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•• Chapter 2 ••

"Now, what do I want Keith to do for me?" when I heard those words, I gulped.

Sebastian was doing it on purpose. He was purposely playing with me, wondering what I should do for him. He made me wait all the way home, starting his sentence, but never-ending it.

"Spit it out already!" I burst out since my patience was running thin as he laughed. "I don't see what's funny..." I pouted while crossing my arms.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. You're so easy to tease," he apologized while trying to stop laughing, but miserably failed.

"If it's like that..." I turned around and was about to open my house door when a hand stopped me.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry," he said with a small smirk. "So, I want you to..." he took a pause and then a huge smirk appeared on his face. "I want you to do all my house chores for a week."

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow. 'Night," I sighed tiredly. At least he didn't ask me anything embarrassing like... Walking around naked?

"See you tomorrow darling!" Sebastian exclaimed as he sent me a flying kiss, which I avoided it with a head movement.

As I entered my home, my mom was in the living room reading a book. So, I guessed my father wasn't home yet. When she glanced away from her book, she looked at me with worried eyes.

"Keith..." she started as her smooth and modulated voice filled the room. "I'm sorry for what happened today. Your father knows you're doing your best every day. He just... doesn't know how to show it that's all," she apologized as she tried to protect the man she loves.

"Mom, you don't need to apologize. It wasn't your fault and as for dad... I guess I'll have to double my efforts?" My affirmation came out as a question as I fought against my tears.

"My baby... Don't cry..." she soothed me while her tone was also thick with sadness.

"I'm okay, I'm... I'm tired that's all. The hunt and the race took all my energy. I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight mom," I explained while trying to convince the both of us. Before going to my room, I gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Goodnight, sleep well."

I went upstairs and noticed that Angela was waiting for me. She also had a glint of worry in her eyes, but only for a few seconds. Contrarily to me, she was a dominant and a knight. Her wings weren't only beautifully white, but also strong and powerful. That's why father never said anything to her. He was proud of her and always praised her.

"Hey, little brother," he called gently before adding, "I know I'm not the best sister ever, but this time, dad went too far. Forget about what he said and keep doing your best because even if he doesn't see anything, everyone else does," she gave me a hug, which was rare. "Now, go take a shower. You stink," she said before going back into her room.

I smiled at that. Yes, Angela was sometimes cold to me, but at least we loved and cared for each other. I smelled my shirt and she was right. I smelled really bad. I went to wash all day's dirt off of me. It felt so good that I almost moaned. I surely took my sweet time. When I got out all clean, the light downstairs was still on. I looked at the clock, and it was already pretty late. What was dad doing? A meeting with the King couldn't take more than three hours. Therefore, I went downstairs and told mom to go to sleep first. However, she refused and didn't want to move an inch from where she was. So, I took a blanket and put it on her shoulders to keep her warm before heading to bed.

The next morning, consecutive loud bangs took me of my peaceful slumber. It took me a few minutes to realize that someone was violently knocking. As I rushed downstairs, my mom and Angela were already there answering whoever it was. Not expecting it at all, the Elite, a group of warriors trained for the sole purpose of protecting the King, came in. I joined the rest of my family in the living room as we waited for the bad news since the Elite only brought bad news if they ever visited someone home.

"I suppose you're wondering why we're here," the leader of the Elites started to talk tonelessly. "I'll be direct. Yesterday, the King summoned Daniel Vanburen in order to talk about his behaviour during the meal. During the meeting, Daniel Vanburen tried to murder his Royal Highness. We are actually searching for him. If you are found helping a criminal, you'll be accused and suffer an equal punishment."

"M-my husband tried to m-murder the K-king?" my mom silvery voice turned brittle as she hid her mouth with her hand.

"Yes, Mrs. Vanburen. Is your husband home?"

"No, he hasn't come back all night," my sister answered as a woman heavily dressed with weapons came to whisper something to the leader.

"We will have to search the house," the man stated as his men walked through us and started to investigate the entire house. When they didn't found my father, the leader turned toward us. "My apologies, but Daniel Vanburen committed an unforgivable sin and since he's nowhere to be found..." he sighed with a frown before adding, "Please, get dressed and come with us. Just in case, one of my men will follow each one of you."

I already knew what was going to happen as soon as the commander said that my father was nowhere to be seen. Even then, we did as he commanded. We didn't have the slightest chance to win or to escape. The only hope we had would be that they would find my father before it was too late.

I rapidly changed since I wasn't comfortable doing it with someone watching all my movements. I couldn't believe my father really tried to kill the King. How selfish could he be?

We were taken inside the royal house where the King's body was connected to too many machines. The Elites did say he was in a critic condition, but he was still breathing. Not by himself, but still. Next to the bed there were the Queen and the King's son. They were crying until recently since their eyes were all puffy and red.

"I heard what happened. Since I'm the only heir, I'll be the one in charge of this matter," the Prince took a deep breath like he was trying to calm himself. "You all know that the family and the bond we create are everything. If one member of a family commits a crime, and the one accused is nowhere to be found... Someone has to take responsibility," he stopped his speech waiting for someone to speak out.

I couldn't let Angelina take responsibility since she was the one helping us to survive and as for mom... She was way too weak not only physically, but also mentally. Not only she lost her mate, but she also learned that the man she loved was a criminal. At this time, I couldn't be selfish, it was for the sake of my family.

Decided, I looked up to the Prince. We didn't talk a lot, but we knew each other. I could see the pain in his eyes and the unshed tears accumulating. He must still be sorting out his feeling after his father nearly died. I took a deep breath before taking a few steps forward. Even though I knew I would regret it later, I was just hoping that Sebastian wasn't going to act as if he didn't know me. I already knew, and I witnessed what happened to people that ended up like me.

"I hereby declare that Keith Vanburen is guilty of attempting on the King's life. However, Keith Vanburen wasn't the one committing the actual crime, so he won't receive the ultimate punishment. Therefore, his punishment will be..."