Chapter 170

Chapter 170
Ximena

We went back inside, observing for a while as we stood in a row awaiting the next soldier to parade through where we were.

“What are you all doing here?” a hoarse voice echoed loudly in my ears as I stared at a man who looked like the commander of the armies.

“Uh-uhm…” Rogan stuttered.

“We came to carry out assignments that the king sent us,” Carmine cut in sharply.

The man stood for a while as he stared at us with a skeptical look on his face. “And what are you supposed to say after missing the parade, huh?” he retorted sternly.

“we’re…” Carmine tried to speak, but I was quick to grab him by his hands as I turned to the commander.

“Have you forgotten so soon, sir? A reflection pack soldier never says sorry,” I replied with a firm voice.

The man heaved a deep sigh before curling his lips up in a smile. “Good, you're all cleared. Now get into the hall; our services will soon be needed to move the slaves out,” he said.

“Slaves?” Carmine muttered under his breath, but I immediately squeezed his hands a little, stopping him from ripping the commander apart.

“We can’t risk attracting eyes now, Carmine,” I said to him through the mind link.

“How dare he call my people slaves in their own land?” he asked through gritted teeth, venom in his voice.

“You have to control yourself now, my love, please. We can't afford to ruin the plan now,” I replied.

“Okay, sir, we're on that,” Rogan replied as he led the way while the other soldiers trailed behind him as they walked towards the hall, leaving just me and Carmine. I locked eyes with the commander one more time, giving him a light nod as we took our leave.

“Fuck, what was that for?” I asked the minute I caught up with him.

“What have I done this time?” he asked with creased brows.

“How could you forget all of a sudden that we don't address the commander of the reflection pack as ‘sir’?” I fired at him.

“Say what now?” Carmine asked with furrowed brows.

“Shit,” Rogan cursed.

“What are all these rules about, Ximena?” he asked.

I heaved a deep sigh as I turned to him. “It's a thing my dad created. It's our own little way of knowing when there's an intruder in the pack, and right now we have exactly forty-five minutes before he's able to go to my uncle and make a report of the presence of an intruder, so we have to act fast, and now,” I urged.

Carly swung the door to the hall open, revealing the hall filled and crowded with people.

On one end of it were the alphas of several packs and their Lunas; they were seated in rows and columns with my uncle in their middle as the head of the army, while they had some subjects who filled the other spaces, screaming in excitement, all their gazes fixed on the war ground as they watched one of Carmine’s soldiers get beaten beyond recognition.

“How dare they!! That's Beta Steven!!” Carmine growled in anger as he lunged forward.

I held his hands tightly as I watched him, watching his soldier with clenched teeth get beaten. “Please, Carmine, please…” I begged.

“Enough!!” my uncle's thunderous voice echoed in my ears, making the whole room fall silent as if death itself had exhaled. “Now!! Oh great and mighty Beta soldier, are you ready to tell us where your king is?” he asked, his voice laced with venom as he stared down at Steven, who was panting weakly on the ground, still holding on, fighting with every strength he had left.

“Answer me!!” Vincenzo sneered, but Steven just lay there with a slight grin on his face.

“You don't understand now, do you, king? I… I… I didn’t stutter when I said you and your cohorts will never find King Carmine, and trust me when I say, the minute he comes back and finds out you made his own people slaves and sold them off to other kingdoms… Ooohhhh he’s going to rip your throat out!!” he snarled weakly with a bloody mouth and tight jaw.

“You bloody little….” he sneered. “Again!!” he fired at his soldiers.

“Wait!” a tiny voice echoed from behind Vincenzo. I shifted my gaze in its direction and, to my surprise, I locked eyes with Dani as she walked majestically to the podium.

“Oh, Alpha Vincenzo, you know we can't afford to kill the only man in this pack with all the answers to our questions, right?” she began with a smirk on her face. “Now I know you're so eager to get your answers about this king, alright? Which, trust me, I'm eager to know too, but not as eager to know where the hell that damn omega is!!” She continued, her voice echoing loudly through the hall as she stared down at Steven.

“Where the hell is that bastard who gave me a scarred face!!” she yelled at him.

Steven heaved a deep sigh as he raised his gaze to meet hers. “Again, Princess Dani, I don't know who you’re talking about,” he replied.

“Lies!!” she sneered.

“I'm telling the truth, Princess. Look… I know you're upset because of the past with King Carmine, but honestly, I haven't seen that girl anywhere since the fight,” he replied. “Also, I'll plead with you not to get your hands dirty in all of this. I'm sure we both know what King Carmine can do when it comes to the safety of his people… by the way, my condolences to you for your father… we heard,” Steven retorted.

“You know what, Vincenzo, kill this motherfcker!!” she spat at him before going back to her seat with tears in her eyes.

“I guess you're now the topic of today’s meeting, am I correct?” Rogan asked as he moved closer to me.

I rolled my eyes as I kept my gaze firm. I ordered some of my soldiers as they began taking their positions and using their witch abilities to create a way for me while masking their scents, careful not to trigger eyes.

“That was a long time ago, Rogan; by the way, she deserved it,” I replied.

“Well… with what I just saw, she really did deserve it. But that was a mad scar you gave her, Ximena,” he replied.

“Considering what she'd involved herself in right now? I can’t wait to add another scar across that face of hers,” I spat out sternly as I stared at him with fury in my eyes. “Go to your post, Rogan, wait for my signal; the others are already there,” I added softly.

“Yes, boss,” he replied before taking his leave.

I shifted my gaze back to Carmine, clutching my hands tightly with his.

“Are you ready?” I asked, my gaze soft as I watched him fight back the tears as he watched his favorite person get beaten while trying to protect him and his people.

“I was born ready,” he retorted.

“Okay then, at my command we'll strike.” I paused for a while. “Look there, that's the commander going to report about us… Our time has elapsed, Carmine… It's time to fight. This might just be the very last thing we do before we die, but please, we have to make sure we do it well,” I advised.

“I'm not scared, Ximena,” he fired at me.

“I know you aren’t, Carmine… but look around you, we're greatly outnumbered, and every single person seated in here is mostly your enemy. So being scared isn't an option; the only option here is winning,” I explained.

“I understand,” he replied with a light smile.

“Alright then, there's our cue.” I said, pointing to the commander who walked towards my uncle and whispered something in his ear, making him twist his face in a scowl.

“Kaboom, there we go. NOW!!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, not wasting any more time as Carmine and I jumped through the balcony, holding hands, and landed right on the ground at the same time, rolling in our separate ways, making the hall a den of chaos as Carmine stood up, grabbing one of the soldiers who fought with Steven and giving a hard pinch on his cheeks, followed by the sound of broken bones and blood splattering in the air.

Just then, my soldiers erupted from the shadows as they began to fight both with magic and strength, countering every attack with precision and skill.

I staggered my way up, trying to catch my breath as the helmet I wore, which helped in masking my face, fell off, releasing my hair and making it wave to the rhythm of the chaos in the air.

“My lord, I knew you’d never abandon us,” Steven said with a smile as Carmine got to where he was.

“Thanks for believing in me,” Carmine replied with a smile as he took him up by his hands.