Castel Laurent

Castel Laurent’s POV

Meredith,my wife's sobs filled the sitting room in a continuous, rhythmic echo. She sat hunched beside me on the long velvet sofa with her hands covering her face and shoulders shaking with every fresh tear. The once-elegant parlor of the Laurent castle looked smaller somehow under the weight of her grief. Outside, dawn was quickly approaching and daylight was slowly beginning to brighten the kingdom but inside here, everything still felt dark.

“Go find my daughter, Castel,” she choked out between sobs. “I can’t imagine what horror she must be going through in the hands of that beast.I need my daughter please.”

I reached over and placed my hand over hers.A touch which felt hollow even to me.

“It’s going to be fine, Meredith,” I said, keeping my tone as steady as I can. “The entire Silverthorn pack, the royal family, and our own wolves are out there looking for her. She’ll be found in no time.”

The words left a bitter taste in my mouth. I knew exactly where Elaine was. She was not in the kind of danger my wife imagined yet the performance had to continue. Every tear Meredith shed, every frantic search party, every angry demand from the Silverthorns was in every bit of it was necessary. No one must find out that I aided Maxwell in getting into the kingdom or my head will be served on a platter.

The doors of the sitting room suddenly burst open. Meredith jerked up from where she sat and I must admit,I myself had a little shiver in spine due to fear of who it might be now only for Alpha Louis to step in without waiting to be announced, his face flushed with fury and his expensive coat still half-buttoned as if he had thrown it on in haste. Several of his men trailed behind him but stopped at the threshold, sensing the tension.

“Has anyone found that bastard?!” he shouted, striding straight toward where Meredith and I sat.

I looked up at him slowly,disgust settling in my chest. This was the man who had been promised my daughter.An entitled young Alpha who preferred the comfort of the palace halls and the king’s favor to the actual work of searching the forests himself. He sent his wolves out like hunting dogs while he remained clean and loud.

“I already lost one door today Louis,there is no need for me to lose a second. And if you had gone to find her yourself instead of hanging around the palace with the king,maybe you could have made some progress finding her.” I said sharply.

Louis stopped mid-step as shock flickered across his face. He clearly had not expected such bluntness from the man who was supposed to become his father-in-law but he quickly rid his face of the shocked expression and wore a calm,still annoying one.

“We all can’t leave the kingdom unprotected because of some psychotic wolf who thinks he can get away with kidnapping my bride,can we? Not to worry though,it's almost daybreak and I’m sure our wolves will have him before then” he snapped back.

I found him even more repulsive after that statement. The casual ownership in the words “my bride,” and the way he spoke of my Elaine as if she were already a possession rather than a person. At this point,literally everything about him grated.

Nevertheless, I forced myself to swallow the rest of my contempt. There was no benefit in open conflict today.

I rose and gently helped Meredith to her feet. She leaned heavily against me, still weeping. A few of my own pack members who had been standing quietly near the walls moved closer, ready to assist.

“Where are you going?” Louis asked, looking genuinely surprised that I was leaving him to his stupidity.

“Like you said, Louis, it’s almost daybreak and my wife needs to rest,” I answered without looking at him. “You can find your way out when you’re ready to leave.”

I guided Meredith toward the staircase. Behind us I heard Louis muttering something under his breath, but he did not follow which was good. The less time I spent in his presence, the easier it was to maintain the mask.

The rest of the day passed quickly. I couldn't even sleep.Messengers came and went while pack members arrived with empty updates. Distant relatives and political allies appeared at the door offering hollow condolences with sharp, curious eyes. Every few hours a group of Silverthorn or royal scouts would ride up to the gates to brief me on the search. Always the same report: either that there was no solid trail or that the rogue’s scent vanished deeper into the woods.

I played my part carefully anyway, accepting their reports with the appropriate mix of worry and restrained fury. I thanked them for their efforts and made sure I asked the right questions.

Inside, every hour that passed without Elaine being found was another hour closer to the full moon and to the only outcome that mattered.

Meredith remained upstairs for most of the day. I checked on her twice and each time she was crying quietly or staring blankly at the wall. I felt insanely guilty whenever I looked at her, but I pushed it down. There were larger forces at work than a mother’s tears. The blue-blood lines were becoming extinct and that woman on the throne had already proven how far she would go to keep power. If the prophecy was true like I had spent years confirming that it was,then Elaine’s role was necessary. Painful, yes but necessary.

By late afternoon the castle felt like a place under quiet siege. Servants moved carefully while my remaining children spoke in hushed voices. Even the air itself seemed tighter.

Then the sound of many boots on stone startled everyone as they began to clamour close to the door.

I was in the sitting room already speaking with two of my senior wolves when the front doors opened wide and a full contingent of royal troops filed in. Their armor bore the crest of the throne and their faces were expressionless. The sudden silence that fell over the hall was absolute.

I stepped forward at once, wondering what this entire entourage might be looking for.

“Have you found her?” I asked.

The lead soldier did not answer. Instead, he reached into a leather pouch and produced a sealed document bearing the royal mark. He held it out and when I took it, another soldier spoke in an official voice.

“You’re under arrest Castel Laurent, for the kidnap of Elaine Laurent and for your association with the fugitive, Maxwell. You need to come with us immediately, sir.”