Chapter 56 – EPILOGUE-ISH

**Thank you so much for reading The Gladiator Wolf King. I truly hope you enjoyed the book. I have no set release dates but the next two books I will be working on are:

Hunji: A Broken wolf & the last witch of Andora,

and also Tawny's story: The Crimson Grimalkin.

I hope you will follow me for the latest news and upcoming work. Please do not forget to leave me a review and thank you all for reading my stories I hope I can continue to entertain you with many more books!

6 Months Later

MIKE

“Are you shitting me, Rhett?” I growled down the phone, gripping it tightly and wanting to crush it. I was dangerously close to losing my cool. Who am I kidding I had already lost it about two hours ago.

“Ahh come on Mike, your my favorite turd, I wouldn’t shit you.” He laughed.

“Fuck you, Rhett, this is not cool. Can’t you handle it? The fucking crowning ceremony is ruined, and now a fucking murder? The party hadn’t even started for Goddess's sake!” Yep, I had most definitely lost my cool. ”Fine, Jonda is on her way here. I'll leave once she gets here. I swear to the moon, this better not be something one of your enforcers couldn’t handle. If I miss this, he will never forgive me!”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t bad. We have two bodies in the safe room.” I hung up with Rhett, resisting the urge to throw my phone across the hall. Resorting to jumping and down, waving my arm around, and stomping my foot like a mad man.

“Fuck. Fuck Fuck, shit Goddess damn it” I let out a string of curses and only stopped to the sound of my love's voice.

“You look a little stressed.” She chuckled and leaned against the white wall in front of where I was having a tantrum. My shoulder slumped when I looked at her “You look beautiful,” I was now full of disappointment that she had spent hours organizing the event and on herself and she looked like a visionary, a goddess in her flowing floor-length purple dress. Her hair curled to frame her face and her lips were painted in the most fuckable color I had ever seen. “I have to go,” I pouted, standing in front of her and cupping her cheek staring into those mesmerizing green-flecked hazel eyes. “There has been a murder.”

“No! You're shitting me?” She gasped, “Tell me your fucking with me?”

I grimaced shaking my head, “I wish I was, that’s why you saw me hopping around like a deranged nut job, I just got off the phone with Rhett.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closed her eyes. “Can this night get any more fucked up?” She sighed with her rhetorical question. I pressed my lips to her cheek and she dropped her fingers from her nose. “Cant the enforcers take care of this?”

“I asked the same thing, Rhett told me he needed me there. You know he wouldn’t even bother me with this if it wasn’t urgent. I don’t think he is disclosing the full details over the phone, so it must be bad.”

“Fine,” Jonda sighed out “I know duty calls.”

“I will be back here as soon as I can. I promise.” I bent down and kissed her, lingering longer than was necessary. I needed the reassurance though and I needed to calm the fuck down before I arrived at the crime scene. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” She called out to me, as I made my way down the hallway.

*****

I pulled up to the crime scene. I removed my tie and jacket dumping them onto the seat next to me and got out of the car. Taking note of the already growing crowd and Rhett’s enforcers doing their best to secure the scene and perimeter, keep the nosy beady eyes of guests away. The guests had gathered and were trying to take a peek inside, trying to find out what had happened, standing behind the yellow tape wondering if the rumors they heard were true.

Ducking under the bright yellow tape, I heard a guy telling a civilian to back off. I nodded to one of the Enforcers. “Rhett?” That was all I had to say motioning with my head in the direction of the vault room and the guy gave me a quick nod and replied yes.

I lifted my nose catching a perfumed scent of peaches, very light, hardly noticeable when mixed with the flowery smells of the other women then proceeded to go find the man who had pulled me away from my nephew’s birth.

What had started out as an awesome day, waking up and making love to Jonda, I had been sporting a smile all day. Even when we were running around like headless chickens to make sure everything for tonight was in perfect order and guests had been allocated suitable rooms, the halls decorated the food catered. Everything was running perfectly and smoothly. Until it wasn’t.

Until, Tala decided to go into labor an hour before the crowning ceremony - her crowning ceremony. The baby had decided to come two weeks early. We knew we were cutting it close, but we didn’t realize how close. Then this shit happens, like the queen in labor wasn’t enough?

I made my way through the Jewel room, passing the old armor on display and pieces of expensive jewelry locked behind reinforced glass, making my way to the back of the room where there was another room, the vault room. This room held more expensive pieces, also displayed behind heavy glass. Then there was the inner main vault that was home to the crown jewels.

Rhett was standing just at the entrance speaking low with a female; she was taking notes, while he talked. He was still dressed in his suit, like me, the tie was gone and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone. “Hey,” I said catching their attention.

They looked up to see me, Rhett’s visible tension on display and permanent lines formed over his face. “Sorry to call you away Mike, I was truly hoping to meet Jonda tonight, but…” Rhett ran a hand down his face, stressing “We found two bodies, inside the main vault room, one is an Alpha’s son.”

“Shit…” I tipped my head back, this was not good. “And the other?”

“An unknown wolf,” He waved his hand and walked into the vault room. Sure enough two bodies were laid out over the marble floor. I bent down next to one, the Alpha’s son by his scent, he had been stabbed multiple times and his neck snapped. I looked at the other body, another male laying only feet away, with no stab wounds but his neck had also been snapped. I lifted my nose, sniffing, but I couldn’t get any scent off the second body. Strange.

I stood up and wandered around the room, nose still twitching and eyes searching to see what was out of place. “Do you know what they were after?” I asked Rhett, still walking around the large room.

“No, can’t see anything disturbed, nothing missing from this room or the front room.” Rhett sounded just as baffled as I was at the moment.

I could smell the faintest whiff of peaches again, “What about the cameras and the third person?”

“Cameras had been disabled… and what third person?” He frowned notably not catching the fact that there had been three people in here. I assumed the third person was the one who had killed the two men and fled.

“There was a third person here, I can smell their scent, fading but there was definitely another person here. Most likely the one one who killed these two.” I replied thinking nothing of it, my senses were much more heightened than Rhett’s but a tracker should have caught it. “Did you have any trackers in here?”

“Yah just one, he could only scent the Alpha’s son and got nothing from the unknown. He detected no other scents.” I could feel his frustration and curiosity from the other side of the room.

Hmm, my fingers rubbed my lips in thought. “There was a third person in here, no doubt, nothing was taken?” Then my eyes fell on the door of the inner vault; a room that was fortified by steel walls and a steel door. The only way to get in was to enter a nine-digit code for the door to open and less than five people had that code.

I had a strange feeling and walked over to the door, punching in the code. The sound of clicking and a long beep were heard and the control panel lit up before the door unlocked and could be pulled open. The lights came on automatically and I stepped in, standing in the middle of the much smaller room. My eyes scanned every corner, the scent of peaches was much stronger in here.

“The bodies were discovered around 10 minutes before I called you, Dana here, suspects they had already been dead twenty minutes before we were called to the scene.” Rhett began giving me details standing at the entrance of the door behind me.

My eyes landed on the empty pedestal, the one that should have held Tala’s crown. Something Kellen had commissioned especially for her for tonight’s ceremony. “Fuck,” I sighed, catching Rhett and Dana’s attention “They stole the queen’s crown. How the fuck did they get in here?” I groaned, annoyed.

Tonight was definitely turning into more of a shit show than it already was.

I turned to face Rhett, “We are now investigating a double homicide and a theft. I am assuming whoever took the crown was also the one to kill the unknown wolf and the Alpha’s son.” I thought out loud. “I want to know where the Alpha’s son was and who the last person to see him was. Try and get an identification on the second body and have all other cameras in the palace checked. Alpha Jacobson is going to want answers.”

If I was correct, then the scent belonged to the third person who was in this room and that person was not only the jewel thief but also the murderer. It would take a highly skilled person to not only break into the inner vault but also someone strong enough to take down the two men in the room outside. I had smelt the same soft scent of peaches when I arrived at the scene, so it hadn’t been that long ago. The scent was fading but seeing as I could smell it, I could track it. They shouldn’t have been able to get that far.

“Rhett, get your men to secure this scene, grab a couple of trackers and warriors to follow me. We have a suspect and I’m going after them.” I turned to look at him with a serious expression “The hunt is on.”

I left the vault walking back outside with a new goal in mind, to the hall where I could hear bystanders whispering; trying to guess who it was that had been murdered. Word traveled fast and I could only assume a member of staff had opened their mouth and now the guests were making their own assumptions.

“And have someone tell the guests to stay in their rooms for the rest of the evening,” I said, needing the gossip mills shut down then walking out, letting my nose guide me. The scent led me outside side towards the forest line, my footsteps hurried, and with no regard for my suit, I shifted into Duke. The suspect couldn’t have gotten that far but I should be able to catch up before the scent completely fades.

Duke took off at high-speed weaving between the trees and bounding over dead branches and logs, emitting a low growl once in a while as we tracked down the scent of the jewel thief and murderer, homing in on the fruity scent.

I heard the sound of paws behind me and Rhett’s light feet running with the wolves. I was much faster than Rhett, even if he had shifter speed, and I was much faster than any of our trackers or warriors. Being a Queen's Knight came with added bonuses. Everything about us was heightened, our sight smell, hearing, speed, and strength just to name a few.

*Follow my scent* I sent a mind-link to Rhett and my wolf sped up hurdling forward now he had a good lock on the suspect's scent.

We ran and ran, my wolf taking us close to the border of the packs territory. Whoever this culprit was, was fast, but we were faster, the scent getting stronger as we pushed forward. It didn’t matter where they ran now, how far, or how fast. My wolf had a lock on them, they couldn’t hide.

*I’m getting closer, how far behind are you?* I asked Rhett.

*Trackers are 10 minutes behind you, I’m about 15* He replied panting.

Duke began pushing himself harder, determined to run down the suspect, the scent getting stronger and I could conclude the scent definitely belonged to a female. Confusing me even more at how a female would be able to take down not one male wolf but two.

Bounding through some trees and into a small clearing, Duke let out a menacing growl and slowed his pace slightly, we were close. My wolf’s head snapped to the side, noticing a movement and zeroing in on it and turning direction to pursue. We had been running for an hour now, chasing down the criminal.

From out of the bushes, darted a sleek brown wolf. She was quick and nimble but not fast enough. Duke leaped towards the female wolf, giving chase. The pretty wolf dodged and weaved, but despite her quickness, it wasn’t enough and Duke ran her down catching her back leg in his jaws and throwing his large superior body onto the smaller wolf.

We rolled across the dry ground, tumbling into the base of a tree halting our roll. The she-wolf let out a whimper. I shifted back to my human form quickly grasping the wolf in my arms tightly. “SHIFT!” I commanded. The female wolf trembled against me.

“SHIFT!” I commanded once again, getting irritated. The wolf’s bones started to shift and her fur began to recede. A petite, slender female formed in my arms, her back flush against my muscular chest, and my cock grew impossibly hard and pleasurable tingles spread across my body, everywhere I was touching her. The urge to mate the woman locked in my grasp was so great that my chest began heaving and my heart raced.

I pushed her away, and flew to my feet, looking down at the female in front of me she quickly scrambled back against the tree, pulling her long dark brown hair over her slender shoulders to cover her chest trying to cover her nakedness and wrapping her arms around herself I pounced forward, pinning her against the tree so she couldn’t attempt to escape. My manhood straining towards her and rock hard, the contact of my hand on her arm had sparks flying over my nerve endings.

‘Mate’ Duke whispered in awe in my mind. The one word I had been dreading to hear.

Her wolf must have called the same thing as she lifted her eyes to mine, wide with shock, her full lips parting letting out a little puff of air. I growled and stepped back from her, the taste of her peachy breath enticing my wolf, truly pissed that my mate turns up now, when I am already happy and in love.

‘Fuck Jonda is going to be pissed’ my love being the first person I thought of. Not my Mate who was standing naked as the day she was born in front of me. I let go of her and took a step back creating some distance. My eyes wandered, traveling down her shaking form, not being able to help wanting to look and touch her again. I admit she was beautiful, with long dark brown hair, an olive skin tone, and a slender body. Her breasts were a perfect size, not huge but not small either. I clenched my fists at the thought of my hands cupping them. Her honey-colored eyes held golden flecks and she watched me with worry. She was scared, her fear mixing with her delectable scent of peaches. No wonder I was the only one who could smell her.

*How close are you to me?* I linked Rhett wanting him to get here as fast as possible.

*Five minutes, the trackers should be there sooner.* He replied immediately. Good I thought, the less time I am in her presence the better. The moon goddess must be laughing right about now, except the joke was on her.

I didn’t want my mate despite my body’s physical reaction, I was in love with Jonda and I had already decided to take her as my chosen mate. We had just talked about this, this very morning. The moon goddess had paired me with a female who was a thief and a murderer; this she-wolf would be executed once tried for her crimes.

I snarled at the mate, disgusted with her, she was a criminal. I would have no problem rejecting her. The she-wolf shrunk back under my fiery stare and her large eyes filled with tears. My wolf whined at her discomfort, urging me to take her in my arms. I shut him up. That would not be happening again.

Luckily for me, I heard the paws of wolves and the trackers emerged from the tree line, coming to a halt as soon as they saw me. A few were in wolf form and the ones that weren’t cast their eyes over the suspect lustfully. I growled out a warning, “Turn the fuck around! Don’t look at her!” I snapped at them.

Just then Rhett came running onto the scene, stopping in his tracks and assessing the situation. “Give me your shirt,” I ordered him. He quickly took it off not asking any questions and handed it to me. I threw it at my mate “Put it on, now” I growled at her.

“This was the third person in the room, have her taken to the cells and interrogated. Only mated wolfs around her or you.” I barked out. I glanced over my shoulder at the woman who was wearing Rhett’s shirt now while speaking “She is your problem now.”

I walked away from the group of trackers and Rhett, feeling their stares on my back. *You ok man?* Rhett’s asked me privately.

*No she is my fucking mate. * I growled back through the mind-link *I’m going back to the hospital and to talk to Jonda.* With that, I shift back into my wolf form and ran all the way back to the palace to grab some clothes before I went back to the hospital to meet my nephew and tell Jonda what the fuck happened tonight.

I would have to reject the criminal before she was executed anyway. I had chosen Jonda as my mate the moment I laid eyes on her. We decided to wait and mark each other after the crowning ceremony and after our nephew had been born, which was all meant to happen tonight. I was in love with Jonda and nothing was going to change that, I wanted a family with her and I wanted to grow old with her by my side.

Tonight was a huge inconvenience and disruption in our lives, yet there was a hidden blessing. Maybe the moon goddess planned it this way, giving me a criminal as a mate, one that was fated to die for her crimes?