Chapter 198

198 Chapter One Hundred Ninety Eight

The students in the reserve awoke the next day to an outdoor room organised by the hotel. Long tables had been set up in the gardens outside, with seats enough to take all of them and the food already spread out. The teachers in charge of them were already up and making sure everything was in order. Katie looked down from the window and yawned, letting in the noise from the students gossiping.

“Oh, just look at all of them down there. Not a care in the world for the rogues that want to capture their princess... or is it because of the mighty hunters that are protecting them that they feel there isn’t need to panic or fear anything?” Katie mused.

Cole stirred awake and rolled towards the clock, “Your oversleeping tendencies are starting to get into me.” He groaned.

“Oh, you’re just embracing your inborn talents to be lazy, my dear. Good morning,” Katie replied, walking into the bathroom to start her morning ablutions.

“Good morning... One of these days we are going to take a vacation and escape the world,” Cole mused.

“I had no idea you were capable of dreaming, Cole. Do you have anywhere specific in mind?” his mate indulged him. Before it had been a passing thought, but she seemed to be following his line of thinking without any resistance.

“Well, maybe we can think of that when we finish our mission. There haven’t been any decent vacation places to visit like I’ve read of in books. An island resort perhaps... Without rogues, that would have been a perfect idea,” he replied.

Katie’s voice didn’t come from the bathroom for a bit. Right before the alpha was going to worry about it, she spoke up, “I’ve always wondered what the rogues even use for transport. Do they just run from one part of the world to another or do they have some sort of transport system? Black market vehicles that allow them to move from one place to another. If we were to go to an island for a vacation, would they swim their way to the island or would they use a boat... And if they used a boat, wouldn’t we be able to detect it before it got to the shore.”

“This sounds like talk from someone who actually wants to have a vacation,” Cole got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. Katie stared into the mirror with her hair pulled up so that she saw her appearance in the mirror without it falling down her shoulders. Cole’s wolf pushed forward in his mind, trying to gain control of the royal to no avail.

.....

“Well... I think about it once in a while. It would be nice to allow myself to forget about trouble for a little while...” Katie replied.

“Did you detect the rogues?” he asked her, noticing the worry that leaked through their bond.

“Yes, I did. They made it here last night,” the girl responded. Cole drew a short sigh upon hearing her reply. So much for a trip without rogues to worry about, “I could have been able to tell their exact positions if I had the time to do that. I can’t transmit their positions to any of you and with these many, I can’t keep track of all of them at once. It’s frustrating...” the girl stopped rambling when a pair of strong hands wrapped around her.

“Where?” Cole whispered. His mind invaded hers and she closed her eyes to let him in better.

“Most of them are crowded miles from here, close to the cave I found my sister in. They keep moving, but I don’t know what for. There is another group that scouted the hotel yesterday and retreated beyond my field of detection,” Katie replied.

“How did you know about the ones that were near the cave your sister was in?” Cole asked her, “That’s miles from here. Last I checked...”

“They reached there while Lina and I left yesterday. Yesterday was a close call... If we hadn’t gone for those troublemakers sooner, the rogues would have gotten to them,” she replied.

Cole was quiet for a bit, “You’re trying to be more careful this time.”

“Yes, Cole. I am trying. That’s not a talent I have though, so don’t count on it so much,” she replied with a heavy sigh.

“I know that. I can tell how much you want to snuff the life from the rogues in the forest. They’ve put themselves far enough to fool your senses. Since we are low on hunters, we won’t be able to know where they are camping out, so we are travelling blind. It would be best to make sure everyone is protected at all times,” Cole replied.

“Yeah... That feels like a lot of work though,” Katie replied with a groan.

“Oh, I can see your inborn talents of laziness awakening as well,” Cole chuckled, lifting the girl up abruptly. The hunter, who was now used to anticipating his whims, wasn’t shaken by the sudden gestures.

“I am not lazy, Cole Lycaon,” she replied with a huff...

“Yeah yeah, that’s right, Luna Katie,” the title brought goosebumps and ran a shiver down the girl’s spine. ‘Do you have to use that title too? I have Caden and Jason already using it. It’s overwhelming enough with just the two of them.’

“Well, you should get used to it. You are mine and you will be my Luna. Among the many uncertainties that stand ahead of us, that is not one of them,” Cole replied, placing her down in the shower and tugging her buttons off one by one.

Katie sighed, “Even then, there is no rule that says I have to get comfortable with it.”

“You’ll do fine, honey. You’re a natural leader,” he replied, “I can see it in your eyes.”

“Hahaha, very funny, Alpha Lycaon...” she replied with a smirk on her face...

......

Trevor sighed when he saw the famous power couple reaching the tables when half the students were already done with their meals. Cole’s alphas, along with Sandra sat together, talking about a multitude of things the junior hunter had no intention of getting to know about. “What’s the problem, Waters?” a feminine voice came to him.

He looked to his side and took note of the woman and man that had been assigned to work with him in protecting the children. They were both hunters and good ones, as recommended by the manager of the hotel. “The other hunter we’ve been waiting for has a tendency to be late for just about everything that her life calls her to. It gets frustrating, but she does what she wants.”

“That doesn’t sound like much like a hunter. Point me in the right direction. I would like to see this imposter. Perhaps she’s a junior posing for a real hunter and...”

“Alice, just look for the beautiful girl with blue eyes that isn’t Lina Sirius,” Trevor cut her off, rubbing his temples.

The woman scanned through the crowd and set her eyes on a couple of werewolves. They were royals and from the looks of it, mates to each other. She recognised the girl but had no idea what to think of the scene before her. The two of them made their way to a group of alphas and... “Is that a human with them? Who is that girl?”

Trevor stole a glance at the table, “That would be, Sandra Alastair. I can’t find anything special about her, but she comes as a package deal. Where the hunter goes, she goes and that’s how it’s been for as long as I’ve seen them. They don’t seem particularly tight. The girl spends her time with one of the alphas and Katie pretty much does anything she wants.”

'

“That’s odd. I would think the hunter was the girl’s mentor, but if they barely interact, I can’t see a relation there,” the man replied.

“It baffles me, but she doesn’t tell me much, so I can only say what I’ve devised for myself,” he replied.

“You juniors are always trying to get some information one way or another and let you know that you are better off without it,” the woman chuckled, popping another fork of food into her mouth.

“Well, yeah, the pros won’t tell us anything. I know the rule is that no one is to be trusted with information until Prometheus himself grants them access to it through a gift, but that only separates the two sections of the hunters. The junior hunters can’t work with the...”

“Just listen to what your mentor tells you and keep at your training until you prove your worth. Once you have your gift, you can then be able to ask all the questions you have,” the man cut him off.

“I see... Are the rules so absolute that no one is above them?” the boy asked.

“Yes, they are absolute. What are you getting at?” the man asked.

“Well, Katie Sirius acts as though the rules don’t apply to her. She barely does anything that a hunter would do. I haven’t seen her going to the hunter’s agency. I haven’t seen her patrolling around the capital like the others and she isn’t in any of the rosters that are set up at the agency,” he responded.

“You sound jealous, lead junior hunter. Shouldn’t you be pleased that she hasn’t replaced your position as the head-hunter,” Alice asked him.

“I don’t know what to think anymore. I asked the agency to send the students off with a number of hunters to protect them, but the moment they realised Katie Sirius was going to be a part of the group, they shut me down claiming it would be a waste to send another hunter when the situation in Lycaon was already stretching their forces thin,” he sighed.

“Lycaon... Now there are some memories,” Alice spiralled off into her memories.