Chapter 365

365 A Week’s End

“That’s a crazy plan. You could die... no... Correction, you will die. What are you thinking? Try thinking about your own safety for once,” a blonde blue-eyed female yelled again. This female was the only mix there was between royalty and the rogues... the one wolf on the planet that played both parts. With neither side knowing which side she was on.

And it had been intended that way. She’d also been trying to get her mate to come up with a different plan, but the man was even more stubborn than she remembered him. The last time they’d had a similar discussion, he’d been opposed to every idea she had, but hadn’t resisted. This time, however, he was playing along, but not in the way she expected.

“I’ve made my decision. I won’t die,” the man replied.

“What makes you think that? You broke the king’s trust. Do you really think he’ll take it easy on you? It doesn’t work like that, Sean. The world is cruel and executing someone is a simple thing,” the woman tried arguing.

“Execution might be a simple thing in the world you’ve grown up in. A world I wished I could have protected you from. I’ve not slept well since the day you left. If you didn’t go through with the orders the rogue king has given you, I’d feel even worse than I already did. This week has been... the best I’ve heard in decades. I slept soundly for the first time,” the prince’s smile was pained, but he forced it through.

For the time that they had lived together in this cabin in the middle of nowhere, Bree had gotten to see a side of the prince she never thought existed. As far as everyone knew, he was a cruel man that didn’t care for anything in the kingdom. He came and went as he pleased and never fulfilled his duties as a royal except when explicitly asked by the king. What she saw of him now made more sense than she could have ever imagined.

‘The royals are strong. Enduring all that time, not only without your mate by your side but also knowing that your mate is almost always in the presence of the most dangerous werewolf in the world. To know that she’s risking her life every day in his service and that there is nothing you can do about it,’ Bree’s thoughts wandered. It had to be an excruciating existence and for this, Bree had grown to respect Sean Sirius.

Bree watched the exchange in silence. When she compared the man before her to the one she’d come to know growing up, she was astonished by the difference. It now made sense why he was always bitter and never smiled. The truth behind his bitter personality was nothing but endless pain... Pain that he endured. Sean had endured more than she thought possible for a single werewolf. It was a miracle he was still able to smile after all this time, “I’ll defend him when we meet the king,” the girl interrupted, “I’ll tell the king it was all my fault and take the blame for everything.”

“I also can’t allow that. You made a mistake just like Ginger, but you don’t have to...”

.....

“Ginger paid for it with her life. It won’t be fair if I only get through this with a slap on the wrist. What a joke that would be!” the girl scoffed, a stray tear breaking loose from the dam she was holding... Yes, she was afraid of going back.

Afraid of going back to her friends. Afraid of facing Crysta again. Afraid of facing the fact that she’d made a heavy mistake. She was afraid of seeing the place Ginger had been laid to rest. She was afraid of setting eyes on Lina again. She didn’t resent the princess anymore. She’d watched the suffering the royals go through first-hand. She was afraid of admitting it. But even after all her nonsensical actions, she had to stand there and hear Sean try to defend her from it all.

While he was trying to risk his life for someone whose name he hadn’t even known before she broke him out. Bree was trapped in a sea of emotions... It wasn’t fair. Why wouldn’t she be punished? Bree couldn’t live with that. She wanted to do something. What could an average wolf with amber eyes do in the face of royals and hunters... She didn’t know... but that same wolf had captured royals... She wanted to do something.

Having gotten a glimpse of her resolve, the pair sighed, “Very well. Do what you see fit. The point of all this is to get you back into Sirius and help Amanda get through this without getting into any more trouble than she’s already in.”

“That’s one tough mission you’ve been given,” Bree grimaced, remembering the mission Amanda had been given... Breaking Aidan out of captivity. She was going to have to go up against hunters.

“Yeah... well, let’s get going now, shall we?” Amanda had heard enough. These two were simply plain crazy. It felt worse when Bree didn’t try to stop Sean from making such an obnoxious plan. She just went along with it.

‘Is it like this for all of them? All who grew up within the empires...’ She bit back all the words she wanted to scream at Sean. Deep down, she knew he was doing it because he cared for her, but it didn’t make it any easier. Trying to get him to go with her had failed almost immediately as she brought it up.

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

The Hunter’s Agency was soon in sight. A large facility filled with massive white buildings all engineered towards training and developing weapons and hunters that would protect the empire from the threat of rogues.

One of whom was headed right for it with two escorts from the Sirius capital. It was odd that the facility had been built far from the palace, but then again, it worked in their favour. They didn’t have to worry about any of the wolves from the pack accidentally bumping into them in the woods.

The trio finally stopped under the cover of the trees. A few feet away from their hiding spot were the large gates of the Hunter’s Agency. This was as far as they could go as a trio. It was time for them to split up.

Amanda hugged Bree first, “Hey, don’t let me find you plotting again,” the woman scolded. In a softer tone, “I might not be the one to find you the next time. Stay out of trouble. You have people that love you. Don’t take that for granted.”

Bree wanted to say something to the woman. To wish her good luck or something. Good luck with that though... Bringing the empire down along with the rogues or was it to wish her good luck in breaking out one of the most dangerous rogues on the planet? It was a difficult thing to do.

Amanda, however, wasn’t looking for these words. She turned to her mate after placing a peck on silent Bree’s forehead.

Sean and Amanda shared one last kiss and a heartfelt hug. The woman’s eyes changed from sapphire blue to crimson red before she dashed off. Silence hung in the air as Sean took in what had just happened, “When is the next time you will be seeing her?” Bree asked him, trying to fathom what was happening. His reply... was even more worrying.

'

“That’s not up to me, unfortunately. It could be from a few weeks to several years,” Sean replied, sighing heavily, “Let’s do our part.” Nodding in agreement, Bree held out her hands together at the wrists and allowed the man to tie them with a rope they had come with. This partly reminded her of the time she’d tied Sean to a tree... ‘Ah, dark times... Not like these aren’t dark either...’

Sean then led her like a slave to the front gates of the Hunter’s Agency. The sight of the two of them, as expected was cause for alarm. Sirens screamed off at the centre of the Hunter’s Agency. The guards quickly drew their weapons, but they were too slow in their reaction to the new arrivals.

Having let go of Bree, Sean dashed forward and knocked them out, moving faster than they’d thought him capable. His element of surprise was gone almost instantly, but he’d already accomplished what he wanted to... creating a diversion.

Grabbing one of the weapons from the unconscious guards, he secured Bree and held her with the sharp edge of the knife by her throat. The hunters were confused by many things happening at the moment. The king’s brother had shown up after being reported as an escaped prisoner in possession of an innocent girl. Showing up with that same innocent girl at the Hunter’s Agency made no sense whatsoever.

“What brings you here, Prince Sean?” a voice tore through the chaos.

“I come here on orders from someone greater than I am. In exchange for this girl, you will hand over the alpha you hold prisoner,” Sean threatened in the most commanding tone he could muster. Frank Silver was not impressed by the sudden display.

“What makes you think you can leave with the man unharmed? Even if we make the exchange, we won’t let the two of you leave here. It’s a futile plan you’ve come up with. Besides, you’re already surrounded. Using the girl as a human shield won’t get you anywhere,” the Mighty Warrior was confident in the hunters he had.

“You underestimate the rogue king’s beta alpha. He will have no problem dispatching a few hunters such as these ones,” the man replied, as confident as his voice could go.

Silver narrowed his eyes at the man, “I’ve never known you to be someone who’d resort to such an underhanded technique. While I don’t know you at all, I can tell this is your first time doing this. Put the knife down and there won’t be arrows fired into your back and shoulders. You’re royalty, so I cannot kill you just yet. That doesn’t mean I can’t injure you though.

That being said, I think you can already smell it, can’t you? The wolfsbane in the air.”