—Derek’s POV—
It’s been a week.
Fuck.
Her breathing was so faint. Her pulse was small. Sometimes, I wouldn’t hear it, I’d panic and call in a nurse only for them to assure me she was indeed breathing.
Lindsay would call me- presumably for a meet-up, but not once did I answer. I couldn’t. She wasn’t the only slut to call me- the disrespect. They knew Violet was my mate. I mentioned it when I slaughtered Mallory, and I know Lindsay pieced it together.
There was a knock at the door. Garret soon walked in.
“Derek.” he nodded. He would drop by and have me sign off on some papers, but today he came with none. “The King will be here in about an hour to discuss this ordeal” he waved his hand and I growled at the thought of him bad-mouthing my Mate. “Since you didn’t see him about Mallory, he’s coming here. He knows about Violet, he needed a reason why you weren’t responding,” I kept still.
I didn’t care that he told him, I just wanted my Flower to respond. I just wanted to see those russet orbs I adored. However, he didn’t tell Hannah- well, he did, he just left out whose fault it was.
“Derek.” he snapped my attention back to him, “go take a shower,” I growled at him and he rolled his eyes and then left the room.
I pulled myself from my chair, mind linked Garret to bring me some clothes and put them in Violet’s unit and I went to take a shower. I didn’t like it, I wanted to be back out with Violet. I was still in her unit, it had a built-in bathroom with a shower and tub, sink, and toilet.
I was out of the shower as quickly as I could, got dressed, and sat right back down. I found Violet’s hand and rubbed it, bringing it to my lips and pressing.
This was my fault. My guilt was eating away at me and I hated how she was healing so slowly. Reseda said it could be a combination of factors, from the abuse Chris did to her, to her wolf being absent.
I’ve asked Zaxton over and over again to try and reach out to her wolf, he didn’t respond half the time- depression taking over him. When he would respond, it was because he couldn’t reach her.
Her mark had become paler.
Fuck.
The aura of the room seemed to change. Turned to a dark, menacing, godly, regal feel. I looked to the open door and saw the King step in with Garret. He was a tall man, taller than my 6’1 height with stormy grey eyes and dark black hair. He was dressed in black pants with a satin button-down and blazer.
He wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with.
“Your Highness,” I bowed my head, standing up from my chair, my hand stayed on Violet’s.
“Alpha Derek.”
He walked closer to the bed and looked at Violet. His hands were clasped behind his back and he gazed down at her.
“This is her,” he stated. He hummed and glanced at me before he looked back at my mate. I felt the urge to growl at him for looking at her, but I knew better, and it wasn’t a malevolent gaze.
He turned back at Garret. “Beta Garret, you are dismissed.” Garret nodded, bowed, and walked out leaving the King and me.
He walked over and pulled up a chair. He sat down and crossed his legs in his dark, kingly nature.
“Sit,” he instructed me and I did. “Last time, it was Beta Mallory,” his voice was deep and authoritative. Imperial. “Mind elaborating about why he’s dead?” he demanded.
I looked at him and then back at my Flower. “He raped her.” I looked back over to the King.
He had his hands folded in his lap as he studied Violet and me, his gaze switching back and forth.
He hummed. “Such a lustful pact. Don’t you know that’s a sin.” I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Then again, if we didn’t have sinners life would be mundane.”
“What a-” I started but stopped when his eyes flicked a warning. He didn’t have to move at all to get me to stop.
“Howbeit, they say my Regional Alphas have their own sin. Deleterious with them,” his eyes flicked to Violet, “I’d extricate anyone who’d dare do harm to my future mate. However, let us reminisce about what happened last time you slaughtered your Beta. Do you recall what I told you?”
I thought back, the words quickly came to my mind. “You said, ‘Derek, what you did may have been justifiable in your eyes, however, unsupported murders are against the laws, you know that.'”
He nodded, “Furthermore, I told you I’d look into everything. I ended up finding out you were right that he was trying to start a war with the neighboring Regional Alpha and use their women.”
I nodded along.
“What else did I tell you?”
“You’d strip me of my title if I pulled that stunt ever again.” My voice came out gruff and my hold on my Flower’s hand tightened ever so slightly.
( ‘Don’t fucking hurt her!’ )
… I’m not…
He nodded again. “Now, I’m not. However, you have to pick yourself up or I shall deem you unfit to be Alpha and give the position to Garret- shall he accept.”
I didn’t want to lose my title- but I had my Flower in a hospital bed.
“Here is what you will do. You will start doing your work here, I’m not forcing you to leave your mate, but you have to uphold your duties. Understand?” he raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Secondly, this time- I will let you off with the Beta affair- but I’m warning you now. If you ever pull this stunt again, I will strip you of your title without any hesitation. As I mentioned, if anyone -let alone a close friend- were to lay a finger on my mate- I would decapitate them. That being said, we need to discuss Christopher.”
I nodded and loosened my hold on Violet’s hand. I wasn’t necessarily ‘let off’ the first time, a few whips, and about a month in his dungeons was what I received.
“Yes, Sire. As I told you, he had her, I don’t know for how long, and he was constantly beating her. The doctor reports confirmed sexual assault throughout the years.”