Chapter 169

169 Chapter One Hundred Sixty Nine

A brown envelope lay on the table with a written missive within it. It was from the so-called source the king had mentioned when he’d spoken to his ‘brother.’ The man paced about the room wondering what could be in the letter. His thoughts swarmed in his head. He’d gotten himself into a very precarious situation and he didn’t know how he was going to get himself out of this one.

Well, it wasn’t his fault for getting himself in such a situation. He’d only been following the wishes of his very goddess. At least, that’s what he’d known for as long as he could remember, “It’s been a while since you last spoke to me, Celeste. You know we had a deal. I was never to be blind at any one point in this sick twisted game of yours.”

The man walked out to the balcony and spoke, looking hard at the moon. She’s out there, risking her life every day and you choose to remain silent. Well, today is the last night I continue with this. If you don’t give me an answer, then I won’t keep this up. I’ll get her out and quit all this even if it’s the last thing I do.”

The man stared at the moon, keeping his hard stare unwavering. For someone who had no idea who he was or any information on werewolves, he looked like a mad man talking to the moon. He kept his voice low so that no one could hear him, but his face spoke volumes of the turmoil within him. It wasn’t normal to find him expressing himself, but this was one of those few times when he let his emotions be displayed freely on his countenance. When he was sure there was no one watching him, but Celeste herself.

Having said what he wanted to, he walked into the shower and got himself ready for sleep. Without reading what was in the letter, he got into his bed and drifted off to sleep. It wasn’t hard for him considering he’d been sneaking about the empire for quite some time. He was exhausted and losing the drive to keep up with the schemes he’d gotten himself involved in.

Far into the heavens, the goddess stared down at the alpha’s sleeping form. She’d been keeping her distance from this one for a while, but as it seemed, she had run out of options. She knew him well and wasn’t about to take a gamble on letting him go wild. “Are you going to talk to him?”

“I have to... If I don’t, who knows what he’ll do?” the goddess replied.

“The gods are starting to take notice of your involvement with the werewolves. Some of them are viewing your actions as direct interference with their actions,” Seth tried, but the goddess had made up her mind and he knew that what he was saying was only falling upon deaf ears. Sighing, he gave up, “Very well. I’ll do what I can to cloak you.”

“Thank you, my love,” she replied. Laying by the pool, she closed her eyes. She was out of chances to physically visit her creatures, but she did have one more way to communicate with them, although the more she used it, the more the other gods began to take notice of her increased involvement in the lives of the mortals and the rules about this were ironclad, the consequences for breaking them just as dire.

.....

Sean, the king’s uncle, slept soundly, his mind constantly wandering through memories of a single person that he’d only rarely met. Someone he cared about deeply but had only barely met. The moon goddess watched the man’s mind as it wandered about and her heart clenched with guilt. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she called out to him, “Sean...”

The man’s mind ceased immediately. He looked about his now-empty mind in search of the voice he’d now grown accustomed to. In the back of his mind, the most beautiful woman a werewolf could ever lay their eyes on floated about in a white flowing gown.

'

“There you are. What’s going on? Why won’t you communicate with any of us? I have noticed even your beloved Chosen are stumbling in the dark. You haven’t shown them anything to guide them and the Rogue king is on the move. He has plans that could end everything we’ve worked for. Why do you continue to sit idly by and watch?” the man snapped at her, “Did I have to first threaten you to have you come down to me?”

“Calm down, Sean. I don’t have so much time here. I came to tell you to keep doing what I asked you to do. It is crucial that you stay a step ahead of the Rogue King. Please, Sean. This is a request from your goddess. Would you rather have me on my knees?” she asked.

Anger boiled inside the man’s heart, “You know werewolves don’t want to hear you beg them one bit. We’d follow you in a heartbeat and even lay down our lives as long as the cause is just as you’ve always been to us. Don’t ever think twice before asking me to do something for you. That said, however, we had an agreement, Celeste. You were to communicate to me and not keep me in the dark for more than a month.”

“I know the terms of our agreement and you of all people should know that I wouldn’t break it unless something was amiss,” she replied to him. Sean was about to react when he interpreted what the moon goddess was trying to tell him...

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” the moment he asked her this, the image before him began to vanish. The moon goddess was always risking when she communicated with them. Sean had found out about the rules that bound the gods and now he knew this was one of those rules that were keeping her away from them. She had taken a gamble when she came down to talk to him and at that moment conveyed the biggest form of a warning she was capable of making without tripping any alarms.

The man woke up to a start after having had a vision from the moon goddess. He rushed out of his bed. His mind was completely drained of sleep. It was like someone had just given him a dose of the strongest coffee the world had to offer. He tore the envelope open in a hurry, his mind finally set back on his mission. His eyes skimmed through the letter with so much urgency that he almost missed the scented perfume that wafted into his nostrils when he opened the letter along with the beautified handwriting that had been used when writing the letter to him.

The person that had sent it always used the same style when making it and it was because of this that the rogue king had stopped questioning the man on what the letters contained. The very person they both knew as General Amanda seemed to have a personal interest in the royal and the rogue king had no objections as long as his orders were obeyed. The two were therefore allowed to communicate through whatever means necessary that didn’t compromise the man’s clandestine arrangement with the rogue king.

The letter dropped to the ground, leaving the man to his thoughts. His thoughts raced about as he tried to digest what he’d just read. He’d been holding on to the letter, waiting for a message from the moon goddess since she hadn’t spoken to him in a while, but now that he’d read the letter, he didn’t know what to think anymore. It bore nothing, but terrible news. So much so that the notes of love that were contained within the letter had completely slipped the man’s mind and left him to his thoughts.

“Hey, your pacing is bothering the mind link. Can you keep your muttering to yourself?” King Davin’s groggy voice came through the pack mind link, shoving Sean’s growing thoughts from his mind if only for a moment. It was long enough for the man to think clearly for a moment. He wanted to do something about what he’d read, but he didn’t know what to do that could aid in his mission without breaking his cover. Looking out the window, he spotted the dull glint of silver, something he was used to seeing at this point, ‘That boy can be quite obvious sometimes,’ he murmured before leaping off the balcony and shifting into his midnight black wolf, dashing into the woods at the fastest he could manage, keeping his steps stealthy.

The moonlight seemed to carve around the midnight wolf and keep it invisible as it travelled through the forest. The boy residing in the tree he’d spotted didn’t move an inch as the royal approached him. He waited patiently for the man to reach the tree before he lowered himself. The massive midnight black wolf shifted back into its human form, “You’re being too obvious. If I was able to spot you, what do you think Katie will do?”

“Oh, Katie can spot me just fine. The girl is always aware of my presence no matter how well I conceal myself. Chase hunters are troublesome to deal with that way. Besides, don’t you think I let you see me so that I can talk to you?” the boy smirked, leaning in to whisper something in the royal’s ear. Sean’s eyes widened in terror if only for a moment and went expressionless before the withdrawing boy could see him.

“That sounds fantastic. Long live the Rogue King...”

“Long live the Rogue King, indeed...”