"A name that seems to be the only title I ever get called, "I confirmed, keeping my voice as cool and calm as possible.
I couldn't show weakness, this was serious. I kept my back straight and my chin up high.
"It's a fitting title, regardless of what you may think." The beady-eyed man shrugged, "You certainly don't look anything like what anyone is expecting, or what anyone has certainly pictured."
I raised an eyebrow, "And what would that be?"
"Fatter, you look like you've just come off the street." He sneered, "And stronger, but we've been told you came from one of the garment factories, so I'm not too sure what anyone was expecting. Zayin Le Doux, a pleasure to meet you." Zayin bent into a weak, sarcastic bow.
"And who are you in this? The leader? Second in command? Or are you just are a member who pissed of the big guy enough to be sent here?" I asked, placing an overly confident mask over my shaking frame.
Zayin's eyes narrowed, "My status is none of your business,"
I tilted my head, "I would think that it is, you're here to recruit me, and I must say, you're doing an awful job."
My words seemed to hit him like a truck as if he was remembering exactly why he was here,
"Now," I smirked, "Win me over." I pretended to be inspecting my nails as to not make eye contact,
"If you haven't already deducted, our organisation is called K.U.T. We want you to be part of the organisation, acting almost like our mascot. Most are hesitant to join our cause, mainly due to the risks that it presents. But having you would act as a sign, a sign that we're for the refugees, that we focus on the safety of our people," Zayin resumed, his gaze focused on me.
"And who are your people?" I asked suspiciously, "And how do you know that I'm the solution to your problems?"
"The humans, of course, those who have been slaving away under the law of the wolves. That's our cause, It's time for a shift in government, and we finally have the resources, the strength. We believe we can do it, and in answer to your other question, you wouldn't believe what everyone back home believes. You've been hidden from their eyes, and suddenly your brothers are being slowly taken out of the equation. There are certainly rumours of your... mistreatment. And then the rumours of," His eyes glanced down to my stomach,
I went red, knowing exactly what he was insinuating.
His eyes came back up, "Anyway, should you join us, you would symbolise freedom against the wolves, a symbol that we desperately need."
I noticed his word choice, desperately. How badly did they need me? Clearly much, much more than I needed them. But I made no face, no movement, nothing that could have given away what I was thinking in any way.
"K U T," I brought up, changing the subject, "What does that stand for?"
"Not something I can tell you," Zayin admitted, "That sort of information is what will be told to you should you accept our offer."
Made sense, didn't mean I liked it.
My eyes narrowed, "And your resources, you say that you have the strength and resources, where and how?"
"This has been happening for over ten years, building up money to purchase equipment, finding those ready to fight for our cause. We are finally at the point where we can start making our moves, playing our chess pieces carefully. We just need more, that's where you come in."
I was beginning to understand why they had sent this man, Zayin. He knew how to manipulate his words so that they would crawl themselves into my mind. It felt like a rope, drawing me in slowly, wrapping themselves around my mind. It felt like imprisonment in a way, like handcuffs or bolts that kept me stuck to the floor.
It would work if I was stupid, and It would work if my mind hadn't already been made up.
"Money?" I asked suspiciously, "I know how much a person earns in a year, how did you get that money together?"
"The payments in the Southern continent is very different, you make money quick. But since they are so strict on people entering and leaving, we have loyal members work there for anywhere between a month and a year, our longest operative was stationed in Trior for two years. And then up here... mostly illegal activity. Things that would make your king-mate fuming with rage." Zayin informed, his dirty, scruffy gave and puffy red eyes telling me exactly what illegal matters they dealt with.
What stood out to me was the Southern Continent. Why did it keep coming up? Based off what I had learnt, it would seem that this entire operation had begun down south, but migrated to the North.
But why?
I could feel the rustling around me, but there was no breeze, no wind or reasoning for the movement. I knew that the team Maddox had placed were getting restless in waiting for my signal. But I wasn't done, I needed more information. But I knew my limits, I knew my time. It was getting cold, the almost-invisible clouds setting lower and lower in the sky. And the moon, easily providing more light then the flimsy lantern then Zayin was holding.
"What are your emotional ties to the southern continent? Because they seem to be playing a pretty important part in your little group." I stated, trying to put as much disbelief in my voice as possible, make him desperate, let him keep trying to persuade me.
He shrugged, "Our leader, he was born there. Nothing more than that."
Boom. That's what I needed him to say,
"Your leader, and who is that exactly?"I asked carefully,
Zayin hesitated, "I- He prefers to keep to himself."
I clicked my tongue, "You don't know who he is." The quick whitening of his face told me his unspoken answer, "Does anyone?"
He pulled himself together, "Yes. Only six. The leader runs the rebellion, but those six men run the inside,"
I raised an eyebrow, "Names?"
He shook his head, "Don't know names. It's a very private organisation, an honour to be joining really, but I have met them. They were the one who decided I was the one who should come and talk to you."
Suspicious. He was right, clearly, this was much more private than any of us could have guessed. I racked my brain, what did I need to know? What could I get him to extend on? What did I need?
"Who do you plan to kill? If you're planning on taking over the government and the monarchy, who will you kill?"
Zayin sent me a filthy smile, showing off his crooked, multicoloured teeth. "You already know the names, anyone who stands in our way."
I did know. Maddox, Elliot, Cassius, Dakota, Zina, Callie, Peyton, their pups, Margaret, Charles, any epsilon who had any rank at all. Maybe every wolf in Gyabo. It wouldn't surprise me.
I visibly relaxed, "Then I think we're done here."
The last thing I saw was Zayin's triumphant face fade before maybe twelve warriors dropped from the trees and ran in. The six that were in wolf form surrounded him. I watched his face, he knew exactly what was going to happen. I flinched as the snarls took over the sound of Zayins shrill screaming.
The other six epsilons came straight to me, turning me away from the scene and trying to take me away as soon as possible.
"They aren't to attack until your out of sight your highness, King Lancasters orders. We need you out of here as soon as possible, we can't risk his escape." One whispered, creating almost a wall behind me.
As they pulled me away, I couldn't help it, craning my neck to try and see over his shoulders. That failed miserably so I peeked out of the space between their arms and their bodies.
At the glance of the wet, reddish sight, I looked back quickly, swallowing down the bile as it burned in my throne.
"Of course," I choked, "As soon as we can, if you don't mind of course,"
"No problem Luna," Another answered, "King Maddox is waiting for you at the gates."
That was a relief at least. I looked down at my hands, my fingers were shaking and my palm was covered in small half-crescent shapes. I didn't realise how hard I was holding my fist.
I picked up my pace, my head beginning to ache. My confident mask was already beginning to slip towards the end of our conversation, but I had left it back on the forest floor.
When I saw Maddox, he looked even more nervous than I held felt during the entire meeting. When he saw me coming up the road, I watched his entire frame relax, a sigh escaping his parted lips.
He didn't move, standing tall. I started walking faster, the distance between the epsilon and I becoming larger as I came closer to Maddox.
His arm was extended, and I quickly grabbed his hand,
"Are you alright?" He asked before I was even close enough to touch his arm.
I nodded unsurely, "I suppose, It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. But I reached my limit pretty quickly. I think I got enough information,"
He kissed my forehead, "Don't worry about that right now dove, you can tell everyone tomorrow morning, for now, just rest."
I nodded in agreement, "Can we start heading inside, please? My tolerance to the cold hasn't magically improved,"
"Of course," Maddox murmured, beginning to walk back to the castle.
I moved all the information I had learned tonight into a crevice of my mind, making sure that I couldn't forget it. I knew Maddox was curious, that he would have asked me immediately about what happened had he not seen my face.
It seemed that Maddox knew my limits better then I knew them myself.
After I had locked away the information, I let my mind stop. I rested my head on Maddox's shoulder as we walked, the image of Zayin moment before he was ripped to shred evident in my mind, almost like a scar. It reminded me of a painful memory, but I had other priorities. So I cast it away and entered the castle.
-------------------------------------------------------
I tapped my fingers against the table anxiously, the room was completely silent. We had gathered around a table, everyone's gaze changing between their mates and me. I could hear their questions, suspended in the air above me.
I ran my gaze over the table, taking a breath before beginning, "Where should I start?"
"Is there any new information that we may need to know?" Elliot started,
"The organisations name is K U T, they just pronounce it as cut. Pretty simple, however,the meaning of the name wouldn't be disclosed. Some information is only to be offered should I accept their invitation. And they've been using the generous salaries in the Southern Continent to collect the money that they need to purchase their weapons." I explained, pulling my shoulders back.
"That makes sense," Zina confirmed, "A humans salary is much higher there than it is here. Granted, they don't get nearly as much freedom."
Dakota's brows furrowed, "But I thought immigration for northern citizens was heavily watched? Once they've lived there for a while, they're not allowed to leave."
I nodded in agreement, "I think the longest and operative has stayed there for two years."
"So I would say that it would be highly likely if they have permanent workers in the southern continent, perhaps even a whole branch down there." Cassius suggested,
Maddox sighed, "It wouldn't surprise me, just more things we need to be on the lookout for when we travel there."
"And their leader! Their leader was born there. So Cassius's theory on a branch in the Southern Continent is most likely true," I remembered. "And their organisation is extremely private. Most of their members don't know their leaders name, or the names of the second in command."
"That will make identification harder, without any names." Callie pondered.
"Maybe when it comes to identification, we'll need to get bank statements and link them together until we find the ones that provide evidence of names and the sort of money that they are receiving," Peyton added.
The next two hours were spent like that. I would bring up a new piece of information, a statement would be made, and then theories would evolve from that. As Zayin had said, the mention of their illegal activity had steam coming out of Maddox's ears. I found that my eyes watched Zina through all of this. Everytime I brought up something new, it would be brought back to the Southern Continent. It was her home, and while Gyabo may have replaced home in her mind, it wouldn't replace what was in her heart. Her face was hard, and after her first comment, she didn't say anything else. She watched with careful ears, and while I didn't doubt her allegiance, and I knew no one else did, it still made me anxious. I wasn't sure if her face was a result of anger or heartache. Perhaps both.
I don't think I had ever been this active in a conversation before. I had the tendency to say my piece and then stop, letting Maddox take over for me. But not today, my throat beginning to feel raw as I continued to talk. Then I noticed the slip of a tooth, Dakota's canine leering towards me as he spoke.
I expected something, the quickening of my heart, the shortening of my breath, but nothing. It felt neutral, as if I had never cared about any of that. It was a relief, like a tidal wave, to be able to stare at a wolf, that I knew wasn't Maddox, and not feel an inkling of fear.
So I kept talking, kept adding and kept plotting. I pulled my brain into overdrive.
We kept on going for another hour.
It was only when an employee came in and said that Tayla had begun throwing up that the meeting was cut off, Callie and Dakota rushing out of the room at the mention of their toddler. The other four followed suit, most likely going in to check on their own pups.
"Wolves are extremely protective with their pups," Maddox whispered, "You should have seen those three boys when they had their eldest. I don't think they let anyone other than their mate hold the baby for two weeks. Elliot was borderlining a month, and even then, his arms were practically undermine, ready to take Sera back as soon as possible."
I raised an eyebrow, "Let me guess, the higher the status, longer that unbearable protectiveness lasts?"
He grabbed my hand smiling, "Something like that, maybe we'll test that theory for ourselves."
"Not any time soon Maddox, maybe a few more years." I told him, I didn't need to watch him to see his face fall.
"Whenever you're ready, just let me know." Maddox winced.
I turned around to face him, "Please don't fight me on this. Let's order some food or something, we'll have the rest of the day off."
I hoped that he wouldn't say that he had another meeting, my heart swelled with each moment my question hung in the air. My offer seemed to put him back in his regular good spirits,
"Of course dove, my day is yours, at least what's left of it." He grinned.
So I dragged him out of the meeting room, telling Maddox exactly what he should mindlink to the chef.
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Good morning guys, how are you?
I have another shift this morning so I'm gonna try and do this as quickly as possible.
How was the chapter? Let me know in the comments. I guess I feel kinds stupid cause I don't think anyone actually reads these, but that's ok because I like writing them out.
I know I say this very chapter but if you could please vote on the chapters of this story it would mean so much to me.
So, remember to vote and comment!
See you in the next chapter,
Eryn