TO KILL A KING

FOUR-ONLYGODKNOWS

KING

"You still haven't managed to get anything out of him?" I asked, staring down at the unconscious man, covered in his own sweat and blood that almost appeared to ooze red from every orifice and pore on his body.

"Nothing." Cole huffed, twirling the small knife in his fingers absentmindedly, the blade was already stained dark with god knows what. "Not even his name."

I watched the beaten Beta. He would've had years of training for situations exactly like this, and like all others of his rank would die for his pack without a second thought. "Then it doesn't matter what you do, he won't break. He'd die before he gave anything up."

Closing the distance between myself and the man who was still bent over at the waist on his knees, almost as if he were praying, all the while hanging from thick silver chains rooted deep within the walls. I placed a hand under his chin, tilting his head up so that I could get a good look at him.

"Good thing at least one of us has bothered to do our research." Farrah smirked, appearing from around the door. "His name is Orian of Grey Ridge."

He had strong features, everything about him was distinctly masculine, from the strong line of his jaw, to his slightly crooked nose that looked as if it had been broken more than once previously. "Good job Farrah."

A deep gash cut through his attractive face from his brow to his jaw, deep enough that if he survived the next few days it would leave a nasty scar. "I thought I told you to leave his face?"

"Whoops." Cole smirked, "My hand must've slipped."

Sighing I said, "You've done enough, you won't do anything else to him just leave the rest to Elijah."

He pouted his protest like  some sort of masochistic child, "-But I was only just getting started..."

"I swear to god Cole," I lifted the mans chin, looking closer at the deep cut that also appeared to graze his eyelid. "If you've blinded him, I'll blind you."

Farrah and Cole exchanged worried glances. They knew that I wasn't joking. "Did you find much about his Alpha?" I said, changing the subject from Cole's impending maiming. 

The curly haired woman smiled gleefully, "Lots."

She looked as if she were about to continue, before she was cut off by commotion out side the cell.

"Let go of me!" A female voice screamed shrilly, soon followed by sounds of metal on stone and low grunts from several men.

I left my two Betas with Orian whilst I went to see what all of the fuss was about.

"Elijah? What's going on?" I said as I approached, watching as he and another male shoved a bundle of bright red hair into the neighbouring cell.

The woman shrieked like the very fox she so resembled, thrashing against their hands until she was thrown thrown to the cold hard stone floor inside the cell that already held two other women.

"A rogue." He spat, wiping the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand.

"Here." Farrah said, gently wiping away the streak of scarlet he had smeared across his cheek with the pad of her thumb. I didn't miss the way Elijah froze, staring down at her with a strange king of tenderness.

"Go get cleaned up." I said to him, "Farrah, you go with him. Cole and I can deal with down here."

They disappeared off along with the other guard who had helped restrain the rogue. Cole had heard me say his name, locking the cell he had been in with a sharp click of metal on metal before joining me.

"Please." The woman sobbed, curling into a ball in the corner of the cell. "Please let me go, I mean no harm! It was an accident I promise! I didn't know this was your land and I-"

"-Stop talking." Cole snapped, pinching the bridge of  his nose as if to ward off a brewing migraine as he screwed up his face. "Your voice is very annoying, has anyone ever told you that?"

She looked taken aback, sitting there staring at him with wide doe eyes, probably surprised that we hadn't killed her yet, as I stood back with a smirk at Cole's frustrations. "No.." She said slowly. For most people fear would stimulate silence, but strangely enough it seemed to do the opposite to this female as she continued to ramble aimlessly. "My mother used to say I had a beautiful voice-"

"-Well she lied."

"Cut the shit." I snapped, interrupting both of them as I stepped forwards. "What are they doing here?"

"Trespassing." He sneered, as all three of the women stared up at us, one of them, the one with pale blonde hair nursing a deep gash in her thigh

"All three of them."

I began on the first girl, the one freshest to the cell. "How did you find us?"

Her muted emerald eyes stared intensely into me, as she said with a frown. "I wasn't lying to you.. it was an accident."

"Bull shit." Cole chuckled, but there was no longer the slightest trace of humour in his demeanour. "Will you quit lying, no one just accidentally stumbles upon us."

"I swear!" Her eyes glazed over with the threat of tears. "Why would I lie to you?" My family is dead. I have no one left... No one and nothing to live for."

"Then maybe we should just kill you." Cole replied snarkily, "-Put you out of your misery."

I rolled my eyes at his crude suggestion, this girl looked as though she had never fought a battle in her life, never even won a playground fight. My admittedly much taller than average six foot frame that belittled many men completely dwarfed this child sized girl.  Debating whether or not it would be considered child abuse to kill this tiny woman I asked, "What is your name?"

"Tuesday." She said meekly, biting her lips as she glanced between Cole and I. Looking to me as if to ask for protection from Cole's wicked intentions.

He scoffed. "What happened, Wednesday through Monday were already taken?"

She shot him a hot headed glare, that was almost looked as though it would melt the bars before her. Her red hair was the colour of scarlet flames, a vibrant fire that almost appeared to glow vibrantly beneath the dank lighting of the cell. "What happened to your family?"

She sighed, but it was not a sound of relief in the slightest, instead of brought with it a deep breath of great sorrow. An exhale of all the sadness and regret she had been keeping locked deep inside. "My pack was attacked by our rivals, they destroyed everything." The words came from between her gritted teeth as she struggled to stop her rage that burned as bright as her hair from consuming her beneath its fiery fist. "They torched our houses and burned our village to the ground. Those that escaped the flames were soon captured and slaughtered like animals in a pen by those beasts."

A single tear crawls down her cheek, and for once Cole was silent. He had no witty or sarcastic remark for once, inferring loud and clear that he had believed her story. I however, remained unconvinced. "Were there any other survivors?"

"A few." She replied as coldly as the stone she sat upon. "But they all scattered into the woods."

"How convenient." I mused, taking a step forwards to the small female who shrank back into the darkness of the cell. "What pack did you say you were from?"

"Green River." The woman with the a white blonde hair interrupted,  "We all were."

I frowned, maybe Tuesday wasn't lying after all.. I had known that relatively small and somewhat insignificant neighbouring pack by that name had been destroyed a few weeks previously, it was plausible that they may have only just stumbled upon us now after weeks alone wondering through the woods.

As if reading my mind, Cole asked the question that had been just about to leave the tip of my tongue. "How long ago was this?"

The blonde woman paused, thinking for a long moment, "I don't know.. I lost count of the days I was out there, could've been a few weeks to a month maybe?.. After while all the days kind of seemed to blur into one.. Especially in here."

Cole and I exchanged glances, there was a chance she really was telling the truth. "What was the name of the pack that did this?"

All three of the females appeared to almost bristle with hatred at the words the red head spat. 

"Grey Ridge."

"They sure have been busy of late." My Beta sucked his teeth with a click, as he looked to me for confirmation. "You recon they'll try again here?"

Of course they would, not only had they failed in their first attempt to gain control of yet another pack, we had captured the Alpha's Beta, and not to mention brother. Of course they would come for him, or at least send an informant, if they hadn't already. With that thought I cast an eye over the three women in the cell before me.

Tuesday the girl with the fiery red hair .

A woman with sleek white blonde hair and a deep gash in her thigh, crying scarlet tears that crawled down her leg.

-And lastly, an unassuming girl, with dark raven hair and lips that stood out against her pale skin, the colour of fresh found roses.

I almost wasn't sure what came over me, but I had the sudden urge to drop all charges of trespassing against the girls, a strange feeling niggling for attention in the pit of my stomach though I wasn't sure yet exactly what it meant.

In the spur of the moment I turned to my Beta. "Cole, go get a healer. See to it that they have everything they need."

He turned to me, hesitating on his orders, as he looked at me in disbelief. "Can I speak to you for a moment." He shot a glare at the caged females. "Alone."

With a jaded sigh I entertained his notion, rounding the corner, just far enough that even with their Lycan hearing they wouldn't be able to interpret out hushed words.

"What the f**k?" He whispered angrily. "They're prisoners, why would you waste a healer on them!"

Shooting him a venomous look I hissed, "I don't need to justify my actions to you Cole." 

In truth it's was because I was slightly embarrassed to admit the small part of me that felt sympathy for the females. 

I knew I shouldn't feel that way. I should bury my feels down deep, so deep that they could no longer be felt. Just like I always had. 

Kindness is weakness.

Never let it show.

So I disguised my weakness beneath a mask of austerity. "Just do as I say."

His lip raised as he turned to do as I said, but the action of defiance didn't go unnoticed. A slight snarl as his wolf reared it's ugly head, the beast inside of him fighting back against the compliance of his exterior.

"Oh and Cole." He turned back to face me with eyes glowing with the effort of restraint, already one foot poised upon the stone staircase. "Don't ever question my judgement in front of others again. Because next time you'll be in the cage with them."

And with that he was gone.

Since he came to us, as a ragged and bloodstained rogue, he had always had trouble following orders that contradicted his own agenda. Though I trusted him with not only my life but the lives of my people.

Despite his rough edges, he had worked his way up from the bottom of the pecking order with blood, sweat and tears. 

He was one of my best fighters, and above all most valued friends.

He had had a rough start in life. Cole almost never stopped talking, but there was only one thing he was reluctant to ever speak of. His past.

We found him one day, half dead and covered in blood, wether it belonged to him or another we couldn't tell. They said he was a bitter savage, caught wondering the pack in search of fresh game.

-But although at first he hissed and spat like a wounded dog, trying to tear into anyone that got close enough to maim, refusing to speak except to curse, let alone give up any information. 

Right from the start I had noticed the spark in his eye. He was fiercely loyal to his cause, and even though some described him as callused and heartless he was the only one of them strong enough to make the difficult calls. All the qualities of a good soldier.

But most of all I liked his fight.

So I decided to integrate him into the pack, slowly. And bit by bit he became one of us.

Truly and utterly one of us.

***

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