Mated To The King’s Gamma By Jessica Hall

Chapter 64

Abbie POV

Gannon was off doing an errand for the King about something having to do with Trey. So he and Dustin were looking through archives. He had been nagging me about Cassandra and what I wanted to do about her, but I had no idea. I didn’t like the idea of having someone’s life in my hands. Yet when he went off with the King, I wandered around the castle. Going down to the wine cellars, I was looking for the cobweb brush when I heard her calling out from the cells further down the corridor.

The wine cellar ran what appeared to be the entire length of the castle, with different underground corridors leading off in different directions, and the one to my left I knew went to the dungeons. Guards stood on either side of the arched tunnel leading to them, and I glanced at them. They paid her no attention while she continued screaming out for them to set her free.

Finding the cobweb brush, I head back toward the stairs leading into the kitchen’s huge pantry. Only once I am halfway up do I stop. Cassandra had three children, which had been nagging at me. As much as I wanted the woman dead, I didn’t want to punish her children for her crimes. Her husband and their father were dead, and her life is now resting in my hands.

Leaning the cobweb brush against the stairs, I walk back down the steps, over to the corridor, and stop in front of the guards.

“Miss Abbie?” one asks, and I chew my lip, glancing toward the dark dungeons.

“Can I see her?” I asked, looking at the man. He had a mustache and light blue eyes that were almost white they were that light. He glances at the other guard, who had a full beard, dark eyes, and long hair that cascaded almost to the waist and was tied in two braids.

“One of us will come with you,” the other man says, and I nod. I start walking down the corridor when I hear her screaming out again, and I stop. Her voice grating in my head as memories of the same voice teased and taunted me while she would hold my head to stop me from trying to pull away from him. She was just as sick as him to do that to another woman. I hadn’t realized I had stopped moving until the guard’s hand fell on my shoulder. Only then did I realize I was shaking like a leaf.

“I’m right here. She can’t hurt you, Miss; I have mind-linked Gannon,” he says, and I swallow.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” I murmured.

“It’s up to you. No one will force you to go in there, Miss Abbie,” he whispers.

I looked at the man, and his dark eyes looked black under the dim lighting. I should feel embarrassed that he knew what she did to me, yet his gentle voice held no contempt, and I nodded my head but forced myself to keep going until I was stopped outside her barred cell. She sat in the cell’s corner sobbing, her head in her hands and knees to her chest.

Cassandra looks up, and I could tell she was about to scream out again, but her words die out when she sees me standing there.

“I suppose you’re here to gloat?” she says, resting her head back on the brickwork. She turns her head away from me. She looked like crap, her nails all chipped, her hair a mess, her clothes wrinkled, and she had no shoes on.

Turning to the guard, I hold my hands out for the keys, and he looks at me. “Abbie,” he asks questionably.

“Keys, please.” I tell him, and he pulls them off the key chain and hands them to me.

Cassandra looks at me and jumps to her feet as I put the key in, but I don’t turn it. Instead, I noticed the bottled water just outside the cell door and pre-packaged sandwiches. I moved to the small table and grabbed two of the triangle packages and a water bottle before tucking them under my arm. My hands shook as I opened the cell, and my eyes went to her when I noticed the chain around her ankle that was attached to the wall.

Cassandra watches me warily as I enter, closing the door behind me. This wasn’t the same scornful, confident, and entitled woman I knew. This woman was helpless and looked petrified of me. She knew her life was in my hands. Gannon told her that much.

I take a step toward her, and she takes one back, her back hitting the wall. I hold the water bottle out to her, and she looks at me funny, tilting her head to the side. She reaches forward and grabs it like she thought I would toss it at her.

She opens the cap and starts gulping it down thirstily. When she was done, I handed her the sandwiches, which she took, and I watched her for a second before taking a few steps back and sitting next to the cell door. She watches me for a second before also sitting.

“Eat. You look hungry. I am not here to hurt you, Cassandra,” I tell her, and her lip quivers. She seemed shocked by my answer.

“Why not?” she asks, but peels the wrapper back on her sandwich and moans as she takes a bite.

“Because I am not you, I am not a monster,” I tell her, and she stops mid-bite and looks at me. She chews slowly and swallows, picking at her sandwich with her fingers. I observe her, and she can’t be much older than me. Without all the makeup staining her face, she looked very youthful, making me curious about who she really was.

“How old are you?” I ask her.

“Twenty,” she answers with a sigh.

“Twenty!” I ask, knowing her oldest child was six years old.

“But Micheal is six,” I tell her, and she chews slowly and nods her head.

“I had him two days before my fourteenth birthday,” she answers, and I swallow. How different our lives have been, though that must have been tough to have a baby that young.

“I thought you and Kade were high school sweethearts?” She laughed and shook her head.

“No, that’s what he tells everyone. He is eight years older, although he doesn’t look like it. I was one of his working girls,” she says with a shrug.

“But you just said you were fourteen when you had Michael?”

“Yeah, I was also a rogue. Kade took me in when he met me at another pack, I was placed when I was thirteen. He saved me.” my eyebrows raise at that. Saved her? Knocking a fourteen-year-old up is saving her?

“I know it sounds bad because of the age difference, but he saved me. I was to be sold off to another Alpha.”

“He brought you?” I asked.

“Yes, and I worked at his brothel for a couple of weeks,”

“That is not saving you,” I tell her, and she looks down at her hands. “I know, but it’s better than who Alpha Dean would sell me to,” she says.

“Pardon, did you say Alpha Dean?” she nods.

“Yeah, my family was picked up outside his borders. He said I was old enough to be sold off, and he needed the money. He killed my parents right in front of me and handed me over to his son,” she says with a growl and shakes her. A lone tear slips down her cheek.

“Then what happened?”

“His son was done with me, and Kade was visiting. He offered me to Kade, but then Kade said he would buy me off him under the table, that no one had to know. They have been dealing in sales of the flesh ever since.”

“You mean trafficking?” I ask, and she swallows.

“I know what I did was fucked up, but,” she stops.

“When he brought me back, you figured I would replace you.” I tell her.

“I didn’t want to go back to work, and I have children now. What would become of them?” she asked before stopping, hearing footsteps coming down the corridor, she glances behind me and gets to her feet, and I hear a thunderous growl echo off the walls and I stand. Gannon steps up next to the guard.

“Why is she in there with her?” he demands, and the man steps away from him.

“I’m fine, Gannon.” I tell him, and he looks at me, tearing his eyes from the guard. He sighs and twists the key in the lock, and opens it. Cassandra whimpers and presses into the corner further.

I put my hand on his chest when he moves toward her. “Back off,” I tell him, and he looks at me.

“You’re not touching her,” I tell him.

“She helped him. How can you say that?” Gannon snapped at me.

“And she will have to live with what she did, she is a monster, but even monsters have a story, even monsters can feel, and I am not a monster, and I won’t be responsible for her children being orphaned,” I tell him and I look at her.

“She is just as much a victim as I am,” I tell her, tears burning my eyes. Gannon growls.

“No!” he snarls.

“It’s my choice. You said it’s my choice.” I whisper, and he looks at me.

“She needs to be punished for what she did. She doesn’t deserve to live after that.” He snarls, stepping toward her, and she whimpers, cowering away from him and I grip his shirt in my fist, making him stop.

“My choice, what she did was wrong, but-” I look at Cassandra. “Fear makes people do foolish things. That is something I understand,” I tell him

“No, I am not letting her go.” Gannon snarled at me.

“You said I got to choose what happened to her, so mind-link the King.”

“Abbie!”

“No, Gannon, either you get the King, or go see Azalea. I won’t allow you to kill her. She has kids, and I am not leaving them orphaned to suffer the same fate I did,” i tell him and he snarls. Gannon walks out of the cell, slamming the door. Cassandra whimpers before she collapses, her body shaking as she sobs. “Thank you, thank you,” she cries.

“Go home to your children and forget about me Cassandra, I was never a threat to you, but if you come back, I will let him skin you alive like he wants to do, and I will hand him the tools while he does it,” I tell

her. She nods, glancing at him and her face pales.

“Don’t ruin your second chance. I won’t give you a third,” I tell her before walking out of the cell. Gannon growls and looks away from me and I stop beside him and place my hand on his chest. “Don’t be mad,” I tell him.

I’m not mad at you,”

“Yes, you are, but that’s ok. I don’t expect you to understand my request,” I tell him and he sighs but cups my face in hand before pulling me closer. He kisses my forehead, hugging me tight, and I wrap my arms around his waist and look up at him.

“Kyson and Azalea are on their way down,” Gannon whispers.

“Thank you,”

Azalea POV

Kyson leads me downstairs, and we pass Trey with a notepad in his hand later today we were going to visit mine and Abbie old pack after being poisoned I knew there was no way the King would leave me behind, to many attempts had been made on my life. Posioning, Cassandra and now having commanded the guard away and Abbie from coming near me, there was no way he would risk leaving me on my own. “Give it to Liam, and you’re on guard with me today and Damian. Meet us in the dungeons,” Kyson tells him.

Kyson led me to the back, where an enormous set of stairs led underground. Kyson kept a firm grip on my arm as we descended them because it was dark, and they were pretty steep. Once at the bottom, I look around and see this part is a vast wine cellar.

Kyson leads me around like he could walk this with his eyes closed and brings me to a dark tunnel, and I see Abbie, who goes running toward me before freezing like she hit a brick wall and became stunned. It was dark down here and cold, and I groaned, realizing commanded her too.

“You can go to her, but when we get home, we are going to have to work on you removing the command over them.” Kyson tells me.

“You will teach me?” I ask him.

“I don’t have a choice,” he grumbles, and I got the impression he didn’t like me being able to command anyone, making me wonder if I could command him, and that is why. Repeatedly I have heard Landeena’s blood is special. They have gifts, but after the way he said it and the feeling through the bond, it made me wonder if my command would be stronger than his.

Reaching for Abbie, she stood frozen, and I rushed to her and hugged her. Abbie explained about Cassandra and everything that she and Gannon found out. I wished she could come with us, but when I looked over at Kyson to ask, he was in the cells with Cassandra, his entire body tense, and I could feel he wanted to kill the woman but was respecting Abbie’s wishes. Yet he was angered because she didn’t just affect Abbie, but I was punished for it, and I knew she would not get off so easily.

“You will endure the same punishment.” I hear Kyson tell her.

“Kyson!” I called out to him. After hearing about Cassandra and Kyson commanding her to double- check what she said was true and confirming it, I felt the same as Abbie.

It was clear Kade brainwashed her. To her, he was a hero, yet she was entirely aware of her wrongdoings and apologized countless times. She just wanted to go home to her boys, and I agreed with Abbie she was as much a victim as we were in all this.

Kyson looks at me. “Let her go; I am fine. Enough blood has been spilled. Leave it be,” I plead with him. Kyson growls and glares at her, and she back away from him when he bends down, gripping the chain off the ground that wrapped around her ankle. He yanks it, ripping it clean off the wall. Cassandra shrieks, and my heart beats quicker, and I think he is about to whip her with the chain when he growls and drops it, but grabs her face.

“You come anywhere near my mate or Abbie, or I hear even a whisper of their names coming from you, I will have my guard hunt you down and string you up, then I will make your boys watch as I kill you for it, understood?” she nods and whimpers.

I feel his aura rush out, and she gasps like she is choking. “You will come nowhere near Azalea or Abbie. You will never speak or utter their names again,” he says, his voice so calm it chilled me to the bone. She nods, and he shoves her away before turning to the guards, and his eyes fall on Dustin.

“Dustin, run her back to her pack and get back here and help Liam and Gannon,” Kyson orders, and Dustin steps into the cell and grabs her arm, dragging her out when Abbie runs over to a small card table and snatches some sandwiches off it and bottled water before chasing after them.

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Dustin stops, and she hands them to Cassandra before shocking me and hugging her. Cassandra stood frozen and looked pained, probably because of Kyson’s command not to come near either of us.

“Thank you,” I hear Cassandra murmur, and Abbie lets her go and wanders back over to me.

“That didn’t feel right.” Gannon says, glaring after the Cassandra.

“It wouldn’t have been right either to punish her,” Abbie says to him before groaning when she tries to step closer to me.

“I wish you could come with me. I don’t want to go back there by myself,” I tell her, walking to Abbie since she couldn’t come to me.

And play this tug of war. I can’t move to you. Only you can come to me, that would be an issue, but it’s ok. I don’t think I could go back there, anyway. I never want to see that place again,” Abbie says and smiles sadly.

I felt the same way, but Kyson would not change his mind, and much as I was not too fond of going back there, it may also be a good way to put that place behind me. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Are the outside cameras installed yet?” Kyson asks while flicking through the notepad.

“Yes, but not hooked up on that side, but we have the far garden ones and front ones working. We should be able to see who went up that way.” Trey answers.

“Have Liam watch them while we are gone.” Trey nods, “Also, Clarice wants to know if you want her to pack you food and drinks.” Trey says..

“No, I will buy anything we need on the way. I don’t trust anyone right now handling anything to do with Azalea,”

“Understood. I will let her know,” Trey says before rushing up the steps. We make our way to the dungeons. We had to go through the kitchens, and I could see Clarice busy going over sign-off sheet pages.

“My Queen, I am sorry. I will figure out who had access, I promise. I will wash everything myself and sit by the dryer.” Clarice says.

“Thank you, Clarice,” I tell her, and she nods, hugging me. Kyson watches her warily. In fact, he watched everyone present in the kitchen warily, and his aura was deadly, making them cringe when we passed them, heading toward the colossal pantry that was nearly as large as the kitchen.

Kyson led me to the back, where an enormous set of stairs led underground. Kyson kept a firm grip on my arm as we descended them because it was dark, and they were pretty steep. Once at the bottom, I look around and see this part is a vast wine cellar.

Kyson leads me around like he could walk this with his eyes closed and brings me to a dark tunnel, and I see Abbie, who goes running toward me before freezing like she hit a brick wall and became stunned. It was dark down here and cold, and I groaned, realizing! commanded her too.

“You can go to her, but when we get home, we are going to have to work on you removing the command over them.” Kyson tells me.

“You will teach me?” I ask him.

“I don’t have a choice,” he grumbles, and I got the impression he didn’t like me being able to command anyone, making me wonder if I could command him, and that is why. Repeatedly I have heard Landeena’s blood is special. They have gifts, but after the way he said it and the feeling through the bond, it made me wonder if my command would be stronger than his.

Reaching for Abbie, she stood frozen, and I rushed to her and hugged her. Abbie explained about Cassandra and everything that she and Gannon found out. I wished she could come with us, but when I looked over at Kyson to ask, he was in the cells with Cassandra, his entire body tense, and I could feel he wanted to kill the woman but was respecting Abbie’s wishes. Yet he was angered because she didn’t just affect Abbie, but I was punished for it, and I knew she would not get off so easily.

“You will endure the same punishment,” I hear Kyson tell her.

“Kyson!” I called out to him. After hearing about Cassandra and Kyson commanding her to double- check what she said was true and confirming it, I felt the same as Abbie

It was clear Kade brainwashed her. To her, he was a hero, yet she was entirely aware of her wrongdoings and apologized countless times. She just wanted to go home to her boys, and I agreed with Abbie she was as much a victim as we were in all this.

Kyson looks at me. “Let her go, I am fine. Enough blood has been spilled. Leave it be.” I plead with him. Kyson growls and glares at her, and she back away from him when he bends down, gripping the chain off the ground that wrapped around her ankle. He yanks it, ripping it clean off the wall. Cassandra shrieks, and my heart beats quicker, and I think he is about to whip her with the chain when he growls and drops it, but grabs her face.

“You come anywhere near my mate or Abbie, or I hear even a whisper of their names coming from you, I will have my guard hunt you down and string you up, then I will make your boys watch as I kill you for it, understood?” she nods and whimpers.

I feel his aura rush out, and she gasps like she is choking. “You will come nowhere near Azalea or Abbie. You will never speak or utter their names again,” he says, his voice so calm it chilled me to the bone. She nods, and he shoves her away before turning to the guards, and his eyes fall on Dustin.

“Dustin, run her back to her pack and get back here and help Liam and Gannon.” Kyson orders, and Dustin steps into the cell and grabs her arm, dragging her out when Abbie runs over to a small card table and snatches some sandwiches off it and bottled water before chasing after them

Dustin stops, and she hands them to Cassandra before shocking me and hugging her. Cassandra stood frozen and looked pained, probably because of Kyson’s command not to come near either of us.

*Thank you.” I hear Cassandra murmur, and Abbie lets her go and wanders back over to me.

“That didn’t feel right,” Gannon says, glaring after Cassandra.

“It wouldn’t have been right either to punish her,” Abbie says to him before groaning when she tries to step closer to me.

“I wish you could come with me. I don’t want to go back there by myself” I tell her, walking to Abbie since she couldn’t come to me.

“And play this tug of war. I can’t move to you. Only you can come to me, that would be an issue, but it’s ok. I don’t think I could go back there, anyway. I never want to see that place again,” Abbie says and smiles sadly.

I felt the same way, but Kyson would not change his mind, and much as I was not too fond of going back there, it may also be a good way to put that place behind me.

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