Blood King | Book Three of Blood Trilogy

Chapter 6

Zayden 

I wandered the winding paths of the large garden that stretched throughout the grounds of the palace property. The faint sounds of water rushing were coming closer as I subconsciously approached the fountain that was nearest. 

Settling down on the edge of the fountain, I let out a long sigh then ran both hands down my face. I was tired and a tad frustrated at the same time. Just moments ago, he had spotted the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on but she already belonged to someone else who got her before he did. 

My mind was focused on the sound of her heart beating and the blood rushing through her veins that all my attention was on her and her only. She consumed my energy and breath. She captured my soul and twisted it with a flutter of an eye. 

I then glanced up at the sky and closed my eyes while letting in a deep breath. The inhale entered my lungs and purified it of fresh air. Her hair was blowing in the wind and she was smiling, but her smile wasn't directed towards me. She didn't even have the slightest clue of who I was. 

I let out a long sigh then glanced up at the clear blue sky. 

"Show me a sign." My eyes flickered from one corner of the sky to the next. There was nothing. "Anybody," I whispered. I was asking that question to grandfather, grandmother, and Uncle Derek, but there was nothing that seemed different. 

I ran a hand through my hair then sighed once again. As I cleared my mind, the scent of rogue werewolves slammed into my body. I was nearly breathless. I opened my eyes rapidly then searched around me frantically, thinking that there was a rogue somewhere nearby. Something inside my head told me "no", so I grew less panicked but then I had connected it. 

The man with whom the angelic woman was spending time with was actually a rogue werewolf. I did not know why I never connected two and two together, but it couldn't be. She was merely an innocent human yet he was a rogue werewolf. She mustn't know about his true identity yet. I drew a sharp inhale. The thought of her with a rogue twisted my insides into a tight knot and it gave an almost queasy feeling. 

I felt sick that I didn't actually notice who he truly was until now. I was so masked by that woman that nothing else came forth and drew my attention away, even when there was a dangerous threat posed against this vampire kingdom. 

That rogue werewolf was in fact there that night at the nightclub where Hazel and Alexia were. The pit in my stomach dropped even further. The disgusting feeling just made me so sick that I bent over and hugged my abdomen. It was heart-wrenching to think that this certain group of werewolves were all over the place and everywhere I looked, something belonging to them was right in front of my face. 

Thinking of my little sister, I stood then hurried off to her bedroom. I hoped that she was there resting so that I didn't have to run around the castle like a chicken without its head. I was already lost as is, especially with this latest experience with the woman in the woods. Then I thought, I left her in the woods with a rogue. Alone. 

I growled at myself then shook off the strange feeling running down the length of my spine. Everything was going to be okay and I mustn't worry about anything since she still seemed perfectly fine and actually happy with the rogue. Maybe he was treating her well. 

I sent myself one last chastise, for overthinking, before approaching Alexia's bedroom doors. I knocked quietly, afraid that she may be sleeping, but no sound came. I then knocked a couple times louder. Hearing her footsteps on the other side of the door, I let out a sigh of relief. I was paranoid for some reason and felt a sense of being more protective of her more than I already was. 

Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she let out a yawn. She already knew it was me before opening the door. She then rolled her eyes when I just stood there without saying anything. 

"I have to talk to you about something, Alexia." After I stated that, she opened the door wider without any exchange of words then gestured with a hand for me to enter. 

"What do you need now, Zayden?" She grumbled then crashed right into the fluffy sheets and blankets that layered her bed. She snuggled deeper within the layers that it almost convinced me that she had disappeared within the covers. 

"This just happened a few minutes back," I mumbled. I honestly didn't know where to start. 

"Go on." She groaned with her mouth muffled within the blankets. I could tell that she was just about to fall asleep again. I let out a sigh. 

"It was about a girl that I met when I went on a walk in the woods. Well, she didn't really see me since I was quite far away, but I could feel her. And I mean, really see her, you know?" I paused after asking my question since my little sister's soft breathing brushed against the blankets and she was already fast asleep. 

I gave a small smile then wrapped the covers around her properly so she was fully warm. 

My fingers then brushed against her bite wound that was on her left arm. I was staring intensely at in and the ridges of his bite marks were very pronounced even when we were in a dimly lit room. I grew angry but then I held back. My fingers traced around the wound, causing my sister to flinched slightly in her sleep. Her eyebrows furrowed for a slight second then released to lose facial muscles. 

I tucked her arm beneath the covers gently then walked to the door. Before exiting, I glanced back to her sleeping form once more. How could I possibly let her get hurt like this? To possibly obtain a bitemark wound that belonged to the Prince of Rogue Werewolves?