THE ALPHA'S DESTINED MATE

Thirteen – SOMETHING IS OFF!

Thirteen – SOMETHING IS OFF!

“What the hell are you saying, Madison?” Jewel asked, flabbergasted by her sister's questions.

Jewel chuckled lightly. “Ohh, I get it! It seems you are on alcohol. How much did you have?” she asked jokingly, bursting into loud laughter.

“Jewel!” Madison called out sternly, impatience laced in her voice.

“Aren't you going to come back home soon, or do you intend to marry the Alpha King as soon as possible?” Jewel asked, casually brushing off Madison's question.

“Jewel, quit playing around and answer the goddamn question,” Madison snapped, gripping the phone tightly against her ear so she wouldn't miss a single word.

STUDY ROOM OF ALPHA KING STEVEN

“Are you seriously going to believe what happened?” Brandon asked, gently closing the door behind him as he walked in.

“What else am I to believe, if not what I have seen?” Alpha King Steven asked as he sat down on the couch, letting out a long breath.

“But…”

“Didn't you see how she almost blasted me to death?” King Steven asked, his brow raised.

“I did, but don't you feel that everything that happened was off?” Brandon blurted, his voice marred with worry.

“The only thing I see off,” Alpha King Steven said as he rose from the couch, covering the distance between him and Brandon in determined strides, “is you seeing every damn little thing as off,” he said in a dreadful tone.

“May I remind you how she controlled the mind of the wizard? How she manipulated our minds—our minds, Brandon!” he yelled, his voice tugged with fury as he slowly tapped his chest.

He quickly turned away, his hands running through his black hair as devastation and exhaustion weighed heavily on him.

“I almost had you killed, Brandon,” he blurted, his voice laced with fear as he turned to face him.

“I almost had my most trusted Beta killed because of that dark magic.”

“She almost had me. She made me believe you were the culprit, that nonsense, despicable spell!” he yelled, throwing his hands into the air in aggravation, his face etched with anger.

“I don't find it off. You can't see how dangerous that power can be when it's in the wrong hands,” Alpha King snapped, narrowing his gaze at Brandon, his breathing heavy.

“But my King, I think you need to think about it more. Everything happened too fast, and there could be so much uncertainty we may have missed discovering,” Brandon suggested calmly, worry etched in his voice.

Brandon's mind had been heavy with worry for the two days that had brushed by as though everything was okay. But in actuality, nothing was okay. His night had been restless, tossing and turning in bed, hoping to catch some sleep. The c**k crowed, and eventually, it was morning.

And when sleep managed to steal him away, it came with memories of that very day in the council room, wrapping him in the dreamland.

He couldn't help but think that Madison was behind it all. The day of Freya's execution was near. He needed a way to convince Alpha King Steven to temper justice with mercy by looking into the matter more deeply.

He knew his pleas and words wouldn't move him, not after what he had seen. To Alpha King Steven, seeing was believing more than anything else.

“What uncertainty are you talking about?” Alpha King Steven asked, darting his gaze at him, his brow furrowed.

“Uncertainty that another person could possibly have orchestrated everything that happened in there,” Brandon replied, hoping his words were sinking into his King.

“Are you trying to blame Madison for this again?” Alpha King Steven asked, tilting his head, with curiosity evident on his face.

“I just hope you are not on it again. I saw the way you looked at her in the council room earlier,” Alpha King Steven snorted.

“Brandon,” he called out softly, placing his hand on his shoulder.

“I don't know what you think of Madison, but there is one thing you have to know. Madison has been my childhood friend, and she would never hurt a fly, much less learn dark magic, which is evil,” Alpha Steven said softly.

“Are you sure you know her?”

“How sure are you that the Madison you saw in there is the same one we both knew from our childhood?” Beta Brandon asked, his voice low and cold.

“Are you so blinded by trust that you failed to see the truth?” Brandon asked, his voice aching with pain.

“Don't you speak to your King in such a tone!” Alpha Steven warned sternly.

Brandon blinked his eyes. His heart ached profusely, knowing that his attempt had been defeated. Convincing the Alpha King was a hard nut to crack. He understood that Madison was the only friend he had aside from him.

He only needed to make him see things differently from his view. But how?

“Retire to your room for rest, pick up the paper, and deliver my decree to the guards to carry out their duties,” Alpha King ordered.

“Where is Debra?” he asked quickly, throwing himself onto the black, fluffy couch in exhaustion.

“I haven't seen her since the disaster,” he muttered, staring at Brandon for clear answers.

Brandon picked up the decree. “I will find her now,” he said, walking towards the door when he suddenly paused and turned his gaze back to the Alpha King.

“The Veiled Moon might appear today, Your Grace. She needs to be by your side at all costs for control,” Brandon said.

“Find her fast!” Alpha King Steven commanded, his voice laced with fear.

Fear of not wanting to go mad tonight. Fear of inflicting wounds on himself that barely healed properly, unlike the wounds he would encounter when his sanity was in check and he turned into a proper wolf.

AT THE HALLWAY OF EVEREST (QUARTERS FOR THE KING'S SHADOW)

Brandon's legs strode hastily across the tiles, his mind wavering with thoughts. “How on earth am I going to convince him, Iry?” he asked aloud, speaking to his spirit wolf.

“Isn’t that who you are looking for?” Iry said.

Brandon raised his gaze, darting it down the long hallway, where he found Madison and Debra engaged in hearty discussion.

“You have been coughing really hard. I got you some water to drink; it will help,” Madison said softly, like a saint, offering the glass to Debra.

“Thank you,” Debra blurted with a warm smile as she reached for the glass.

In a flash, the glass was knocked out of her hand, shattering against the floor into tiny pieces. Her eyes widened in shock as Brandon stood in front of her.

“Don't drink that!” he yelled, panting heavily.