Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Kyson POV
Azalea was in a strange mood. She was scared, not that she would admit it. I was kind of glad to get out of the castle with her. At least she would be safe with me. Or so I hoped. I hope bringing her back to this place doesn’t dredge up unwanted memories for her or haunt her, especially after this morning. She knew I was keeping stuff from her, but I was only doing it to protect her, though some of it was for selfish reasons. Trey blurted that one out.
“Are you worried about returning here?” I ask her, but she shakes her head. Which only confirmed my original thoughts. She feared being at the castle. I was struggling to figure out who I could trust myself.
Every lead we had was a dead-end, and I knew this one would be too. They always were, yet still, we investigated.
“What are you worried about, then?”
“Everything.” she murmurs. I could feel the weight and pressure on her. She had been thrust into a world she knew nothing about. Laws, kingdoms, and her own family history were a mystery to her. Then, on top of that, she was worried about Abbie. She was always worried about Abbie. Concerned about who was trying to kill her and why. But most of all, she was curious to know who she was, and as determined as I was to keep it from her, I knew she also needed to know. So I would start teaching her to use her Alpha voice even if it means hers would one-day overthrow mine.
Yet feeling her through the bond, her nervousness and anxiety worsened the closer we got, and the overwhelming urge to comfort her grew stronger. I wanted to touch her, put her mind at ease, and let her know she was safe with me.
“Come here.” I couldn’t stop the edge of a growl escaping me, but she turned her head to look at me, pulling her attention away from the window.
“Seatbelt, Azalea. Sit up. Azalea. And now, you want me to remove my seatbelt to come to you?” she spits at me sarcastically while shaking her head. My little mate was growing more cunning. Her attitude I always found amusing until it was used against me.
growl and unclip my seatbelt before moving toward her. Sliding onto the seat beside her and slipped my arm across her tiny waist and undid her seatbelt before looping my arm around her waist and dragging her onto my lap. She growls, and I purr back at her. She would not escape me so easily. My hand snuck under her shirt to rest on her lower belly. The slightest bump fit in the palm of my hand. She sighs and relaxes against me as I caressed it. I couldn’t wait to watch her belly grow with our child, I couldn’t wait to see what sort of mother she would be. I wanted a big family, and I wondered whether she shared the same thoughts.
To me, her scent was like a balm, soothing yet also teasing, making my mouth water. She smelled sweet, cherry, and vanilla, and I couldn’t explain the strange urges her scent enticed. I have never liked sweets, yet her scent was addictive and inviting. She smelled delicious.
So I couldn’t help the purr that slipped out and vibrated against her back. My calling works every time, and I love how she melts under it. At least, that is one thing I will always have that she can’t resist. I bury my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply.
My cock grows hard beneath her, and I was glad Abbie didn’t come. I felt like I hardly got time with her alone anymore, so having her so close and all mine, I couldn’t resist the temptation her flesh was offering. My fingertips draw circles on her skin before teasing the waistband of her tights. My purr grew louder, and I could feel the effect I was having on her. Her arousal through the bond was intense and perfumed the small space in the limousine. Her scent became overwhelming. I was supposed to be distracting her and calming her, and all i managed was to work myself up.
“Kyson! Damian and Trey are in the front!” she hisses, gripping my wrist and trying to stop it from slipping lower. Ignoring her, I slip my hand beneath the waistband and cup her warm pussy with my hand.
“Kyson!” she squeaks, while squirming on my lap. I groan as her ass brushes against my erection. Stroking the seam of her wet lower lips, she could deny me all she wanted, but she couldn’t hide the feeling I was enticing out of her.
Azalea squirms as my fingers tease her folds, drawing out moisture with each brush across her slit. “Hmm,” i hum before shoving my finger inside her.
Any words of protest she did have, die off as my thumb gently rubs against her swollen clit. Her legs open wider for me, and I chuckle, kissing her shoulder and withdrawing my finger that was slick with her arousal before sliding it back in and curling it deep within her. Her inner walls clench around my finger, and she moans softly, and her head rolls back against my shoulder as she gives in to the feeling I was building up with the friction.
However, it was short-lived when I heard the screech of tires, and the limo slowed. I growl, peering out my window, and Azalea scrambles off my lap. My hand slides out of her pants, and an angered growl leaves me as the car comes to an abrupt stop. We were stopped by the side of the road, just outside the pack borders and men surrounded the vehicle.
Snarling, I hear Damian get out of the car and listen to him talking to Alpha Dean’s men, who were trying to refuse us entry. Reaching for the door handle, I toss it open and climb out. Six werewolves were arguing with him about there not being any announcement of our arrival. My
aura slips out as I stare at the man with his qun pointed at Damian’s chest. Damian snarls, unflinching, and daring the man to pull the trigger
“Issue?” I ask, shutting the door behind me. The other men were smart enough to back up, but one sniff of the air, and I could tell this man was the Beta. His scent was more substantial than the others,
“I would have thought after your Alpha’s experience with stepping out of line and giving my men orders, that the rest of you would have more sense. Apparently not!” I tell the man while coming up behind Damian. His mud brown eyes flick to me over Damian’s shoulder and he swallows. The other five had scampered off, leaving the Beta to fend for himself when they realized they were dealing with Lycan’s and not random fleabag werewolves with no authority or rights.
The man glances around, his curly brown hair blowing in his face when he realizes his pack members had abandoned him.
“No issue, my king. I didn’t recognize you,” he stammers. Lie, the flags on the front of the limo showed our immunity.
“Did you have trouble recognizing my Beta too?” I ask. He pales, glancing at Damian, who held his signature smirk.
* um — The Alpha, he… the man babbles like an idiot.
“Your Alpha what? Told you to ignore hierarchy? To hold a gun to a Lycan’s chest?” I ask the man.
“He said not to let anyone in without notifying him first,” the man stammers. Damian glances at me.
“Even the king’s guard?” I asked. The man nods his head.
“Yes. Said that we must be prepared after last time. Two of your men killed the butcher and Mrs. Daley and kidnapped two rogue children.” he says.
“You mean the pedophile I sent them here to kill? And the headmistress that mistreated your Queen?” I ask the man. The man shakes his head.
*They were good people,” he claims, and my eyebrows rise into my hairline.
“Good people don’t rape and sell little girls!” I sneered, and he opened his mouth and closed it quickly. His hand trembled and I snatched the gun from his grip before he accidentally set it off. I tuck it down the back of my pants before punching him, and Damian whistles and leans against the hood. Nothing angered me more than this twit thinking he could deny my men from entering pack lands that were under my rule.
He grunts, clutching his nose as blood sprayed out everywhere. “Do not forget your place, Mutt! And it will always be beneath a Lycan’s feet! You dare tell my men they can’t enter on the ground I own again and I will have you tossed out and made rogue. Then you will see how your Alpha treats rogues,” I tell him. He nods, his eyes darting to Damian before he mutters an apology, and I turn, shaking my head and climbing back in the car.
Now, why are Alpha Dean and Alpha Brock so worried about my men and me coming here? Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so pointless after all.
1 slid across the seat, muttering to myself, and my temper rippled just like my aura. “What’s wrong?” Azalea asked me. Just border controls, forgetting who they are speaking with,” I answer.
She nodded, and we started moving again, yet the further we got into the sleepy town that was in the middle of nowhere, the more anxious Azalea became. My earlier mood was gone and replaced with anger for their Alpha, thinking he could tell me I couldn’t enter without notification. Who does he think he is?
“Abbie told me Katrina took over the orphanage?” Azalea asks, snapping my attention to her and out of whatever mood I slipped into.
*Yes, after Mrs. Daley left,” I tell her, not wanting to tell her Gannon skinned the woman alive and hung her in the basement. The pictures he took made my stomach turn; Gannon was one sick bastard. I
shook the thought away and watched as she chewed her lip.
“What are you thinking right now?” I ask her, and she rubs her belly without realizing it. I tried not to smile at how she cradled the slight bump in her hand,
“I wondered if the children would still remember me,” she says.
“You want to go back there?” I asked, a little shocked. She shrugs, chewing on her fingernail, looking unsure.
“I think I do,” she finally answers.
“If we have time on the way home, we will stop in there,” I tell her.
“So we are just here to see the Alpha?” Azalea asks.
“Yes. And once we are done, I will take you to see the children if you like.” she nods, her eyes becoming a little glassy. I wasn’t sure if she missed the children who lived there or because she knew she was coming back to this place and it scared her.
20.96%
15:20
I knew this place haunted both her and Abbie. And after the tortures they endure at this place, I was once again second-guessing bringing her here.
It took another ten minutes before we pulled up out the front of the Pack house. Alpha Dean and Alpha Brock stood waiting out the front on the porch. However, when Azalea glanced out her window and
looked at them, her mood shifted through the bond. Her eyes burned brighter, flickering, and almost glowed, her jaw clenched as she glared past me and out the window.
Climbing out of the car, I was surprised when I heard her door open. We had discussed she would wait in the car with Trey, but she got out. The convoy of cars also pulled up, and my men jumped out to secure the perimeter. Trey jumps out of the front passenger seat with Liam and Liam shut her door while Trey moved behind her. Damian glances at me, but I shrug, wondering why she suddenly wanted to come inside. Her mood had changed so swiftly I struggled to decipher the weird mood she was in, but seeing the two Alphas had awakened something within her.
The Alpha walked down the steps, holding his hand out to me, and I could hear Azalea walking around the other side of the car to me.
“What a pleasant surprise,” Alpha Brock says, his eyes glinting before moving to Azalea behind me. His lips part, and Alpha Dean also pauses to stare at her. It took me a second to realize why they had paused. Her aura was magnificent, so strong and commanding. She stops beside me, and Alpha Dean’s hand shakes as he offers it to her, and I hear Damian huff when she doesn’t take it and just stares at it like it was diseased.
“Lovely to see you again, Ivy,” he says warily, glancing at me. Azalea waves his hand away. I don’t know where this sudden confidence came from, but I enjoyed seeing the power she was using.
“That’s Queen Azalea, to you, Alpha. Now move,” she says, pushing past them and walking up the steps. They gaped at her, and Liam rushed ahead of her to open the front door. I had no idea what was going on with her, but I would run with it to see what else she did. The two Alphas all but fall over themselves, chasing after her and offering her coffee or tea, but she ignores them. Stepping into the foyer of the place, she snarls at them.
“No. I wouldn’t trust you not to spit in it! And we aren’t here to chat, we are here for ” she glances at me, and my eyes glaze over, and I mind-link her.
“Looking for all the rogue reports. And to go through their archives,” I tell her. If she wanted to handle this, I would let her because I don’t think she realized what she was doing, and I liked seeing the sudden fear on their faces that she invoked by using her aura.
These two men who were responsible for nearly destroying her but were now falling over themselves, trying to appease her. She tells them what she is looking for, speaking clearly and confidently.
“We don’t keep such files, lv…My Queen,” Alpha Dean corrects himself. Azalea raises an eyebrow at him. And I could see Trey smiling behind her. He leaned down to whisper to her, and she glanced at him.
They gape at her, and I can’t believe they had the audacity to lie when they had no issue trying to label her as a traitor. And I knew very well that the archives were kept in the basement.
*Your archives are kept in your basement. And you should have reports of every rogue that steps over your borders. If not, that is an infringement on your behalf, and if it is simply you refusing to hand them over that is punishable by death. Beheading sounds good?” She says, looking at me.
“As you wish, my Queen,” I answer.
“So which is it, you don’t have the archives I have requested or you don’t want to hand them over? Either way Alpha, you seem to find yourself in a direct violation of Lycan law and your next answer determines the severity of your punishment,” she says staring at them both. I had no doubt Trey was feeding her laws through the mind link. Both Alpha’s stumble over themselves to answer.
“What we meant is that we haven’t dug them out. We weren’t aware of your arrival or the King’s. If you come back in a few days, we could have them ready,” Alpha Dean answers her.
“If I wanted you to dig them out and remove any incriminating evidence, we would have called prior. But seeing as your pack is under investigation for the mistreatment of rogues, I don’t want you handling any such evidence or give you a chance to get rid of it completely.” she tells him.
“Mistreatment of rogues, my Queen. Whatever happened with Mrs. Daley. I assure you, your King has seen to her punishment,” Alpha Dean tries to say. She ignores his rambles.
“I would also like to see my files and Abbie’s. So if you could point me in the direction of your basement, that would be very helpful,” she says. Alpha Brock glances at his father before motioning down the hall, looking very ticked off he was being ordered around by her.
Azalea follows them to the stairs and up the corridor at the side before stopping at the door next to the steps. Alpha Brock opens the door and glances at his father
“May we ask what you are looking for exactly? Most of the files down here are outdated and have nothing of use to anybody.” he asks, and Damian answers.
2010
“What we are here for is of no concern to you. She told you already. So if you would step aside,” Damian says.
“We can show you down. It will be easier if we help, and …” Azalea growls, and her aura has him pressing against the wall.
“You heard my Beta. Now step aside, Alpha,” she sneered, the last word glaring at him, daring him to speak against her. He swallows. The charged air around her was so thick and angry I fought to remain
where I was. Now that’s my Landeena Queen! The Alpha quickly stepping away from her and Liam goes down first to check the place before signally it was clear.
Azalea looks at me and opens the mind-link again and I knew she was waiting for permission. “Go on. If you want to take over, I won’t stop you,” I tell her and she quickly steps inside and starts descending down the steps. I stroll past the Alphas when Alpha Dean stops me.
“Are we in trouble, my King?” he asks.
“That’s for her to decide,” I tell him before following after my mate.
Azalea POV
Stepping into the basement, the place was stacked to the ceiling with boxes of files, no order, nothing, just boxed and stacked. I did not know what I was looking for, and I had no clue where to even start. Damian comes up behind me, leading me to a table in the center and flicking a small lamp on.
“I’m sorry I stuck my nose in. It made me mad when I saw them,” I admitted to him. I was unsure where my bravado came from, but seeing my old Alphas ticked me off, and I hated how they made me feel lower than dirt, and I wanted to return the favor.
“No, you did well,” Damian says when Kyson comes down the steps. I waited to see if he was mad that I kind of just took over when I was supposed to remain in the car with Trey. I wasn’t supposed to step foot in here at all. Yet when he came down the last step, he had a silly smile on his face as he strolled over to me.
*Ah, this will take forever,” Liam growls, rifling through boxes. Kyson comes over, places his hands on my hips, and buries his face in my neck. But Liam was right. This would take days to go through.
“So, what do you want to do now?” Kyson asks, and I look up at him.
“Pardon?” I whisper.
“You’re in charge, boss. So what now?” he asks, brushing his nose across my cheek. Igasp, looking around. Kyson purrs behind me before tapping my hip with his hand and wander about the huge basement before stopping having no clue, it would take days..
“Can we take them?” I ask Kyson, and he nods.
“For real, my Queen? You want me to cart all these boxes up?” Liam whines, jutting out his bottom lip and pointing to Trey, “He wants to do it,” Liam whispers, and I chuckle.
“No, I. “I press my lips in a line. There were hundreds of boxes down here. I look up at Kyson, and he shrugs, not offering any help.
“You’re in charge, and I’m not helping. So what are you going to do, my Queen?” Kyson says, and I peer back around the room. They wouldn’t fit in the cars. There were too many. I glance at the steps leading up before walking past Kyson and back up the steps to the main house. Alpha Dean and Alpha Brock stood by the doors, looking terrified of the two guards beside them. Seeing them ground my gears, the humiliation of being put on that podium in front of the entire town square while they threw stuff at us made my blood boil as I remembered the last time I saw them.
“Have you got a trailer?” I ask them. They both shake their heads. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“Find one.” I tell them.
“You want us to find a trailer?” Alpha Brock asks, looking at his father.
“Don’t look at him. Find a trailer, I said.” I snapped, and he growls, the noise cutting off when I growl back at him. Only mine was a lot louder, and the power behind it almost made me gasp and jump
before I contained those urges of shock. I felt the power ooze out of me, my aura coming out like a shield and suffocating the Alphas.
“You will find a trailer and attach it to the car. Then you will come back here, and you and your father will cart every box and piece of paper from that basement and stack them in it.” I tell them.
“Every box?” Alpha Dean says.
“Are you hard of hearing, Alpha Dean? Do I need to repeat myself?” I asked him, and he shook his head. Turning to the guards beside them, dropped my aura and spoke to them.
“Make sure they bring every box up. And if they miss one, Kill Alpha Brock.”
“Yes, my Queen,” they nod, and one smiles like he would enjoy that job. I go to leave when I pause to see Kyson leaning against the wall.
“Oh, and once they have attached the trailer, they have 18 minutes to cart them up,” I tell the guards.
“18 MINUTES!” Alpha Brock exclaims.
“Yes. Because 18 years is a wonderful age to kill innocent rogues, so I give 18 minutes to cart those boxes up.” I tell him.
“And if we don’t complete it in that timeframe?” Alpha Dean asks.
“I suggest you get it done, and you won’t have to find out,” I tell him before turning on my heel and walking out.
Stepping outside, I let out a breath. It was exhilarating holding the control, yet also petrifying. Adrenaline made my heart rate quicken and flutter in my chest
“Now what?” Kyson asks me. I bite the inside of my lip and look around and I see Alpha Brock rush off to his neighbor’s house.
“Will the guards make sure they retrieve everything?” I ask, and Kyson nods his head.
“Then can we go to the orphanage?”
“Are you asking?” Kyson says with a devious smile on lips. I swallowed, glancing at Trey, who raised an eyebrow at me and nodded toward Kyson. I shake my head and cringe, looking up at my mate.
“No. I want to go to the orphanage, so we are going,” I tell him. I was turning away from him when he grabs my arm. My heart lurches in my chest, thinking I pushed him too far, demanding him. Yet he only turns me to face him before his hand slips to the back of my neck, and he leans down while tilting my head back. His lips crash against mine, his tongue demanding as it invades my mouth, forcing my lips to part. He kisses me hungrily, his tongue tasting every inch of my mouth before he pulls away and smiles.
“I like it when you’re bossy,” he purrs.
“You say that now,” I tell him.
“For now,” he smiles, grabbing my hand. He kisses the back of it before draping his arm across my shoulders. We walk to the orphanage since it wasn’t that far from the packhouse. It was odd walking through the streets; this place no longer gave me the same fear it used to. It looked different, run down. People stared as we headed toward the orphanage and I paid them no mind, ignoring their curious gazes.
Once there, I stopped, staring up at the building I once called home. The place should be condemned, yet the kids all stopped as I stepped over the little brick fence. Most recognized me and rushed over, trying to touch me and pull me to play with them.
“Ivy! Ivy!” they called, trying to get my attention. Katrina, hearing the commotion, rushed out the front doors, looking somewhat frazzled. “Katrina!” I gasped before moving my way through the kids. I smack into the front of her as her arms wrap around me.
“Oh, sweet girl” she gushes, hugging me tightly. Katrina was the only one that was nice to Abbie and me. She holds me at arm’s length, checking me over. Her fingertips trailed over my shoulder, which was a little exposed. The ends of the lash marks on my back poke out the top. She smiles sadly, tears brimming in her eyes, and she sniffles.
“How’s Abbie?” she asks.
“She is okay.” I tell her, and she nods and wipes her eyes.
“You look good, sweetie,” she says, hugging me again. One of the kid’s tugs on my shirt, and I pick him up.
“Hey, Jack” i beamed at him. He played with my hair, tugging on it gently.
“Where is Abbie? She didn’t come to visit us?” He pouts. He was seven years old and was missing his two front teeth. His blonde hair is tied in a bun on his head,
“No, she couldn’t come,” I tell him, and he nods sadly. Katrina leads us inside and turns the kettle on.
“Kyson said you’re in charge now?” I tell her. She nods, and I look around the kitchen. It was the same. I started reaching for mugs and setting them out, and I could feel Kyson watching me. Katrina fussed,
telling me not to help her, but I shoed her away, telling her to sit. She sighs and sits down heavily in a chair.
“Yep. But the Alpha cut back rations again. This place is falling apart, and Dad is sick, so I am back and forth,” she says.
“No one to help?” | ask.
“Margret comes over when I ask, but you know how she is. I swear I could run this pack better than that twat, he keeps saying he hasn’t got the money to put in this place, I checked his finances for him the other week again and he has gambled everything,” katrina tells me, and I nod, passing her and Kyson a cup of tea. Margret was one of Mrs. Daley’s friends, and she hated children, even her own.
“What’s wrong with your father?” I ask her.
“Dementia. He needs a full-time carer now, but I can’t with this place, and mum is just as bad, so she is no help, and I haven’t got the funds to pay for one.” Katrina tells me.
“I don’t know how you girls kept up with all the chores here either,” she says, shaking her head.
“We didn’t have a choice,” I tell her, and she nods.
“I’m sorry, Ivy.
“Azalea,” Kyson corrects her, Katrina could call me what she likes, but she nods her head. She was the only person here that was actually nice and tried to help us, but she couldn’t because Alpha Dean always had a soft spot for Mrs. Daley, despite Katrina actually having Beta blood.
“Don’t be, and it’s not your fault,”
“I could have done more.” I shake my head when one kid comes out and looks around. Tyson starts babbling. He had some disability that was never diagnosed because Mrs. Daley believed you could beat disobedience out of a child and saw speech impediment as disobedience
He motions toward his mouth, trying to speak, but it comes out in grunts and growling. “I never know what he is trying to say.” Katrina says as he squeezes his fists, shaking as he becomes frustrated, grumbling loudly.
I reached into the fruit bowl, looking for an apple that wasn’t squishy. I clean it on my shirt and pass it to him. “Apple,” I tell her. Abbie and I learned distinct noises meant certain things to him. He babbles excitedly and takes it, rushing off.
“Apple,” she says with a sigh, and I sip my tea and nod.
“He likes the crunching noise they make, and he hates cornflakes, so don’t give him those. He has a meltdown, Tyson doesn’t like the texture,” I tell her, and she quickly jumps up and grabs a notepad from the fridge. She jots it down, and I tell her a few more noises he makes and what they mean.
“Man, I wish you and Abbie could stay here a while to show me,” she says. Kyson shakes his head instantly and I don’t think I could even if he lets me. Too many bad memories here and I knew this place would give me nightmares when I went home.
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