The room fell silent, the tension thick enough to choke on. Caspian felt a great anger swell inside him, and for the first ti, he wanted to defy Elijah’s orders.
Then, without warning, the door burst open and Christian stepped in, looking flustered. "Your Majesty," he said breathlessly, "we can’t find Violet Purple."
"What?" Elijah thought he had heard wrong. Then, almost imdiately, his cold gaze shifted to Caspian.
Caspian saw that look and went pale. He already knew what the Alpha King was thinking.
"I don’t know where she is," he denied quickly, agitation flickering in his eyes.
Christian added quickly, "Not just her, Your Majesty, both Alaric Storm and Griffin Hale are missing as well."
The light in Elijah’s eyes turned glacial. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he slowly rose to his feet, his dark Alpha aura filling the room.
"What did you just say?" His voice ca out cold and lethal.
Even Christian swallowed hard. "I—I can’t find any of the boys, not to ntion Violet Purple."
Elijah turned to Caspian. The older Alpha tried to stand tall, but cold sweat rolled down his temples.
"Where are they?" Elijah demanded.
"Are you suggesting I hid them, Your Majesty?" Caspian shot back, eting his gaze. "Even ten years ago, when you demanded my son be handed over to Patrick for testing, my wife and I obeyed without question. So why would I withhold him from you now?"
For a long mont, both Alphas locked eyes, neither blinking, the tension suffocating. Then Elijah broke it off and turned to Christian. "Turn the pack upside down. Search every inch of this territory. And contact Irene, tell her that if this is so ploy to undermine my authority again, my patience has snapped thin. She won’t like what cos next if I find those kids myself."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Christian bowed quickly and hurried out.
With Christian gone, it was just Elijah and Caspian again, and this ti, the North Alpha’s pulse pounded as the Alpha King’s calculating gaze lingered on him.
Where the hell were those kids? What the hell were they planning?
If only they’d told him about their escape beforehand, he could’ve suggested better hiding spots. Now they were out there on their own.
He only hoped they knew what they were doing.
Elijah lifted his head, his tone thick with accusation. "Where is your wife being kept, or have you moved her as well?"
"She’s in the healing wing, Your Majesty," Caspian answered tightly, resisting the urge to punch him square in the face. How had he never realized until now that Elijah was a bully, and a grade-A asshole in a crown?
Maybe he’d been too absorbed in his inventions to notice the tyrant ruling over them.
It was a miracle no one in the North Pack had challenged his rule, considering how detached he’d been. But perhaps the pack’s prosperity, and a lightning-wielding heir like Alaric, had been enough to keep rebellion at bay.
Moreover, Caspian wasn’t exactly weak. He just hadn’t been interested in power.
But that ended now. He’d balance both the scientist and the Alpha in him.
But first, he’d find his son and his mate.
Elijah moved toward the door, and Caspian instinctively made to follow.
"I can find my way around," Elijah said without turning, the sharpness in his tone making Caspian stop mid-step.
Of course, Caspian wanted to argue, but the words died in his throat. He didn’t trust the Alpha king around his wife, scratch that, Zara, his ex-wife. But perhaps, if there was anyone who deserved to be in Elijah’s overbearing presence, then it was her.
So he stayed back, listening as his footsteps faded down the hall, silence falling in the room once more.
A few seconds later, the door creaked open again, and Ace rushed in, eyes wide with panic. "Father," he whispered urgently, "I know where Alaric and the others are."
Caspian’s head snapped up, and his pulse spiked. He glanced instinctively toward the closed door, his heart pounding.
"Co with ," he hissed, grabbing Ace by the arm. He dragged him into the bathroom and twisted the tap on full blast.
Elijah wasn’t stupid. Caspian was sure he’d left soone behind to keep watch. And with how that man operated, there was no guarantee soone wasn’t standing right outside that door, eavesdropping. The running water would drown out whatever they said.
"Where are they?" Caspian asked lowly, his eyes hard.
Ace swallowed. "I—I don’t know exactly."
Caspian’s expression darkened. "What do you an you don’t know?"
"One minute they were outside, and then this portal just opened, and this girl ca out of it. They seem to know her and call her by the na ’Lila’. I looked into it and she was one of Violet’s roommates at Lunaris."
Caspian frowned, his mind trying to piece things together.
"She pushed Violet into the portal," Ace continued, "and then Griffin and Alaric went in after her. The portal closed right after."
For a mont, Caspian just stared at his son, too stunned to speak. A portal? If it had co from anyone else, he would’ve dismissed it as nonsense. But Ace wasn’t a fool, and had his own analytical mind. He wouldn’t say sothing he hadn’t witnessed himself.
A muscle ticked in Caspian’s jaw. "You’re sure?"
Ace nodded quickly. "Positive. I tried to get closer, but it vanished before I reached it."
Caspian rubbed his temples, exhaling hard. A damn portal. That ant magic was at work. If that was true, then they were out of reach.
And Elijah was going to lose his mind if he learned that.
Caspian looked at the door again, paranoia twisting in his gut. "Don’t tell anyone what you saw," he warned him. "Not a word, Ace.
If Elijah finds out they’re gone from this pack, he’ll stop at nothing to get to them. Perhaps, this little break is what they needed, after all."
Ace swallowed and nodded.
Caspian turned off the tap, his reflection staring back at him from the mirror. The face that looked back wasn’t that of a inventor anymore, it was an Alpha ready to fight back for the future of his son - and his mate.
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