Chapter 41 Khaos
Khaos
At every corner, my father seems to know our plans and stops us. He’s had the pack separated for the last four months. I’m mostly banished to my suite, unable to get out.
But on the occasion that I do, he uses threats of violence against my pack to gain my reluctant obedience. Every attempt foiled, and then I’m sent to the dungeon to simmer in my rage and hurt. The agony of wondering if she is safe, hurt, alive, or dead drives me nearly out of my mind.
Where are Riot, Wrath, Angel, and Hazard? What did my father do to them? I haven’t even heard whispers. When I was in the cells, I heard Oliver in the one beside me. He didn’t sound good. There were voices, so many that I recognised, so many that had sat at our table.
For four weeks, I’ve behaved myself, obeyed every order, eaten what was put in front of me. I have not said her name. I have not spoken about my pack.
My wolf is going insane, the bonds are stretched thin, and I worry about Casey every minute of the day. She needs us.
But I don’t dare speak it.
I pace my rooms, trying to work out a way out of this. Every day, all day, I try to find a way out of this, but I can see only two options. I submit and kiss the idea of Casey goodbye…or I challenge my father and win.
It’s unfathomable.
But he’s got the alphas guarding the entrances. I can’t leave. I’m a prisoner in my own home. Every time I displease him, I see the rage in his eyes, and he looks less and less like my father.
Every time I had tried to escape, he’d managed to find out, and I’d been dragged kicking and screaming back to wherever he’s decided to hold me. The walls have ears. Fear has turned this pack inside out.
I track my father down five incredibly painful and terrifying months after we first reappeared in that clearing. I try to look contrite, but he starts to talk, and it all falls away.
“First, we will find you a mate, and then we will see about removing those bonds to that unsuitable pack.”
My blood runs cold.
He’s wearing a velvet robe; his hair is a mess, but he’s got a circlet of gold on his head. Like an actual king. Like he really believes this.
“Father, you can’t-”
He whirls and advances on me, shoving me back. “Do not tell me I can’t.”
“No,” I say, forcing myself to look down. I swallow hard, trying to think of a way out of this. “I just mean, they are good wolves; we might need them.”
He strokes his beard. “I’m sending them away. They are trouble. Perhaps a stint in one of the outlier packs will help to reeducate them.”
My blood goes cold. There is nothing left of the father I admired, the man I loved. I don’t know this person. My father would never take my pack from me; he would have been the first to rescue my mate.
He wanders away and goes to a window, where he looks out. “I have to have Oliver killed. He’s a traitor, always working against me!”
“You can’t do this!” I shout at him in pure panic.
He looks up. “Have you decided to see sense? Or are you choosing to continue defying me? I will break you, my son, and you will crawl on your bloody knees and beg for forgiveness.”
I shake my head. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“I am your father! You have no right to speak to me like that! This arrogance has got to stop. You went away and came back different. You are not my son.”
He wanders away from me, taking the circlet off and tossing it onto the desk. On his writing pad, all I see are scribbles.
A sob rises and locks in my chest. Casey, I’m doing this for Casey.
“I am your son, and you have locked me up for the last five months! Where is my pack?” I roar at him.
“You insolent little shit. I should have them killed.”
A chill sweeps through me.
“They are my pack; if they die, I’ll die.”
My father mutters and shakes his head.
“Do you have any idea how much they suffered to keep this pack and you safe over the last few years? And this is how you repay them? What’s happened to you?”
My father snorts. “This is me; it's time you learned your place, my son. It’s time you learned to kneel.”
“Where is my pack?” I ask again. “Just tell me, I’ll go find my omega, and you can live in your kingdom, ruling forever.”
“It’s not enough.”
“I beg your pardon?”
My father looks up. “I forbid you from going to that omega.”
The command lashes around me, forcing my obedience.
“No! What have you done?” I scream at him.
“I’m fixing it.” My father mutters. “Kneel, Khaos.”
My knees bend, and I drop to the ground.
“Fifty lashes,” my father says.
I twist around and spot his guards. Wolves I don’t recognise with hard, uncaring eyes and grim faces.
The first blow surprises me with how much it hurts.
My gasp seems to echo around the room. The second I’m ready for.
The pain makes me see white. I grit my teeth, trying not to make a sound.
Sweat runs down the side of my face. I can’t hold back the cries.
I sag, but my father’s command keeps me up.
Finally, it stops. I can barely see; I can barely think. My back is on fire. At least she can’t feel this. I ignore the comfort of my pack, choosing instead to try to focus on my father.
“Take him to the dungeon. Put him in the basement. Let him think about his actions for a couple of days.”
I stare at him in horror. The basement is a cell that’s only big enough for a man to stand. It’s pitch black and is often wet with whatever is seeping through the walls.
“Alpha, please don’t do this,” I plead.
He ignores me.
“Father?” I implore once more.
He just waves me off.
I’m dragged down into the dark. I don’t fight the alphas who take me there; it’s not their fault. They look horrified as they gently push me in and close the door.
“Can you tell Wrath where I am?” I say to them just before they close it.
I don’t hear what they say.
Now, there’s nothing but the dark and me. I have to confront the fact that my alpha is insane. That my father is gone.
In the dark, I cry and rage and scream, but, by the time I’ve calmed down, I know what I have to do. I know what my choice is.
The door swings open, I’m released and fall into Wrath’s arms, almost collapsing because I’m so weak. My wounds healed, but with no food or liquid, every minute has been excruciating.
“Fucking hell, Khaos,” Wrath whispers in horror. “Your back-”
I lick my parched lips. “Water, please. It’s healed. I’m okay.”
Angel appears with a bottle, and they carefully drip-feed me water, supporting my weight like I’m a child or broken.
“Let’s get out of here before anyone finds out we’ve let him out,” Hazard hisses.
“How long has it been?” I whisper through my parched throat.
“Four days,” Hazard bites out. “He’s left you in there for four days with no food and water.”
I close my eyes, feeling again the regret and pain of this forced choice.
They help me into my suite in the castle. We can’t get out of this nightmare, but we’ll be safe in here. Alley, my father’s favourite housekeeper, slips into the room with a couple of girls who bring a mountain of food and water.
I dive on the water, drinking until my stomach aches.
“I am so sorry, Kerrick, we don’t know what’s happened to him. He’s always been a bit strange, but after you left, he got obsessed with his legacy. He’s taking a bride.”
I wince.
“She’s just turned twenty-one, and when she tried to refuse, he threatened to kill her family.”
I put my head in my hands. “I’ll take care of it.” Another life to protect, another person whose existence relies on me.
“No, nuh-uh, we have to go get our omega,” Riot growls. “It’s been five months, Khaos; we need to find her.”
“I can’t,” I say flatly, sitting heavily on the massive king-sized bed. The four wooden posts are carved with wolves and have been in the family forever. These walls…they have been home for so long. They don’t feel like it anymore.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Riot explodes.
“I mean, I can’t. He forbade it.” My voice is soft, but it hits all of them harder than a punch.
Riot stops mid-stride. Hazard lets out a soft, mournful cry. Angel turns away. Wrath flinches as if he’s been struck.
“There are only two people who can fight his commands, and they are in this room, but I can’t fight this one; it’s the strongest command he’s ever placed on me.”
“Alpha, please,” Hazard whispers. “Please, she needs us.”
I consider him for a long moment. I turn back to Alley; she’s on her knees.
“Help us,” she begs. “Help us all, Alpha. Please don’t forsake us.”
I inhale sharply.
“Is it that bad for everyone?” I whisper.
“He’s raised taxes; he’s looking at bringing back abolished laws. He’s the worst thing that’s happened to us. Please, Alpha, you are the only one who can fix this.” Her voice is rushed, filled with fear and panic.
No one says out loud what I have to do.
But we all know it.
I eat and drink and sleep. Alley makes sure we get everything we need. No one leaves my rooms, and no one comes in. My father has forgotten about us.
A week later, at full strength, I walk down into the hall, interrupting my father’s wedding, and I challenge him for the alpha mantle.
When I’m sitting in his blood, weeping, my pack gathers around me in silence, holding me together while I fall apart.
But the command stopping me from going to my omega is gone.