Unsevered Ties

18. Old Dog Days

Chapter 18: Old Dog Days

On a chilly night, the cool blue sky littered with illuminating stars. From above, everything looked peaceful and serene, like every other night. Ahead, though, things were not so quiet.

Clashing with the surrounding air, a heat blazed, growing with each passing minute. A bright orange irradiated anything near, and it scorched anything close enough to touch.

Blue eyes the color of a sunlit lake stared out at the opposite color, the dance of flames reflecting in their depths. Where most would be sympathetic, he was not. Quite the opposite. These eyes held a distant gleam that not even the raging fire could heat. Dark lashes blinked slowly, casting a darker shadow that better suited the depths of his eyes.

“My liege, the deed is done.”

A chiseled face turned to the young man who knelt beside him, his head bowed in dutiful respect. A large mouth quirked in amusement and pleasure. Those almost sinister eyes turned down, looking over the other person who was present. “Is it completed? The decoy found? This is not something that can I can recreate so easily, and I won’t tolerate any mistakes.”

The young man nodded, his black head with white ends still bowed. “We have made sure that the Lord found the planted body. There was no mistaking his cry of grief. But...” The man looked at the roaring beast of a fire that consumed the large mansion without anything to stop it. “He was consumed with agony and did not look as if he would budge. If he is not forced out, he will burn alive. What are your orders, Your Highness?”

A large hand stroked a dark beard, and his mouth quirked in further amusement. “Is that so? Such a mighty warrior taken down for such a petty reason? I would not choose to lose my life to grief even if such a situation occurred.” He chuckled, a gesture that did not fit the circumstances. “As a friend, allowing him to die in such a pitiful state would not be fitting.” He sighed. “Go and retrieve him. He will be broken as a warrior now and they cannot find him under any circumstances. Everything I needed from this. Am I understood?”

The other nodded before he shifted and was off again toward the crime scene. He smirked again, glancing down at the limp form in his arms. “I’ve waited a long time to get you, and now that I have. I cannot have your dear father standing in my way. Pesky things, these emotions our minds suffer. For now, you’ll have to do until our faithful Prince can fulfill his job.”

The bright colors from the fire lit up his royal garb as he departed quietly into the night.

✧✧✧✧

“What do you mean he has already mated?”

Rafeo felt furious. Immediately, the very moment he’d set foot in his homeland, he went in search of his younger brother. He’d had a terrible feeling all the way home, like he was returning to something he did not want to return to. His gut never led him astray, and it proved as faithful as ever.

“Do not be so upset, Rafeo.” King Leiodus sat in his very royal chair with a very royal air about him. Having been a King for so long, it was bred it into his very being. “It was a Royal matter, Rafeo. I’m sorry that things came about the way they did, but your task couldn’t wait, and neither could Naki’s mating.”

“Why couldn’t it wait? How was it such a pressing matter? What reason could there have been?” He was steaming, the logic unable to go through his head.

“You’d have to ask Aiden about that. It was, per his request, that it happened so soon. He had matters to attend to with his pack, and rightly so.” The King offered Rafeo a smile before pointing to the seat opposite him. “We are now one, or better to say, a joint effort, Rafeo. The needs of both packs are now my concern as well. I can understand from a brother’s standpoint why you are upset, but as the official delegate of the Field Pack, you should know what has to come first.”