Loyal ties
Lucas
Betas were nothing short of glorified errand boys—respectfully, of course. While my alpha was a little sentimental, he loved me and thought of me as a brother, which was the least I could say about many others. Which was why I felt strained within me. Why, every time I looked or thought about her, I felt a pain in my chest. It shouldn’t be conceivable. It shouldn’t be—can’t see that I felt anything for her. She was his mate, even though she was human, but he didn’t want her. Surely that was enough. She had rejected him, and maybe she didn’t know how to accept the rejection, but it was done and it was finalized. Watching her injured like that broke something inside me. She was weak; she needed to be protected, and if he couldn’t, I would.
“My lord Beta.” My eyes found one of the guards stationed in front of her room. There were more than two, but the remaining were heading in plain sight. It was either castle staff or the likes they were meant to look like. Their singular goal was to protect her with their lives. I gave Charles and Paul a swift nod.
“Any visitors for her today? Did he come?”
Charles shook his head. “Only Kendrick and the old man on the council. Alpha didn’t come.”
I felt my eyebrow twitch. Perhaps he was truly abandoning her—then again, maybe that was what he wanted—but surely you should know it was bad for him. His wolf would grow restless. It was just about the same as giving his wolf its perfect half and then, in one quick motion, ripping it away. It was just about the same as ripping off a bandage from a rather sore wound. As the wound’s flesh lost its mind, his beast would go wild and untamed.
“Fuck,” I rasped under my breath. “And what did the old man do?”
Paul shook his head. “He simply came to look at her. The Alpha gave us the go-ahead to let him through.”
I raised an eyebrow. “But he didn’t come here himself?”
“No. He sent the third to command to do his bidding. I have patience,” Paul said.
Killian was acting like an insufferable child, and true—while they had that right to do so—he did just lose his mate; he should still exercise more caution. Still, he had my loyalty, at least I would convince myself of that.
I pushed open the door and found Amara asleep. I had been coming to see her every day for the past two weeks since she was injured. Her healing was slow—too slow. She was human, and while it was obvious that her healing would be slow, I didn’t think I would find it this vexing. I walked slowly to watch the bed, sat close to her, watching her features, memorizing them to some extent. She was pretty by all standards, but more so than that, her face now carried a fragile edge. She was suddenly a little too slim; she was suddenly a little too small. She wasn’t before, don’t get me wrong—she had that fire about her that made her seem a little bigger. I chuckled remembering the way she stared Killian down, remembering the way she teased him—not teased; she pushed him. He needed that. Everyone always gave him blind loyalty and instant obedience. He needed someone to challenge him. She was it. But no—her silence was all too much, concerning.
I watched the subtle rise and fall of her chest as she slept. Ever so slightly she twitched in her sleep. Her lips would quiver, but she would barely make a sound. Still, her heart was beating; her blood rushed through her veins and in my ears—she would be fine. Oh, she needed to heal quicker.
I heard familiar steps and the familiar scent followed soon after. A chuckle, just as Kendrick opened the door. The kind character of the pack healer was rather filled with too many questions for his own good. I looked up at him and then he looked at me.
“What did the old man want with her?” he shrugged and peeled off his jacket, walking over to a nearby chair and pulling it toward me.
“He wanted to see her. She’s been awake several times, you know?” My heartbeat quickened just a little—just a little, quick enough for me to struggle to control what could not be controlled.
“You wanted to see her? Wonder to make his own—” Kendrick paused, making a face, “—a thing about her.”
“He wanted her to understand her place here: that she cannot leave yet. That the council is divided.” I mean, it’s obvious.
Kendrick shrugged again. “There’s debate on something. There are so many factions in there, it’s amazing to see how they get things done. Then again, look who’s talking. I spent a little while around humans and anything—they band together to combat problems, but they much prefer to form little factions that look out for their own interests. We’re no different. At least we share that human trait, however disgusting it is. The council…” He shook his head.
I smiled. “I know. Can’t drink. I was there.”
“Oh.” He chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “So how did it happen?”
I took my head.
“When Killian said he wasn’t going to kill her as per the old ways, he should—they said—that any human found trespassing was a direct breach of the old laws and she must be punished for it. Killian’s—now many of them—put the pieces together, although I think it was Selena who put the pieces together. I think she pushed her father, at least acted on her interests for some time. And he did help her.”
“Brandon blurted out in front of the council that she was his mate, and even though he said she had been rejected, Brandon didn’t take it. He's going to lose it, Killian, and of course you can bet that when he’s pushed up against the wall he doesn’t do well.
Kendrick’s eyes darkened slightly.
“You think his wolf will lose control?” He asked me, although he knew the answer.
“It will,” I said. “It's only a matter of time; if he doesn't claim her, it will.”
Kendrick looked away.
“Then why does he keep her…if he won't claim her?”
I shuddered.
“He won't let go. You know how he is. Remember when we were younger?”
Kendrick's eyes lit up, then darkened. I leaned forward.
“Remember when he had that necklace belonging to his mother? The old alpha wanted to take it from him—destroy it. He lost control; he was in such a position, so badly taken by the necklace he would have been strong days, but he didn't care. And when the alpha finally took it from him, he lost his mind—he lost his sanity.”
“I don't want to see that again,” Kendrick said. I didn't think anyone needs to see that part of him. I think you’ll do it. It all depends on who's doing the pushing.
Kendrick raised an eyebrow. “Selena?” he asked.
I gave him a swift, raised nod. “Pretty Brenda keeps annoying him with her. She has a friend-warrioress, the daughter of the iron-fisted general. The two of them keep a very close group and it'll be hard, but find a way.”
“And then of course there's the rest of the council that believes he should hurry along with his official mating to Selena. You can imagine who's spearheading it.”
Kendrick shook his head. “It must be nice to have your father on the council,” he said slowly. “At least you know that every interest of yours is covered.”
There's politics aside, I thought to myself. Selena, as I knew her, hated going to her father for help—one trait that I found admirable amid the many others she exhibited, but I found this distasteful. I lacked an understanding as to how Killian could spurn her; then again, every time she was with him she was sweet, she was perfect. She was so perfect you could see that something was wrong. Every expression was well-timed; every word she said was well-measured— even her tone and even our little outbursts of emotion were so perfectly curated and so perfectly acted. I knew it.
Maybe because I was meant to serve someone, but I always prided myself on my eyes and the ability to see things about people. I turned to look at the human again. She thrashed in her sleep as though she was running from one place to another. The more I looked at her, the more it became apparent that she wouldn’t survive this pack. However she survived in the human world; being here was vastly different.