Devil’s Roulette

Dante Milburn

My jaw clenched but I spared the wolf any lessons on manners.

It was rare for Caius to be angry enough to flaunt direct orders the way he was now, but I would spare his madness.

Hell, it was the least I could do knowing he and Ronan were the only ones holding up my pack while I stayed devastated over Leila’s betrayal and drank away my nights.

“I understand that you're grieving, Caius, but we must be careful. Our pack law—” I tried, but he reared back like I had bitch-slapped him hard across the face.

Red threads wove into the whites of his eyes as his lips tore into a savage grin. If he was pissed off before, he was downright boiling with fury now.

“Pack law? You're going to give me bullshit about pack law now, Milburn? Where was your fucking law when I held back the Infinity legion while you chased your ex lover into The Darkness and cut her heart from her back?” The blond wolf’s bellow felt like a spear had been thrust into my gut but I kept my face devoid of expression, which only seemed to infuriate him more.

The pale yellow lights which looked beautiful earlier in the night now felt too bright, stabbing into my eyes like small silver needles.

Fucks sake, why did I have to bring that up? We both knew pack law didn't always apply to me.

I raised a hand to stop him, catching Ronan’s shadow as he crept closer in the darkness around us, his movements as tense and stiff as I felt.

Caius was close to shifting, and with his rage, we both knew he wouldn't be able to stop his wolf in time and I would have to put him down.

“Where was your fucking pack law when I covered for you while you drowned your power in self-loathing and drank the castle’s weight in fucking booze? I ask you to do this one favor for me and suddenly there's pack-fucking law?” He raged, an edge of tears entering his voice before I felt a bitter ball hook in my throat.

We were the only three in the banquet hall now, but it already felt too crowded.

The walls in my chest felt like they were closing in on each other.

“Enough, Caius. You speak to the Alpha. Watch yourself.” Ronan’s baritone was edged in warning as he circled us, the sharp glint of his silver sword catching the overhead light almost eerily.

Just like that, the red haze cleared from my best man’s almond eyes, leaving only a sharp, glassy gray as he stared back at me, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

No…no I didn't like this. 

Alarm made me step forward when he glanced away, but his eyes flicked back to my face almost immediately, the warning in them unmistakable.

I was fine with his rage, the murderous bloodthirst that had been wafting from his frame since Triel fell.

But this coldness…the iciness that froze over the bond we shared…I couldn't endure that. Not after how far we’ve come.

Not tonight.

“Caius—” My whisper was featherlight, but the wolf was already shaking his head, blond curls flying into his face before he raked them back to reveal his widow’s peak.

“That’s right… the Alpha. How could I forget the position i’d so violently turned down when your elders offered it to me if I could kill you.” He chuckled darkly, and my wolf’s energy zapped to attention, flooding my system with such force that the lights above us shirred electronically before bursting and plunging the hall into darkness.

What the hell did he just say? My elders dared to arrange a mutiny?

The lights might have gone out, but we could all see each other clearly now that my wolf had awoken and my eyes narrowed to luminescent slits.

My lips drew into a firm line as I watched him pace the star-shaped insignia marking the center of the hall.

“You cannot kill me.” My voice was even when I spoke again, and Caius stopped pacing immediately, grinding his tall, hard body to a sudden halt.

The gray suit wrapping over his thick muscles was stained with poisoned blood, and the repetitive whoosh of his claws popping and sheathing as if he was thinking about charging me made me hold my breath.

I could feel Ronan’s unease like a boulder weighing down my back.

I would need him to get everyone away tote underground bunkers at least if a fight broke between us.

I had seen Caius fight many times before, marvelling at the sheer strength he used to pound down our enemies on the battle field.

He was smart, nimble and fast. All deadly combinations.

“Not yet.” He conceded, popping his jaw and giving me a thorough once-over.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You dare to challenge the Alpha? Has Kefas spit some of his brain-dead saliva into your mouth as well?” Ronan growled, unsheathing his sword with a metallic flourish before I held up a hand to stop him.

Caius’ gray orbs never left my face, hitting me with such unrelenting loathing that a weight settled in my chest.

The Shadow or Triel. He was making me choose.

“Yes. I dare. And you don't have to worry about pack laws with me anymore, Milburn, because I quit. I reject being your Beta. Have your puppet take up the role for all I care,” Caius snarled, his voice twisting until it sounded ugly and depraved.

“Calm down, Dante. He's just sore and overreacting. This means nothing,” I told myself inwardly, trailing off when Ronan bristled at the insult.

My hands balled into fists at my side, “You’re being unreasonable, Caius. You have my word the killer will be brought to justice,” I cut in, speaking over him and sighing when his face remained set in a hard line.

“And I reject being your friend until then. Goodnight, Your Highness.” He muttered, the boom of his announcement making my ears pop before he turned on his heels and walked away.

#

The weight I hadn't realized was pressing down on my shoulders almost brought me to my knees as I staggered forward.

“Hey, I’ve got you…it’s alright,” Ronan muttered, his hands circling around my arm as he breathed down my neck.

I could taste blood in the back of my throat when I braced myself against the cold slick walls, heaving enough air in through my nose to sate the bloodlust.

“What are you gonna do about the commander, Dante? If we wait until morning—” the white-haired freak cautioned before I threw him a look that made him clamp his lips shut.

“I get it, alright? Fuck!” 

My angry snap came with a twinge of guilt when he took his hands off, me, stepping back so that the shadows hid the top half of his face.

Wan silvery moonlight streamed in through the large glassless windows before the scent of more wolves trickling in filled the air.

We watched them re-light the candles and unscrew the dead lamps in silence.

Thoughts of the night’s events spun like a carriage wheel in my head as we marched toward the entrance, the buzz of activity in the square reduced the the patrol of stone-faced guards and the swish-swash of the wall search lights.

I was grateful for Ronan’s silence. The white wolf could be a pain in the ass but at least he knew when to shut up.

“I will have the scribes announce your position as pack Beta by dawn. Its only right,” I murmured, watching him firm his lips out of the corner of my eyes before we ground to a stop in front of my chambers.

The heavy gold doors swept open before I could touch them, sensing my wolf’s presence. 

Only the Alpha and his mate could open the doors like that, it would remain shut for anyone else.

“You did the best you can considering everything that’s happened, Alpha.” Ronan’s warbled voice echoed behind me when the doors closed and I welcomed the familiar comfort of my room.

The large king-sized bed looked like it had been freshly made, with a deep red duvet and red satin pillows thrown against its sturdy gold headboard.

A glass showcase was fitted into the corner of the room, its dim white light showing off my fur-lined armor and the empty space where I dropped my crown.

My head felt lighter without it.

“Thanks, Champ, you did good too, holding that dimwit back must have tired you,” I breezed, raising a glass suggestively to him and grinning when he tipped his head.

Rogue that he was, far be it from him to refuse a drink.

I watched him brush his tattooed hand through the short white hair that stuck up straight out of his head.

He’d told me his time on the wildlands had caused all the hair on his body to turn white, but I sometimes got the feeling there was more to that than he shared.

“What are you gonna do?” He asked again, after taking my drink.

You didn't accept a man’s drink and knife him in the back like that. It just wasn't done.

“Question all the attending servants from the groundskeepers to the waiters at the ball. Find Mabel and that one woman…what was her name again? Edna?” I cocked my head at the wolf who drained his glass before setting it calmly on the deep blue coffee table.

The leather sofa crinkled loudly when I sank my weight into it, leveling with the man whose eyes had never left my face.

Anyone else who didn't have nearly as much experience as I did would have imagined a romantic lure to the way the white wolf was watching me, but I knew better.

My skin prickled under his intense gaze as he studied my expression, my face…my body.

Heck, I knew if I bent over to bare my ass to him he would probably study that too. It was the expert assessment of a man who had hunted many enemies, and won.

“You will not sacrifice our mate then, I take it?” 

He rumbled, voice as dark and imposing as the night sky that had begun to lighten outside my big windows.

“I just don't see her killing Triel, Ironside, surely you believe Brahm too?” 

Ronan’s vivid hazel eyes snapped to his feet, but he did not respond, leaving my question to hang tensely in the space between us.

“The commander will try to kill us all.” 

Fact…again. I was not loving Ronan Ironside tonight.

“No…that’s not right. He will turn all our ally packs against us, THEN he will kill us all…unless we give him a name. A shiny, elite scapegoat for him to be angry at.” 

I could sense the distaste in his words and my brows wrinkled in thought.

I didn't like what he was suggesting, but it seemed to be the only way.

Amara Eldwood’s death would be a waste. A tiny drop in the pit of bloodthirsty that would blow the commander’s chest wide open when he heard of his daughter’s murder.

“Should we send for the confessor witch?” He muttered, and just like that, all the air drained from the room. 

Laziel’s old lover?

My head whipped to face him, and I knew without thinking that it was a bad idea…and the only choice we had.

My heart felt like it had frozen solid in my chest before I stretched to my full height, watching the sturdy wolf stand alongside me.

“Listen up, this will be your first task as Beta. Arraign the servants before the first cockcrow…and then summon the confessor. Selene. Her abilities would seal Amara’s fate and possibly, the fate of our pack.” I gritted, and for the first time since the party began, I saw the old rogue’s lips curve into the ghost of a smile.

“Consider it done, Your Highness.”