Twenty Eight
*Rafe*
I gazed down at Freya’s sleeping form, her dark lashes fluttering against porcelain cheeks flushed with the soft pink of slumber. Silky strands of brown hair fanned out across the pillow, framing her delicate features – full rosebud lips, an elegant slope of nose. She looked so innocent, so ethereally beautiful in repose. Like an angel gracing my chambers. I couldn’t deny that her beauty was one of the things that attracted to her.
My fists clenched at my sides as I recalled the shock and blinding rage that consumed me when the guard had delivered the devastating news mere hours ago. Freya had been shot by an assassin’s poisoned bullet during the grand ball. I saw red. I saw nothing but vengeance.
The moment I found Connor, I had slammed him against the wall, my forearm pinning his throat.
“You were supposed to protect her!” I snarled, baring my canines. “She could have died on your watch!”
Connor sputtered and blanched but I was beyond reason, beyond mercy. I pulled back and slugged him hard across the jaw, a sick satisfaction blooming as his head snapped to the side. Anyone that disobeyed my order would get punished for it.
“Rafe, I–” he started, but I cut him off with a growl.
“Get out of my sight before I do something I regret,” I spat.
He had scurried away, his legs wobbly.
I turned to look at her now. Sinking into the chair by her bedside, I watched the shallow rise and fall of her chest, the only sign she still drew breath. Tears pricked my eyes as I considered how close I came to losing her tonight. Freya was a vibrant soul who brought color and warmth into my bleak existence in such a short time. I would be utterly shattered if I lost her.
“I’m so sorry, butterfly,,” I whispered, taking her small hand in mine and brushing my lips across her knuckles. “I promise, whoever is responsible for this will pay dearly. No one touches what’s mine.”
Because Freya was mine, body and soul. And I would burn down the world to keep her safe, to defend what we had. This act of war would not go unanswered. Blood will flow for what they did to my mate.
After a few minutes spent watching over Freya’s peaceful slumber, I reluctantly tore myself away. She needed rest to heal, and I had work to do. Striding into my office, I found Connor and Rafael already waiting, standing stiffly apart. The tension crackled like lightning in the air between them.
“Now, can I know what the hell happened?” I demanded, slamming my palms on the desk. “How did assassins breach our defenses and nearly kill one of my contestants?”
Connor cleared his throat nervously. “We’re still investigating, but it appears they slipped in disguised as serving staff for the ball. The guards were… lax last night, given the festivities.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Lax? Is that what we’re calling utter incompetence now?”
“Rafe,” Rafael interjected in a warning tone. “Throwing blame helps nothing. We must look ahead – who is behind this attack, and why?”
Pacing in agitation, my mind went through the possibilities. “The timing, staging such a public assassination attempt… Whoever it is wants to undermine my authority, destabilize our pack.”
“Agreed,” Rafael said grimly. “This has all the signs of a political power play.”
“But who?” Connor asked, brow furrowed. “Rival packs? Insurgents within our own ranks?”
I shook my head, a headache building behind my eyes. “Both options are troubling. We’re already on shaky ground with the other packs after the border last year. And if we have traitors in our midst…” I couldn’t finish the thought, rage and fear stirring inside me.
“We need information,” Rafael stated, his calmness made me relieved. “Connor, double the guard and start questioning anyone acting suspiciously. I’ll reach out to our contacts, see if they’ve heard any rumblings of unrest or upheaval.”
“And I’ll consult with the council, shore up alliances, and suss out potential snakes in the grass,” I added, my resolve hardening to steel. “One way or another, we’ll flush out these cowards and make them regret the day they dared move against me and mine.”
Whatever web of treachery was at play here, I would unravel it thread by thread… and then use those threads to garrote the spiders spinning them. They wielded shadows and secrets as weapons, but I had fangs and claws. And the fury of a wolf protecting his own knew no bounds.
My mind raced as I considered the possibilities, each more unsettling than the last. If another pack was behind the attack, it could mean all-out war between our people. Blood feuds ran deep in the werewolf world, and old grudges had a way of resurfacing at the worst possible times.
But if the threat came from within, it would be even harder to root out. Traitors were like rot, festering in the dark until they weakened the very foundations of everything we’d built. The thought of someone I trusted, someone I considered a friend or ally, betraying me so utterly… it made my stomach turn.
“We can’t afford to rule anything out,” I said at last, meeting the gazes of the two men I trusted most in this world. “Connor, Rafael… I need you to be my eyes and ears. Talk to everyone, listen to everything. No detail is too small, no rumor too far-fetched. We have to get to the bottom of this before it’s too late.”
Connor nodded, his jaw set with determination. “I won’t rest until we have answers, Rafe. I failed you once by not protecting Freya. I won’t fail you again.”
“You didn’t fail me,” I said firmly, gripping his shoulder. “The only ones who failed are the bastards who attacked us. And they’ll pay for that failure with their lives.”
Rafael cleared his throat, always the voice of reason. “We must tread carefully, nephew. Act too rashly, and we risk tipping our hand or provoking an even greater retaliation. Patience and cunning will serve us better than brute force in this game.”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “You’re right, my Gamma. As much as I want to tear someone apart right now, we have to be smart about this. For Freya’s sake, and for the sake of our people.”
The weight of leadership settled heavily on my shoulders as I looked out the window at the kingdom I’d sworn to protect. Somewhere out there, an enemy lurked in the shadows, plotting their next move. But they had no idea what they’d awakened in me. I would hunt them down, I would make them pay, and I would ensure that nothing and no one ever threatened my mate or my pack again.
Even if it meant unleashing the beast within and painting the world red with the blood of my foes.