"Oooh, story time. Continue," Julian said. He pushed his plate away from him and set his elbow on the table. "Who had these blue eyes?"
I rolled my eyes at my brother and pushed some of the food on the plate around. "I never did catch his name," I admitted. "I am sure that one of them did, but I didn't want to know. I received the basic information that he was an Alpha from a pack and was called HT-20-18."
"What does HT-20-18 mean?" Parker asked.
"'High Threat, Cell 20, Age 18,'" Commander said. "It's code we use for... the people that are held at the castle."
"I was labeled HT-26-06 when I was locked up," I said, not looking at them. I shrugged grimacing. "It's not fun to be called that or being called a prisoner."
"How long were you held before all of this?" Parker asked.
"About three weeks," I replied. "I didn't do that well there. All I had was my bunny and nothing else."
"How long was this... person held for?"
"I think for twelve hours before my uncle called us to get him. He had wanted to get all the information available before he found him from people who were there and people who knew him," I replied. "He had Charlie and me collect him at nine in the evening, twelve hours after he was brought there."
"Why only twelve hours?"
"Well, he's an Alpha," Charlie said. "And, His Majesty hadn't said for there to be a place in or that he had lost his rank, so we had to get him out quickly if he was free to go."
"Mind you, this was all after I had been there. There had been a lot of abuse and shit before and during my time as a prisoner there," I said. "Thankfully, I was able to convince them to have the rules looked at and changed so others wouldn't have had to go through the same ordeal that I and others had been through."
"How old were you when the Alpha came in?" Parker asked.
"I was fifteen," I replied. I took a sip of my drink and cleared my throat. "Anyway, when Charlie and I were told that we had to go get him, we started on the way."
"I was complaining out loud and not using the earpiece that we have to set up as a link and said her name out loud," Charlie said.
"I slapped him across the face when he did that. He was getting on my nerves, and my medication was wearing off at that time," I said, shrugging my shoulder. "It was not a good combination."
"Why didn't you take it then?" Parker asked.
"It requires for me to have food in my system, and I had missed dinner." I shrugged. "And, I hate dry swallowing these pills. They're kind of large."
Parker nodded his head. "What happened next?"
"We made it to the cell that the Alpha was in, and I studied him. I could tell that he was a good soul that was slowly turning dark. I could tell that he was afraid and was sorry for what he had done. He didn't mean for whatever had happened to happen that caused him to be locked up."
"To clarify, Cass is very good at reading people and know what they think or trying to hide," my uncle said. "I trust her judgment."
I cleared my throat and looked away, feeling slightly guilty. I had let the mate-bond with Camen cloud my judgment. I should have seen the signs, but I didn't, and it had almost cost me my life.
May placed her hand in mine and squeezed. She offered me a small smile, causing me to small back at her.
"So, continuing with the story, Cass smiled at the Alpha. Do you want to continue, Cass, or should I?"
I rolled my eyes at Charlie. "I had offered him a smile and had apologized for the wait. I had called him "Alpha" causing Charlie to mutter underneath his about how I should have called him 'HT-20-18'. And, boy I was pissed."
"I had never seen her turn around so fast in my life until that day," Charlie said. "Her hood had fallen off of her head, so I could see her golden eyes filled with fury. Boy, was I scared."
"I kept my cool. I was about to lose it, but I didn't. I had told him that he hadn't lost his title, and he should be called as such." I cleared my throat and took a sip of my drink. "After that, I was able to calm down sort of quick and turned back to the Alpha. I had apologized for that outburst and pulled my hood back over my head."
"Afterwards, I unlocked the cage and walked over to him. He was scared of me because he flinched away, and I had a feeling that he had been abused, maybe from someone that was of power."
"So, like an Alpha?" Parker asked, causing me to nod my head.
"And, since I was an Alpha too..." I shrugged. "He had also seen me angry, so I wasn't surprised that he had flinched away."
"I had promised him that I wouldn't hurt him and that I wouldn't let anyone hurt him either. I had also apologized because I was going to have to put on the collar, so I could take him to my uncle, though I had called him 'His Majesty' and not 'uncle'."
"Through the link, she commented that he had pretty eyes and that they were so blue," Charlie said. "She also asked if she could keep him if things didn't work out."
Xavier choked on his drink when that came out of his mouth. He was coughing, and it caused me to glance at him worriedly. He didn't look at me as he waved off Parker.
"Why did you want to keep him?" Parker asked. He looked at me and gave me an apologetic look because he could tell that I was feeling hurt.
I turned back to my food and took a bite of it. "I didn't want to keep him like th-at but I did want to keep him, so I could stare into his eyes all day and complement them."
"Creep," Julian coughed in his shoulder. He smiled at me. "I love you, Cass," he said.
I smiled and flicked him off as I set down my fork gently. "I love you, too, Julian," I said, causing his face to go sort of pale.
Julian cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Ummmm, I think I am going to shut up, now. Please, continue."
"So, anyway, I did ask him for permission, causing him to nod his head and placed it on him. I had warned him that it would make him wobbly but that I promised I wouldn't let him fall."
"When they came out, Cass sent me one look that told me not to touch him unless I wanted to train with her in her "aggressive" state, so I backed off," Charlie said.
"We walked back to the place where my uncle was waiting, and I was practically holding him up. I could tell that not only was the collar making him weak but that he also had not been eating, drinking, or sleeping."
"She contacted me and asked me to check him over. I, unfortunately, was out of town, but I had one of the other nurses check over him. Of course, Cassandra was nearby," Dr. Trent said. "This was after him talking with the King, though."
"When we got to the room, my uncle asked me what I thought about him in French, and I told him what I thought. I told him that he had a rough past and that he was scared. I told him that he was still good and that he might need some guidance to control his anger."
"I had agreed with what she had said," my uncle said. "I had also asked her if she trusted him. I knew some of his background, but she didn't. She looked me straight in the eye and said yes. She didn't explain it, but she didn't need to. I had nodded and told her to take off the collar and to leave the room."
"Both of us were shocked because he never did that," I said. "I was about to interject, but he stopped me by raising his hand and told me to remove it."
"Why were you going to interject?" Parker asked.
"It's our duty to protect the King and the Princes," I replied. "We are sworn to loyalty and to protect the family even when we do not agree with what they are doing," I added.
"So, it is only right that she questioned him because if she was wrong with what she had said, then the King could be injured or worse," Charlie said.
"And I would have lost another father figure," I said, "which I was thinking then."
"Again, I had asked her if she trusted him. She said yes, so I told her to take them off again and for Charlie to leave," my uncle said.
"Both Charlie and I looked at each other. I nodded my head, causing Charlie to leave the room. I had sat the male down in the chair that was provided and took the collar off. While I took his collar off, I told him that he could trust him and told him to tell him everything, that it was the best thing to do. I left to go get some food and told my uncle that I would be waiting for him when he was done to lead the Alpha back to his cell."
"How long was he held in the cell for after the meeting?"
"Two days," I replied. "He was out and a free man. I tried to spend time with him and made sure that he would his food. I talked about some of my interests or argue with some of the Guardsmen that were around. He didn't really speak much but that was ok. I think I talked enough for both of us."
"You did," Sergio said. "And made nicknames up for me on the spot." He winced when May kicked him in the shin. "Really?" He glared at her, causing her to shrug.
"Yes," she replied.
"Did you ever catch his name?" Parker asked, causing me to shake my head.
"Nope," I said. "After we had dropped him off at his pack, I didn't bother to pick up his name, figuring I could find it later and maybe meet him on better terms, ya know? But, a month later, I turned sixteen and left the Guardsmen because my uncle wanted me back at the pack."
"And, why did you not want to find him later on?" Parker asked. "I mean, you had the resources."
"She wanted to respect his privacy and not stalk," my uncle said. "Though you seem to be fine with looking at my information." He gave me a pointed look.
"Your information is tied to the history of the kingdom, Your Majesty," I said, causing him to scowl. "Of course, I would be looking into it."
"Never call me "Your Majesty" ever again, do you understand?" He pointed his fork at me and narrowed his eyes at me.
I gave him a smug look but didn't reply as the door opened.
One of the members, named Hank, walked in carrying something in his arms. He looked a little dazed and frazzled as he looked around the room before spying me.
Confusion filled his eyes as he caught Xavier not sitting next to me.
"Long story," Sergio said. "What do you have in your hands, Hank?"
Hank looked confused and looked down. "Oh, uh, I swear that this thing is cursed or alive," he said, holding it up and causing my throat to close.
Clara gasped and hopped out of her chair. "Mr. Scooter, why are you doing out?"
"That's... mine, Clara," I said, clearing my throat. "Yours is still in my bag."
Clara looked at the stuffed rabbit and then at me, narrowing her eyes. "What's his name?"
"Mr. Whiskers," I replied. "I got him when I was a baby, and he traveled everywhere with me. How did you find him?"
Hank walked over and handed it to me. "I was checking donation places and thrift shops," he said. "I know that you said he probably had burned the bunny, but I wanted to be sure. I was close to the cabin, defeated when something hit me in the back of the head. I turned around and noticed the bunny laying there a little singed but still in good condition. So ya, I think it is cursed."
I offered him a small smile. "Thank you," I whispered, causing him to nod his head and smile at me.
Hank nodded his head again and sat down at the last chair. He thanked Aunt Heidi when she placed food in front of him and looked around. "So?" he asked. "What did I miss?"