DILIGITIS // King Alpha

Chapter 20

'Blood'

He had practically dared me to withstand his charms as long as I could. A challenge I would gladly take on. However what was odd was that he kept his distance from me, even more so than usual. 

Mia and I were at the top of the stairs, crouched down so that they wouldn't notice us. Heather and Catalina were busy cleaning my room, something that had been bothering them for some time now. Thankfully, Mia had grown up like me. She loved running through the forest, but most of all: She liked causing trouble. 

"His name is Isaac." She whispered in my ear, as a new werewolf had just walked through the front door and was greeted by my mate. "He's a beta." I glanced over at Mia.

"A beta?" I whispered. "What is Aris doing by meeting beta's?" He had pointed out to me over and over again how important it was for werewolves to know where they stand in their pack. He had also told me that beta's were far too beneath him. He only spoke to the alpha. 

"I don't know." Mia answered. Like many werewolves, she could sense someone's rank without having to talk to them. She knew the names of the wolves simply by the gossip in the castle. 

Her breath hitched as a new wolf walked in. For a moment I thought he must have been her mate, right until she pulled me back, urging me to come back to my room immediately.

When we got up, we were visible. I looked down, hoping it looked natural and not suspicious and found the stranger looking back at me. He had black hair, and stood tall and lean, though not as tall as Aris. 

Aris followed the gaze of the wolf to the top of the stairs, and found me looking back. Something in his posture changed, and he made sure the wolf focused on him, not me. 

"Who was that?" I asked, once we had reached the safety of my room. Heather and Catalina looked at us with big eyes, while Mia looked like she was debating on telling me. 

"A hunter." She said. Heather immediately looked far more intimidated too, while Catalina did not know what that was either. "They work directly for the king. They're strong, strong enough to be an Alpha if they wished."

"So why aren't they?" I asked back.

"They have too much blood lust." Heather explained. "Too much hatred in their bodies. They answer to no one but the king. He sends them to kill his enemies before they kill him."

"Do all the kings have one?" I immediately asked, thinking back to the conversation I had with Aris about the other kings. He had said that they did not take kindly to his crown, but would they kill him.

"It's a royal agreement to not use them against each other, only to settle things inside their packs." Heather said. So that's why they were so scared. Aris used that man to take out disobedient wolves. A man who could clearly not control his blood lust. 

"You two have nothing to fear from him." I said to the three girls. "I already told Aris that you are under my protection, he would never betray me."