Ch. 401..410

Chapter 0401

Mina is decked in a white strapless dress that has a small line of black metallic stones across the hem of her cleavage. The bottom hem has a soft ruffle that accentuates her toned thighs and a short slit up one side. Her dark brown hair has been pulled back into a half up style leading into soft curls that dance when she moves. You can see the faint hint of the red tint the summer sun brings out.

I am in my signature blue that Luna Anne seems to like best on me. My dress is a simple halter in the front with a very tiny peek-a-boo worked in just above my almost nonexistent cleavage. The choker style neckline wraps just at the base of my throat to clasp behind my neck and the back is the softest lack I have ever felt in my life. The attached skirt is more flouncy than my friends in three layers of stacked material with a soft wave like a skater skirt. A metallic belt around my waist completes the look and my blonde hair has been pulled up into a messy bun that somehow looks well put together.

We all walk out of the room to find the guys waiting for us.

"Seriously?! The blue dress was enough, now more skin is showing! I think you are trying to get me killed, mother! Sky you look beautiful, and that is not okay with anyone, just so you know." I laugh at Xander, just like the first time he saw me in a dress, he's overreacting. "But just so I can say I did my job, come here so we can get a picture and I can get this round of abuse over with."

"What are you talking about?" I laughed at him.

"Well after your last Cinderella makeover, someone," He looked at his mother, "Leaked a picture to Luna Ava and the guys 'happened' to see it." He air quotes then rubs his face. "So now I am under strict orders to give them a first hand account of when you look this good so they don't have to be blindsided by it." He finishes with a roll of his eyes and Jena, Mina and I are all laughing. I think Luna Anne might be as well behind a well placed cough.

"Would it be helpful if we all posed for a picture with you? Mina asked. "Maybe they will feel less threatened by your proximity to her if you are outnumbered."

"Oh, that is a great idea and scares me all at the same time." Xander grimaces.

I roll my eyes and step next to him for the picture, Jena stands next to me and Mina plants herself on the other side of Xander.

"Oscar, you might as well join in and we can give them a full picture of Skylar's entourage tonight." Alpha Reggie is openly laughing. It's been a while since I have seen a full blown smile from him. It just hits the point home about how hard he is working on this whole Rogue King situation.

We snap a few photos and Xander sends one off in a group chat to the guys. If I was a little tall I would be able to read over his shoulder, but by the looks of it, he has kept pretty regular contact with them. "Do you guys talk a lot?" I ask, trying to not sound too hopeful. "Do you keep up with all the future leaders like that?"

"I talk to everyone, since they are all going to be a part of my reign at some point, but I like the guys from your pack. They don't treat me like the future Alpa King, they treat me like one of the guys. I'm not a meal ticket to them, they don't aspire to be more than the leaders of their own pack and helpful to the kingdom as a whole. And they have something no one else does."

"What's that?"

"My cousin's attention." He winks and then turns away towards the elevators.

 

Chapter 0402

Xander never did explain his comment about the guys having my attention. Even though I threw it in as often as possible throughout the night. The night was way less entertaining than I thought it would be. I don't know what I expected, but I was actually kind of bored with all the people. There was really no confrontation or dirty looks at all. Even Charlene and Olympia left us alone after a polite hello when we walked by them on our way in. Most of the Elders came to say a polite hello and tell me they were glad to see me back from my mission safely. I'm not sure how much they know of the situation, so I kept it to polite 'thank yous' and 'it's nice to see you again too.' Elder Bastian and Elder Vincent did not even look in my direction. So much so it was painfully obvious that I was being slighted or ignored. That made me smile.

"I think everyone is up to something or just in shock that you're here." Mina mindlinked me when I mentioned my thoughts to her.

"What do you mean? I mean I agree that something is up, but what do you mean they are in shock about me being here?"

"Think from their perspective. If you thought that your biggest threat was sent off on a mission where anything could happen and it would be ruled an accident or a risk of the job. You were told they were being dealt with hours away from here and then they suddenly showed up out of the blue, looking like nothing happened, what would you do?"

"I would wait to see if I could figure out what happened, because something clearly went sideways or someone lied to me about the situation being handled.."

"Right, they aren't going to go out of their way to be any kind of way to you, nice or mean. They are going to keep their distance and see how this plays out."

"I wonder if this is why Alpha Reggie wanted me here. To see what they would do now that I'm back. Didn't someone say that the Elders were pushing really hard for a chosen mate for Xander in the last couple weeks? I mean more than the last time I was here. Even going as far as presenting a couple of girls for him to pick from."

"Something like that, from what I have heard. And with all of that in mind and everything that went on with your capture and what we know of the Rogue King using witches. There is now someone checking all the food and drinks for magic in case someone is using a spell instead of just the old fashioned poisons and potions."

"Oh Damn!"

"You know it's not fair to mindlink and not share right?" Xander says into my ear as we walk around the perimeter of the party.

The meeting went smoothly and it was mostly just an information exchange and check in from each pack. Alpha Reggie did make a point to ask about the developments from Irontooth and the Shadow Pack as soon as we started. I think that was for my benefit and to remind those Alphas that I was here and the promised look into their safety measures has not been forgotten.

Now the Alphas and their guests were mingling and exchanging ideas about pack safety, rekindling partnerships and alliances, things like that.

I actually got to see Alpha Lucas and Luna Ava for a few minutes, but they didn't stay for the party. They did however take another picture with me promising to let the guys know they saw me and I was doing well. I'm pretty sure that Alpha Lucas was brought up to speed on my whole mission, by the way he looked me over and kept asking me how I really was. I don't think he will say anything to the guys about it though. No one is that dumb. I wish they could have stayed longer, but I still had a job to do and no matter how homesick I was for them, my pull to do well at that job is more than my inner little girl's need to be safe at home with the familiar. That didn't stop me from hugging both of them for longer than necessary before they left.

 

Chapter 0403

"You ready?"

"Huh?!" I look up at Xander confused, but he has a look on his face that tells me he is up to no good whatsoever.

"To dance. You do remember how right?"

"You mean the one and only time I was spun purposefully around the room by you, sure. I still can not do it on my own though, so I'm not sure what your expectations are exactly."

"I need to hit the dance floor, out of obligation of course..."

"Of course." I raise my eyebrow at him.

"And we may have to have a few pictures taken, up close and personal, you know, to make a point that I could possibly be involved with you somehow, considering I have never been to a party with a date, let alone the same person twice."

"Uh huh...and?"

"Alpha Lucas may have asked me to share some of those photos to motivate a few certain people to get their asses in gear. His words, not mine." He at least looked sheepish and I am glad he is warning me in his own demented boy way. "Remember, this is for Alpha Lucas and the guys. I am just going along with one of our most prominent Alpha's reasonable requests."

I roll my eyes and grab his hand. "You're an idiot! You lead buddy and I can handle this embarrassment."

Xander and I carry on like this for a while, keeping up mundane conversation, but we are both reporting what we see from the center of the dance floor. As boring as the meetings and updates were, this seems to be when things happen. There is so much going on that it seems like it might be easier to have secret meetings. I notice one in particular that intrigues me, but I don't know if it is my general irritation of Elder Bastian or my distrust of Alpha Sharp that has me watching the two from the Shadow pack as they make their way around the room. Xander and I pose for many selfies, managing to get several of the groupings of people in the background, by accident of course. But We might as well let Jena use them to identify people later. I don't really know what she needs to do her job, so Iwant to be as thorough as possible.

It seems random, but they have talked to and avoided the exact same people and have only approached someone for conversation after their target has talked to three people in between their interactions. I let Jena and Nathaniel know and they are making passes around the room getting Jena familiar with people and allowing her outside opinion to lead the observations.

"Prince Xander on your 6. A blonde looking very displeased with the back of your head." Nathaniel links the both of us as he and Jena stop to my right about ten feet away as back-up.

I lean around Xander, wanting to know which girl it is this time and I am not disappointed.

"Olivia!" I basically shout the wrong name at her and cause Xander to spin around. She schools the murderous look on her face quickly though. I have to hand it to her.

"It's Olympia, Warrior." Touche. She places her hands on her hips and lets her perfected smile slip a bit. "Xander, you promised me a dance. It doesn't look very good for a Royal to go back on their word. People might start talking about indecisiveness and indecision and think you aren't fit to rule."

"That escalated quickly." Xander scoffs. "I'm not sure how many times I need to remind you though, that to you and the rest of the world my name and Title is Prince Alexander. And I believe that you are insinuating that being with Skylar is a negative because she happens to be a trained warrior. What you have yet to mention is what about being with you would be better?"

"My rank is higher for one." Both Xander and I don't hide our eye roll, we have already discussed this with her. "Second, your heirs need to have the distinction that I would bring to the royal family." She flips a blonde strand hanging from her updo back over her shoulder. Not sure what the point is, but it does give her a minute to come up with something else equally stupid to say. "She will never be as good as me and you both know it. I don't know why you keep playing these games with me Xander, but I won't have it. She needs to leave," She looks right at me, "And stop being a little homewrecker." Are those fake tears? She can cry on command?! Damn she is impressive, but before I can laugh in her face, Xander lets out a low menacing growl.

 

Chapter 0404

"That is twice you have failed to use my title and twice you have insulted Skylar in front of me. You have crossed the line..." He starts to say, but I put my hand on his arm and he lets me pull him back toward

me.

"Hey." I say not trying to whisper but not shouting either. We have enough attention from her outburst. I put my hands on each of his cheeks to make sure he focuses on me and only me, his breathing heavy trying to keep his wolf in check. "You know what she is trying to do, right?" He blinks and nods his head, but doesn't pull away from my hold on his face. "Don't let her control you. I know I'm not wrecking a home, so do you. F*ck everyone else's thoughts about the situation. As for her insults to my rank and status, I could give two sh'ts. She basically said she's a good breeder, she works best lying on her back. Everyone has their purpose, I guess." That gets a small smile out of him. "I am a Beta's daughter, a lead warrior and trainer in my pack, a branded Elite Warrior in the Alpha King's ranks and you are one of my best friends. I appreciate you trying to defend my honor, but she has done nothing but show her desperation and lack of knowledge of how a true mate bond works. Let her do her walk of shame out of the room with everyone present watching because she wanted an audience and it backfired." I nodded and smiled at him until he returned it and then gave me a big hug.

"Man, you are special Midge. No one is going to be good enough for you." He says into my hair. I just laugh.

"You need to stuff your caveman, I need an ally not an addition to the five cavemen I have back home." He just laughs.

"I will do my best, no promises though."

"That was amazing! I couldn't shake her the last time I was here." Mina walks up next to me and pulls me into a side hug. "I think her tears were real when she walked out though."

"She needs to not be invited to the next function, that will hopefully improve her behavior a bit. No matter what her dad's agenda is for her being here, this is all she knows and she's afraid of losing the privilege of being here. That might deter her from attempting to come after me again."

"Did you just defend the person who publicly insulted you?" Xander asked, his jaw basically on the floor. "Why would you do that? She would not hesitate to have you banned from everything and you want me to 'not invite her' to the next function."

 

Chapter 0405

"She has a point though. That girl lives and breathes being seen at these functions. Maybe not being allowed to attend the next one will sober her up a bit. Hopefully Sky put her in her place enough to leave you alone for a little while. Until you find your mate, she won't leave you alone. She may not leave you alone after that either. Maybe she's hoping to be a mistress at the very least. We already know she wants to breed with you." Mina backs me up with a little smirk.

"You both need to quit saying 'breed.' It just sounds gross like that." Xander shudders just as the music picks up to a faster tempoed song. "Let's teach Midge here how to dance." He grabs both our hands, abruptly changing the subject, and we start to laugh at his antics. He is setting a precedent after rejecting Olympia like that, but choosing to add Mina to our group. I just wish people would get the memo and understand that an interaction with him here doesn't put them in some nonexistent running for the Luna Queen position. But social climbers will never go away. Ambition is one thing, hard work is another, but to gain better things in life by trying to take them from someone else I will never understand.

We dance a little while longer and then Luna Anne lets us leave to go and hang out upstairs. We all head to Xander's room. I never really hung out here the last time I was in the Royal Pack. It's interesting to see the way he lives without prying eyes.

Xander isn't a neat freak, but everything seems to have a place and is well cared for. I do smell Oscar's scent here pretty strongly. I wonder if he's here every night? I wander around looking at the pictures and knick knacks he has on a set of floor to ceiling bookshelves that flank a heavy looking desk on one wall of the room. It looks very official and important with the dark wood up against the medium gray accent wall. The rest of the room is in a soft gray, almost white color and all the frames are varying shades of black and dark gray. The only color is the deep maroon comforter with black sheets folded out over the top and black and maroon pillows all looking inviting.

I quickly raid Xander's closet for shorts and a t-shirt, I am done being in a dress. Mina does the same, spending a little too much time choosing items. She seems lost in thought while she runs her fingers over the folded piles of t-shirts. I will pack that observation away for a later conversation.

When we both come out, I find Jena, Nathaniel and Wyatt have joined us.

"Wait! You changed? Help a girl out!! I mean Luna Queen Anne can dress me anytime, but I am done with the monkey suit!" I just laugh at her and she follows me back into the massive walk-in closet.

I did discover that Oscar has, indeed, moved in. His warrior clothes and his scent consume one whole side of the room that is about the same size as the room Jena and I share on the compound. I don't know if I will ever get used to the grandeur of the royal family, they are all so down to earth and yet, live here in this castle and have unlimited access to basically every creature comfort you could ever want.

"At this rate, you're not going to have any clothes left." Wyatt laughs at Xander as we walk back into the room

"Meh. Midge is worth the effort, don't you think? It's a small sacrifice."

"Until your female mate finds out you've been sharing your clothes with other women."

"Who's sharing clothes with women?" Oscar walks in with Barty hot on his heels with a cart of food and drinks for us.

"I was saying that Xander's female mate might not be alright with the girl's scent all over his clothes." Wyatt tilts his head towards Mina, Jena and me.

Oscar looks at us, gets a strange look on his face, shakes his head just a fraction like he's trying to get his thoughts straight all in the span of a second. He coughs and shrugs his shoulders.

 

Chapter 0406

"If she is our true Luna Queen she will understand sharing anything that is needed with these ladies. No one else has ever been up here or allowed that privilege, so it shouldn't be a big deal." His eyes tell me he may not believe his own speech, but I'm not going to call him out on it though. I know they are both worried about finding their Luna soon, before the Elders find a way to force a marriage for Xander. "Have you two marked each other yet? Or are you waiting for your Luna?" I don't know why the question fell out of my face like that, but now I am curious.

"We were waiting, wanting it to be special for all of us, but the longer it takes the less sure I am about waiting." Xander says keeping his focus on his plate. "At least if we are marked they can't try to make me give Oscar up. The best argument they will have is adding a female which is what we are waiting on anyway. My parents want to wait until they force our hand or we find our Luna to tell anyone though, because everything is still so volatile and people like Bastian and Chandler will try to spin the narrative to 'electing' the next Alpha King since I won't produce an heir with my male mate." He finally looks at me and rolls his eyes.

We talk into the night just getting to know each other. Jena opens up about life in her pack before the attack and Mina and I talk about life on campus. Barty watches over us, coming and going to replenish food or drinks. Not for the first time, I wonder if he is watching Jena and I for signs of anything bad. I mean he knows me and my history, but with what we know of the Rogue King's methods, he turns people agains the Royals with clever words, bribery and threats. For all they know Jena and I could have been turned to their side and gathering information on the Royal family to send back to them. I still can't think of Mike as the Rogue King, they are two different people in my head. Something about him tells me he is a pawn just like the rest of the guys we met, he's just high up in the ranks. That didn't stop the implications that he is the Rogue King from floating around though.

Yeah, if the situation was reversed, I wouldn't trust Jena and I right now. But, the only way to gain trust is to prove ourselves everyday. Which is all either of us can do.

I don't know when it happened, but somehow Jena, Mina and I ended up in Xander's bed. Jena and I were off to one side and Oscar and Xander sandwiched Mina. Jena tossed and turned next to me, but she didn't wake up screaming like she has been lately which I will take as a good sign. I sit up slowly not wanting to disturb anyone. I know it's early, the soft light of the morning is barely visible through the curtains Wyatt and Nathaniel are sleeping on the comfy reclining chairs in front of the fireplace, not leaving their posts, even in the safety of the castle.

I just smile looking at my crew of friends, so much like back home. I feel a wash of emotions come over me and tears prick the backs of my eyes. I miss my boys. I have to find a way to see them when they are here for training later this summer. I can't believe I have been away for almost a year now, I think wiping the back of my hand under my eyes and walking to the bathroom to handle my morning business and shower all the make-up and hair product off of me.

I want to go back to my room, but I don't want to wake anyone to escort me and all of them would kill me if I walked alone. So this is my option.

 

Chapter 0407

Posting Change

First I want to thank you so much for following along on Sky’s journey. We are in the home stretch! Act 2 is almost complete. I had intended for it to be done by now, but the characters have each given me more to work with and discover as they develop and interact and I feel the need to really dig into their individual stories as best as I can.

I know many of the chapters have been longer recently and I am going to try something new. I am going to break the chapters down into more manageable bits making it easier to consume chapters. My daily word count won’t change though so from here through the end of Act 2 you will be seeing more chapters posted with less words per chapter.

Please let me know if you like the shift. The smaller word count means less coins to purchase chapters, hopefully allowing you to read more often.

Love you all ~ Miss L

 

Chapter 0408

When I am done I can hear voices on the other side of the door. They weren't sleeping as soundly as I thought.

"Seriously, Midge! You cannot do that!" Wyatt runs his fingers through his already messy hair.

"Do what? I woke up and took a shower. Or did you miss the noise I made in the bathroom in your anger at my not being in your line of sight?" I raise an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my toweled form. He looked slightly ashamed of his outburst, but then squared his shoulders. "You have to tell someone if you leave. That wound is still too fresh for surprises."

"So, you are telling me, that if I wake up in the middle of the night and have to pee, that I have to ask permission to walk across the room to the attached bathroom, so you feel better?" I tilt my head slightly, daring him to say anything else that comes close to stupid. My irritation is bubbling right under the surface. He knows how I feel about being put in a bubble.

"We were all worried, when you weren't here. Jena woke up in a panic yelling for you, and..." I cut him off moving to Jena quickly.

This happens regularly, but it's not my story to tell. I sit next to her and wrap her in a hug, her head tucked under my chin.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault they are all freaking out." She whispers into my neck. "I can't shake the nightmare and you are the only thing that seems to bring me out of it." This time she is talking loud enough to be heard by everyone.

I just nod. "It's okay, we'll figure it out as we go, like everything else."

Before I can say more, there's a knock at the door, then Barty walks in.

"The King and Queen would like to see you all in the Mahogany Room in twenty minutes. The Luna Queen wanted me to let you know that breakfast would be served and the ladies all have clothing in Miss Skylar's room."

"Barty, we talked about this, drop the 'miss' okay?"

"Not inside these castle walls, missy. You are an honored guest as are Miss Mina and Miss Jena. The title stays while you stay. On the warrior compound I will concede to your request." He winks at me before closing the door. The girls and I laugh at the theatrics.

"Well let's head over and get dressed. Boys, sit right back down, there are three of us and I can guarantee a minimum of five warriors in the hallway, we will survive the ten feet to my room. It will go faster this way."

I stand up, securing my towel and

head to the door with the girls following me. We were actually ready before the boys, waiting in the hallway for them to come out. All of us, except Xander are decked out in warrior gear. If you didn't know who we were to Xander it would look like we were his six person protection detail.

The guys have black, almost too small, t-shirts showing off every muscle they have in their upper body. The tactical cargo pants hide more, but still look rugged and intimidating all at the same time. The girls and I were given the same black form fitting t-shirts. It's not cotton, but a matte water wicking

Saterial that feels like butter on my

We all have black leggings,

black socks and black boots that match the guys. Our only difference is the tactical belt. It's thick and sturdy, designed not to move too much over the slippery material of the leggings. There is a cargo pocket at the belt with two thick straps hanging down attaching to another cargo pocket, which has a thigh belt to attach to our leg. I feel a bit like Lara Croft right now and it's hard to hide my giddiness at the thought. This must be what Sierra feels like when she sees a dress she really likes.

We made our way to the Mahogany Room, which is the meeting room where I told off Alpha Brecc. It shouldn't surprise me that the meeting rooms in the castle have names, but my inner little girl thinks it's so neat.

"There's the team!" Alpha Reggie looks far too excited right now. That means he is up to something. Xander stops next to me, mirroring my look.

"Dad, what are you up to? And do I need coffee to keep up with whatever you are about to throw at us?"

Ignoring Xander's sarcasm, Alpha Reggie goes on. "Sit, sit. We have plans to make."

"Here we go." Xander laughs under his breath, but doesn't look frustrated or annoyed, so I'm hoping 'plans' is a good thing.

The seven of us sit side by side across the round table from Alpha Reggie and Luna Anne.

 

Chapter 0409

Alpha Reggie smiles and gives a little sigh before continuing.

"For all intents and purposes, Skylar is my niece and Xander's cousin. There are some greats and grands and probably twice removed in there somewhere, but it doesn't matter she is a blood member of my family, just so you are all aware." I hear several intakes of breath, but I am still focused on Alpha Reggie. "I asked Skylar to keep the connection a secret until I had more information, now we do. As her team, you should know that, so you know what is being asked of you. She was a target before the discovery, now that she has been captured and from what I understand from Sky and Jena's accounts of their time with the rogues, blood and other samples were taken..."

This time my friends didn't hold back their surprise.

"What samples?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"What does that mean?"

"You're Royal?"

"Wait? Did you know she was Royal before you sent us on that mission?" Mina asks, kind of aggressively considering she is addressing the king.

"I did. Is there a problem with that?" Alpha Reggie keeps his calm, but his posture and aura change like he is readying for a fight.

"A little bit, yes. Sir." She adds, not backing down. "Why would you send a royal on a mission with the intention to get captured?"

"You meant for her to get taken!" Nathaniel almost shouts. I don't know if I have ever heard him actually shout before. He's loud when he has to be, but he mostly observes and keeps quiet.

I place my hand on his shoulder next to me. "I was in on that part of the plan, take a breath, and calm down. We are getting off track." I look back to Alpha Reggie. My friends won't let that go, so I will have to tell that story later. I don't know if Jena even knew that part.

So many secrets, from people I trust and care about. That is something to unpack later.

Alpha Reggie nods and goes on like there was no interruption. "I am positive that the Rogue King knows of Sky's lineage now, or we should at least work with that assumption. She will be an even bigger target." He holds up a hand as Wyatt and Nathaniel both look like they are going to interrupt again. "Before you say anything, I have no intention of locking her away, she is not a damsel in distress, she is an important member of the Royal family, one many people will want to get their hands on, no different than Xander. So I will train her mentally and you will all train her physically. Preparation is going to be our friend."

Alpha Reggie stops to take a drink and appears to be collecting his thoughts. "Over the next few weeks you will all train in your specified areas as well as with the elite warriors. As information continues to come in about the Rogue King, kidnapped girls and Jena's pack we will send your team out to handle it with some of our most skilled warriors. This is what we know so far. The kidnapped girls whose identities we could confirm were all high ranking females. They were subjected to the same treatment as the two of you," He looked from Jena to me. "We did find a couple of the more recent girls disposed of very unceremoniously, meaning they were in a hurry and made mistakes. Doc Gannon and Doc Sylvia have come to the conclusion that the girls were being dissected..."

"What the hell? That's awful. Why would he do that?" Oscar asked.

"Skylar already knows some of this, but my family's history is somewhat bloody when it comes to succession. I have recently found confirmation that my Great Great Grandfather's second son, who was wildly vocal about being passed over as the Alpha King when his nephew took the throne, captured his own sister and her daughter and O experimented on them both." He took a deep breath and we all waited

silently for him to go on. "The

women born into my family have

special abilities and powers. I'm sure you have all noticed some of Sky's talents are beyond that of an accomplished warrior. Don't get me wrong Little One, I believe you would be a force without your abilities but even I have noticed abnormalities knowing what powers you could possess."

"What do you mean 'abnormalities'?" I ask, now concerned that something is wrong with me.

"Normally each female has one gift

or enhancement. Your mother, from what I understand, had emotional control over others. Something I know you have, I've seen you use it on all of the boys, even here this morning. Jeną is drawn to you when her emotions become too much. You have the ability to keep everyone level headed. Proof enough you have that ability. You also can fight off an Alpha's aura, even as a born Beta with Royal blood, I should be able to make you do just about anything and I don't think you even know you're resisting. And trust me, I have tried. I don't think it's your natural stubbornness either." He winks at me, breaking some of the tension in the room. "Then there are your scars. Based on all of your altercations and injuries, even you can't deny that you have enhanced healing abilities, again, beyond what Royal blood would give you. You can fight off silver and wolfsbane put directly into your bloodstream." I look down at my hands folded into my lap. I can feel my friends' eyes burning holes in the sides of my head. I don't think

Xander knew about the silver until now.

"Is that what the scars on your back are? Silver?" He asks, just above a whisper. I can feel his body heat increase while he is trying to hold in anger that is radiating off of him.

 

Chapter 0410

I take a long breath in and let it out slowly, raising my eyes to look right at Alpha Reggie, not sure if I am more relieved or angry that he is forcing me to confess this part of my history. I keep my focus trained forward in a tunnel vision as my voice comes out monotone and flat.

"I was tied up, both my hands bound above my head and whipped with a whip laced with wolfsbane so the cuts would open quickly and deep. Then my feet were lifted so I was parallel to the ground, silver powder poured onto the wounds. I was then dragged out to the woods and left to die. That was when and why my wolf showed up early. It took two days for us to heal." I took another shuddering breath, feeling the pressure in my chest, but I refused to cry. Kaley and her torture would get no more tears from me. I kept starting at Alpha Reggie, but I could see Luna Anne in my peripherals, silent tears staining her cheeks. I couldn't hear breathing from any of my friends. They must all be waiting to see what I do next.

"And that right there is my confirmation that you can fight off even my aura." All of my friends gasp for air, even Xander. "Will you take that secret to the grave?" I didn't need clarification on his question. He forced me to tell my story willingly to see if I would give up my attacker and when I didn't he tried to force it, going as far as controlling all of my friends and Xander surrounding me.

"Like I told Alpha Lucas and the guys, it is too little too late. There is no going back to fix things now. We need to move forward." I don't take my eyes off of him. "So the abnormality is that I have more than one enhancement?"

He takes my cue and nods. "I have never known any female in our family's history or any other Royal family's history to have more than one enhanced ability. What I have found is that my Great Great Grandfather's second son and his son experimented on the women in their family trying to take on their enhancements, eventually killing them. I think that might have been what Mike was doing with all of the females he took. He is a part of that lineage, but we don't have records of names for that portion of the family. They were looking for your grandmother and mom, knowing they went into hiding." "And you still put her in harm's way, knowing she was the end goal target?" Wyatt sounds murderous.

"We didn't have confirmation on that until last night. Doc Gannon and Doc Sylvia were able to confirm the tissue samples that were taken and reverse engineer the process, giving us a better scope of the situation. Without Skylar's contribution to the mission we would never have confirmed that and we have been going at this blind for far too long. Some sacrifice is worth ending this. She understands this. Watch your tone boy!" Now the Alpha King was out, his wolf's voice laced with his own. Alpha Reggie is menacing when he is angry and it's amazing to watch. I can feel the fear and respect radiate off of my friends, but I am in awe of the spectacle.

"Yes, your majesty." Wyatt's head dropped and turned to the side, a sign of submission to the Alpha.

"Now you all know what you need to know to do your best job bringing my cousin, the Rogue King, in. He will be given a formal trial in front of the council of Elders and all of the Alpha Kings and we will decide his fate."

"Decide his fate? He needs to die for his crimes. How many innocents has he killed in the name of taking over as the Alpha King? He will kill you without a thought to get what he wants. He has to kill you to get what he wants. Why would we give him a trial? He doesn't deserve the decency." It's my turn to lose my temper with Alpha Reggie. I want to see Mike and whoever this Alpha King is, burn. There is no reform for anyone who has gone to their dark lengths for power.

"I thought you knew your place, Little One?" He does not get angry with me the way he did with Wyatt. He looks at me curiously.

"I do, but, with all due respect, sir, you were not there. You didn't have to suffer at Mike's hands. His violations alone deserve death at best. At worst he deserves to be put through the same torture he inflicted on others." I clench my hands together under the table. "If the Rogue King is anything like him, or Goddess forbid, worse, they both deserve to die." I close my eyes and take a deep breath, controlling my heartrate and my anger. If I can't keep my emotions in check, I will not be allowed to be a part of this mission.

"Would you inflict that punishment?" I opened my eyes at the question. "Would you be capable of looking at another person and watch them tortured, or deliver the blows yourself? You are not that kind of person. Would you force someone else to torture for you? That would make you no better than those you want to punish. What about any children that they may have conceived? Do they deserve punishment because of their blood ties? Where does the punishment end? This is why we hold trials, why we have a council, so emotions can be heard and felt, but logic is also a part of the solution too. The Moon Goddess will also be a part of those trials through all of the Luna Queens. She will be the ultimate deciding factor for their fate. If you want them punished, you need to find them first and bring them in...alive." I squeeze my eyes shut, again hating how his logic makes sense to me. I wouldn't be able to do to Mike what he did to me or Jena or the countless other girls he took.