Chapter 6: Authority
1310 Words
CHAPTER 6
KADE (A COUPLE MOMENTS AGO)
“Alpha Kade, are you okay?” An Omega rushes to my side, out of breath and visibly shaken.
“A royal guard?” I think to myself, recognizing the emblem across his apparel.
“What are you doing here?”
“The royal family's been looking for you the entire night. Your mother sent us around the clan to find your whereabouts. We're the batch that were dispersed to this location” he says. A couple other figures, morphed but winded, tread out of the woods as well.
As if waking up and finding out she vanished into thin air wasn't enough. Now the royal guards as well?
“Where are you all coming from?” I maintain an unshaken outlook, and the leader of the crew continues.
“Uphill. Someone infiltrated your Cabin. We tried to chase her down but—”
“Her?” I tilt my head, my attention captured in an instant.
It's definitely Elena.
“Yes sir. She looked trained but tired. We were on the verge of capturing her before she escaped to the White Lotus regions.”
“Why on earth would she run off in the first place?” I whisper. A thought that barely lasts.
That should be the least of my worries. If she's back with the White Lotuses, it’s anything but an escape.
“The rest of you return to the royal grounds. My mother should not hear a word of what happened here. Do I make myself clear?”
Their nods of approval suffice.
“But you” I return my attention to the leader of the batch. “Take me to her.”
***
By the time I arrive at the White Lotus borders, the air reeks of blood, smoke, and an emotion I can't quite put my finger on.
Elena’s scent is sharp on my skin, but it also lingers through the air like a shot of light in the dark. I follow it like instinct.
The guards outside the old barn don’t recognize me at first. It’s not surprising. Few have ever seen me up close, and fewer survive long enough to speak of it. But the moment they spot the emblem on my chest, they scramble like ants under fire.
“What on earth is this place?” I mouth, but the batch leader remains straight-faced.
“Probably a village on the outskirts of their pack. From the look of things, it's either a safehold for those seeking shelter, or a holding cell for criminals.”
Before I can even acknowledge his response, I hear ‘HIS’ voice, and the scent of rot and damp wood simmer out of one of the barns.
“Jason!” I murmur, fists clenched.
That one emotion I can't seem to put a finger on. It has to be his!
He’s shouting something about humiliation and betrayal. There’s a frantic edge to him, the kind that comes from losing control.
“That bastard!”
I push the door open before a scrawny-looking gamma can announce me, and the first thing I see… is her
Shackled.
Chained to the wall like a criminal.
I tighten.
“Elena?”
Her lip is cracked. Her eyes still burn with defiance. She doesn’t flinch when the door creaks open. She just looks straight at me, unable to blink.
Jason turns, shocked to a stand still.
“That—” he starts, but the words die in his mouth.
The girl beside him drains white. One look at the emblem on my chest and she turns pale.
“What… are you doing here?” Elena mouths, low but audible. Her eyes widen.
She remembers.
The night in the forest..
The cabin.
My hands on her skin.
Everything!
I don’t speak to Jason. Not yet. I walk to her first.
Each step echoes loud in the silence, even though my boots barely scuff the floor. She’s still watching me, body still, but I can see it. The way her breath quickens. The way she shifts her weight like she’s torn between rising and staying down.
“I’ll ask once,” I say, gaze locked on her cuffs. “Who put these on her?”
Jason steps forward. I've never seen a stance reveal both strength and weakness. “Alpha Kade. We weren't expecting you to—”
“Are you deaf?” I turn my gaze to him, slow and controlled. “I asked a question!”
“Actually, she's a traitor” the lady speaks up. “We captured her while she tried sneaking back to our—”
“We?” My attention shifts. “You did this?”
She's silent now.
“I did” Jason takes the reigns. “After her abysmal display at your party last night, she fled with what we believe could be an enemy clan, then tried sneaking back to our borders early this morning. She’s a traitor, and we've already passed judgement! She will be exiled—”
My fists clench, and his words shatter.
“And under whose authority did you pass this judgement?”
No one answers. Jason's shaken, and Ava avoids meeting my gaze.
I reach for Elena's restraints, and snap it off like thread beneath my grip. One shackle, then the next. She winces slightly as her arms drop, but I steady her, just for a moment. Long enough to feel her muscles twitch beneath my fingers.
Her skin is cold. Her pulse, wild.
“I thought we acted by laws?” Jason finally finds strength in his words once more. “The council will not be pleased to hear that—”
“I AM the Council” I turn to him, fully this time. “...And under my authority… Kneel!”
His lips twitch. His nails bite into the skin of his palms. He obviously contests the decision, yet he can't do a single thing to stop it.
The force bristles from within me, and Ava's the first to drop to the ground.
Jason has spirit, I'll give him that. But not long after, he takes a knee as well.
“Who the… hell—”
“Under the authority of Kade Blanchard,” I say, voice low and final. “King of the Lycan Clans. Alpha of the White Sun.”
The words land like thunder in the room. I watch it sink in—realisation dawning like a blade to the throat.
The guards outside have already dropped to one knee. Ava’s on the verge of passing out. Jason’s breathing hard now, hands trembling. But I’m not here for him. I'm not here for either of them.
My attention returns to Elena, and in so doing, my Alpha Aura simmers off, freeing Ava and Jason.
“You shouldn't be here, Elena” I reach for her.
She stares at my hand. Doesn’t move.
“I didn’t know…” she says quietly, just to me. “...I didn't know you were—”
“And are you satisfied with knowing now?” I tilt my head to the side.
She struggles with getting the words to roll of her tongue. But eventually, she finds the strength to do so.
“You don't even know who I—
“Elena Thorne,” I say her name like a vow. “You’re coming with me.”
Jason’s voice rises, desperate now. “You can’t take her. She belongs—”
His words c***k in his throat when the batch leader takes a step in his direction.
I take her hand, and this time, she lets me.
“By the way…” I turn back to glance at the pair still on the ground. “...I expect to see you two at royal grounds. I'll be the judge of your so-called authority.”
- Writer
