A Scientific Rejection, Book I: The Making (On Indefinite Hiatus)

Chapter Six (B): The Advent of Arthur

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Chapter Six (B): The Advent of Arthur

Arthur

          Arthur stood by the wall of the great meeting room, rather perplexed at his current situation. The sight of Thandie being surrounded by females was quite an unusual one. Her usual companions were her great grandfather, Taki, her Scimitar Guardians or the pack Enforcers, most notable among them her brother, Theo, and best friend, James. She looked about as out of place as he did, he thought. That was quite a feat, as the 6’3", dark skinned man with imposing muscles and a shaved head blended into this environment about as well as a bronco would into a ballet.

          However, Arthur did not flinch in the face of powder puffs or flat irons. Instead, he kept an eye on his charge, lest she escape from him again. He frowned, the acrid scent of nail polish troubling to his sensitive nose. Who would have thought that he would be happy to find himself in such a position: Guarding a tiny nerd of a she-wolf who was considered to be one of the kingdom’s greatest assets? The side of his mouth quirked up slightly, as he recalled how it all began.

*     *     *

          Arthur did not mince words when it came to his original feelings regarding his charge.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, this assignment is a waste of my team’s many talents.” He stood at attention in front of the King’s desk in his office at the Palace. Arthur was prepared to face the fallout, knowing that the inner wolf of the Alpha Rex, Niall, was not given to accepting dissenting opinions once he had given an order.

Raymond regarded the Team Commander for a few moments and, in a rare moment of patience, his wolf, Niall, chose not to respond. Instead, Raymond had asked him a simple question: “Why?” and gestured for him to sit down.

 Arthur sat in one of the companion chairs, marshalling his arguments. He pointed out that though the Scimitar only accepted the best of the best, his team had risen to the top of even its ranks. They had carried out countless missions to protect Royal Assets, retrieve stolen data and rescue kidnapped weres. They had destroyed labs and entire corporations and, yes, even assassinated the humans and the traitorous weres responsible for threatening the kingdom with exposure. They had infiltrated human government and terrorist plots and taken down lower Alphas who violated were law, whether they tried to start an uprising or engaged in behavior that posed a high risk of discovery, such as allowing human hunting for sport. The team had done more than its share of “wet work” and had a reputation for one thing only: They never failed.

          “Is this to be our reward?” he concluded.

          “Exactly,” responded Raymond.

          “Sire, I don’t understand,” said a perplexed Arthur.

          Raymond arose and walked to his drinks cabinet. While pouring, he stated, “Your team is smart, adaptive, resourceful, tenacious and talented. Most of all, you do not fail. That is why I am entrusting you with our future.” He handed Arthur a glass, sat down in the other companion chair and proceeded to tell him the details of his assignment via direct link only. These words could never be safely committed to paper, nor could they ever be communicated aloud, even within the relative safety of the Alpha’s inner sanctum inside the palace walls. However, even that information could never have prepared him for the day he met her.