Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Malakai
The atmosphere in town is tense as I approach from the edge of the dark forest, casting my gaze around the rundown, ramshackle buildings.
The king’s guards are everywhere today, turning the air bleaker than usual. My hackles rise on end.
What has brought the king’s men all the way out here? We’re miles away from the capital.
Townsfolk gather in groups, and I hear whispers of “Omega” and “Escaped” on the wind.
I stop in the main thoroughfare of the town, disrupting the flow of pedestrian traffic.
There are a few disgruntled grunts from passersby, but being Alpha, the other townsfolk merely move around me instead of stopping to hurl insults.
I’m a head taller than most, since the majority here are of Beta designation.
My mind trails back to the whispers.
What did they say about an Escaped Omega?
I eyeball a pair of guards suspiciously as they move about the market as if they own the place, and I can’t help it then.
A growl escapes me.
I always hated those bastards. They think they can boss people around because they get certain privileges, like three meals a day at the king’s barracks, and access to a court physician.
But I’m not here for a fight today. I’m just here for some supplies. And to purchase our new guest some clothes that actually fit her.
She is drowning in Wren’s clothes now, and she looks ridiculous. Still, a part of me wishes it were my clothes she were drowning in.
My scent.
However, when one of the king’s guards snatches the pot out of a beggar boy’s hands, taking the alms he finds inside for himself, I finally snap.
They’ve gone too far now.
“Hey! Give that gold back to that kid.”
The slimy guard peers up at me, and his snicker makes my blood boil.
How dare he... It’s all just a game to him, to see all these people suffering. And to add to that suffering.
The Alpha marches up to me, and I square my shoulders, looking him right in the eye. “You got a problem, boy?”
I hike up a brow. Boy? He has to be kidding. I’m older than he is. I would put him at around twenty-one, twenty-two.
If only he knew that I once passed up a position in the king’s royal guard. I had actually managed to work my way up the ranks, too, due to my stealth and stamina. But I gave it all up for a life in the sticks.
My brothers and I decided to leave the capital when the hustle and bustle all got too much.
We found our own kingdom in the end. Now, the only Alpha I take orders from is my older brother, Gage.
For the most part.
I refuse to bow down to a corrupt king. People are suffering all across the country, but the king cares far more for his own riches than for the needs of his subjects.
Still, I didn’t expect to see so many guards today. While the town may be miles from the cabin, it is still off-grid. Still off the map.
So... why are they here?
Still, I focus on the piece of shit before me as I don’t dare back down. He will give that child his money back if it kills me.
He doesn’t intimidate me. I could have been him in another life.
No, scratch that. I would have been his superior.
The guard shoves me this time, but I barely budge, standing my ground. “Hey, I asked you a question, boy. Have you got a problem with my treatment of the little people?”
His fellow guards laugh behind him, and I laugh with them, throwing my head back towards the sky.
Now I drop my pack, rolling up my sleeves. People freeze as soon as the storm cloud gathers. Some run inside buildings.
But most stay to watch.
Someone is finally taking a stand against these shitheads, and that someone is about to become me.
So, I hope the townsfolk enjoy the show.
“Oh, you’re going to regret that, pig.”
The Alpha grinds his teeth at the insult. “Who’re you calling a p—?"
He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as my fist collides with his nose. Now, I send him and his blood flying into a merchant’s stall, one that just happens to be filled with glass vials and tinctures for medicines.
The merchant cries out, “Hey!”
I hold up a hand to him. “No worries. The crown will pay it all back, won’t you?”
I scowl at the two remaining guards who are backing away. That’s what I thought. Shit scared now, I bet.
A growl escapes me next, and they stare at me white-faced, scrambling away. They don’t even help their buddy who crashed into the merchant’s stall.
When all three guards have finally cleared off, the people applaud me. Yet I make a “tch” sound, throwing down several coins onto the merchant’s stall. I pay for a few vials to help with the cost of repairs, too. Then I find the beggar boy.
I give him back his pot that the guards took from him, and his eyes widen when I throw down a few of my own coins. “Wow. Thank you, sir!”
I smile, ruffling his messy brown head. “You’re welcome. Spend it wisely.”
He grins, running off. “I will!”
I smile as he moves off to his mother. She sees me, then blows a kiss, and I commence with my shopping. After I gather the supplies we need, along with a couple of women’s blouses, pants, and shoes for our new guest, I approach a noticeboard.
A cluster of townspeople hovers before the wanted poster that the guards have tacked there, and when they see me, they move aside.
I finally spy the face gazing back at me from the poster.
My heart cinches tight. There’s no missing those big, violet eyes, and that white, silvery hair. Don’t forget the luscious red lips, too.
I knew it.
So, she is on the run. And from the king, too, of all people.
What the hell did she do to warrant such a nationwide hunt? And she’s not worth a small price, either.
She could make any of these people rich in a heartbeat, and a cold shiver shoots up and down my spine.
“They say she stabbed ten guards,” someone utters beside me.
Ten guards. I could believe that, too. I’ve seen how she fights, how she moves her feet.
Not only did she kill ten guards, but she’s worth ten thousand gold pieces. Not only does she have blood on her hands, but she also has a massive target on her head.
People will be keeping their eyes out for her for sure now.
Now I rip the poster off the wall, tearing off several others as I stuff them inside my coat pockets. People gasp and whisper, but after I give them all an incendiary look, they stop, peering the other way.
Now, I march back home.
Well, well… It seems my brothers and I really are harboring a fugitive, after all.
One who is worth ten thousand gold pieces.