Chapter 157

157 Chapter One Hundred Fifty Seven

Cole reached the palace with Katie or Ashley in this case. The wolf was getting sleepy from having to be in control of Katie’s human body. It was easier when she was in her wolf form. This exhausted her when Katie was not awake. It was like she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Eventually, she’d told the massive black wolf that she was going to retreat. By the time Cole had reached the castle, the wolf was fast asleep and he had to carry her to their bedroom. He had no problem with this... In fact, he enjoyed his display of dominance over the girl. It told the other males to keep away.

The guards at the gate saw him and immediately informed the king of their arrival. Pack warriors surrounded them the moment they were inside the gates, “What is the meaning of this?” Cole asked them in a serious tone.

“The king has ordered his daughters to be found and brought to him immediately. After hearing the sound of the thunderclap and failing to contact Katie Sirius, he became worried and ordered they be found,” one of the wolves explained.

“Very well. I will go and see the king right...”

“That will not be necessary,” Davin’s voice boomed from the grand stairway. He descended the stairs to meet them in the courtyard. The pack warriors let him through so that he could reach them, “Cole, what happened?”

“Frank pushed her past her limit and she passed out,” Cole explained.

“Take her to the infirmary...”

“No, send the physician to check up on her in our room. I won’t have her sleep in a hospital bed,” Cole replied. There were a few gasps at the defiance in Cole’s voice. It wasn’t common or even heard of for a wolf to defy the king.

After thinking it through, the king conceded, “Very well. I have to ask though. Why do I smell blood on you? I know it’s not your blood?”

.....

“It’s Frank’s,” Cole shrugged, “I might have lost my mind a little...”

“A little, huh. Is he okay? Of course, he’s okay. I’m only wondering where your injuries are,” Davin asked.

“They healed,” Cole replied. There was silence in the courtyard as they interpreted what the man had just said. Queen Martha was the first one to interfere with the gathering.

“What are you all standing there for? Cole, take her where she can have proper rest. I know you like holding her, but that’s not exactly a bed, you know,” the queen raised her voice just enough for everyone to hear her while she rushed out of the palace doors. It was the first time the woman had ever raised her voice in Cole’s presence. She wasn’t yelling either...

Nodding in appreciation, Cole was gone from the courtyard as quickly as he could. The king disbanded the pack warriors and sent them back to their former assignments considering he knew where his other daughter was. The nagging feeling of being followed left Cole when he realised the girl’s parents were not going to leave her side until they were sure of her condition and so he let them follow him. It was not like he could have refused them from accessing any part of their castle as they wished anyway.

“What happened, Cole? I felt Katie go dark through the mind link and couldn’t reach her even if I tried,” the king asked him. His voice was filled with concern for his daughter.

“Frank pushed her past her limit and she collapsed,” Cole replied briefly.

“Was that the loud boom we heard?” the queen asked him, remembering a similar event from a while ago.

“Yes, that was it. I didn’t even think she could do that again until Frank asked her to,” Cole explained, finally reaching the door. The king pushed forward and opened the doors to the room. Cole placed the girl in the bed and sat by her side, finally turning to face the King and Queen. The queen walked over to the other side of the bed and took a seat by the bed.

“What about Lina?”

“Lina was training with Sandra. She’s doing well. They stayed behind to tend to Frank. Or at least that’s what I think they did,” Cole replied, tucking a stray strand of his mate’s hair to the back of her ear.

“Well, that does sound like kind caring Lina. When she’s not watching that gadget of hers, of course. How bad was the fight between you and Frank?” the queen asked. Her inquisitive mood was not giving as Cole hoped it would. Something told him she was going to keep asking until she had all the answers she was looking for.

Just then, a woman reached the door and knocked, even though it was still open. She was dressed in a lab coat with borderline decent wear beneath, a stethoscope draped over her shoulders. She had a kind expression and two nurses followed her with a trolley of the equipment she needed to tend to the girl. Bowing, “You called for me, your majesties.”

“Come in, Doctor Caitlin,” the queen came in. Cole left his side of the bed and gave the doctor the space she needed to tend to his mate.

“Careful. She’s fragile,” he added.

The doctor, making a quick assessment of the girl before her, “This girl is far from fragile.”

“You haven’t answered my question, Cole,” the queen spoke up. Cole mentally groaned. Whether it was curiosity or intuition, Cole had no idea how her woman was able to tell that he was hiding something.

'

“Fine, it was an ugly fight. We fought. Exchanged deadly blows. He tried to shoot me at some point and my wolf nearly went feral against him,” Cole blurted everything out.

The queen was barely fazed by his outburst, “That’s the short version. Now calm down and tell me everything.” Queen Martha tapped the part of the bed beside her beckoning for Cole to take a seat beside her. The male gave up and sat beside her, starting the entire story from the beginning.

.......

Lina had been walking with this group for a little while in silence when the king contacted her, “Lina where are you? Katie went silent. Do you know what happened to her?”

“Calm down, Father. Cole is bringing Katie back to the palace right now. I don’t know if she’s fine. Something happened during her training. I believe Cole will be in a better position to tell you everything though considering he watched everything as it happened,” she responded.

“Very well then,” her mother pitched in, “We’ll ask him when he arrives. Your father thought it was best to deploy a search for the girl before he thought to contact you. Honestly, Davin goes overboard when it comes to his daughters,” the queen commented.

“Don’t worry about me, mother. I am fine. I’m actually returning with Frank right now,” Lina replied. She looked to the right and found that the man was beginning to stagger. His eyelids could no longer hold steady and he was reaching his limit. Redirecting her focus to the pack doctor, she immediately called out for help and gave directions to where the man was to be found.

“Jason, help me hold him,” she called out to the alpha.

“No, I’m fine,” Frank tried to complain when they held him. Just the day before, Lina had been in that exact position and the Mighty Warrior couldn’t help but think of the irony of the situation.

“Oh, quit complaining,” Lina snapped at him.

“Have you contacted him?” Jason asked.

“Yes, I did. We should take him to Honour’s flower shop. It’s nearer from here and the pack doctor has sent one of her assistants to help out. Hopefully, it’s not too serious. Just how hard were these guys going at it.

“How do you know the flower shop is open?” Jason asked her, picking up the pace with Sandra in tow. The girl soon noticed the strain the royal was under and switched with her.

“Because I can’t contact her. That’s how I know she’s at the shop,” the answer was only more confusing, but she was confident of what she was saying and that was enough for Jason.

.......

Honour was browsing through the flowers on the shelves, thinning and making last touches before she closed up shop. It was just another day at work. The phone at the reception rang and the girl rushed to pick it up. “Blue Rose flower shop, how may I...”

“Honour honey, would you make sure to water the roses please?” her mother’s sweet voice came through from the other side.

“Mother, did you have to say that over the phone? You could have used the mind link, you know,” the girl groaned, picking up the watering can and walking up to the roses.

“Not when you are tending to flowers. You tend to block out the entire pack’s mind link when you’re doing that. Have you finished closing up shop? You need to get back home before it gets too late,” the woman’s voice came through to her.

“I’ll be done soon, mother. Don’t worry,” she replied before turning off the phone. Her short moment of peace was interrupted by a loud banging at the front entrance. The girl rushed over and gasped at the state of her visitors. Lina was standing beside alpha Jason and Sandra who held a beaten man dressed in the pinkest male outfit she’d ever laid her eyes on.

She opened the door quickly and let them in asking the one question that came to mind before hearing anything else Lina had to say, “What happened?”