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The Making of a King 27
We smile as Adeline's soft snores fill her small room. She looks so small, but also more comfortable than we have ever seen her. Finally, our mother can rest easy. We fulfilled our promise to her. Adeline is safe. Rupert Kincaid will never harm her again. We sigh and turn back toward the clean hallway. Karina hasn't been annoyed with our presence and we plan to soak up as much time with her as possible. We walk down the short hall and Katina's clear voice immediately becomes our focus. "He hardly leaves, so even if you did visit, it would have been awkward," Karina says lightly and our heart punches a little. She thinks we are awkward. "Awkward? Awkward how," we hear Chloe ask curiously and we stop breathing as we listen for Karina's answer. "Anytime I say anything, he turns my statement into something negative about himself. So he would probably do the same thing to you. It makes talking to him so hard. Like, okay, for example, I asked him how the final shift feels. He sa
The Making of a King 28
KARINA POV"A celebration of life," I think to myself as I move toward the temporary platform Logan's workers put together in record time. I have never heard of something so perfect. Rupert never celebrated anyone's life and in Outcast no one person really matters. We are all just pegs in the wheel, but Pack Thurman is better than that. It values it's members. Maybe the system isn't completely broken. I mean Patrick ran his pack currently. Maybe Atticus can use this pack as the template for all packs. Logan and Chloe will follow in Patrick's footsteps. I reach the stage and smile at my best friend. Her arm is draped over Logan's and I almost sigh with longing at how cute they look. Their relationship has done a complete 180 and I couldn't be happier for them. Chloe is going to be an amazing Luna and Logan is shaping up to be an outstanding Alpha. "Hey," a familiar voice says softly and I look to my left to find Melanie giving me a small smile. "Hi," I reply sounding as
The Making of a King 29
KARINA POV"All the prisoners are here," Logan says as he and Chloe come to a halt next to me. I silently hug my friend, and I intertwine our fingers when she pulls away from our embrace. I need her connection. Atticus is scaring me. He and his sister haven't moved. They are staring at the men from our pack with such venom I want to run away. "You okay," Chloe mouths, and I nod before glancing at Atticus. I'm okay, but my ex-mate doesn't seem to be. I wish I could get into his head. He has said all the things I wanted to hear for three years at the clinic, but I still don't know him. I don't know the things that haunt those dark brown eyes."Atticus, are you ready to begin," Logan asks, trying to get a response from Atticus or maybe just a glance. But Atticus doesn't move. He doesn't seem to realize Logan and Chloe have arrived. He is lost in his own head space. His eyes are bottomless, and the pull at his mouth screams hatred. He is ready to hurt these men. "Brother," Adelin
The Making of a King 30
ATTICUS Listening to males and females who have trained to serve a King is bizarre. They act as if we are royalty, but we aren't. We are Atticus and Roman. We are simple and uneducated. We are scarred and scared. We are not worthy of such devotion, but we will use their loyalty. They will see to the correction of this world. We refuse to let another Rupert exist and because of their undying obedience one never will. "King Atticus, there is a fresh meal of venison in your medical room. Adeline has received food as well. Would you like to stop the meeting to go eat," the female asks from behind her black mask. Our eyes raise from the floor and we stare at the seven members of W.O.L.F who are watching us. They don't seem to realize how uncomfortable it is to receive this much attention. They seem intent on spending every second with us. They hold these meeting and we listen, but so much goes over our heads. They talk about the vermin they are tracking who have killed or hurt othe
The Making of a King 31
The soft patter of rain on the clinic's roof wakes us, but we don't get up. The click on the ticks as the seconds pass by without us moving. We have hidden away long enough, but we still aren't ready to face Karina. Accepting the fact we would not be leaving the world left us feeling anxious. We realized we were scared. We were trying to take the coward's way out. It would be much easier to die than to fail at being Karina's mate or the world's king. Living with the shame of failure after everything else is terrifying, but dying would also be failing. Adeline would be stuck with guilt on top of everything she has experienced. A knock sounds on the door to our room and Logan's scent seems to spill in from around the seams of the painted wood. We scowl and sit up. Out of all the possible visitors we were not expecting it to be him forcing us from our bed. "Yes," we grumble and the white door opens just slightly to allow the young Alpha to peek inside. Logan looks us over cautiously
The Making of a King 32
KARINA POV "Atticus," I say as my body comes to a screeching halt. His order over my body takes hold and his dark eye examine me cautiously. He seems lost. Almost as if he wants to say something, but can't find the way and it breaks my heart. He deserves so much better, but he won't allow himself to have it. "I can only go back up the stairs, Atticus. Your order won't allow to move any further since you are right there," I whisper, and his face scrunches up as if he is confused by my statement. "I lifted it. I took the order away," he says and my eyebrows pull together in confusion. I haven't seen Atticus since the execution. He couldn't have lifted the order. "I... I have to hear the order Atticus. An order can't be lifted unless the one receiving the order hears," I explain as I realize he must have tried to lift the order without me being near him. "Oh, umm I'm sorry. I thought... Nevermind. I... King Atticus, lift my order from you, Karina," Atticus says sounding
The Making of a King 33
ATTICUS POV Our breath comes out ragged as we run through Logan's land, but our labored breathing isn't from the physical exertion of exercise, but from our emotions. Having Karina touch us and care for us was more than we could handle. It was an internal explosion of emotion. Happiness, longing, insecurity, fear, self-loathing. It was all we could have ever hoped for, but it was terrifying. We aren't good enough for Karina and we know it. Being hugged and questioned by her was one of the scariest moments of our lives. As we push our legs to another level scents and noises erupt from the trees around us. W.O.L.F members flank behind us acting panicked and we realize we have caused them to worry. We weren't in the clinic and now we are running through Thurman's pack as if we wish to kill something. We skid to a halt and the members stop on a dime to stare at us. Their pants fill the silence for a moment as we gather our thoughts. "My King, what is wrong," the biggest male
The Making of a King 34
ATTICUS POV Everything we said was ignored. Not one of the pack members trusted us enough to listen to us. They blatantly displayed their dislike for us no matter what we said by remaining silent and cold. In the end, we decided to walk away and allow the W.O.L.F agents to fix the food shortage issue. It was obvious the members wanted us gone because they immediately began to communicate with the agents. We gaze up at the open sky and sigh. The stars look like twinkling diamonds in the dark sky and we wish we could fall into them. The stench of shame has coated our flesh and we know there is no escaping it. Rupert Kincaid was our father. We hurt and helped imprison several young wolves who are now gone. Their families have no reason to forgive us. Even if we were under orders or afraid for Adeline we hurt them. "Atticus," Karina whispers from about five feet back, but we continue to ignore her. She has been behind us ever since we walked away from the gathering, but we don'
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