Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Iran as fast as I could through the kingdom, catching the eye of pack members.
My duty was to tell Dad and the other high-ranking Alphas that the vampire Queen was coming to the kingdom to take her chosen mate. I couldn’t let her take him away from me. She would torture him again and again, deepening his wound, until Torin completely broke.
My legs moved faster now, but my breath couldn’t keep up.
Dad’s words rang in my mind. When Dad had found Torin in the bedchamber, he’d asked Dad to kill him.
Sharp pain cut at the side of my stomach, and I halted in my tracks, breathless.
I slowed to a walk to think through what I would say to the werewolves.
I couldn’t hide such important information and risk the entire kingdom and its people for selfish reasons. But my heart ached just thinking about how the Alphas and the King would react to the news.
Would they want to hand over Torin to the Queen in exchange for a peace treaty to avoid confrontation? Or would they order him to leave the kingdom?
Although the kingdom now allowed Torin to shift into his vampire on its territory, the stigma of his vampire side couldn’t be erased so easily—just with one favorable vote by the Alphas.
I shook my head in front of the boardroom door. If it wasn’t the werewolves who hurt Torin, it would be the vampire Queen. I placed my hand over my heart, ordering it to slow its pounding.
I wouldn’t be able to protect Torin, would I? No matter what I did, another danger lurked, threatening to break Torin.
Sweat beads formed on my temples. My breathing normalized, but my body was drained of energy. I felt lightheaded, and I only wanted to lie in my bed.
With shaky hands, I pushed the door open and scanned the room. All the Alphas, Dad, and Hayden were in attendance. Their expectant gazes aimed at me.
They had made a seat for Hayden next to Dad. On the other side of the King, Torin sat, hands under the table, eyes set intently on me, scrutinizing me.
“Did you call for another meeting, Princess Breanna?” Mark broke the silence with his mocking voice.
I wanted to wipe off his satisfied smirk.
“We were told only one vampire got on our territory. The other warriors did a thorough search and found no other. So what is this emergency meeting now all about?”
I ground my teeth and held my breath until I was safe not to curse him out. I walked to Dad’s side, between him and Hayden, and looked Mark straight in the eye.
I had a feeling Mark would use my words to eliminate Torin, but I had to share the news.
“The vampire is the Queen’s spy. He was here to collect information on Alpha Torin. She must have been planning something. Now that the spy won’t return to her castle, she will be coming to us instead. To take Torin with her.”
My throat grew dry, and I swallowed hard—it was like eating cotton balls. I drew in a deep breath and braced myself.
A low growl echoed in the boardroom, and I snapped my gaze to Torin. His face twisted in agony and anger. His nostrils flared, and his lips pressed together.
If the Alphas knew I was Torin’s mate, the situation would escalate quickly. I kept my distance from him.
“With all due respect, my King, I would like to request Alpha Torin be removed from the kingdom. No Torin, no vampire Queen. We have a chance that she’ll change her route and not come here,” Mark said.
“You want to abandon one of our men, Alpha Mark?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Sacrifice one to save many, Princess. You should know this principle as you are the next Queen,” he said.
My blood boiled in my veins.
As Alpha Henry tapped his fingers on the table, time seemed to slow while the silence stretched in the boardroom.
“Or we can hide Alpha Torin somewhere—”
“And then what? Fight the vampire Queen or try to convince her Torin got lost.”
Mark’s sarcasm rubbed me the wrong way.
Hayden leaned in, elbows digging into the table.
“This is not the time to attack each other. We must be united more than ever, especially since the dark witch’s aftermath weakened us.
” He paused, and our gazes met. “We’ll protect Alpha Torin because he’s one of our own and fight the Queen.
That’s it. We don’t shy away from a battle. ”
Hayden’s eyes softened as he gazed at me, and my insides warmed. I smiled at him.
My dad’s chair creaked as he adjusted his position. “We all witnessed Torin’s power against the hellhound beasts. We can’t let him be taken by Victoria as her weapon,” he said. “We won’t let one of our loyal Alphas be taken on principle.”
Mark opened his mouth again, probably to argue, but the King slammed his hand on the table. His eyes flashed his wolf’s, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Enough. We have a few weeks before the vampire Queen shows up. We’ll be better prepared by then. Alpha Torin is still an Alpha in the kingdom. He stays,” Dad said with that voice reserved for his Alphas, and silence fell in the room.
My body chose this moment to remind me I needed to go to bed. I swayed, and a strong hand on my waist steadied me.
“Sweetheart?” Worry laced Hayden’s voice.
Everything had happened so fast since my arrival in the kingdom, and my body needed to rest as it could not withstand the stress.
“Anna?” Dad stood next to me immediately. “Are you feeling sick?”
I gazed at Torin, and his eyes flashed crimson. He must have been suppressing his vampire so as not to lash out at Hayden, who still held me. I took a step back and disconnected from my bodyguard’s touch.
The last thing I wanted was a fight between my two mates, bringing more instability in the werewolf kingdom.
“I just need a nap. I’ll be in my room,” I said and strode out of the boardroom.
Hayden must have attempted to follow me, but my dad said, “She’ll be okay, Hayden. She’s been handling a lot of things. Anna is strong.”
I headed out of hearing distance and climbed the stairs to my bedroom.
I clicked the lock from the inside of my room and walked to the shelf where my favorite child fairy tale sat.
Next to it sat my magic book, just as Torin had promised.
I heaved a breath and then went to bed, letting my body flop like a sack of potatoes.
Fighting my droopy eyelids, I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket and texted Lucy about her mate being captured by the werewolves in Los Angeles.
At first her texts were short and snappy, but once I told her the vampire spy's information about her mark on her left breast, Lucy responded that she was on her way from Seattle and would text me when she had booked her flight.
I tossed the phone next to me on the bed.
As soon as I closed my eyes, darkness surrounded me. My mind quieted down, and I surrendered to slumber.
The touch of something soft on my face stirred me out of sleep. I turned on my side, my body still feeling heavy and tired. Too tired to open my eyes to check on my mate. The sparks exploding under someone’s fingers on my cheek signaled that one of my mates had invaded my space and was touching me.
I didn’t have to open my eyes to know it was Torin. He didn’t knock.
The touch disappeared, and after a moment, I couldn’t hear any movements in my room. The silence was so loud that it jolted me out of sleep completely, and I turned on my back, opening my eyes.
I was alone.
I sat up and supported myself on my elbows. A blanket covered my body up to my waist. I smiled. I couldn’t avoid Torin forever, but first, I had to talk to Dad, who had a lot of explaining to do. I suspected he hid something about my heritage, and I was set on finding out what it was.
I grabbed my phone and checked Lucy's messages. Her flight was scheduled to land here late in the evening. Remembering my promise to the vampire spy, I swung my legs over, tossing the blanket to the side of my bed.
I also had to let Dad know I planned on bringing Lucy to the dungeons to say goodbye to her mate. The idea wouldn’t go well with the King and the Alphas. I had to get Dad’s approval to drive in with a vampire in my car on our territory.
I climbed the stairs and walked the hallway with the only bedchamber. As I neared the door, Mom’s shaky voice was loud enough for me to detect.
“You better tell her about her mother, Brendan. You don’t know when she’ll want to leave the kingdom again. Trust her that she’ll make the right decision.”
I gulped air and held my breath. My blood rushed to my head, and I pushed the door with extra force. I stomped inside my parents’ bedchamber to find them facing each other. Mom wrapped her arms around her torso while Dad had one hand on his head, probably running his fingers through his hair.
I halted a distance away from them.
“Let’s hear it,” I said with a clenched jaw.
Now was as good a time as ever.
The King’s eyes widened, and he blinked repeatedly. Mom let out a heavy sigh and shook her head.
She walked up to me. “Honey, it’s your dad’s story to tell. But after you talk to him, come find me.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, not trusting my voice wouldn’t break.
Mom walked out, the door slamming behind her. The feeling was mutual—Dad was in the hot seat now.
“Sit down, Anna,” Dad sat and pointed to the bed.
He sat at the edge and patted the spot next to him.
“I’d rather stand.” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.
“Your biological mother found me in my dream realm, honey,” he said on a sigh. “But it was after I had already chosen your mom as my mate. I had fully mated and marked your mom when…that happened.”
My heart beat so fast it was going to explode. I couldn’t ever believe it before if someone had told me Dad cheated on Mom with his fated mate.
“You couldn’t resist the mate bond with your fated mate, is that it?” I kept my voice low, making sure I didn’t sound judgmental.
I had to hear the entire story before lashing out at Dad.