Capture my heart. Legend of the Four Kingdoms Book 2 ✔️

Chapter 7. A berry good morning.

Instead of receiving another earful in the morning from Spike everybody was busy with getting ready to leave. There were reports of heavy downpour in the area. To keep up with their schedule they needed to be on the road within two hours. Even though this was her first official assignment Kai had sat through enough tactical meetings to understand what Spike required her to do.

In the caravan she held a discreet distance to Princess Selene who rode next to her brother. All riders held a punishing pace pushing their horses forward to outrun the storm and aimed to reach the Berry Grounds before midnight. Crown-Prince Cedric treated her like air which was fine with Kai who returned the favor. His General though kept eying her and during a much needed break for horse and rider she found him walking towards her.

Unable to read his expression Kai felt her muscles tighten before Jin forced her to relax.

"Let's see what he wants first."

Her thoughts ran through the background information that Spike provided for her. At thirty-two Peter Magnus was the youngest man to reach the rank of General. He had earned his stripes during the lengthy border conflicts with Duran. Peter was by no means a 'paper' General. He lead his troops in battle and fought alongside them. Jin in particular was very impressed with the General and was now eager to meet the man in person. Kai was not so willing and adjusted her face accordingly.

"We didn't get the opportunity to meet yesterday", the man said ignoring her indignant snort.

"And who's fault was that?" she retorted raising her chin. "If you say it's me than this will be a very short conversation."

Jin was ready to scold Kai for her rude behavior when he discovered a faint smile on the General's lips.

"Well, you did call him a prick."

Kai raised her shoulders.

"I was merely stating a fact. Does he often speak to his sister in this condescending tone?"

Peter cocked an eyebrow.

"You were defending Princess Selene?"

This question genuinely surprised Kai.

"Of course I was. Do you really think I just randomly insult Royalty?"

Peter stared at her before shaking his head.

"You display as a Delta, but I can't find any behavior that backs this up."

Kai frowned at his curious gaze. It was very odd to hear a human talk about werewolf ranking.

"Why would you care about that?"

Peter eyed her now openly defensive stance.

"I have a few werewolves under my command. The females are all Deltas." He paused sizing her up. "Trust me when I say that they are nothing like you", he continued. "You could argue that's because of your father's training, but I think that it goes beyond that."

He smilingly accepted her icy stare.

"Ok, let's leave it at that. I just came over to tell you that I was impressed by your fighting skills yesterday and I wouldn't mind it if you wanted to spar with me sometime."

He left without waiting for her answer and felt her eyes piercing his back all the way to his horse.

"Well, that was surprising", Jin said knowing that Kai still thought about the man's odd usage of werewolf ranking.

"Maybe he didn't mean anything by it", Jin stated. "If he has werewolves under his command than perhaps he is more familiar with the difference between them."