Silver Moon (Colors of the Moon #3)

Chapter 31

The first place I could think of to find Theo was the throne room, which is why I headed up the staircase. The double door leading into the said room was wide open, so I entered without stopping. Instead of a pondering Theo, however, I was met with a group of four unfamiliar werewolves. Their bulky bodies told me they were all pack warriors, and I was even sure I had seen one of them posted as a guard somewhere around the castle during my initial stay here.

The moment I froze two steps into the room, all four sets of eyes snapped in my direction. For a second none of us moved. Then all four of them jumped into low bows.

I had expected them to instantly mark me as the wanted witch and ship me off to Allium. This is why I was taken aback by their formal greetings. Especially since I had never had anyone bow to me before.

"I'm—" I cleared my throat to get rid of the raspy undertone. "I'm looking for Theo... I mean, the Alpha King. Do any of you know where he is?"

"I'll mind-link him right away, Luna Queen." One of the warriors bowed again.

I nodded and then squished my lips into a thin line. I pretended to observe the room while feeling their piercing eyes burning through my skin. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them I wasn't their Luna Queen, but I forced myself to remain quiet.

After all, I was already marked and mated to Theo.

"I can't reach him," the same werewolf said when his eyes returned to normal.

"Can we help you with something instead, Luna Queen?" the only female warrior among the four asked.

"No." I shook my head, but then forced myself to continue before they could think me too rude. "It's between Theo—your Alpha King—and me."

"Of course." The she-wolf nodded and then exchanged quick glances with the other three.

"What's going on?" For the first time, I wondered what they were doing inside the throne room. Especially without Theo being present.

"We..." The she-wolf cleared her throat and another round of darting glances followed. "We're looking for the Alpha King as well, but he's nowhere to be found. Can you... Would you mind helping us instead?"

I hesitated for a second and then nodded. "Sure."

"We're searching for a wanted witch," the werewolf who had mind-linked Theo said. "The witches claim she's hiding inside our castle and their High Priestess is prepared to declare war if we don't hand her over."

I froze at his words, wondering if all of this polite business was only a trap. "What kind of witch are you looking for?"

"We're not sure," one of the other two warriors said. "All we've heard is that their High Priestess wants her."

I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I can help you with that."

Flames of hope lit their eyes, but they vanished the moment I opened my mouth again.

"I'm the witch they're after."

Their tense expressions and wide eyes told me they honestly hadn't been expecting this one.

"I'm not going to put up any resistance," I said. "So you can freely hand me over to the witches."

Before any of them even had the chance to open their mouths, let alone form a coherent thought, a booming voice reaped through the room. "Get the hell out! Now!"

Without even a second to spare the four warriors scurried out of the room. The door shut behind the last of them with a loud bang which left Theo and me alone in deadly silence.