Luke’s POV
I was mad. I hissed as I stormed out of father’s chambers. This was the fourth time in a week that he would get me mad. Why couldn’t he stop worrying about Caleb and asking me about him? He wasn’t my responsibility and why did I need to care about him?
I had far many other things to worry about. Caleb was a weirdo. He didn’t like staying for too long within the pack. He was an adventurer and would be back when he wanted to. When he was tired of traveling all around the fields. Father knew that and yet wouldn’t stop asking me about him. I swore that one of these days, that boy would get himself in trouble and I would be happy to scorn dad for giving him that much freedom to begin with.
I was going to snap if father called me to ask Caleb again.
“My lord,” a guard called from behind me.
“What?” I snapped at him as I stopped in my tracks, wishing that it was father I was snapping at.
The guard swallowed, seeming to think over his reason for calling me.
“What?” I snapped again at him. “You better have a good reason for interrupting my thoughts.”
Not like I didn’t appreciate him breaking into my thoughts but I would rather die than thank a guard. I was two seconds from cursing father out loud in public. Father would have been immensely mad at me if someone else had overheard me and reported to him.
“A rogue claims he has some important message to deliver to you.” The guard blurted out.
My eyes widened in disbelief. ” A rogue is here?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“In the dungeon. We can’t bring him to the palace so we kept him there.”
“Better.”
He could have been sent to check out the layout of the palace. I knew how the rogues were. It wasn’t like I was going to let him leave here alive to tell his pack. The rogue must know that he was going to die here and that made me more curious to know how important to me the message he had risked his life for was.
“Lead the way.” I said to the guard.
I ruffled my nose as I entered the dungeon, wondering how long it had been that I had been there. I couldn’t believe that it would be a rogue that would make me pay a visit to these old, musky walls again.
“This better be good or your head would be off faster than you can blink.” I said as I got to where the rogue was.
“It is good.” He replied.
He didn’t bow to me and pretend like he respected me as an alpha or feel intimidated by my threat. I smiled. I knew a soldier when I saw one and this was one loyal soldier to his master. It made me curious to know why he was here.
“Why are you here? Why did you risk your life to be here?” I asked.
He didn’t waste my time. “Two of your pack members are teaming up with soldiers of the blood moon pack. I believe it’s something you need to know.”
“Who are these men?” I asked, annoyed at the information and already suspecting who the men were and hoping that I was wrong.
He described the men and I gasped when the description of one of the men fitted Caleb’s appearance accurately.
I wondered if he was teaming up with the blood moon wolves to get rid of me and take my position. My vision became red with anger as I thought of it.
I dashed out of the dungeon and headed to the palace. I couldn’t wait to tell father what the son he couldn’t stop worrying about had been up to.
“I thought you didn’t want to see me anymore.” Father laughed as I stepped back into the bedroom
“Why wouldn’t I want to see you again?” I snorted as I sat on a chair in his room.
He arched his eyebrows at me, suspecting that something was wrong and I had something to say or I wouldn’t be back so soon few minutes after I left. “With the way you stormed off, I thought you wouldn’t want to be in my presence for the next decades.”
He was goading me to speak without wanting to ask me what was up with me. I almost chuckled at his reactions and words. He was curious to know why I was back but keeping his cool. Dad was too much like me. He couldn’t be caught by surprise if he didn’t want to.
Fuck that, I had thought I had impervious until few minutes ago. I had been shocked by what that rogue had said and knew I had worn my expression on my face like a prize. The rogue would have been glad at my reaction that I was unable to conceal. That alone would make him feel proud he had risked his life for the journey even if I eventually kill him.
“Let’s stop feeling bad.” I muttered silently to myself without moving my lips. I had no doubt that dad would also react the way I did when I tell about the news.
He continued looking at me instead of asking me why I was here. I wanted him to ask but he knew that and didn’t. I already gave myself out by being here so he knew I was going to talk eventually. I groaned when he started picking his nails, totally ignoring my presence. I was too amped up to deal with that anymore.
“Dad, wouldn’t you ask me why I’m back here?”
He raised his eyebrows slightly at the tone of my voice. He sighed as he dropped his hand and leaned on the bed frame. “I figured you would tell me when you are ready.’
Let’s see if you are this cool when I dropped the bomb on you. I smirked as I looked at him. “It’s about Caleb.”
He didn’t even flinch. “You finally decided to go after him.”
Oh, I decided to go after him, father, but not in the way that you expect. “I found his whereabouts and you wouldn’t believe what he has been up to.”
“Oh, tell me already, boy and stop being cryptic.”
I smiled, prepared to shock him. “He is close by, living with soldiers of the blood moon pack and probably conspiring against us.”
He didn’t flinch still. He was silent and had no expression on his face. I would kill for me to know what he was thinking of at that moment but he wasn’t making it easier on me.
“What do you say, father?” I asked when I couldn’t deal with his silence anymore. I had to give him his credits thought. He was better at hiding his shock than I was.
“Where did you hear this from?”
I couldn’t tell him that a rogue had entered the land and had told me. He would have my ears chewed out for not killing the rogue the moment I laid my eyes on him.
“I heard it from someone who had no reason to lie.” I said instead.
He nodded, thinking of what to do.
“What do you want us to do, father?” I asked, hoping that we were thinking in the same line. “What do you want to do?”
“What do you want to do?” He asked me.
I was stunned for a moment, shocked that he threw the question back at me but I wasn’t dumbfounded for so long.
“I want to verify what I’ve heard. If the information is true, I want to bring Caleb and the blood moon wolves he is conspiring with here to be tried and punished.” I said.
“Probably conspiring.” Father said.
“Uhn?” I muttered in confusion.
“You just said he was conspiring and I reminded you of the addition of probably. You don’t know for sure that he is conspiring with the opposition pack.”
I snorted, hating his belief in Caleb. “Does he have any other reason to be with the blood moon wolves?”
“You should not harm him until they are all brought here.”
“You don’t have to tell me.” I scowled.
“I know how you think.”
“He is still my brother.”
“And you believed the worst of him quickly.”
“I am trying to protect the pack.” I defended myself.
“And he is also part of the pack.”
I was done with arguing with him. Arguments usually drained me and the more I stayed here to argue unnecessarily, the more Caleb got ahead in his conspiracy.
“Do I have permission to take soldiers with me to verify the information?” I asked.
“Take as many soldiers as you need, son.”
“Okay, father.” I bowed. “I would be back soon.”
I was almost at the door when I heard his voice. “I need to see the person who gave you the information.”
“He sent his message through a bird. He is not here.” I lied, making a mental note to kill the rogue once I leave father’s bedroom.
He nodded, figuring out that someone would have to be stupid to come to me and tell me that my brother is conspiring with the opposition pack. Father didn’t think that it was possible that someone could do that because he had nothing to lose.
That was the first thing I noticed when I saw the rogue.
“Bring your brother and those wolves here as soon as you can.” He said. “You have three days.”
I was going to bring them all here in a day. I thought to myself as I stepped out of his room, going to kill the rogue and gather the men.