KALEB
| was in the middle of having a meeting with a few lords when Roxy suddenly burst into the meeting room.
While part of me was annoyed by this interruption. | was also a little relieved. This meeting hadn’t been going well.
Yurene didn’t work like Wega. Once a Pack was taken over by our country, they no longer functioned as a true Pack, as they
had before. Their former Alpha was stripped of their title immediately and was no longer a true Alpha. Instead, they were made
Lords, their new position authorized by myself, the king of Yurene.
| was the only leader these new citizens could pay their loyalty to. That was the rule of our country. But true to our nature, wolves
had always lived in Packs and served their own Alpha. So, technically, the Lords still had their independence and absolute
authority over their Pack members. Therefore, it was important to make sure the Lords were on my side.
At my core. | didn’t believe in faith and loyalty. | knew once my power declined that those close to me would betray me at once. It
certainly wasn’t difficult to figure out that quite a few of the Lords favored my cousin, Ronald Adams, much more.
Given the circumstances, | believed it was time to reaffirm and remind everyone of the severe consequences of treason. But
today was not the day for that. | would find another opportunity to show my power.
Roxy''s break-in gave the Lords a good excuse to be dismissed from the hall. After | gave them a short gesture, they filed out of
the room one by one, and once they were gone, | turned my attention to the warrior sorceress
Is it true that you’re going to marry the healer you brought from the South?” she demanded. Her cat-like blue-green eyes shed
with an emotion | couldn’t ce, and her lips drew into a thin line.
Behind her stood Anubis, and when we made eye contact, he simply offered me a shruga
“| couldn’t stop her,” he exinedmely. “She’s far too strong.
“Is it true?” Roxy asked again, only this time, more intense.
| huffed and shook my head. Of all of the things I''d expected her to say, this was not one of them.
“It''s true,” | answered her, and my eyebrow raised in slight annoyance. “I assumed that Raven already told you the whole story-”
“She did.” Roxy cut me off, and her nostrils red in agitation. “But | still don’t see why you have to marry her.”
“| don’t see why | need to exin my actions to you,” | fired back, and | narrowed my eyes at her. “You forget yourself, Roxy. | am
the king.
Anubis grumbled at my response and then tried to reach out for Roxy''s arm, but the warrior pushed his hands away. He took a
step back in defeat and sighed.
“It''s time for you to leave,” he insisted, but she shook her head.
“Shut up” she spat and then she red at him. Her scornful look lingered for a moment, but when she turned her attention. back
to me, her expression softened and turned almost wistful. “You changed, Kaleb. You said you didn’t but you wouldn’t have made
a decision like this if you hadn’t. You''re different.”
| rubbed my temples and exhaled sharply “Everyone changes, Roxy. Only the dead remain steadfast. | don’t have time for this
useless argument. You don’t hold any authority over my decision.”
Roxy opened her mouth to speak but closed it quickly
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“Since you''re here, | have a job for you,” | stated firmly as | stared into her eyes. “I want you to take Asher Collins.”
The sorceress’ dark eyebrows knotted together immediately. “The king of Wega? | don’t understand.”
Anubis scoffed and crossed his arms against his chest. “I don’t think a little girl like Roxy could ensnare the king of the South.”
| red at him. “I think she can because Asher Collins isn’t presently in Anemond”
“What?” Anubis gasped in surprise.
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“There was an Official announcement made in Wega,” | exined. “It clearly expressed that the king was missing. This is the
perfect opportunity to take him. He iscking his usual guards, so he’s unprotected for the first time since this n was set into
motion. Now is the perfect opportunity to strike.”
“Why not send Anubis?” Roxy mumbled as she nced at the ground.
“Because Anubis has another job to do,” | replied, and | crossed over to her, “Besides, Roxy, you''re the best pick for the mission.
Asher Collins has the ancient disease within him-
“He does?” Roxy interrupted, her expression surprised as her full lips parted in shock.
| nodded. “Yes. He’s vulnerable, so now is the time to act. | want you to bring him back to me, alive.
| took a step even closer still. “Will you carry out this mission for me?”Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.
Roxy took a long, deep breath, and then bowed her head obediently. “I will”
We stared at one another, and then she spoke again, only this time, her voice was softer.
“I''ll always do what you want,” she said. “You know that, Kaleb, 1 haven’t changed.”
Before | could even utter a response, the sorceress turned on her heels and left the room without my dismissal. The sweet
aroma of her ckberry perfume lingered in the air around me, and for a moment, | was frozen in ce.
“It''s difficult to deal with young girls like her,” Anubisined, and when | turned around to face him, his pointed face was
annoyed. “What do you want with Asher Collins, anyway? This is a blunt move. If the South knew that you took their king. it
would be a deration of war.”
“| know,” | said firmly, and | crossed my arms. “Do you remember what Raven said? If we want to invoke Cas sandra’s wolf spirit,
we have to use something strong, emotional, and rted to her past. It’s the only way to awaken her.”
Anubis lifted an eyebrow. “You intend to kill her mate in front of her?”
I snorted. “An eager thought. But maybe we start with some light torture first. We can see how messing with him affects her and
go from there. I’m willing to push it as far as we can”
The assassin grinned at me and his ck eyes shed. “I thought you were growing soft, but obviously, | couldn’t be more
wrong. You''re just as devious as ever, Kaleb.”
While | could revel in this praise, | chose not to acknowledge it. Tell me, how is Cas sandra?”
“She’s been meeting with Ronald''s fiancee quite a few times this week,” he reported. “But there doesn’t seem to be anything
strange about it. Helene is little more than a powerless prisoner of Ronald’s. She and Cas sandra have nothing to gain by
spending time with one another.”
“How do you know she isn’t meeting with my cousin secretly?” | wondered. There were no informants in Ronald’s tower, so Cas s
andra might have been using Helene as a cover-up to hide her meetings with Ronald.
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