Chapter 110

110 Chapter One Hundred Ten

The room fell into a deep silence when the door swung open. Caden’s eyes were a bit teary and the occupants of the room could tell he had a lot to say. “I got the food,” he began, closing the door of the hospital room.

“Thanks, Caden. I’m starving,” Katie groaned, clutching her stomach.

“Well, I made sure to get more food this time. I underestimated the energy needed by a werewolf Rogue Killer,” he said, handing the takeout bags to the girl’s outstretched hands.

“I believe you owe us an explanation now. You’ve been mourning... and we’ve only been able to watch. Leaving you to your time alone, but you know a wolf cannot move past grief on their own. We do that as a pack,” Cole began.

“I didn’t want to distract you from what was already happening in your lives,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You know the pack comes first,” the dialogue continued. Katie placed her hand on the Royal’s to calm him when he started to get agitated.

“Cole, you know Caden wouldn’t have done anything irrational... What did happen Caden?” the room fell into silence as the stage was now Caden’s.

“I... I talked to Ashley the night before she was murdered. Jason had already fallen asleep and she couldn’t find any. At the time, we thought she was a boy, of course...” Caden recounted the events of that night to his friends, doing his best to keep his composure while he did. He had quite a lot to tell them and he told with extreme patience. The wolf within Katie pushed further to the back of her mind, trying to block out the information that was being delivered which proved impossible since she was one with Katie.

“Earlier when I interrupted the Prometheus evaluations, I was hoping there was still a soul among the cowards that lay before us that was like Ashley... Still seeking happiness and not war and death, but... I was wrong. Rogues are just like we are taught they are. They seek the destruction of all bipeds. I know it was a na?ve thought and I can’t help, but take all the blame... I don’t know how to fix it,” Jason stood up and approached his friend.

.....

“You don’t have to hold that much in, man. It’s not healthy for you,” Jason said, moving his seat so that he was next to the man, “And no one blames you for seeking another pure soul trapped in the darkness that the Rogue king has cooked up.”

“We’ll have a memorial in Lycaon... And her story will be known to all,” Cole spoke up.

“What good will that do?” Caden asked.

“Well, it will clear Katie of the incompetence accusations that she is being subjected to, but what’s more... It will get to all the other spies out there. The story will carry a message of help to all those that seek to get out of their life amongst the rogues. We might not get many considering what happened to Ashley in the end, but it is one step in the right direction,” he said.

“And what direction might that be?”

“The same one we’ve always been walking to. A life without rogues and a life without werewolf or human oppression,” Cole’s words reached him and the rest that was in that room, “We have a lot of work to do, but at the moment, I guess we should first hold off anything until after bidding our fallen the farewell that she deserves.”

Amidst the deep conversation that had now taken a turn for deep silence, the sound of someone chewing salads broke through the silence of the room. It drew everyone’s attention to the person that had now served herself a second plate of the food that Caden had brought with him. Seated comfortably with Cole acting as the perfect pillow, Katie continued to dig into the food.

“How can you even...”

“Just because I’m eating doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention. Besides, I’m not the only one that can tell that it’s time for all of us to get some sleep,” Jason took out his phone, the device came out cracked and barely able to function, a state he was used to at this point. When your job was to be the right-hand bodyguard to the Crown Prince of the Lycaon empire, owning a phone that was constantly being destroyed was normal.

“That device was cursed the day it was sold to you,” Sandra pointed out.

“And so were its predecessors and those that are going to come after it,” the man replied, finally getting the phone to work, “It’s quite late. Five hours to sunrise. We’ll leave you two to yourselves. I still don’t fully understand how the Princess survived eighteen years ago... or why Prometheus would give a werewolf his gifts, but I know I’ll find out soon enough. Have a good night, you two,” he said, smirking and pulling Caden to his feet.

Caden, whose first reflex was to reach out to the food they were denying him, started complaining, “Why do I have to leave at the same time as you?”

“Because then you’d be the fourth wheel,” he said.

“Isn’t that phrase supposed to be... Hey, what about Sandra?”

“See you later, Sandra. You should also get yourself some sleep. Wouldn’t expect you to spend so much time here either?” Jason said, shoving his fellow alpha out the door.

“Who would have thought Jason was the responsible one?” Katie mused at the spectacle that had just occurred right before her eyes. It was normally Caden that was pushing Jason around.

“Well, to be honest, they are both responsible. Jason just has a... ‘colourful’ character. Makes it hard to know that he can be responsible if he wants to be,” Cole explained. Katie had finally slowed down on the food, but whether it was her finally getting satisfied was beyond his comprehension.

“You have such loyal friends. I envy you...” she said, absentminded.

“That hurts, Katie,” Sandra mock-cried.

“Well, you didn’t exactly react well when you found out I was a werewolf. Take this as revenge, sister,” Katie smirked, making her way to the evil laugh that was stopped by a heart-warming hug from her best friend.

“I thought you wouldn’t make it. Why would you scare me like that?” the girl said, finally taking off the fa?ade she’d been wearing the whole time.

“You have such little faith in your mentor,” Katie chuckled, returning the hug kindly. Another set of hands wrapped around the two of them.

“Don’t scare us like that again,” Cole said to her. ‘Are these the two people that are closest to you?’ Ashley asked the girl. It was only now that she was realising who was closest to her... Sandra, her best friend and Cole, her mate...

“I can make that a promise,” she said to the two of them... ‘Yes, Ashley, these are the two closest people to me. Well, outside my family,’ she replied. The wolf reached out to the surface, taking in their scents as a way of imprinting.

Had Sandra not read about what was going on, she would have run away from the girl. Snow white fur had grown from the back of her friend’s face. Unlike the stubby facial hair of a grown man, this fur was soft like cotton and for some reason made the girl feel even more huggable. “And you better stick to it. Both of you...”

“Someone is good at merging with their wolf,” Cole began, watching his mate in astonishment. Her fangs were elongated and her face had become more wolf than human, but she didn’t seem to be straining at all.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Katie asked, finally getting out of the double bear hug.

“Well, it’s not every day that a wolf and their human parts use the same body simultaneously. When that happens, it’s called a half shift and honestly, it’s not common. Most werewolves want to be independent and find it repulsive to sync with their human counterparts even though they know of the strength that form provides,” he said. ‘You’re far too talented,’ he thought to himself.

“Oh, well, I guess the moon goddess gave me the perfect match then. A wolf that gets me completely,” she boasted, “Now, Cole, hurry up and eat something. I’ll smack you on the head if you don’t.”

Sandra, having seen Katie before the Founder’s festival, finally understood why the girl hadn’t gobbled up the entire meal. Despite her somewhat relentless eating, she had been thinking of Cole and was pretending to be satisfied just so that he could eat something. “You two are made for each other,” Sandra said, getting off the bed, “Have a good night.”

Silence filled the room... Sandra was gone and the two of them were left to themselves once again. Katie reached forward for one of the takeout bags and found that there was one meal left within it. “I guess Sandra knows me too well...”

“What was that?”

“Nothing... I was just pointing out that Sandra left her food behind,” she said.

“Oh my... we should...”

“Back off Lycaon, this is mine...” Katie’s face was starting to return to normal bringing her face back to normal so smoothly that Cole almost missed the change.

“Alright fine, bottomless pit... Just don’t get an upset tummy during the night,” Cole chuckled.

“What is it like... life in the palace?” Katie asked the thoughts of leaving her home creeping into her mind. Cole could tell she was anxious. It was the only way this could all go and she knew it. It didn’t help make it easier though...

“How about we make that a story for another day. I should probably get going as well... Is there anything else you need?” he asked her, wrapping up his food so that he could get going.

“Yes, I need you to stay the night...”