122

122
Kai

“Are you alright?” 

I open my eyes, another wave of pleasure rippling through me. “Of course! Why shouldn’t I be?” 

Grinning while still dizzy from the sensation, I watch my father roll his eyes. “You are really cut from the same cloth.” 

His muttering causes me to grin even broader. “I’ll take it as a compliment,” I chuckle, getting him to smile as well. 

“Do as you please.” 

I take advantage of the silence enveloping us once again and close my eyes, only to get swamped by the images Ace is sending me through the mind link. 

Emma is clearly visible in front of my inner eye, her cheeks red and her lips parted while Ace is pushing into her. 

He must have told her to look at him because her gaze is fucking intense. 

Fucking hell.  

Cayden clears his throat, causing me to open my eyes just as he turns his head towards the entry of the dungeon, losing his amused expression. “I would die to know what is going on there.” 

I follow his gaze to see a few guards scurrying around while the others look like they are fighting hard to cover their nervous shaking as they are just standing there. Their eyes are still jammed to look in our direction, their heads turning redder and redder. 

Why do they have to put on such a kerfuffle right now? 

Grunting, I detach my gaze from the motion-sickness-inducing frantic behaviour. “I guess that the higher-ups are ready to talk to us, and they are pissing their pants. And rightly so,” I mutter, annoyed. 

“A deal instead of a court hearing?” Cayden huffs, shifting in his seat to stretch his back. “What an interesting take.” 

I sigh, leaning my head against the wall. “Ace has already spoken to the Alpha King. He should have asked him for a favour by now.” 

“We shouldn’t work on favours around those people,” he retorts, passing his hand over his face. 

I can see how tired he is, his skin paler than ever. “If that doesn’t work… We still have an ace up our sleeve.” 

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” he comments exhausted, scrunching up his face. “As soon as we give them a reason to execute us, they will do it happily.” 

I tilt my head, looking at him while his eyes still jump back and forth, observing the guards’ movements. “Says the man who sacrificed himself stupidly. Did you ever think of mom?” 

He scoffs, closing his eyes as a barely noticeable smile creeps up on his lips. “She is all I ever think about. Would you ask a tree if it ever thinks about the rain?” 

“Goddess,” I groan, but while Emma’s moans fill my mind, making my heart swell, I can hardly protest against such a cheesy feeling. 

“The Alpha King is now ready to receive you,” a loud but not particularly firm voice announces. 

We look up, blinking against the shadow that has appeared in front of our cell. 

Talk about fucking timing. 

I was about to enjoy something here, bastard. 

It’s a good thing that the torches illuminate him theatrically from behind, or he would seem rather small as he gulps, waiting for us to react. 

“I beg your pardon?” Cayden asks, his tone nearly too threateningly low. “I was under the impression that we are in a jail, and not in a waiting room. Or did we misinterpret that as well?” 

The guard rolls back his shoulders, tapping the floor with the long lance-like stick he is holding. “The Alpha King is now ready to receive you,” he repeats louder, even though his voice is shaking even more. 

Another guy runs around him, opening our cell door with heavy keys. Before he can push the door ajar, I barge forward, clasping three cell bars to crush them together. With a short pull, I rip the metal grit off its hinges, holding it to my side. “You know we are just sitting tight because we have manners?” 

The wolves look up at me with wide eyes, their gazes jumping back and forth from the door they still have in arms length and the jail wall that I’m holding up.

“Kai,” my father warns me, before he turns his head back towards the two guards who have now lost any colour in their face. 

“Weren’t we supposed to be waiting for a trial? Or is this supposed to be a hearing? Why would you let us see the Alpha King before we get to see a judge?” 

The guards stutter along, explaining some strange court rules, and how he wants to speak to the packs in his reign face-to-face. 

Taking a step closer to me, he lays his hand onto my arm, getting me to let the metal bars go. 

The guards jump, and it’s a wonder that they aren’t hugging each other at this point. 

What the fuck is wrong with this pack?

One moment they are all acting like undefeatable soldiers and the other they are melting into a puddle. 

Just what is it? 

The rocky ground crunches beneath Cayden’s boots when he steps out, and he pulls at his jacket as if he has just styled himself up to go to a ball. 

“Perfect then,” he says with a smile, the guards looking as if they have shrunk a few inches. “We are now ready to meet the Alpha King.” 

What a psycho.