*Maddox*
It’s too much.
I have too much to take care of right now, too many things to think about and do, to sit here and consider the possibility that Isla’s brother has just died, gone to the island of Maatua, and then been brought back by her tears or blood or both. No, with the uprising that just happened in the courtyard, I can’t even begin to process it right now.
I know that I will come across as an absolute jackass if I even try it at the moment. Isla is staring at me, waiting for me to acknowledge what Ben has just said, but all I can do is nod my head. “Is there anything you need now?” I ask instead. “Are you hungry?”
“Hungry?” Mystica repeats. “I think he’d better stick to IV fluids for a while, Your Majesty. We did just sew his stomach back together.”
I have no idea which parts of him were split apart. What I do know is I can’t comment on his adventure to the isles at the moment.
Isla games my arm. “Are you okay?” she asks me, looking concerned.
“I’m fine,” I tell her. “And I want to make sure that you and your brother are well before I go back off to check on the situation outside.”
“Ben is settled now. He needs to get some rest,” she says, pointing out the obvious, but then, I probably look like that’s what I need her to do since I’m not making sense to her at the moment. “I will stay with him at least until he’s sleeping. I need to call my parents, though.”
“Of course,” I tell her, taking her gently by the arms. I’m sure she’s not looking forward to making that phone call. “You can use whichever phone you want.”
She raises an eyebrow at me, and I recall the fact that we have had an argument about that before. “I think I’ll stick to the one in my bedroom, thank you,” she says, a hint of a smile forming in the corners of her lips.
I want to kiss her. I’m so glad that she’s all right that I just want to take her in my arms and never let her go. But there hasn’t been time for even a quick peck since I found her in the hallway covered in blood, and I doubt there will be much time for it for a while. She killed someone a little while ago, and even though I know it was the only way to protect herself and our baby, she has to feel bad about that.
I need to find out what the hell turned a loyal servant of over twenty years against me. It really seems like this place is descending into chaos, and I am in the center of it, about to be picked up into the air and toss me a thousand miles away.
My first stop is to get some proper clothing, and then I will head back out to the courtyard to see the aftermath. I want to know who the ringleader was, that large black wolf, and I want to see how many casualties we had.
Most importantly, I want to make sure that Zabrina is dead.
“I will leave him to you, dear,” Mystica says to Isla as she packs up her bag. “He’s fine now, but I’ll have one of my nurses, Heather, stay here with you as well.”
Isla nods and thanks Mystica, embracing her like they are long lost family, and it makes me shake my head. I don’t know how it is that Mystica has managed to convince Isla that everything she says is the gospel truth, but it gets old. I feel like Mystica could tell her that the sky is green and the grass is blue, and Isla would reply that she’d never really noticed that before, but now that Mystica mentions it, that does appear to be the case.
I take a few deep breaths before I kiss Isla’s cheek, thank Mystica for her help, and then head down the hallway. I am in a rush now, as I want to look more official. It seems quite clear to me now that the problem I thought I had before is a full blown crisis. I’ve got to make the citizens of the kingdom know that I am the Alpha King, the rightful conduit of power, and they cannot displace me.
When they find out about the baby, that should help. In order to make sure no one can claim my power, I need to present the kingdom with an heir. I have done that now. It’s just… early on. It would be best to wait until Isla is at least into the second trimester in case something goes wrong, but I might not have the luxury of waiting that long.
Lots of people are running through the halls, mostly soldiers and other staff members, trying to be of some use, I’m sure. Occasionally, I see a lost citizen, someone who probably came into the castle seeking refuge from the attack. No one approaches me, either because they still recognize me even in just a pair of shorts or because I am covered in blood. Either way, I make it to my room and manage to take a quick shower before I get dressed in an official uniform similar to the outfit I had on before this all went wrong, and then I head back out to check on the situation.
The ground is covered in blood. The courtyard looks like the scene of a battle, and I suppose, for all intents and purposes, it is a battle. Over by one wall, there’s a small stack of bodies. Along another section of the wall is a bigger stack. Most of the bodies in this larger stack are in their wolf form, and I think these must be the rebels who caused the uprising to begin with. The other stack consists mostly of wolves as well, but I also see the body of a woman dressed in the clothing of a commoner and a few men in guards’ uniforms whom I’m guessing were attacked before they had a chance to shift.
Seth comes over to me, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a gray shirt but disheveled. I know he hasn’t left the courtyard since the attack began. He looked exhausted, but I saw no signs of him slowing as he came over to me.
“How many of them got away?” I ask as we meet near the gallows.
“As far as I know, just the one, the big black wolf that you were fighting near Zabrina.” He looks around, his mouth, opening slowly, like he has something else he wants to tell me but isn’t sure how.
I don’t have time for him to mull things over so I bark out another question. “How many people did we lose?”
“Six guards, two citizens, and one of the hangmen,” he says. “But–”
“Damn it,” I yell, stomping my foot. I put my hands on my hips and take a few deep breaths. “All of these innocent people need to be given proper burials. Make sure their bodies are correctly identified and their families are notified.”
“Of course, Sir,” he says.
“Are the injured being tended to?” I look around and see some healers I recognize working on civilians who are injured, though nothing looks too life threatening. And I see Mystica over with the injured soldiers, as well as some other healers. A few of them look more critical. I contemplate going to get Isla’s blood for just a second and then roll my eyes at my own ridiculousness.
“We need to figure out who that black wolf was, how he got in here without anyone knowing he was dangerous, and squash whatever this movement might be.” I look around at the scene, wondering how this has even transpired.
“Yes, Sir. We are working on all of that. But there is one more thing you should know about–”
“Really, Seth!” I exclaim. “This was the worst case scenario. We should’ve been on top of this.” I shake my head. “Well, at least the prisoners were all hung before they could be saved, right?”
“The three men from Hill Country pack were dead when the rebels tried to get them down,” he tells me, nodding his head. “Their bodies have been taken back to the prisoners graveyard where they will be dumped in an unmarked grave.”
“Very good,” I say. “And none of the other people on the stage were harmed, were they?” I think of what the representatives from Duster pack have already been through. Thank goodness they didn’t bring the Alpha’s children with them.
“Any other people, Sir?” he asks, confused.
“Yes, Isla’s brother was injured. Although, technically, I guess he wasn’t on the stage. Still, he was over there with us.” He looks more confused the longer I speak.
“But I escorted Miss Isla and her brother back to the castle myself,” he tells me.
“Yes, that’s right. He wasn’t wounded until after he got in the castle then… he was attacked by one of the maids.”
“What?” Seth is as puzzled by the situation as I am.
“We need to figure out what’s going on, if the castle has been infiltrated as well,” I tell him. “All right. I guess that’s all. I’m going to go talk to the men, make sure to keep their morale up.”
“But Sire,” he says, “there’s one more thing.”
I sigh, not wanting to hear one more thing. “What is it, Seth?” I ask him.
He has that apprehensive look on his face. “It’s Zabrina,” he tells me.
“What about her?” I ask. “I killed her myself.”
It takes him a moment as he ponders his response and then blurts out, “She’s gone.”