King Bailey POV
She leaves. Just like that, my mate leaves me facing the stranger who looks bewildered and confused. I give a low growl of frustration. Riley owes me a reason for just abandoning me like this. She looked like she had seen a ghost when she saw the human form of this man and it made me suspicious of him as he stared at me blankly. I fight to control my frustration.
"Where am I?"
"My pack" I growl "and I happen to be the King of the Lycans" I snarl, causing the young man to stiffen in response.
Good, he has the sense to be afraid of me. I glare at him some more as I mind-link patrol to come and get him. I don't feel like dragging him into the pack house myself and part of me wants to go and find Riley, while another part of me wants to know what it is about this guy that has her so scared she took off running.
"Then you are..."
"King Bailey" I snarl "and who are you?"
He hesitates "Damien" he finally admits, his eyes watching me carefully.
He looks like he's older than Riley I think to myself, examining him. He also looks a little worse for wear. His body is splattered in dry blood droplets, his frame is thin and slightly malnourished and his eyes are normal colored but bleak rather than vibrant and healthy looking. Then again, being trapped in your wolf form and feral is bound to take it out of you, I muse.
"Was that who I think it was?" he whispers, glancing at me as I frown at him, wishing I had clothes.
"Who do you think it was?" I growl, warning him that he's still a prisoner even if he hasn't become aware of it yet.
Thankfully he hasn't made any efforts to leave or move away from the clearing. Must be some sort of innate sense of survival or he was just smarter than I gave him credit for.
"I think, well I think that might have been Riley" he stammers glancing down at the ground and then back at me "it looked like her."
"Who is Riley to you?" my voice is calm, even though I'm tense.
Was this her first mate? The one who had wanted to keep her and still take on a chosen mate as well? Is that why she chose to run? I feel angry, my eyes blazing as I stare the young man down while he looks frightened, the blood draining from his face.
"She's my sister" he mumbles.
Whoosh. I exhale but the young man isn't off the hook just yet.
"You're the son of a bitch who put the dog collar on her and tortured her," I say very slowly and deliberately as he stiffens, "the one who encouraged her pack to beat her and abuse her."
He pales "Look, I know that what she told you must seem..."
"You bastard" I growl, walking across and gripping him around the throat, lifting him up effortlessly as he dangled helplessly above me.
He made no move to try and claw my hands off of me, perhaps sensing how close I was to killing him right then and there.
"I should kill you" I snarl "She told me everything you did to her, what you're father did to her. You think you should be allowed to live" I give a cold smile that sends shivers down his spine "I'm going to make it so that you wish you had stayed in your wolf form forever."
"Wait" he bursts out.
Several of my warriors come to the clearing. My hand tightens in warning and then I let him drop, coughing to the floor and desperately trying to draw in oxygen.
"You're a pitiful excuse of a family member and it's a damn shame you share any blood with my mate" I snarled as he blinked at me, his body trembling "that girl deserves better than you as a brother."
He remains silent. One of my warriors hands me a bunch of clothes and I begin to climb into them, angrily, while Damien hangs his head.
Why isn't he defending himself? Why isn't he trying to speak back? It infuriates me even further. "Do you have any idea what you did to her? What she went through because of your actions? Do you have no shame" I roared.
He stiffens "Your Highness, if you would just hear me out..."
"What could you possibly say that would make me want to hear you?" I thunder "What kind of pitiful excuse could you possibly offer me as to why you hurt Riley so badly and continued to do so even as a teenager?"
He coughs. There's shame in his expression, as well as something else. A strange glint in his eyes.
"Nothing. There is no excuse" he murmurs and takes me by surprise.
I had expected him to protest, to deny it. To shout and rage and yell he was innocent. But he was standing still and looking remarkably composed. Had Riley done more than just coax him back to human form? Had she somehow brought back his humanity to the point that he was regretful of his past actions? I glanced at him suspiciously as my warriors surrounded him. He offered no resistance, his eyes resting on me.
"I am not a threat" he tells me.
I snort "You were only just minutes ago, a feral wolf who had killed more than five innocent shifters" I told him as he looked sickened by the news "so forgive me if I don't take your word for it. Right now be grateful you aren't being executed for your actions" I said bluntly.
He looks horrified "I never, I didn't, I mean"
"If you were feral you were unaware of what you are doing but I would hardly consider you now as not being a threat" I cut in "and as it is, your own sister saved your skin. How does it feel knowing she had such compassion for a stranger, only to realize in the end she had saved her brother unknowingly?"
My voice was cold.
He shivers "I'm sorry" he mumbles, hanging his head "I never thought she would do something like this. I just, I understand, do with me what you must. I won't fight" he promises.
As if he'd be able to beat my men in a fight anyway. He looks weak and tiny in comparison to them now. I doubt he could shift to wolf form anyway, even if he wanted to. I nod subtly at my warriors, two of them taking him fiercely by the arms.
"Until such time as I or my mate" I told him meaningfully as his eyes found mine "decide your fate, you will be placed in the dungeons. I cannot have you roaming freely on my land and my mate has no desire, from all appearances, to lay eyes on you. You claim to pose no threat, but I have lost good men because of you, and not all of my pack members will be so forgiving either. This is for everyone's safety."
Damien says nothing. He merely nods in understanding. My warriors begin to drag him towards the pack house but he obediently goes with them, while I stare at the back of him. It's hard to fathom such a young man being as cruel and ruthless as Riley depicted in her stories but I have no doubts it's him. Just because he looks different now, doesn't mean he's changed, I thought tiredly, glancing around the clearing. I can hear the sound of a wolf howling in the distance. It's full of pain and such emotion it brings tears to my eyes. I know whose wolf it is. The voice is unmistakable.
Mate is hurting. She wants to be by herself right now. We need to let her have space to herself. She had a shock tonight.
I'm worried about her. Maybe we should go after her I commented, gazing up at the sky but my Lycan shook his head in my mind, looking adamant.
She needs time to herself. Let her be on her own. The patrol are keeping an eye out and there is no longer a feral wolf to contend with. There are no rogues in the proximity and if there were, her wolf is strong enough to deal with them.
I sigh and begin to turn back towards the pack house, my steps slow and deliberate. Somewhere out in the forest is my mate, pouring out all her anger and her rage, and I listen to the sounds of her howls, the sound causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. Would she agree with my detaining of her brother, or had I made a mistake? I would find out when she finally saw fit to come back, and I waited, feeling a sense of trepidation as I tried to imagine how she must be feeling and fighting the urge to go and bring her back myself.