Veritas

Chapter 57

Ryan was sitting on the edge of his seat, his leg bouncing anxiously as he argued with Kenji. The two were in agreement that too much time had passed; but, they were disagreeing on how to handle that.

"Mom already went off on the douchebag, we can't go ripping his face off, no matter how badly we want to" Ryan said, being the unusual voice of reason between himself and his wolf.

"He is in there alone. With Aislinn. We can't trust him. Enough time has passed, we already followed his order, so nothing's stopping us! Just let me break the door down" Kenji demanded, fighting Ryan for control.

"Would you stop? You'll endanger all of us, Ash included! If she and mom wouldn't be caught in the middle, of course we'd do what we needed to. We just need a bit longer...Besides, he thinks she's a guy, and has no idea of their...Bond" Ryan reasoned while pushing his wolf back down, spitting the last word out with distaste.

Kenji finally snorted in frustration; but, recognizing that his angry actions would indeed endanger his loved ones, he calmed down a bit. Rei, who had been watching her son, let out a breath of relief when she was able to see their struggle had calmed down. She reached over to her son to give his shoulder a squeeze, and a tired smile of support.

Ryan gave his mother a nod of acknowledgement back before scrubbing at his face with both hands and let out a frustrated groan. With his groan having broken the silence, it dawned on him that another noise was approaching. It was the distinct sound of high heels clicking on the floor, and it was growing louder.

Rei and Ryan both turned their attention to the bend in the hallway where the echos of footsteps were coming from. They watched as a familiar woman rounded the corner, dressed in a silky red, floor-length sheath dress with lace detail. Her brunette hair cascaded down her back in waves, and she held herself with an air of superiority as she approached the mother and son.

It was the King's mother, with the quieter footsteps of her guard who trailed behind her.

She stopped before Ryan and Rei, looking between the two of them. She raised a perfectly-shaped eyebrow as she did this, then smirked at them.

"It truly is astounding how similar you two look, and so strange how alike you are to our own Captain" she broke the silence to say with a laugh. Her face then returned to one of indifference as she sighed. "Where is my son?" She demanded.

Rei stiffened at the woman's behaviour, and Ryan was so glad he hadn't told her about the random seduction attempt. Since it didn't appear like Rei was going to answer, he spoke up and said "he's in my brother's hospital room."

"This one?" She asked, gesturing to the door they were clearly sitting across from.

"Yep" Ryan replied simply, not wanting to engage and irritated that she'd ask such a stupid question.

Shaela looked from Ryan to the hospital door, then to her guard. As if answering a question Ryan had asked, she said "my son isn't responding to my attempts to contact him. He never blocks me out, so...As a concerned mother, I felt the need to check on him" with a heavy sigh at the end for dramatic flair. She then tried to open the door, only to find it was locked.

"What is this woman's deal?" Ryan asked his mother, confused by Shaela's continued erratic behaviour.

"I don't know" Rei answered tensely, her irritation towards the woman mounting.

Fortunately, though, Shaela ordered her guard to do something that Ryan and Rei had been wanting to do since the King ordered them to leave. "Break the door down" she said with an angry wave of her hand.

"Uh...That door is meant to contain an Alpha King going berserk, my lady. I...Can't" the guard admitted, clearly deflating for having failed her.

"Tsk...Fine, get someone with a key, then!" She ordered in frustration, her high heels tapping on the marble floor impatiently.

"I already have, he's on his way" the guard said, inflating again with the pride of being able to serve Shaela.

"These two are just...Something isn't right between them" Ryan muttered to his mother through their mind-link.

"Something isn't right about a lot of things here...Her especially. She's putting on a show for some reason. I'm scared of what we're in for when she opens that door" Rei said cryptically, gripping the seat she was sitting on tightly.

"Like what?" Ryan asked, instantly worried for Aislinn.

"I don't know. I just have a feeling..." Rei responded, her eyes never leaving the woman in red.

"Where is he?!" Shaela demanded impatiently.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" called an annoyed voice from the opposite end of the hall that Shaela had emerged from. A younger looking doctor than the one who'd been treating Aislinn was rounding the corner of the hall, brows furrowed as he rifled through the keys on a key ring. "I'm not the damn janitor, why do I have to carry these?" He muttered to nobody in particular.

"Because it's your job" Shaela snapped at him. "Open the damn door!"

The doctor stopped to scowl at her briefly before he turned and unlocked the door. Although Ryan didn't see it, he realized from the number of turns of the key, and the different clicks of tumblers moving that the lock on the door was abnormal. The noises sounded like they were coming from all across the door, instead of just at the latch for it. He wondered what had happened in the past to make them require berserker-Alpha-King-proof doors.

The final click of the door opening snapped everyone's attention to the same focal point, with the door swinging open. Ryan didn't know what he was expecting to see; but, Aislinn's empty bed and the room completely deserted was not it.

Shaela ran into the room and looked around, then checked the other door to the room to find it had been locked from the outside, as it normally was. It was the same style door to keep someone within the room, and someone could keep it ajar when they came in to allow an abrupt exit when necessary.

Shaela turned back to the group that had gathered with a look of terror on her face. "You said he was in here" she accused Ryan.

"He was!" Ryan said, surprise and confusion written on his face.

"Liar! He couldn't have left the room other than through the door you were sitting across from! Where is my son?!" She demanded, stomping her foot like a petulant child.

"I don't know!" Ryan answered earnestly. "Where is my brother?!"

"You do know! And I bet your brother is in on it! The three of you, this was all a ruse to get into our pack and gain our trust, wasn't it?!" She accused, glaring between Ryan and Rei.

"That's not true! My son could barely move, you can ask the doctor who was just treating him!" Rei countered angrily.

"Lies!" Shaela spat. "I did ask him just now, and he said your son was in perfect health! In fact, the King was here to discuss their agreement, otherwise why on Earth would he bother with you disgusting lone wolves? My son just has such a big heart, and wanted to help you urchins...And yet you've abused his good will! Where is he?!" She screamed, sounding more and more hysterical as she continued her accusations.

Despite demanding where the King was, though, she didn't stop to let them respond. Instead, Shaela pointed a finger at Rei and Ryan. "Seize these treasonous mutts, they're involved in a plot to overthrow the throne!"