Chapter 129

129 Chapter One Hundred Twenty Nine

The slow dancing time finally came to an end and whoever was chosen to handle the music decided it was best to spice things up. The mood changed the moment the music changed, switching it to the fast-paced and clearing the stage of romantic couples. With the slow ageing process amongst the werewolves, it was times like this that many of them forgot just what boundaries lay between teenagers and youth. Well, the two had something in common when it came to enjoying the thrill of a rave, but the age bracket might have been a little bit larger than human limits dictated.

A forty-year-old werewolf could just as well be mistaken for a twenty-year-old and so the chaos began, shoving the Royal couple off the stage and to the side where they watched the werewolves go wild with smiles on their faces. “Have you seen Sandra?” Katie yelled over the sound of the music.

“Not really... It would be hard to find her in this crowd if she’s in it. Let me try talking to Jason,” Cole replied, keeping his voice levelled as though there was no music. When Katie strained to hear him, she was surprised by how clear he sounded even with the music that was blazing. The lights in the trees had also taken on an entirely different array of lights and flashes, perfectly simulating the lighting of disco in the open space.

“Did you enjoy the drinks with that she-wolf?” Katie asked him, trying to figure out what must have been going through his mind.

“Well, I don’t get drunk and I don’t like the taste of alcohol that much. So I don’t think I did,” he replied, keeping his eyes in the crowd. His eyes searched the crowd relentlessly, “Have you seen Caden?”

“No, I haven’t. What do you mean you don’t get drunk and what did Jason say?” Katie asked, following the wolf that was now walking about the compound in search of his friend.

“Jason said they ran into someone at the Hunter’s Agency who is helping them get the beer tested. Other than that, they are fine,” he replied, finally getting his eyes on a group of males around a pool table.

“Hey Gunther, I heard you were beaten by a human girl in a game of pool,” one of the men spoke up, smirking mischievously while he said it. The others looked at him questioningly. All he had to do was fall for his friend’s trap and he would be eaten by the wolves of friends that he had gathered around him.

Amongst the crowd that was watching the game was Caden. He held a bottle in his hand and continued to watch the game, staying silent whilst listening to the conversation. “Oh, come on guys. You can’t bring this up again. I don’t know what a human was doing here or where in the hell she had such badass skills at the pool, but I was about to ask her for a rematch. If only she hadn’t been interrupted, I wouldn’t have...”

.....

“Oh, stop running your mouth, man. We saw you get beaten without getting the chance to even defend yourself. It was sad to watch, you know,” another one of them cut him off, “What was her name, anyway?”

Caden chose this moment to walk away from the group, Cole choosing this moment to approach him, “Hey, Caden, where have you been?”

“Oh, hey Cole,” his expression remained blank while he spoke, “I’ve been here and there... did a bit of exploration. This place is really huge. Did you need me for something?”

After thinking through his thoughts, “Was just checking on you. Now when was the last time you beat me at anything other than pool?”

“If you are asking for a Royal beat-down in the one thing that you lack talent in, then who am I to reject you,” Caden smirked.

“Oh, you’ll eat those words. This time, I have a good luck-”

“Don’t finish that statement. Luck will only get you so far, Cole,” Katie cut him off and to Caden, “Don’t go easy on him.”

“I won’t, Your Highness. You have my word,” Caden replied with a slight bow.

“Oh, is that how it is...”

....................

“Cole Lycaon, the heir to the Lycaon throne, stares at the odds stacked against him in a match against his subordinate, Alpha Caden. It’s been a tough game. We’ve seen extraordinary games tonight, but this might just be the second most epic that we’ve seen since the start. With five red balls on the table and one yellow, Alpha Caden is running out of chances to...”

“Do you have to add the commentary?” Cole raised his voice at Gunther’s antics. Caden hadn’t been kind when they were playing and had done quite a number of moves that had gotten Cole backed up against a corner in a short but intense game of pool.

“I like the commentary. It helps me know who is winning,” Caden came to the man’s defence, rousing cheers in the slowly growing crowd.

‘How did we get to this point?’ Katie sighed, watching the two men-now-boys to her battling it out in a game of pool.

“Alpha Caden braced for the victory, can only stare at his adversary with pity as the...”

“Nope, the commentary has to go,” Cole snapped out of his focus upon hearing how pathetic Gunther was determined to make him look, “It sounds so biased. Who’s side are you on, Gunther?”

“I’m on the winning side,” Gunther replied bluntly, drawing laughter from the crowd.

“Ouch... Might we have an unbiased commentator now?” Cole tried.

“Cole, you don’t have so many shots left and a long way before you can beat me at a game of pool,” Caden pointed out, tearing the royal’s focus from the commentator once again. Cole didn’t have a choice, but to continue the game regardless of what was being said. Gunther hovered over the two of them making sure to turn every small detail into an extremely over-exaggerated scenario. The commentary brought a bigger audience and all watched as Cole was defeated in one game of pool...

..................

“Come on, Cole. It wasn’t that bad. You’re the one who asked for it,” Caden tried cheering up his friends while they sat as yet another makeshift bar away from the pool table.

“It was a disaster, but I will be graceful in my defeat. You won the game fairly even though you were slightly under the influence of alcohol,” Cole said, puffing out his chest.

“You noticed, huh. How does it feel to be unable to get drunk?” Caden replied, letting his washed-out state through his fa?ade. He’d been trying to act normal the entire time, but Cole had been able to see through it.

“Of course, I would notice if you were drunk. You aren’t the best at hiding it,” Cole answered, getting his friend up and pushing the bottle in his hand away from him, “Let’s get you out of here.”

Helping out seemed to be the only natural thing to do for the hunter, followed by the swarming questions in her mind, “I’ve heard it a few times now. What do they mean by you aren’t resistant to drugs?”

“Oh, I hadn’t told you. I can be poisoned, can’t get drunk and basically can’t be affected by any drugs in my system. Perks of being one of the moon goddess’ chosen,” he replied.

“What seems to be the problem?” Drake’s voice caught their attention, “Let me, Scary sister.” He said, relieving Katie from having to carry one side of the alpha.

“He might have drunk a bit too much,” Cole replied. the four of them went back into the palace. Following Cole’s instruction, they made their way to the guest room Caden had been allocated when they arrived.

“He was fine during the game of pool and even after. How is he barely able to stand now?” Katie asked.

“Well, it could be that he was straining himself to stay awake and sober, but when he was already highly under the influence of the alcohol. It’s rare and happens most when a Royal or alpha is involved. The moment they are discovered, it works like allowing them to let loose and this happens,” Drake explained. The two managed to get him onto the bed. Caden was asleep by the time they placed him on the bed, “This is not the Caden I remember from the time when you had them help you in the Royal games.

“He has been down lately. I don’t know how to turn things back to the way they were. I guess we’ll just have to let time heal him,” Cole replied.

“Who’s Ashley?” Drake asked. When he noticed the weird looks he was getting, he continued, “He talked about her when he was talking to the rogues that night. They knew her as well, but I was clueless about the whole thing.”

“Ashley was a rogue that managed to renounce her rogue status during a Prometheus evaluation. After her death, we found that Caden had heard her entire story...”

“He’d chosen to protect her and lost her anyway,” Drake surmised the remainder of the story, “I’ve heard of such a thing. If it was his mate, he would be dead or at least about to. I’m glad that’s not the case. Cole still needs someone to be there for him when the Sirius family wins the Royal games this year.”

“Just when you were starting to sound like a compassionate person, you go and say something so useless,” Cole sighed, rousing the angelic laughter of his mate(Well, one could say it was highly exaggerated by the mate bond between them...)