Chapter 40 A soul eating demon or the king's child?
Alpha Thorne’s POV
The door to Aurora’s new quarters clicked shut behind me, but the weight of the room stayed with me. I headed downstairs, my boots echoing against the marble. I needed to find Josephine. She had sensed something in Aurora something that bypassed my own Alpha instincts.
But as I reached the grand entrance of the Glass Palace, the air shifted. A scent I despised drifted in on the wind: cedarwood and rotting ambition.
Alpha Leonardo.
I stepped onto the porch just as he reached the bottom step. My blood simmered. If Leonardo found out the "hidden Luna" was here, he’d sell that information to the King within the hour to crawl back into favor. I had to keep her hidden. She was an innocent caught in a thresher of ancient blood feuds, and I wouldn’t let him grind her down.
"Alpha Thorne," Leonardo said, stopping short. He offered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I thought you’d be at the office today, playing the high-and-mighty CEO."
"I am the CEO, Leonardo," I replied, my voice a low, dangerous vibration. "Which means I don’t need your permission to be in my own home. What are you doing on my lands?"
He peered past my shoulder, his eyes searching the glass reflections of the foyer. "Right, right. You win. I just came to retrieve something I left behind in the study during my last visit."
I stepped sideways, blocking his view entirely. "This is my sanctuary. There are Alphas for the East, North, West, and South and then there is the King. You? You are a trespasser. I could have my security deal with you before you take another step."
Leonardo held up his hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine! We used to be allies, Thorne. Why the hostility?"
"Allies?" I snarled. I pulled back the collar of my shirt, exposing the jagged, silver-white scar carved into my chest the mark the Old hollow King had left. "This is why. You set me up. You fed me lies about the Old King, sent me to his palace to cause a riot, and watched the fallout. I nearly died because of your 'friendship.'"
Leonardo’s face didn't crumble; it hardened. "It wasn't a lie. I just wanted what belonged to me. And now... ever since she left, the gold shipments to my wing have stopped. I need her back, Thorne."
"She is a human being, not a gold mine," I snapped. "And it's too late. She is the Luna of the Four Nations now. The Queen. You can't touch her."
"The Queen?" Leonardo let out a jagged laugh. "The King’s previous 'dead' wife is back. Victoria’s son is the heir. The King doesn’t even remember Aurora. Their bond is a joke."
"The bond wasn't rejected," I countered, my heart hammering. "Legally, she is his only Queen. Victoria’s mate-bond expired years ago. Now, stay out."
"Is there a reason you're so protective of your door today, Thorne? Hiding something?"
"None of your business. Stay in your territory, and I’ll stay in mine."
I signaled a servant with a sharp snap of my fingers. "Go to the study. Bring the glass case Alpha Leonardo left behind. Move."
The servant returned a minute later, handing the object over. I thrust it into Leonardo's chest. "Now leave. I’m locking the doors."
"Locking doors?" Leonardo mocked as he backed away. "Since when does a Great Alpha lock his doors against the world?"
"Since the world became infested with snakes like you," I muttered.
I watched him retreat, but my eyes caught a flicker of movement in the treeline. Someone was peeping through the brush. I sharpened my gaze, catching the profile of a man Lieu the former Beta of the Moonstone Pack. Aurora’s father.
He had been stalking her, lurking in the shadows like a vulture. I feigned ignorance, letting him think he was unseen. I had more pressing matters to handle than this. "I need to find the woman they call my mate" I said to myself as I closed the door behind me,
I searched the garden, the market arena, and the guest wing. No Josephine. There was only one place left where she went to brood.
I climbed the stairs to the rooftop. The wind was whipping up there, chilling the glass. Josephine stood at the very edge, staring down at the world below.
"Why didn't you answer me?" I asked, breathless. "I’ve been searching for you."
"At least you're searching for me," she said without turning. Her voice was bittersweet. "It’s nice to be recognized, even if it's only because you need something."
"I don't have time for bickering, Josephine. I have a question."
"You want to know how I knew about the pregnancy," she interrupted, finally turning. Her pale skin looked translucent in the daylight.
My lungs felt tight. "Pregnancy? Are you certain?"
Josephine stepped closer, her eyes searching mine. "If she isn't pregnant, Thorne, then she has a soul-eating demon manifesting inside her. It’s one or the other. And honestly? I’m not sure which is worse. If it's a demon, she dies, and anyone who tries to save her perishes. If it's the King’s child..."
"I would rather it be a child than a demon," I said firmly even though it a lie, I don't want to be termed selfish but I rather the later than she having the king's child, but I know she is off limits, I love her so much but I can't have her
"Would you?" Josephine whispered. She reached out, her hand lingering near my arm. "Why are you so attracted to her? Why are you protecting her this way? You know she’s the Queen. You know she’s off-limits."
She paused, her brow furrowing. "And her aura... it’s so familiar. It’s like someone I knew a long time ago."
I looked at her hand, then back at her face. I didn't owe her an explanation for the pull I felt toward Aurora a pull that felt less like desire and more like a duty to the stars themselves.
I moved her hand from my arm and turned away. "I think you've said enough for today."
As I walked back toward the stairs, I felt her eyes burning into my back. I had Aurora in my house, her father in my woods, and her enemy’s child in her womb.
"The best thing to do now is to take her there"
she pointed at a place where they.....