Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Azalea POV
Two days had passed, and I never thought I would be so excited for Kyson not to be home. He was driving me up the wall, watching me constantly, stuffing vitamins down my throat. A week and he was already overbearing. Kyson had explained that one week in human pregnancy is equivalent to three or four weeks for Lycans, but if this was a week, I would hate to see what a fortnight would bring. However, I was excited to know that Abbie was coming back tomorrow, there was only so much to do around the castle, and Kyson forbade me from helping Peter, the stable boy. Also, from helping Clarice, I was bored out of my mind.
So today, when I woke up to find he had gone somewhere, I was a little relieved not to have him breathing down my neck. However, he had allocated me a babysitter in the form of Liam. Liam was alright, a little crazy but definitely entertaining, and Dustin didn’t seem to mind having him around either.
*My Queen,” Liam says while walking into the room. I roll my eyes and scoot the edge of the bed when I see him walk into the room. In his hand was the dreaded vitamins and some smoothie Kyson had been making me drink three times a day that tasted dreadful.
“Bottoms up,” he says, holding out the green chunky-looking drink and the pills.
“I will pass on that,” I tell him. Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
“Your royal pain in the ass said I was to ensure you drink this lovely concoction that looks like snot, and baby shit, my Queen,” I shake my head.
“Can’t be that bad,” he says, thrusting the cup toward me.
“Have you tasted it?” I ask him.
“No, but I watched him make it before he left, and he was very insistent that you drink this lovely glass of vileness,”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him or my stomach,” I tell him, cringing. It was a taste you would never forget.
“Just a sip and I can say I watched you drink it,” Liam offers. I raise an eyebrow at him, he would have to pin me down to get me to drink
that.
“If you can stomach it, I will try,” I challenge. Liam shrugs and sighs, holding the glass up.
“Not much I haven’t had in my mouth, my Queen, but if it gets you drink it, I shall have a little sippy sip,” he says, while bringing the glass to his lips. He tips the glass up, drinking a mouthful. I watched him try to swallow, covering his mouth with his fist as he gagged and coughed. He forced it down like he was swallowing a golf ball looking very pained. At the same time Dustin walks in behind him with my breakfast.
“Good God, that tastes worse than that prostitute I went down on,” Liam gasps shaking his head and I pull a face, and he shrugs and Dustin gives him a look of disgust. “What, the woman could have told me. How was I to know she was a hooker, and I was her fifteenth client for the day,” he mumbles the last part. I pull a disgusted face, and so does Dustin. I really could have gone without that information.
“Wait, if she was a prostitute, how did you not know?”
“To be fair, I was pretty drunk. I thought it was a hotel. Turns out, instead of a mint on my pillow, it had a woman,” Liam says, taking another sip of the drink as he rambled. He heaves, spitting it all over Dustin.
Dustin tenses, his face covered in the green substance, and Liam drops the glass on the tray Dustin is holding. Liam frantically starts digging in his pocket before pulling out a small glass bottle that fits in the palm of his hand. I knew it was liquor by the potent scent. He chugs it down quickly. gulping it down until the small bottle is empty.
“Ah, nasty,” Liam says, wiping his mouth. I press my lips in a line trying not to laugh at the horrified look on Dustin’s face as he stood frozen. Liam, finally turning his head, notices he spat the drink all over him and chokes on his laugh before turning serious again when an enraged Dustin glares at him.
“Well, that shirt was damn ugly anyway, all good. I will get you cleaned up,” Liam says, taking out a handkerchief to scrub Dustin’s face.
Dustin growis. “It’s my uniform. You are wearing the same one,” Dustin says while Liam cleans his shirt and face.
“One sec,” Liam says, licking the handkerchief wrapped around his finger before scrubbing at Dustin’s chin.
“They’re good as new.” Liam exclaims.
“You did not just clean me with your spit” Dustin snarls.
“Ah, come on, Dustin, not the worst part of me you have had on your face,” Liam says, and Dustin’s face turns bright red. He shoots Liam a look.
“Liam!” Dustin snaps.
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“What, I was just saying. Liam shrugs
“Little sensitive this one.” Liam says, sending me a wink.
“Do you have no manners? She is the Queen. You can’t speak like, ah,” he thrusts the tray at Liam before storming out.
“Wonder what crawled up his ass… Besides me, of course,” Liam says, watching him leave. I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just ignored Liam’s comments and wandered off to the bathroom, shaking my head. I showered quickly and got changed, wanting to go find something to do.
The castle was pretty quiet today as Liam escorted me downstairs. Most of the guards went with Kyson because they were raiding a nearby pack, so only a handful was left here, and the place was locked up like a fortress.
“We could go for a walk in the gardens, my Queen. The King doesn’t,” Liam falls silent, his hand gripping my shoulder. Liam stepped down the last few steps before I suddenly found myself slammed against the wall, his hand going over my mouth.
My heart beat erratically as he held a finger to his lips. Gone was the fun-loving man I was used to as his eyes flickered oddly, a sadistic gleam in his eyes as they darkened and his canines protruded past his top lip. I could hear Clarice frantically talking down the hall before the doors next to the staircase burst open. Liam shoved me behind him as men in armor flooded the halls from every direction. My hands shook as I clutched the back of Liam’s shirt, where he shoved me behind him.
Guns raised, four other men, who I could tell were Lycan, walked in wearing suits. Clarice rushed in after them bursting into the foyer.
“May I ask what this is about, MR Crux,” Liam asks, motioning for Clarice to come to him with his hand. She rushes to his side and whispers something to him, and I only catch the last part about how they took the guards out. She glances at me nervously behind him. Liam nods but doesn’t move his eyes from the men surrounding us with their guns trained on him.
The mind-link opens up as Liam calls for the guards, yet no one answers. However, Kyson does feel the open mind link and invades it.
“What is it?’
*The council is here. Get home,” Liam tells him.
“Don’t let them in. I am on my way.”
“Too late,”
“Azalea?”
“Get here, Kyson. I am all that is left,” Liam growls, slamming the link shut.
“How may I help you, gentlemen,” Liam asks, walking down to greet them.
“We have had a complaint,” the tallest of them says.
“So you thought you would break into the Kingdom? The King isn’t here, so I am sure we can reschedule,” Liam says. The tallest of them would even match Kyson in height, his obsidian eyes stared at me curiously, and he sniffed the air.
“Clarice take the new girl upstairs,” Liam says, but the man steps forward, and Liam’s hand falls on his chest. The energy shifts and Clarice grabs my arm, pushing me up the stairs.
“She remains. We aren’t to see the king but to find two women, an Abbie and Queen Azalea,”
“As I said, the King isn’t here, and neither is Abbie or the Queen, Liam growls, looking at the man who still had his eyes on me. The men surrounding him moved in closer the moment Liam moved, guns pressing against him, and my heart thudded painfully. I felt sick.
The man watching me tilts his head to the side. “Now that would be a lie because she reeks of the King’s scent,” he growls.
“And as I said, the King is not here, so I will escort you off the premises, gentleman. No need to frighten everyone here.” Liam replies.
Clarice grabs my arm, and I follow her when another voice fills the room. The command behind it makes me freeze.
“She goes up those stairs shoot him, and the woman.” I stop, and Clarice gasps, as her eyes meet mine, the fear behind them as she stared at me made me swallow while I tried to figure out what was going on.
“Clarice, take her upstairs,” Liam says, and I swallowed, turning my attention back to these men surrounding Liam.
“What is this about?” I demand, and the man smirks as my command roles over him but has no effect.
“If you would come with me, my Queen,”
“She is not going anywhere with you.” Liam snarls, turning his head to the man watching me intently. The men holding guns step aside to allow the other three men into my line of vision, all of them dressed impeccably in tailored suits.
“You must be Azalea. I see you have met Mr. Crux. I am a council elder. My name is Denali,” he says. He seemed to be the one with the
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most authority out of the lot of them. It oozed off him. He smirked, his cold blue eyes looking up at me as he swept thick blonde hair from his face. He had a thick accent I couldn’t place.
“And this is my brother, Larkin, he says, motioning toward the man beside him in a blue suit, his blonde hair tied at the nape of his neck, he was a little shorter, but he had the same cruel, sharp features as Denali. “And this Kendrick,” he says, motioning to the last man that was missing an eye. A long jagged scar went from his hairline to his chin, his lips scarred and twisted into a snarl.
hin, his lips scarred addich he says, motionin
He took a step toward me, and Liam moved quickly, stepping into his path and grabbing the front of his suit jacket.
“Touch her, and I remove your other eye,” Liam snarled. Kendrick snarls back at him; however, Denali is the one who speaks.
“No need for that, Liam, you are outnumbered. We are here for the rogue girl and the Queen, no reason for things to turn messy.”
“Not without the King present;” Liam says, turning his attention to Denali.
“We are well within our rights to enter. As council members we have immunity into any pack even the King’s Pack. We also have a warrant and an entire pack to back the claims. She will be given a chance to have her say, but for now she must come with us”
“What claims?” Liam demanded.
“There are only two laws that are upheld to this degree, Liam. You know that, so if you would follow me, Queen Azalea, we can settle this and bring the other girl,” he said, motioning toward me.
“Abbie isn’t here,” I tell him.
“Very well, this won’t take long, we brought the truth serum, so it should be settled quickly,” he says, motioning for his men. They move toward me, and all hell breaks loose as Liam suddenly shifts. Denali is instantly ripped backward along with the other two men when the guns start going off. But I don’t get a chance to see what happens as Clarice rips me up the stairs. I could hear gunfire and fighting, screams and footsteps chasing after us.
“Kyson,” I screamed through the link.
“An hour out, fucking pull over,” I hear him scream at someone through the link.
“Hide, I will find you,” he says, cutting off the link. I felt him shift through the bond just as Clarice stuffed me into a room. She looks around, and so do l as I hear footsteps. My entire body shook, and I found myself in the forbidden room across from Kyson’s old quarters.
“Stay here. I will lead them away.” Clarice says.
“Lock the door,” she says, cracking the door open and peering out. I went to go after her when she slipped out and shut the door. I quickly locked the door and glanced around toward the window. Hundreds of people stood out front the gates, and I stepped back so they wouldn’t see me.
‘Where are you?” Kyson says through the link.
“The room across from your old Quarters,” I tell him, watching in horror as I see Dustin lying unconscious on the cobble driveway along with a heap of guards. Men were handcuffing their hands
behind their back, all of them unconscious with darts sticking out of them. Yelling could be heard, and I could hear Liam fighting still as he was dragged out, yet he was hit with another dart, his body twisting and arching as he was forced to shift back.
Multiple darts were in his back, legs, and neck when a guard wearing black camo lifted his gun and shot him in the chest three times with more darts. His legs went out from under him and blood- drenched his entire body when I heard a shrill scream.
I watch petrified as Clarice is dragged out kicking and screaming with the two boys she had taken in. Denali wipes his face with a handkerchief as he walks out toward the gates when I spot her. I was certain it was the same woman.
The woman that watched from the servo after Kade was killed. Denali talks to her through the gate. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the three other men also stood off to the side, watching him before he turned around. The man with the missing eye wiped the blood off his face before snarling and kicking Liam in the stomach. My hands went to my mouth, so consumed with fear, I forgot Kyson, who was talking to me through the link.
“Azalea!” he snapped. Denali turned around before reaching for a microphone of one of his guards. He turns to face the castle bringing the microphone to his mouth.
“Queen Azalea, you have been summoned by the council, so you need to step outside,” He says, slowing. He looks up at the windows, and I remain back out of his line of vision.
“You have two minutes to step out, or we will use deadly force, beginning with,” he looks around before one of the guards grabs Oliver. Clarice loses it, shifting and attacking the guard when Mr. Crux punches her knocking her to the ground before grabbing the boy.
“Two minutes or the rogue boy dies,”
“Azalea!” Kyson snaps at me.
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‘They’re going to kill them if I don’t.”
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
“They have Oliver,
“Azalea, I am not far out. Remain where you are.” Kyson says as I watch in horror as they push tiny Oliver to the ground on his knees. Mr. Crux pulls a pistol from inside his jacket and presses it to his head.
“Two minutes Queen Azalea, I can not kill any Lycan here but a rogue, even a child I have the authority too,”
“I have to go.’ I tell Kyson.
“No, remain where you are,” he orders and I grit my teeth.
“How far out?”
*20 minutes,
“It’s too long.” I tell him, forcing his command off.
“One minute,” Denali calls over the microphone, and Oliver cringes away from the gun held to his head.
“Azalea?” Kyson says, his panic smashes into me. Mr. Crux presses it to his temple, and I rush toward the window, throwing it open.
“Wait, I will come down,” I scream to them. Mr. Crux lifts his head to look at me while Mr. Denali smirks.
“We thought you would change mind.” He nods toward some of his men, who race toward the castle.
“They will meet you at the foyer doors,” Denali called through the microphone, and I nodded, moving back inside the window. I glance around at the baby’s room. One that was made for me had Kyson found me when my parents were killed, however nothing here offered any sort of protection. Swallowing down the bile in my throat, I move toward the door and open it.
The moment I stepped out of the safety of the castle doors, I was surrounded and grabbed. They dragged me to the front of the castle, and Kyson was in my head the entire time, telling me to stall them. His fear was potent, and I wondered what sort of history he had with the council that they would be daring enough to go against the Lycan King.
“Azalea, my Queen. So lovely for you to join us.” Denali purred, and my skin crawled as he approached me. He clicked his fingers at one of his men, who shoved me toward the iron gates and handcuffed my wrists to the solid bars. My heart skipped a beat as everyone took a few steps back as they watched beyond the gate.
‘Fear not. You will have your say. We just have a few questions for you. This is merely a precaution,” Denali says, gripping the back of my neck to turn my face toward his..
Are you really that gutless that you had to wait for my mate to leave?” I ask him, and he laughs sadistically.
He stepped away, and I could see Oliver kneeling next to Clarice, crying, huddled in Logan’s arms. Turning my attention back to Denali, he sneered at me.
“It is a mere coincidence that the King wasn’t home. We were sent the report and investigated; this is just a questioning,”
“If that is all it is, why did you feel the need to take out my guards and handcuff me to a damn gate?”
“Because we are aware of the pact the guards hold, they will fight. We haven’t hurt them, just made them more compliant,” he states.
“What Pact?” I asked, a little confused.
“The King never told you?” He asks, and I glance around at the crowd of onlookers watching me.
“Regardless, I am here to administer the serum, ask the questions, and choose punishment if necessary.”
“15 minutes, love Keep stalling. Leave the link open, so I can hear what is going on. Help is coming.” Kyson says in my head. I swallow when Mr. Crux approaches with a vial.
“The Landeena Kingdom, head to the castle your Queen needs you,” Kyson calls through the link. I didn’t have time to process his words, and I knew the town was a good 15 minutes from the hill on which the castle stood.
“What is this about?” I ask, knowing full well by the woman standing on the other side of the gates watching me. Denali follows my gaze and motions for one of the guards to let her in. The gate is opened beside me, and the smug bitch steps inside her heeled boots clinking on the stone driveway before they close it nearly jamming my fingers. She moves behind me and stops beside him, folding her arms across her chest.
“Cassandra,” I snarl.
“So you do know each other, wonderful. Cassandra here says you commanded Abbie to reject her husband, Alpha Kade and made him
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accept the rejection, she also claims that you also stole the pack’s future Luna,” Denali says.
“That is not true. Abbie tried rejecting him. He was abusing her,” I told Denali before glaring at Cassandra. “With her help,” I growled.
“That wasn’t what I asked. I asked if you abused your power as the King’s Mate and broke a sacred law regarding mate bonds?”
“As I said, he was abusing Abbie. He sexually assaulted her,”
“And where is Abbie to verify this?” Denali asks, tilting his head toward me. He nods to Mr. Crux, who moves toward me with the vial. I clench my teeth together.
“Kyson!” I rush through the mindlink.
“Any minute,” Kyson replies when Denali grabs my hair ripping my head back while Mr. Crux pinches my cheeks, stuffing the vial in my mouth. Denali checks his watch while I cough and gag at its taste, yet something about it reminded me of Kyson.
“You can fight the effects,” Kyson links to me. “Focus, love, that serum is made from my blood. You can resist it,” he tells me.
A minute or so goes past, and Mr.Crux nods to Denali.
“Did you command Luna Abbie to reject her mate, Alpha Kade?” Denali asks. I grit my teeth. Fear so palpable it made goosebumps rise on my skin as the urge to answer rolled through me, making my body tense.
“Nearly there, fight it,” Kyson snarls when I hear a commotion outside the gates. Denali glances out the gates to the cobble road where Kade’s pack stood before waving some of his men to sort whatever is happening out. They rush out the gates, and Kade’s pack members murmur amongst themselves looking down the road.
“Answer me,” Denali demands. I don’t know what Kyson meant about fighting it. Fighting against it caused me to break out in a sweat, my stomach twisting painfully.
“Yes,” I gasped. Fighting breaks out outside the gates and down in the gully before the driveway in. Denali looks toward the commotion outside the gates.
“Enough proof, bring the whip,” he says, wandering off to talk to someone behind me. I look over my shoulder, twisting my neck to see what is going on behind me. I gulp when I see the barbed whip in the man’s hand, Denali was talking to the man with one eye, glancing nervously back at me.
“Tell them I commanded you too,” Kyson yelled through the bond.
“I can’t,” I said.
“You can and fucking will, your pregnant Azalea, tell them I commanded you too,” I try to open my mouth to lie, yet whatever the truth serum contained wouldn’t allow me to breathe a lie.
“Azalea!” Kyson booms in my head. I choke on the words, trying to spit them.
“Don’t you dare fight me? I’m sorry, love, I have no choice,” he murmurs when I feel his command smash me through the bond and mind link. It rolled over me, causing crippling pain as he ordered me to blame him.
“Kyson ordered me to do it,” I blurted. Mr. Crux gripped my face, and Denali came back over.
“Excuse me?” Denali asks.
“Say it again!” Kyson commanded through the bond, sweat glistened on my skin, and I felt like I would be sick.
“The King ordered me to command them,” I choked out, gasping for air. Denali and Mr.Crux look at each other before turning to Cassandra.
“Is what she says true?” Denali asks her. She opens her mouth and closes it.
“Well?” Denali snaps.
.
”
I don’t know. I only got there to see her command them both. What does it matter? She still did it,” Cassandra says in her nasal voice.
“Good girl,” Kyson says, letting the command slide off me.
Denali and Mr. Crux talk amongst themselves while Cassandra digs her smokes out of her leather jacket.
“How could you, after everything you did to her?” I ask Cassandra. She pops her hip, lighting a smoke before stepping closer.
“My husband is dead because of her. Your mate killed him. I now have to raise my kids without their father because of that bitch,” Cassandra spits at me. I growl, my canines slipping past my gums as anger courses through me. She turned to face the council members who were whispering amongst themselves behind me.
“She still commanded them, but I have one more question before we proceed.” I turn my head, and he steps closer.
“Did you know it was against the law to break a mate bond against their will?” Denali asks. My brows furrow, wondering why he was asking, yet the urge to answer hit me instantly.
“Yes.” I breathe
“And you still did it?” Denali asks.
“He was hurting her, so yes,”
“Well then, regardless of whether the King commanded you, you knew better. Being his mate, you are capable of fighting his commands, therefore will be held accountable,” Cassandra smirks at his words puffing on her cigarette.
“What are they going to do to me?” I asked Mr.Crux, who was still standing beside me. Though I already knew by the whip in Kendricks’s hand. My heart raced a little faster when Mr. Crux started ripping the back of my dress open.
“You broke a sacred law, you may be the King’s Mate, but you abused your authority, so you will be punished. 1000 lashes, or until Cassandra deems fit,” he chuckles. “About time the King is held
accountable for errors,” Mr.Crux sneered. I swallowed and chuckled.
“Silly girl, just because you’re the King’s mate, that doesn’t give you the power to break the law,”
“He was abusing her,” I scream at him.
“And where is your proof?” Mr.Crux demands.
“Ask me, or is your truth serum, not 100 percent,” I spat back at him. He grips my chin, pinching it tightly.
“Truth or not, you broke the law. We uphold it. We were looking for a reason to take him down, but if we can’t, you will do,” he laughed.
“Coward,” I laughed. Mr. Crux grips my hair, yanking my head back painfully.
“Oh, Kendrick will. He won’t hold back, not after the king took his sight,” I swallow, and my breathing becomes a little harsher.
“Your people are coming. Tell them who you are. It will buy you some time, I didn’t want to risk but we have no choice”
“What?
“Your parents-” I didn’t get a chance to listen to what he said when I felt the crack of the whip bite into my flesh, making me scream, hooks slashed up my spine and dug into my shoulder, and my scream was deafening when he ripped them out.
My knees buckle underneath me. My blood sprays across those on the other side of the fence when all hell breaks loose. Kade’s pack starts running toward the fence, suddenly trying to get in. My knees
dragged across the ground from the force of the gate being pushed inward. I couldn’t see past them to see what was happening and didn’t care when the whip tore into me again.
Gunshots rang out, and I hung limply in handcuffs, my wrist bent backward painfully and on the verge of snapping under my weight. I feel the barbs tear out of my skin, ripping my flesh away. My head hung limply, and all I could think about was the pain radiating through my back when someone’s head was shoved through the iron-barred gates beside me. I blink deliriously, finding it odd. How did it fit through the bars?
Screams rang out loudly, but all I could do was blink at the man’s head stuck between the bars. It took me a few moments to realize he only had a torso, from the waist down was missing. My head rolls to the side, and I see the men in armor backing up, guns trained down the driveway as they fire. I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I watched around 50 Lycans ripping into Kade’s pack members and the council’s men, ripping them limb from limb. People running everywhere to escape.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the horrors on the other side of the gate, my eyes wide, and I felt sick to my stomach. I could hear screaming, and I turned my head to find it was Cassandra. Her hands cupped her mouth as she watched her pack getting torn to shreds. Suddenly I dropped to the ground, and I didn’t even realize someone was uncuffing me. My body was limp as I stared around at the slaughter. Hands grab me ripping me against someone’s chest. My back arches as I try to get the pressure away from my back.
Seconds later, the iron gates burst open, and I had a knife pressed to my throat by the person holding me as the Lycans stalked into the castle grounds.
I was vaguely aware of Kyson talking to me, yet I could not understand what he was trying to tell me.
“Get the car ready?” Denali says. The Lycans circle us before dropping on their knees around us. The whole thing was surreal as I looked around, trying to figure out what was happening, when I noticed
Dustin roll as he started to wake.
“Take so much as one step toward us, and I will kill her. You have all just interfered with the council. There are severe penalties for obstructing justice.” Denali says, walking past me to address the Lycan’s kneeling.
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