142 Chapter One Hundred Forty Two
Katie found the Den amusing. It was nothing like what sheâd done back in Brigadia. The hunters would hang out in their own section, but they still had to bring their food from the cafeteria. This was different for Katie since Sandra was the one always doing that bit of work (after sheâd insisted to treat her mentor as such, of course).
Katie pulled the human girl close to her and took a seat on one of the many tables that littered the place. Crysta cringed at the choice of table and cleared her throat to speak, âThat table is beneath your stature. The top werewolves get to sit there,â the girl pointed off to a raised, secured section. The walls in that part of the den were coloured a dark chocolate and the tables well varnished.
Luxurious sofas were arranged around a long expensive table with one at the very end of it covered in small gems carefully placed in intricate designs. âThatâs a bit overkill, donât you think?â Katie asked.
âYeah, it is, but the alphas and I wouldnât accept anything lower,â Crysta boasted and led them to what Katie had decided to dub the âVIP section.â
Seated in some of the sofas were Bree and Ginger. Ginger sipped a drink in a wine glass, one that Katie didnât want to know about while Bree checked her nails and checked her face in the mirror to pass the time. Three other people sat in the vicinity, males to be precise and their eyes shone a deep red, âThe new princess finally showed up,â one of the men spoke up. He lay across the sofa with a newspaper on his chest while he rested.
âYeah, sheâd only gotten herself momentarily lost. Can you show some respect, Wyatt?â Crysta scowled at the boy.
âRelax, Crysta. This is a place for relaxation. There will be no need to be formal. Iâm sure the princess agrees,â Wyatt spoke up, turning to face the princess, âSheâs even more beautiful up close...â
âYou might want to keep the compliments to yourself,â Cole interjected, his eyes flashing blue.
âIgnore him, your Highness. He forgets his manners,â another boy spoke, puffing a ring of smoke from the cigar none of them had noticed he was holding. Katie wanted to ask which of the two was forgetting their manners, but decided against it, âDonât worry. This smoke is not dangerous to anyone. Just the highest quality youâll ever find.â
.....
He was situated furthest from the rest of them, but that had nothing to do with the smoke being harmless, âYouâre addicted to it and you dare to call it harmless,â Katie replied, speaking for the first time since theyâd arrived.
âOh, so she speaks,â another spoke up, âBeautiful voice too... The goddess doesnât take half measures when making the royalâs now, does she?â
âYouâre walking on thin ice Derrick. Wasnât it a few days ago that you declared Crysta to be the prettiest werewolf in Sirius,â Wyatt spoke lazily, keeping a crazy grin. Katie could tell they were in their element. In the Den, these werewolves were free to be whatever they wanted, even if that meant they were going to turn out to be lazy couch potatoes.
âI know what I said, Wyatt. Liam agreed with me and the vote was amongst the three of us. The coward in you made you back out, but enough of that. Iâm more interested in who gets to sit in the kingâs chair. Ever since Drake and Lina backed out of the Den, that seat has been vacant. Princess Katie or Prince Cole... this is a toughie now, isnât it?â the boy was clearly enjoying his instigations.
âWhy doesnât Lina sit there anymore?â Katie asked, pulling off her absentminded act and taking a seat right next to the one they tried to get her into a fight for.
âI donât know whether to call that graceful or stupid. It doesnât matter to me who sits there anyway. On the matter of Lina, we donât quite speak of her. Thatâs a question you will have to ask either her or Crysta,â Wyatt replied, returning his eyes to the newspapers, âHmm, the hunters stopped releasing the good information that we always want to hear.â
Sandra took a seat next to Katie and Cole, along with the two alphas, took seats on the other side of them. The royal chair was left vacant despite there being two royals in the room at the moment. None of them noticed the twitch in Crystaâs expression. Sheâd expected one of them to take the position, but it seemed they were still lacking of a leader.
Katie turned her eyes to Crysta. She hadnât known the two had a history. They were divided by an age gap of two years and wouldnât have had that much of a chance to interact. Sheâd noticed the odd looks they gave each other every time they met, but beyond that, she was stumbling in the dark, âI would rather have that runt say everything herself. If I was to tell the story, she would only look worse than she already does...â Crysta shrugged and took a seat in between Bree and Ginger.
As if on cue, the food arrived. Honour came carrying two plates of food and was followed by a large number of the kitchen staff. They were all served in silence and they waited for the kitchen staff to take their leave. Right when Honour was about to leave, Crysta asked, âWhere did the runt go today?â
âI am not sure. Would you stop calling her that? You know it is a show of disrespect to the royal family,â Honour returned. Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to stand up for her friend. However, she was trembling, having stepped into something that she couldnât win even in a hundred years. Crysta was surprised by the girlâs boldness and looked up from her food to observe her foe.
After a quick scan that made Honour feel like digging a hole and escaping, âHow about you tell that runt to say what youâve said straight to my face. Maybe then Iâd consider letting it go. She knows what awaits her if she does that. Assuming she even gets the guts to say it.â
Honour turned to walk out of the room, her fists clenched in frustration. There was nothing she could do against the betaâs daughter. She knew her limits and was only happy that Crysta hadnât taken it upon herself to beat her for standing up against her. Itâs just how it worked, the weak didnât have much say in anything that happened and Honour knew this.
Katie hadnât seen her sister in the cafeteria or the Den and this got her worried. Had something happened between her and Crysta that it got her out of the Den? Questions swarmed her mind, but there were no answers to the questions. âPrince Cole, how is Lycaon?â Liam asked, smashing the cigar he was halfdone with into the ashtray and walking up to the table.
âItâs fine. Have you been there?â Cole replied.
âHmm, I think I travelled to Lycaon two years ago for the Royal Games. I enjoyed those very much,â the boy continued. Katie had almost tuned out the wolves to focus on her food when Wyatt called her out.
âSo we all know the princess is a hunter, but we donât know what gifts she possesses. I certainly enjoyed watching her almost...â
âWatch your tongue, Wyatt,â Crysta snapped at the alpha.
âI do not have such an obligation, dear Crysta. That probably would have worked if I was an omega like Honour,â he announced, continuing with his conversation, âWatching the strongest warrior among the females get a look of fear was more satisfying than Iâd like to admit...â
âAnd yet you just admitted it,â Derrick intervened, âCan you go one hour without putting someone down?â
âWell, I only state the truth. Iâm not the one who decided to make that truth interesting or degrading,â the boy chuckled. Katie rubbed her temples, hoping Wyatt would forget all about her amidst their bickering.
âNever mind... Iâm curious as well. What power does our princess possess? We already know what the prince can do, now we want to know what the princess can do,â Derrick asked.
âIs there something else that Cole can do and you have no idea about?â Ashley asked the girl.
âI donât know,â Katie replied, âWell, I have both Prometheus gifts and no, I will not answer questions.â
âNo one asked a... wait, two gifts, thatâs impossible,â Liam was the one to react this time, âSomething like that being true would disobey so many laws of the world. Stop messing around, your Highness.â
âIâm only wondering what laws my existence would break,â she said, stuffing her mouth with more food. She had no intention of answering any questions, like sheâd just said. The alphas realised she was serious about that when she stopped paying them any attention.
.............
The rest of the meal continued with the three alphas and Crysta talked of everything and nothing they could think about. Katie was soon able to find out that these were only the sons of the three alphas, except for the beta alphas, that lived in the capital. âAre you okay?â Coleâs voice broke her out of her thoughts as they walked on to the last lesson of the day. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck, the shock going through her like it usually did when came close to the place he was supposed to mark.
Sighing, âYeah, Iâm fine. Just wondering what happened with Lina.â
âIâm sure the girl will tell you as soon as she gets the chance to...â he answered her. Just then, something started to vibrate in his pocket. The prince pulled his phone from his pocket and found the caller to be âHer Majestyâ as heâd saved her... His face grew an expression that Katie had trouble reading. From what she could remember, Coleâs mother was dead. Why then was...
âI need to take this...â with that, Katie was walking to class without her mate. âJust imagine all those hours without his scent...â Ashley groaned. Katie rolled her eyes at the wolfâs antics and decided against commenting...