Chapter 211
~ ROWAN
The door clicked shut behind him and I gestured for Aria to take the seat in front of me.
She pursed her lips tightly but did as she was asked, crossing the length of the room until she sat carefully, her hands folded neatly in front of her.
"Go on then," I said. "The floor is open. Say what’s on your mind."
"You’re risking the lives of your pack members," she said firmly. "You are putting them all in danger. Vampires, Rowan, this is not like dealing with Henry. This is another race of supernaturals."
"I know what vampires are."
"Do you?" she asked, leaning forward on her elbows. "I have spent the last two days reading on them. The average vampire is faster than us, they are strong and they have an advantage we don’t because they can see completely in the dark. They drink blood, Rowan. It makes them stronger. They could kill us."
"There are a lot of things that can kill us, Aria. Hell, we can kill ourselves. That does not mean we back down from any threat involving another lycan—"
"You’re not listening!" she snapped, fists slamming on the table in front of her.
I was stunned by her outburst.
Aria was the most level-headed, easygoing person I knew. She was the kind of person who shrugged off hurt and pushed things to the side. The last time I saw her lose her cool was when she found out that Henry had been cheating on her, and even then, it did not last.
My shoulders squared, eyes narrowing at her. "What is this about?"
"We don’t know who he is, or what he wants, but we can accurately guess, and I think this has to do with Nyssa. If she wasn’t here, then this wouldn’t be happening."
My brows rose in surprise. "Are you suggesting that I give my mate to the vampire king who is known for keeping slaves and killing his offspring?"
"Of course not!" she yelled quickly, cheeks flaming pink. "I am just saying maybe if we sent her to another pack, or to a human land then she would be safe. He wouldn’t risk attacking human land, they’re not allowed. The council would be on it."
"And what happens if he doesn’t care? What happens if he chooses to attack and hurts her in the process? It wouldn’t matter that the council is on it because they’d be too busy trying to fix the mess that I will make if anything were to happen to her."
She frowned. "You’re not thinking straight."
"Damn right I’m not! This is my mate for fucks sake. I will never think straight when it comes to her."
Aria’s frown deepened. She leaned back into her chair, hands crossed over her chest as she sighed. "You are King, Rowan, and your duty is to your people."
"My duty is to the woman that I love," I corrected her. "What the fuck is wrong with you and where the hell is this coming from? Since when do you give a fuck?"
"Since I realized that you stopped caring for your people," she snapped. "You better find a way out of this where innocent people don’t have to get hurt because of one person."
She stood to her feet, crossing the length of the room until she stood in front of the door.
"You may not want to accept it, Rowan, but your duty is to this pack. You swore an oath to keep them safe above all else. If you can’t even respect that oath then maybe you shouldn’t be king."
I didn’t get a chance to respond before she walked out of the room, door slamming shut behind her.
Her words echoed in my head for the rest of the day, not because they stung, but because they came from her.
Aria was always the person I expected to understand where I was coming from. She was the one I thought would support my choices. After all, she saw what putting the pack first did to our parents. She saw the strain it put in their relationship and how it ultimately led to their demise.
I threw myself deeper into my work, trying to find anything that would link me closer to the bastard king who was causing all of this trouble, but I came up empty each time. The king was a fucking ghost.
I knew what I had to do.
"Bring Marlene and Evelyn to me," I said to Jeremiah via the mind link. "If we need to find the vampire, then they are our only option."
"I thought you didn’t want them involved because of the compulsion."
"Unfortunately, we don’t have much of a choice anymore. There is no information about the king available. Marlene has been under his roof before. She will know how to find him, and she will deliver the message to him. I want her in the palace dungeons within the hour."
Jeremiah was silent for a long minute.
His presence was still there in my mind, but with it was a twinge of unease.
"What is it?" I asked. "Is there a problem with my instruction?"
"Just one, your Majesty... the Luna is there."
It took an embarrassingly long time for his words to settle but as soon as they did, I was on my feet. "What?"
"While you were speaking, I texted the guards I asked to watch over her. They said she arrived a few minutes ago with Eric. She’s in their house right now."
"I thought I gave strict orders that no one was to go into that house without me hearing about it first!"
He swallowed thickly. "I told them that, your Majesty. I suppose they thought that because she was your mate then..."
He trailed off with a sigh.
I cursed low. "I’ll be there in ten minutes."
"Their house is half an hour away from the palace."
Grabbing my keys, I headed for the doors. "Like I said, I’ll be there in ten fucking minutes."