Prescott’s POV
‘The captive, I think he has something to say to you, your Majesty.’
I held my breath as I walked into the office building, my fist clenching and unclenching as I tried to control my outrage. Czar followed close behind, his presence like a shadow hanging over me.
Alpha Randale’s words rang in my ears like a bell, the memory of them sharp and insistent.
‘The captive said he didn’t know the culprit’s identity, but he was sure they were a royal warrior. He said they were dressed in an armour that has the nation’s signature on it when they threatened him not to talk during the interrogation.’
With each step I took, I felt my anxiety growing, until it felt like a lead weight in my stomach. I grumbled, my head was spinning as I walked down the hallway.
‘Your Majesty, there’s more. The captive said that the culprit was a rogue like himself. And he said he could sense Eruba’s handmade tonic in their blood. One of the royal warriors is a rogue, your Majesty!’
It was like my brain was short-circuiting, unable to process the information the Alpha had given to me. One of my warriors was a rogue. One of my men, someone I trusted, had betrayed me. How could I have been so blind? How could I not have seen this coming? How had I been moving around with an enemy and I didn’t get any sign whatsoever?
I stopped right in front of my office door, my breath hitched and my chest was heavy as I kicked the door open, my hands were shaking and my shoulders were tensed with anxiety. I could feel Czar behind me, startled by my sudden movement. The door swung open with a bang, revealing the empty room beyond. A stillness filled the air, only broken by the sound of my ragged breathing.
As I looked back at the now-broken door, I slowly turned around, staring at Czar who was standing there with his eyes fixed on the ground. He was tense, his arms locked tightly at his back. The muscles in his jaw were tight, and beads of sweat dotted his forehead. He seemed frozen in place, and I wondered what he was thinking. Was he afraid? Or was he guilty of something he had done that no one knew of? Was he the one, my warrior who had been working alongside Eruba all along?
Before I could stop myself, I rushed towards him and slammed him against the wall. I could hear his bones cracking as I pressed him to the wall.
“Your… Majesty?” he gasped, his eyes widened, his breath uneven as he stared at me in shock.
I was burning in rage that I couldn’t read the meaning of the fear in his eyes, I grabbed his neck, my fingers digging into his flesh as I was choking the life out of him.
“Your Majesty?!” He struggled to breathe, his face turning red as he tried to pry my hands away from his neck. I could feel my grip tighten as my anger took over, and I knew I had to stop. But I couldn’t. The rage was blinding me, and I couldn’t see past it. How dare my men betray me.
“Was it you?” I howled, my hands trembled and my grip on his neck loosened as I gritted my teeth in anger, trying so hard to control my rage.
“Was the person you?” I asked for the second time when it didn’t seem like he was quite following what I was saying.
“Me… Me what, Your Majesty?” he coughed slightly, moving away from the wall as I stepped away from him. Czar gulped down, his fingers crawled up to his neck, massaging a few places before letting his hand slide down from his face.
“Did I do anything wrong, Your Majesty?” his heart was thumping hard in his chest, and I could see the uneasiness on his face.
It wasn’t him, but if it wasn’t him, who then could it be? I need to have him and every other man that went to Alpha Randale’s pack with me, I need to have a word with them and know who the culprit was.
I let out a deep sigh as I turned away from him, walking towards my office. “Go and get me the rest of the warriors that…”
“Your Majesty?!” a voice cried out, its tone trembling with fear, cutting me off my speech. I whipped around to see who it was, my temper flaring as I locked eyes with the intruder.
Standing at the other end of the hallway was a guy whose face wasn’t familiar to me, but something about him seemed… familiar. I couldn’t place it, but I knew I knew him from somewhere. My head was spinning, and I was on the verge of losing my temper completely.
“How dare you interrupt me like that?!” I snarled, rage bubbling up inside of me. I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white. I could feel my teeth grinding together, and I knew I had to get a grip on myself before I did something I’d regret to him. But it was easier said than done. I could feel the heat rising in my face, my blood boiling as I glared at the intruder.
“It’s…” he panted heavily, taking a slow step towards me, “It’s about her Highness, I think I know what happened to her.” he gulped, standing before me with his eyes marred with tears.
It was as if the world around me had gone still. My heart thundered in my chest, my mind reeling at the mention of my mate. The pain of her being kidnapped right under my nose, and a part of her body was delivered to me in a bottle had been a constant ache in my soul, and the reminder of her only intensified the pain.
I felt like I’d been plunged into icy water, the chill seeping into my bones. But then, I remembered I needed to know how the intruder got to know about the sudden disappearance of Nova, why he was here, and what I had to do. So, I steeled myself, gathering my resolve.
“W-What do you mean by you know what happened to the Queen?” I questioned, my heart was beating like crazy as I stared at the guy who seemed to know what I didn’t know.
“Your Majesty, please, you have to get Warrior Dixon here,” the guy mumbled, his lips quivering with urgency. “I’m afraid you might not believe me, and I know I shouldn’t have known about this, but Warrior Dixon is the only one who knows where the Queen is. Please bring him here, he has so much to say to you, your Majesty!” The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. The weight of them felt crushing like I was being pressed under an invisible boulder.
Indeed, I couldn’t trust his words, but since it had already been said by the captive at the Blue Moon pack that one of my warriors was a rogue, every one of my warriors had become a suspect not favouring anyone of them, not even my favourite warrior when my Queen was mentioned. I had to find my wife, no matter the cost.
I swiftly turned towards Czar who was staring with his eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Take a few men with you and bring me royal warrior Dixon, now!” I gritted my teeth, my fists clenched tightly as I watched Czar give a curt bow before scurrying away.
I turned to the guy who was staring down at his fingers, tears wouldn’t stop rolling down his eyes as he picked gently on his fingers.
“You,” I snapped, his head shot up and he ‘your Majesty’ as he stared at me with a worried gaze.
“Come inside my office with me, and tell me everything you know,” I breathed out, my tone brooking no argument. “Tell me everything you know about the Queen’s sudden disappearance, no matter how small the detail. I need to know everything, or I might punish you if you don’t have any meaningful things to say to me. Nevertheless, you should come in with me.” I motioned for him to follow me into my office, my mind already racing with possibilities. I was determined to find out, and I wouldn’t rest until she was back where she belonged.
~
My eyes widened in shock, and my breath was shaking because I couldn’t believe all that the guy, who claimed to be the royal guard and also Dixon’s boyfriend was saying.
Not only was Dixon working for the infamous rogue leader that I had been searching for over a decade, not only was he the one who the captive was talking about, but because the warrior I had trusted with my life would watch the bastard Eruba cut off my wife’s toe and he was with him, watching without doing anything to help me mate or to tell me.
I sprang up from my seat, my hands were trembling as I paced back and forth, impatiently waiting for Dixon to come and tell me that everything the guy had said about him being a rogue was all a lie.
Just then, heavy boots marching on the marble floor were the only sounds in the hallway since it was already as Czar walked in, together with three men, they pushed Dixon to the floor, and he fell on his knees, and his face was a little pale as he moved his gaze up to stare at the guy beside me.