I lean on my desk, with the intention of mind-linking Hank to clean up all the blood and take care of the body…

‘ Hey, Hank, come to— '

My father slips his hand into the front of the dead Unwanted’s shirt to cup her breast, and my mind goes blank and cuts the link.

“Engorged, mmm,” he groans and dips down, tearing first the shirt’s fabric, and then the bra.

What the fuck? Does he…? He does! He wants to suck breast milk out of a blood-covered dirty dead body… Ugh.

He is doing it!

Oh, no, I’m out. Atlas better be close to finding that ancient scroll, because I’m not sure how much more fucked up shit like that I can take.

I pass the gross scene and take off as quickly as possible, without drawing my father’s attention. Beta flanks me with wide eyes.

“It was fucked up, right? Or is it just me?” I ask him, when we are no longer within the King’s hearing distance.

Beta looks at me weirdly, like he was concerned I had to ask.

“I mean… I’ m still considering throwing up,” he says.

I shake my head in disbelief. I always knew my father is some next level of fucked up, and an apple doesn’t fall far from a tree, but sucking milk out of a dead tit is just… fuck. It was gross.

“Alpha, we need to—”

“I know, and quicker than we thought.”

I try to connect with my Gamma, but he must still be out in the enemy’s territory and way too far away, because I can’t feel him at all.

We reach the dining hall. The doors are open wide for lunchtime and full of chatting people; but my heart drops when I see Claudia sitting alone, poking her food with a fork and bored face. Asher is absent. Did she change her mind and go back to her parents?

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Hm?” I look back at my Beta, “No, I don’t have an appetite after… you know.”

“After the King sucked dead tit?” He chuckles, and I give him a death stare before turning on my heel.

‘Ash?’

‘In our room.’ She mind-links back immediately and I’m fucking relieved.

I don’t know why.

I’m still mad at her for telling me I’m not good enough for her. But I guess I feel like if she left now, it would be like being rejected a second time the same day.

I wonder, on the way to her, why did she come back so quickly ? It’s barely been a few hours. I mean, treaty-wise, she could have tried to stay there for a few years—until my father would demand the promised heir from us.

To be honest, I wanted her to realize someday she wants to come back to me , but this quickly? Suspicious. Not after the mental breakdown she had last night. Well, this morning, actually.

Does she even want to be here? Or did someone make her?

I could swear I saw the relief on her father's face when I implied I was leaving her, without any consequences for the treaty… so it’s doubtful he would make her. But he did give her up in the first place, so maybe she is just following some plan. I mean, it would be suspicious if they didn’t have some secret agenda, besides the obvious pros of the agreement.

I reach my bedroom door at the same time as a panting male servant.

“What now?” I ask impatiently.

There is a trail of clothes leading from the bed to the wide-open balcony. Asher is standing there in just her panties. Thank God it is made of stone, because no matter how angry I am with her, something tells me I would go feral with jealousy if anyone outside could see her full and perky breasts right now.

I slam the bedroom doors after me, and pick up my favorite leather jacket from the floor.

Asher doesn’t look in my direction. She just chills, arms resting on the railing, ass cheeks perked up. But she’s a werewolf and knows I’m here. She doesn’t even flinch when I join her outside and throw the jacket on her naked arms, while I still have some restraint in me. That butt, oh, I wish I could—

“Go on, scream at me. I deserve it,” she says, and I’m surprised to hear some self-loathing in her tone.

I cross my arms and lean on the doorframe—pondering on all the times my father remained silent and how much more terrifying it was than screaming. Maybe saying nothing would bring better results here, too? Either way, I don’t have time for it now.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” I ask with a bored, and unimpressed expression.

She shakes her head lightly, straightens up, and turns to face me .

“You better not leave me ever again, because I will always find a way and come back to you,” she says with conviction, looking straight into my eyes.

What the fuck? That’s the most… romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. What am I supposed to say to that?!

“I… I need to go. They informed me that some girl with an infant came for help, and they need my judgment.”

“What about the King?” she asks, crossing her arms like I do.

I can see she holds back more questions about his duties, but probably knows her place by now. You do not question your Alpha or King.

“I was informed she’s wearing jeans,” I say and smack my lips. I know my beta already told her about my father’s particular traditions.

She cringes at the realization.

I sigh and turn around, ready to leave.

“Do you need someone to take care of the pup while you talk with the mom?” She reenters the room after me.

“What do you mean? We can talk in front of the baby.”

Am I that hideous to her? Do I look like someone who eats babies or something?

“Don’t you help young mothers with childcare?” she asks, more confused than I am.

I realize I might know quite a lot about her Kingdom’s habits—with the fact that mine is made out of her ex-subjects—but she never had any source of material to learn about my Kingdom. Especially since I killed her double agent best friend. I decide to explain a little bit.

“We help with house chores like cooking, laundry, and stuff, but we let mothers’ bond with their pups as much as they want. Plus, we don’t typically have Lunas take care of pack nurseries, like your packs do, because we kill them after their first pup is born—so this approach makes more sense for us. ”

She looks at me blankly from the moment I mentioned killing the Lunas.

“I mean, we used to do that, not anymore, of course,” I chuckle, reaching the door.

“Someone will have to use condoms for the rest of his life,” she whispers, with a way too serious face.

I laugh again.

“Relax, my mom is still alive. She lives near the Unwanted territory, actually,” I lie before I can stop myself.

“But she was never a true Luna, was she?” Asher says pointedly, with raised brows. “Go, I know you have to. Kingdom always comes first.”

I need to talk to her, but she is right. Kingdom always comes first when you are who we are.

“Technically speaking, your parents have a right to do that, and we both know it,” I say to the seventeen-year-old girl, while sitting on my throne in a meeting hall that’s a huge high-ceiling room with lots of space. One throne, a long carpet in the middle, a few floor-to-ceiling bookcases on one side, and a few display cabinets in front of impressive windows on the other.

The girl stands before me, fidgeting with her hands, while her adorable six-month-old baby sleeps on my lap.

Asher would have a heart attack if she saw me like that, I smile at this thought.

“But,” I continue, “It was, beyond a doubt, a dick move, don’t you think?”

The girl cracks a smile, “Yes, Alpha, definitely a dick move.”

“I grant you a stay here as long as you need.”

She breathes out with relief, “Oh, thank you, Alpha! ”

“I’ll have to transfer all your privileges later in my office, but in the meantime, just tell me if you need any formula.”

“I’m breastfeeding.”

I try not to cringe at the still-fresh memory of my father's mouth around the dead Unwanted’s nipple.

“Great, lactation consultant then? Or diapers?”

She leaves the meeting hall ten minutes later with her still sleeping baby, after I remind her she should wear dresses in the castle. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how she exclaimed, with a terrified expression, “Oh, fuck! The King!” at that.

The unwritten no-pants-at-the-castle rule known by all women in the Kingdom, is just one of the bazillion reasons I have to kill his immortal ass sooner than later.

The guy makes me look like a saint in comparison, and we can’t have that.

“Alpha, do we have more meetings?” asks the same servant who came for me earlier.

“Yup, a private one,” as soon as I say it, he’s out the door, nowhere to be seen, as expected.

I want and need to talk to and see my wife, but I mind-link Beta to come and discuss Gamma's mission instead. We need to find a way to help Atlas speed it up without my father knowing.

The doors open finally, and I look up to see Asher striding straight to me in a long, white summer dress and black booties.

“Oh, it’s you,” I say with unplanned disappointment, looking back at the closed doors behind her. I really need to start brainstorming with my Beta.

She turns her head to the side and closes her eyes shut, visibly distressed. Shit. I didn’t mean…

“I swear if you start crying again…” I stand up and take a step toward her, wondering again why she came back so early.

“I never used to cry, you know,” she admits bitterly, “It’s embarrassing.”

I look at her, taken aback.

It’s not embarrassing. It’s just sad. I hate seeing her like that. I can’t stand it. I don’t know how to help her. Plus, the way she—the strongest woman I know—is so vulnerable standing before me, somehow makes my dick painfully hard.

“I’m sorry, it’s all very overwhelming,” she adds, aggressively wiping a single tear from her cheek.

“I’m in it too,” I remind her calmly.

“Yeah, but your life didn’t change that much, did it?” Ash says with crossed arms and a very feisty look, but she still sounds broken.

I did learn I can fucking fall in love with someone who doesn’t even like me back, but hey, I won’t tell her that, will I? It was one thing to say all those words while we were having fun in her parents' territory. And completely different to say it to someone who, after all that, still thinks she is better than you and that you don’t deserve them.

It fucking hurts.

“But my life?” she continues, “Mine changed drastically. I was supposed to be the next Alpha of all Alphas. The King. And now I’m married to someone who is supposed to have his version of my dream. While I had to give up mine and I don’t even get to be a fucking Luna. My social status changed, my duties changed, evaporated even, I had to move… and it’s not just a different pack, it's a completely different Kingdom. One I used to hate. Did you notice how my cousin called me the Rogue Slayer? Do you know why? We kept a head count. I’m so high above everyone else, no one ever has a chance to beat it. And I’m trying to be a Luna to your people now? After I killed so many of them? The hypocrisy! I’m… I’m overwhelmed and fuck it; I have a right to be vulnerable sometimes in my own space.”

I sigh and take her hand into mine, just to put it on my hard dick. Her brows shoot up .

“You should know, I can barely concentrate on the things you say when you look broken like this—”

There’s a creak of the doors.

“Do you want me to come back later, Alpha?” my beta asks with a smirk.

“No, she was just leaving,” I say, looking straight into my wife's eyes.

Asher stares back at me with disappointment and a hint of hurt, pulling her hand out of my grip.

She starts leaving toward the exit with her head held high, and it dawns on me what she meant by a right to be vulnerable in her own space. I am her own space . She’s not planning to show that side of her to anyone else.

I know what kind of prioritizing I have to make here. Kingdom over her. But it’s the first time in my life I feel guilty about my choice, even if it’s right.

I slide my hand over my face with a grunt.

“I do want to talk to you, I need to know why you are even here, but right now—” I call after her, but she slams the door. “Did she just fucking walk out on me?!”

I turn around and roar with frustration.

“So, what are we doing with Atlas’s situation? Are you still unable to reach him, Alpha?” Beta asks, ignoring my outburst as he should.

‘ Gamma, I need a —’ I try to get a report from Atlas again, but I’m immediately interrupted by a burst of strong emotions coming to me in his tether.

‘ Alpha! Oh my God, finally. I’m under attack!’

‘ And? ’ I’m asking impatiently, and a little bit angry he even bothers me with something like that. I start looking at the report Beta brought with him.

‘ I have it! ’ Atlas almost screams in my head, grabbing my attention again.

‘ The scroll? ’ I stop in my tracks. ‘ Where are you?’

‘ A Blood River.’

I gesture for my beta and we run out of the hall, not bothering to mind-link Atlas with more questions. He was clearly distracted, probably ambushed by… by whom?

I’m starting to doubt which part of the river he meant.

I try to localize Atlas by pulling at our connection, but it is almost impossible with a pack as huge as mine—until I purposely cut everyone else off.

“Atlas is in trouble. A Blood River. He has the scroll,” I say to Beta, while running out of the castle toward the direction I’m feeling.

He throws me my sword. Thank God, I missed it. The one Ash gave me at Gregory’s birthday was cool, but it was just not the same as the one that has spilled the blood of all my enemies, lovers, and family.

We run through the forest as fast as we can, my Beta changing into his wolf with frustration. He doesn’t outrun me by much either way, so I don’t bother. I’d rather have my sword.

When we come to the part of the Blood River where I could feel Atlas’ presence as his Alpha, I finally see what the problem is.

His tattoo-covered, huge naked body, is half-emerged in water. One hand above his head holding the scroll, I assume, the other one is his only weapon against five feral-looking werewolves in their beast forms.

Let the fun begin.

“Go take it to our other study, take a picture, rewrite it somewhere, or memorize it, whatever it takes; but that breaking down excuse of paper can’t be our only copy,” I order my blood-covered Beta and Gamma when we start reaching the Castle grounds. “And take my sword, too.”

I can’t wait to work on deciphering the scroll that is finally in our hands, after years of everyone telling me it’s just a fairytale for mini wolves.

But I’m planning to find Asher first.

I consider mind-linking her to ask where she is, but that’s when something unnaturally pink grabs my attention from the direction of the fighting pit.