The King's Prey (Unedited Edition)

Chapter 18 : Revival

Alethiology • [uh-lee-thee-ol-uh-jee]
The study of truth.

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Reawakening is no different than coming back from the dead. Murmurs again—those stupid murmurs are all around me.

It's gradual, but my senses regain with the passing seconds...or it could be minutes—I can barely tell. The ringing in my ears subsides as the faint voices disorient me further into confusion; utter confusion as to whether I'm alive or dead.

My fingers twitch once involuntarily, my brain likely making sure that this strange reality is real—and that I'm breathing and able to move. It feels as though I'm underwater again, just as it had felt before I met that darkness. Where am I? And what had happened out in those woods?

Whatever I'm resting on is warm and soft, and whatever covers me soothes the near-invisible feeling in my legs. My heartbeat picks up slightly as I render what hurts and what doesn't, and a steady beeping tone in the background quickens with it.

It takes an eternity until my hearing clears substantially enough for me to make out words and the other sounds that encase whatever room I'm in. A room, a real room...not those cursed woods.

I feel so...heavy but so fragile at the same time. From the other side of whatever room I'm in, an argument is commencing among a group of people. Their words—despite trying to be quiet—ignite a migraine within my head.

"How the hell can you guarantee Phantomridge is safe? You saw the way those damn rogues nearly had us by our balls," a deep voice snarls.

"I can't." I easily make out Samuel's voice in the conversation. "But what we can do is reinforce our walls and put more patrols out on the borders."

"You can't just keep beating around the bush, Alpha. Acting is how we fix problems like this," says another male.

"I am acting," Samuel growls back, keeping his voice low, probably to not wake me. A huff releases from him before he says, "It's frustrating enough that this easily could've been prevented had we detected them before they breached the gates. We need to be more diligent with these kinds of things. Border patrol needs to go through their training again. I don't give a damn if they complain about it. It needs to be done before we have another crisis like what happened."

A low chuckle sounds from a new voice. "Border patrol never has their shit together." It takes me a few moments to realize it's Liam who's speaking.

"You think this is funny, Liam?" Samuel barks.

"Of course I don't, Alpha. I just think that rogues breaking through our barriers is a once in a lifetime event. It clearly proves how unprepared we are for outside attacks."

Amidst the argument, my eyes finally find the strength to crack open, allowing them to adjust to the blinding white lights. Once things settle though, I soon realize the lights are fairly dim in the room, but my eyes become sensitive to their sudden brightness as the seconds pass.

"We weren't unprepared, we were uncoordinated," Samuel retorts. "On top of retraining border patrol, you can also be the one to instruct the next wave of recruits since you think this is so hilarious."

Absorbing everything slowly, the panic rises in my chest and creates that same uneasiness I felt when I had first awoken in Samuel's house.

"Oh, c'mon. I was only trying to lighten up the mood," Liam jokes.

I take in the features of the room and notice how sterile everything is—how it all looks and smells and feels. The white walls are a faint contrast to the grey tiling. The aroma is so clean it feels as though it's been bleached; it's all too clean for me and my mucky, weak body.