4.

Chapter 4

Alpha Kane's POV

Oxygen went through my lungs smoother and not a single joint in my bones ached as I stretched and got out of bed.

Things ended hectic last night. I was betrayed and double-crossed by that woman and her pack and I'd gone to bed in a sour mood thinking about the loss but also the gain.

I could get with the beta's daughter and be in charge without a fear of my position getting usurped by someone with alpha blood.

So why did I feel so revitalized?

There could only be one answer to this.

"Silus!" I called my wolf out in my head but his reply was sluggish.

This shouldn't be, but I had a secret. One I'd kept with me for 26 years, since I discovered at age four that my wolf and I were not one.

Unlike everyone else who lived with their wolves as their other half, Silus was a separate half who often raised conflict and to avoid losing my position as crown prince and eventually alpha of the pack, we came to an agreement.

I take the day, he takes the night. He has the memories from the day but he shuts me out at night.

As much as I hate to admit it, Silus is more powerful than I am.

Mischievous too.

"Silus, what did you do last night?" I called out again.

It was important that he gave me a rundown before I stepped outside. That way, I could handle any unforeseen circumstances.

He knew how important that was for our secret to remain hidden, yet he isn't responding.

That leaves me only one choice, to force him out.

It seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye, but when I opened them again, my chambers were in disarray.

An absolute mess that made me wonder if I had been attacked. However the blood on the walls negated it.

Only Silus could cause me such harm.

There was a gaping wound in my biceps which I didn't hurry to treat.

Not when he'd used some of it to write on the walls "bring her home."

The words were scraped with his claws and dripping with blood on all sides.

Cracked bleeding mirrors that he must have used to make the cut. I sighed as I looked around for any other messages he must have dropped.

On my bedstand, was a note that read "we will regret it if we lose her," but what could we possibly regret.

What's so special about 'her'?

She was nothing but used goods, and Silus was heavy on loyalty. So what had she done to drive him so mad for her?

I needed answers. Answers my wolf either wouldn't give or didn't know. Which left me with one option.

I needed to find Violet. She was the key.

But before that, there was a council to attend to.

Inside the council room.

"Congratulations on consummating the union. Shall we proceed to prepare for the official ceremony?"

"I'm afraid we will have to postpone that indefinitely," I announced as I sat on the throne.

The room chilled for a moment that all I could hear was the silence. A countdown from three later and it erupted in noise.

"What?"

"Why?"

"Was she not worth it?"

"Will there be a war?" Several questions based on curiosity all trying to make a selfish gain out of this.

"There won't be a war because my Luna ran off." It felt off describing her as the Luna when I'd clearly rejected her last night, but they didn't need to know that.

This however brought some peace to Silus and for now, that was all that mattered.

"That's betrayal, we should send guards to find them. I will immediately alert the border guards!" The Chief guard swore as he jumped to his feet.

"Make sure she is brought back unharmed." I said.

"But…," he paused, "but she broke your trust. She should be punished."

I sucked in a deep breath as my grip on the throne became stronger. "Let me," I exhaled, "be the judge of that!"

"Yes Alpha Kane," he bowed before leaving.

"Now that's too bad, but we can always see it as a sign from the heavens. Maybe the moon goddess wanted you to find someone from the Pack as your Luna?" My father's beta tutted and the members of the council on his side nodded and murmured in support.

Those members being more than half of them.

A few hours into the meeting, having pacified the elders, my ears pricked and my heart skipped a beat.

Thudding with unattended rhythm.

"Any news from the borders?" I asked aloud, knowing fully well that we were at peace with all neighboring packs.

They stilled in a moment of silence before I was given a briefing from the head of the border guards.

In conclusion, all was well and there were no signs of suspicious activities.

Yet the hair on my skin stood on end, chilled and reacted to every little breeze that came in through the window.

My sensitivity stretched for hours as the meeting dragged on into the night. Then Silus' restlessness took over.

The fangs slipping out and constantly finding myself staring at the door after spacing out.

Trouble.

This level of alertness was reserved for troubling situations but there had been no reports from the border so far.

What could it be?

As soon as the meeting ended with an adjournment, I sprinted through the halls and out of the palace.

The sense of emergency urging me to go was so strong I let Silus take full form.

The foreboding sense of danger didn't wane for once. If anything it got deeper.

Although the border guards had reported no casualties or anything to be worried about, I couldn't be sure until I found out for myself.

This feeling of being in danger… my guts never lied.

The closer I got to the border, the thicker the stench of blood. So thick it made me heady and dizzy.

"Guards?" I called out first but was rewarded by silence. Not even the cicadas cried.

"Violet?" I called out again, expecting the same silence, however I paused for a response. In the woods, the echoes of a scream reached my ears.

"Let go!" That distant voice belonged to none other than the insufferable woman I bedded last night.

My blood roared as I sprinted in her direction. "I gave my instructions to bring her back unharmed. Who dared to hurt what's mine?!"