150 Matt's arrival

"Cornelius, before I take you to the place, please respond to this one question." Caiden's interest was aroused. "How did Ed harm you?"

Cornelius gave him a look, and his demeanor immediately transformed. It was obvious that this inquiry had sent him back to a terrible and depressing area, where the Full Moon King found it extremely difficult to remember.

"My daughter was killed by Ed."

It resembled a heart attack. He felt his heart bleed horribly each time he admitted to doing this. Cornelius felt a lump form in his throat, making breathing difficult.

He went on, "I have been tracking Ed's every step, day and night. But he is a crafty hunter and has gotten away from all of my traps, I must admit."

Considering all that Ed had caused Kamara to endure, Caiden was aware of his reckless and unrelenting nature as a werewolf. But when Ed saved Nate's life, Caiden's heart was filled with a sliver of hope that Ed might have had a change of character. Caiden was probably wrong.

"How did this come to be?" Cornelius was both bewildered and angry by Caiden's question.

"Maybe you're standing up for him?" Cornelius had a little angry expression on his face. "Or does the Alpha believe that I would tell a lie?"

"Cornelius, I would never question your integrity." Caiden replied, coming up to shake his shoulder and giving him an honest look. "I want to know where I went wrong in thinking that Ed was the person I should have trusted with my children's lives."

"Ed appears to be skilled at lying to others in order to obtain an advantage." Cornelius remarked, knowing that Ed had definitely fooled Caiden. "He probably came up to you and offered to help you while you looked after his safety."

Even though Caiden was aware of Ed's wickedness, he never thought he could do something like that. Cornelius was very correct.

"I had given Ed a mission to complete." Cornelius started to narrate, slipping into the past and the shadows that encircled it. "I hired Ed to capture a very dangerous werewolf that had escaped from my dungeons."

He had to take a few deep breaths and pause.

"That night, while my daughter was in the forest, Ed shot her." His eyes started to well up with tears. "He took off running, saying he was innocent and that my daughter was mistaken for a seven feet werewolf by accident."

Even if it was genuinely hard to mislead them, Ed appeared to be telling the truth.

"She was my only daughter," he said, fighting back tears. "And Ed brutally murdered her."

"I'm so sorry, Cornelius." said Caiden. "Listen to Ed's side of the story before you apprehend him; I understand your anger and desire for justice."

"I assumed you would stand up for him." His expression abruptly changed. Cornelius had a look of wrath in his eyes. "But since I'm a just king, I'll follow your orders."

Fearful, Caiden tried to imagine himself in Cornelius's position as he stared at him. He pictured a hunter killing one of the quads and said it was only an accident. Caiden would pursue justice as well. Needless to say, Caiden had never experienced the indescribable anguish of losing a kid.

"I apologize if I offended you." said Caiden. "I'll give you Ed without a second thought, but I beg you not to kill him. Allow him to atone for all of his transgressions during his life."

He lifted his hand to shake Caiden's, saying, "I will do that."

"Incidentally, Ed has serious injuries." Caiden went on. "I believed that information could be helpful to you."

Then Caiden thought back to the crimes Ed had done to Kamara when she was just a young child and had lost her parents. How much Kamara's cruel uncle had caused her suffering. When had Caiden forgotten this enough to give him a second chance? He had finally realized Cornelius plight and that the children held the key to everything.

"I totally get why you think Ed is still redeemable." stated Cornelius. "After all, he saved your beta, Nate, and assisted you in rescuing your kids."

Yes, that is accurate." said Caiden. "However, I've already shown him my gratitude by reintegrating him into the pack. But I will never forget the harm that Ed did in the past."

"What did he do to you that was so awful?"

He admitted, "Not to me, but to Kamara." When she had recently lost her parents, he mistreated her. Kamara will be relieved to see him incarcerated."

"I will then get justice for Kamara as well."

Cornelius walked over to give Caiden a hug.

He said, "Thank you, Alpha," with sincerity. "I am so grateful for your understanding."

"Cornelius, there's no need to thank me." Caiden said as he withdrew. "After all, you're ensuring the safety of Kamara and my kids."

However, Cornelius paused and remained silent for a brief while, as though he was retrieving a significant memory.

His eyes widened, "There's something I need to tell you. They asked me to keep quiet, but Nate felt completely healed when he woke up this morning."

That sounded like such fantastic news, Caiden could hardly believe it. He was even getting ready for the possibility of going back to the Full Moon pack with Cornelius. Caiden thought something odd was going on since he noticed a second figure enter the room just behind Bruno.

"Matt?" He knew there were werewolves all around him, so he attempted to act calm while staring at the human with wide eyes.

Everyone in the room thought it strange that he introduced himself to the Alpha with a polite "Hello, Caiden," but Matt was a mere human and had no idea what he was getting into.

With a nervous look in Bruno's direction, Caiden gave the command, "Take King Cornelius to where Ed is. He'll be leaving with him."

"Yes, Alpha" Bruno answered back.

After everyone had left the room, Matt appeared perplexed and in awe of what had transpired.

"This man is a king, isn't he?" It was Caiden who laughed at his inquiry.

He said, "Yes, Cornelius is a king. You are undoubtedly unaware of his reign, though. Tell me, Matt, how you ended up here now."

"I am so sorry, Caiden, for coming without notice," he said, his hands trembling wildly and his body tensing up. "However, I assured Nate that I would give you these pieces of evidence if something were to happen to him on his way home."

With nervousness, Caiden peered at what Matt was carrying. What pieces of proof were those?