Chapter 527 - 527 A Letter

527 A Letter

Madeline’s reunion with her grandmother brought them so much joy and memories that the king had his beta alpha escort them after Crysta profusely convinced Madeline that it was okay, to a designated room in the Royal Suite so they could catch up.

And once the happy pair was finally out of earshot, the king turned to the two girls, Bree and Crysta, his happy expression quickly turning serious.

“Where is Lina?”

“She ran back down in search of more victims,” Crysta answered, seamlessly turning serious as well.

“There is one more person left,” the king rubbed his temples, “A boy… He’s on the medical floor close to the room with that disinherited alpha that helped Lina on her Trials. Well, his name is ‘Liam’ if I remember correctly.”

“Liam!” Crysta gasped, “What’s that idiot thinking? The hospital wing was the first one to be completely sealed off.”

“Yes, it was and all the doors were closed. So if that boy encounters something he can’t deal with, he’ll be in trouble,” King Davin sighed.

“Your Majesty, can I ask something?” Crysta asked suddenly.

“Sure, what is it?” the king beamed.

.....

“Well… I’ve noticed you’re not deploying the beta alphas anymore. Is there anyone else out there?” Crysta asked.

King Davin’s expression fell and his shoulders slumped, “I think you know the answer to that one… Cole was the last one of the alphas to return from the lower floors. Just a few seconds ago actually. Other than that boy, that’s all the werewolves down there.”

“What about Wyatt?” Bree interrupted.

“Hmm! I’ve been wondering that exact thing. Perhaps he was rushed out of the hospital. I haven’t been able to detect him at all. No matter what I try, I can’t seem to get a hold of his mind… which shouldn’t be possible unless he was rushed out of the Great Arena… which is also highly unlikely.”

“No! He can’t be… dead!” Crysta took a staggered step back.

“I wouldn’t go as far as saying he’s dead. I would have felt that pain too,” Now the king looked wistful like a heavy burden hung over his shoulders, “I’ve felt each of them breathe their last. So I’d know. Don’t let Liam be another victim on that list.”

“Leave that to us. We’ll get him up here as soon as possible,” Crysta declared before turning around with Bree close behind.

“Crysta… Bree…” the king called back, freezing the two girls in their tracks, “Be careful… and protect my daughter.”

The delta gave a slight bow in respect and darted away from them. The king was staring at the dark staircase in thought before turning away from it.

A lot had happened since the start of this chaos… and through it all, the king had fought to save as many of his people as he could. While alphas were the most powerful werewolves, they were also the most connected to the mind link.

Alphas were connected to all their subjects at a very fundamental level. The pain was transmitted easily. They could easily locate their pack mates compared to the rest without having to focus much.

That, however, also meant that they felt every death as though they’d lost a part of them. The members of the Sirius pack that had fallen in the fray were incalculable… and yet the king had felt them all.

A large part of the 54th floor and the three floors above it had been turned into camping grounds for the werewolves that were able to survive the carnage. Their numbers were nearly unfathomable.

Despite the great number of wolves that had been endangered, King Davin had felt each and every one of them. He’d felt their panic. He’d felt each werewolf that drew its last breath.

He’d directed his beta alpha and the others he could command to get to them, cushioning the lives that were lost to the onslaught but the undisputable fact that he was not omnipotent remained.

And for that, he suffered each death, like his arm was torn off at the socket every time a life was lost… and another… and another…

Returning to the Royal Suite, the king found Cole pacing about the room, his face drowned in thought. His hands were covered in dried blood. On the sofa lay a large bulky man in a similar state.

It was a marvel that the alpha still had the strength to pace around the way he did. Considering he was not only connected to one but two empires through Davin’s daughter. Their marking linked the two empires through their bond and as such, he was connected to both of them.

Jason leaned against the counter in silence as well along with some other high-ranking werewolves. The queen was seated on a one-person sofa, rubbing the headache that plagued her mind.

“Did something happen?”

Kyle stretched his head to see the king of Sirius before flopping back into the couch, “There has been an… interesting development.”

“What kind? More deaths? The rogues you were talking about? I thought we were very discrete in not raising any alarms,” Davin panicked. At this point, losing one more person was tantamount to losing his sanity.

“No… not that. We were still debating how it was that we would deal with the rogues in our midst when Kyle zoned out and the bird that’s always following him around flew off,” Jason explained.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That bird hasn’t left Kyle’s side in nearly two years. And for good reason too but today, it flew off,” Jason replied.

King Davin stared at the beta alpha wondering what part of all this would make sense. Before he could ask, however, a commotion coming from outside caught their attention.

The high-ranking wolves turned to the door and waited in anticipation as the wave of commotion came closer. Murmurs came from the werewolves outside and a few angry shouts and barks.

‘Get out of here, human.”This is no place for your kind,’ and several variations of the same insults, sometimes getting abhorrently obscene and revolting.

Oddly enough, after all, that was said, no violence ever broke out.

Emotions of anger, vengeance and frustration invaded the kings’ minds but none of the wolves acted on them.

Eventually, the guards at the door tensed and stood blocking the way. King Davin walked up to the door and peeked around the deltas to discern the situation.

Standing on the other side of the door was a hunter dressed in full black leather from head to toe. A sword sheath casually swung at her side and her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, her face was void of any scratches.

She appeared as though untouched by the catastrophe that just shook the Great Arena. “Hunters aren’t allowed this far up.”

“We tried to tell her that but she wouldn’t listen. And she dodged everyone that approached with incredible skill. She’s virtually untouchable,” the delta at the door reported.

“Untouchable, you say!” the king approached

“I bring a message for King Cole of Lycaon,” the woman firmly announced.

Cole approached the door and beckoned for the deltas to step aside. When she saw the king of Lycaon, she quickly lowered her stern gaze and her firm expression softened.

The hunter bowed in respect of the king and produced a letter and another item from her satchel.

Cole gasped, his blood running cold. The item she held in her hands was a glimmering sapphire necklace that seemed to catch the glow of the dim lanterns that lit the 54th floor of the Great Arena at just the right angle.

The object felt like an item from another world, holding memories and emotions that the king held most dear.

Written on the envelope were the words in familiar cursive letters:

To Alpha Cole,

From his Luna, Katie.

.....................….

The lights that lit the medical floor occasionally flickered on and off.

The whir of the backup generator was noticeable to sensitive ears at this part of the floor.

Many lives were being sustained by the device, so Liam figured it still had a lot more time before it would shut down. All the emergency rooms on this floor were shut tight and sealed to keep the patients safe but Liam couldn’t find it within him to trust the system.

As a result, he’d sneaked away from the others when they weren’t looking and made his way to the medical floor, blocking out the mind link to mask his presence as he approached his friend’s room.

Little did he know that it was impossible to shield his mind from that of the royal he served.

The exact location of Wyatt’s room was ingrained in the back of his skull. Liam knew his way almost as much as he knew his name and didn’t need a map or any directions to find it, simply because he’d come here plenty of times before.

Plenty of times before, he’d found himself standing before Wyatt’s door, his hand floating gently above the doorknob but he’d not gained the courage to open the door and greet him.

Liam and Wyatt hadn’t spoken to each other in months.

Wyatt had tried for so long and Liam had shut him out… but during that time, he felt Wyatt’s presence and that was enough for him.

Perhaps he didn’t know when it would be that he would forgive his friend, but it was comforting to know that his friend was there for him… albeit suffering.

When Wyatt gave up, however, everything changed.

Liam started seeking him out instead. But instead of approaching him when he found Wyatt, he lurked in the shadows.

…and watched.

Wyatt wasn’t any happier than Liam’s delusions imagined him to be. And for whatever selfish reason, Liam found this comforting… for a time.

The two of them were a wreck… and how long it would remain that way was impossible to tell. Did Liam want everything to go back to normal?

He didn’t know… and the longer he took without talking to his fellow alpha, the harder it got to approach him.

All he knew was that he wasn’t going to succeed his father like he’d always wanted.

Maybe Liam had just wanted someone to blame… and after being defeated by Lina in a fair duel, he couldn’t bring himself to blame it all on her.

They’d bullied her for far too long… and she’d clearly surpassed them and risen to her rank like Crysta said she would.

Liam couldn’t blame himself though…

In this regard, Wyatt was stronger.

The alpha wasn’t seeking some way to release his frustrations at all. Instead, he was seeking a friend… a friend that wouldn’t even look at him.

These thoughts raced across Liam’s mind on repeat, stopping his hand just above the doorknob. Even after sneaking away from the rest of the pack to come and check on his friend, he’d lost all his resolve.

His hand hovered over the doorknob of the door. He knew it was locked… but that didn’t stop him from coming. Perhaps with the right amount of strength, he could break the lock and get in.

Liam sighed and turned away from the door…

“Lia—Liam?” a hoarse weakened voice came from the other side of the door, freezing the alpha in his tracks.

Liam didn’t make a sound.

.....