Jade’s pov:
Luna Sherry and Alpha Kade led the way, with the Alpha King and his right-hand man following closely behind, and Alex and I right after them.
I realized only too late that Trevor wasn’t following us, and I reasoned that he must have had some silent exchange with Alex. And while I would miss his undying support, I had Alex by my side now my mate who made me feel like everything was possible.
His highness was the first to settle down on one of the sofas of the office, his right hand man soon sitting to his left. Alex and I sat on the opposite sofa whereas Alpha Kade and Luna Sherry sat on the available chairs nearby.
There was a sealed bottle of juice on the table, and also fruits, but the alpha king didn’t seem to be in any hurry to have any. Instead, he was looking at me intently, making me slightly uncomfortable… I tried to brush it off as his being curious to know about a born healer.
Nobody dared to speak a word when facing the alpha king himself, and the tense atmosphere had me almost feverish.
“Luna Jade, what do you know of born healers?” He asked after a moment, the ghost of a smirk settling on his face.
I did not speak impulsively, and rather chose my words carefully, “My ancestor, five generations ago, was a born healer, and I seem to have inherited her powers. Born healers are rumored to shift on their nineteenth birthday, instead of their sixteenth, and they have the ability to heal fellow pack members…”
I trailed off, not sure if I answered correctly, not sure if I should stop there or continue.
“What else?” He raised an eyebrow at me in a challenging manner.
“Born healers are coveted, and considering how rare they are, packs sometimes go to war for the chance to have one… And that was what happened here. Also, Annabelle Cars’ diaries have no mention of the resonance I have been experiencing as of late, so I am not quite sure what to make of it.”
“I see,” he gave me a curt nod, looking rather displeased, “You have not been trained.”
“Sadly, I don’t have a proper mentor, your highness,” I let out.
“You are supposed to have an earth witch help you understand your powers better,” he said a little bit flippantly, before focusing his calculating gaze on Alex, “I believe I heard rumors about your pack hiring a witch. What was it for, if not to train your dearest Luna, Alpha Alexander?”
“We had rogues attack us in an organized way, your highness,” Alex told him without delay.
“What?” The Alpha King’s right hand man exclaimed at once, “That’s unheard of. Are you sure?”
The Alpha King raised his hand, efficiently silencing the man, and he nodded at Alex, giving him his consent to continue.
“We had a traitor among us, you see. And while she waited for her trial, this attack happened, and it was meant to be a distraction to free her.”
“So, your traitor escaped,” the Alpha King drawled matter-of-factly.
“Yes, and she joined Midnight Moon Pack,” Alex nodded at him.
“Let them take her off your hands. She’s their problem now,” he went on. “That doesn’t explain the witch?”
“I believed that they were only organized because of a witch intervention, your highness,” Alex said in a dejected tone of voice, “And I had foolishly believed that a witch could help us figure out a way to prevent it from happening again.”
“I see,” the Alpha King nodded again, this time in understanding. “And what happened with the witch?”
“She betrayed me,” Alex said without hesitating.
“Betrayed you?” The alpha king’s right hand man observed at once, putting emphasis on the you part.
Feeling like Alex was slightly reluctant to speak about this, I chose to speak, “You see, your highness, my mate and the witch had been friends before. She ended up abusing his trust and kindness, and offered cookies to him which, had I been late to arrive, could have severed our bond.”
“I feel like your life is more adventurous than it should be,” the Alpha King let out, a little bit of a sardonic smile stretching his lips, which was all the reaction we got for such a confession.
“For a while now, we barely have time to breathe,” Alex nodded, a grave expression on his face.
“I sense that you’re with child, Luna Jade,” he went on, his smile broadening in a way that had me holding my breath for a moment there.
“I am,” I barely managed to sound normal, though my hands trembled ever so slightly, in the most disturbing way.
“You cannot have the child without first going through proper training,” he told me in a stern voice.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and I wondered what would be asked of me this time around. In the beginning of the self-discovery journey, I was home-schooled, and thus unable to make friends, Tyler and Eli aside.
“What do you mean, your highness?” Alex asked in a firm tone of voice that told me he was ready to wreak havoc if need be.
“I meant exactly what I said,” the man clicked his tongue in what appeared to be frustration. “She’ll need to be trained under the supervision of an earth witch. I have one at my palace.”
“Why?” I all but broke down inside, and was only keeping a facade on. “Why must you separate me from my mate and my pack?”
“It is a necessary evil,” the alpha king’s right hand man was the one to speak up this time around, “If you were to give birth in your current condition, the pack would be at its most vulnerable…”
“You wouldn’t want that, would you?” The Alpha King went on, without so much as a blink.
I was beginning to hyperventilate at the thought of everything that could happen… of all the deaths, of everything that could go wrong.
It was only when Alex hugged me to him that I realized that this was truly happening.
The nightmare was becoming a reality.
I was going to get separated from Alex.
“Shh, baby girl,” he cooed softly. “It is only a matter of time,” he declared, to which both men nodded in earnest.
Then, as I calmed down, Alex said, “Allow us first to mourn our deaths.”
What? Why was I only hearing this now?
“Who?” I asked, my eyes bulging and full of tears yet again.
“A patroller and Tyler.”
At the words, I began to hate myself as I pictured him and his family… I remembered him wishing to become the strongest warrior of the pack, and many small details about him, and felt like I might just follow after him from the pain. Tyler was the first pack member to accept me after all.
I somehow wished I was but a defective pack member without a wolf, instead of being a born healer meant to bring war.
“You have three days before we send someone to get her,” the Alpha King rose to his feet at that. “You’ll naturally be allowed to visit, Alpha Alexander.”
“Would you allow someone to go with her?” Alex pleaded in my favor.
A nod was all the response we got before Alpha Kade and Luna Sherry followed the two men and saw them out, leaving us in the office.