471 Old Friend And Valuable Escort
âWHAT!?!â the grey-eyed woman thundered. Mixed with her rage was a slight hint of fear⦠desperation.
âTry to calm down, Beatrice. You just heard what he just saidâ¦â
âI DONâT CARE ABOUT WHAT HE SAIDâ¦â
âTry to keep your voice down. Youâre not getting anywhere by yelling,â Whitney tried again, cutting her distraught relative off.
A look of annoyance crossed the alphaâs face before he stepped up, âMy decision is made. The safety of the capital and the werewolves of the empire comes first to me. Any irrational decisions I make now would only serve to put everyone in danger. Until communications are back up, Iâm afraid I canât help you.â
Alpha Phillip had his fist clenched on the tabletop while he spoke. His anger was evident⦠but so was his frail sense of control.
The man was trying his best to keep his cool. Watching the woman rant on and on about his incompetence was starting to get on his nerves. After the phone call with Caden, things had taken an unexpected turn and the man had declined her request to contact the king.
When Beatrice was just about to lash out again, a hand grabbed hers. The woman turned to Lyla whoâd been silent the entire time, âLyla⦠Not now⦠not after Iâveâ¦â
âItâs not over yet, Beatrice. But you have done all you can here,â the girl paused and regarded the womanâs eyes, searching for some form of reason left behind her grey orbs, âIt might not look like it but Alpha Phillip has his hands tied. He made the phone call without asking questions, didnât he?â
.....
âYes, butâ¦â
âWe just have to get another way of reaching the king that wonât endanger the lives of countless others,â Lyla reasoned.
The beta alpha chuckled, âYouâre smarter than you look, human girl.â
Alpha Phillip pulled a form from one of the drawers and started filling it out before stamping it with the kingâs official seal, âI hope youâre able to get to the king in time. If you face any resistance in getting to the king, you can use this form. It grants you direct clearance and audience with the king⦠no questions asked.
An alternative would be to look for your granddaughter. She has direct access to the king as well.â
Beatrice took the form from him, stunned by what heâd said. Her outburst had almost sealed her chances of getting help from the beta alpha.
She found that she had to remind herself to remain calm even when she was trying to stop the imminent destruction of the world as they knew it. Beatrice bowed her head, âIâm sorry⦠for the misunderstanding.â
âPay it no mind. It wouldnât be the first time,â Phillip chuckled.
âIf I may ask, how does Mady have direct access to the king?â Beatrice asked, suddenly curious to know what her granddaughter had been doing this whole time.
âFunny story⦠You owe it all to the princess. Sheâs the one that started taking care of Madeline in the first place. When the king found out, everything else fell into placeâ¦â Alpha Phillip sighed, ââ¦I donât think you have time for this kind of conversation. You should be going. Whitney, go with her. It will be easier that way,â the man commanded, turning to the florist.
âI wasnât planning on letting her go on her own,â Honourâs mother bowed.
âGoddess be with you, Seeker,â Alpha Phillip bowed.
With that, the group of four left the palace with a new destination in mind.
.....................â¦..
Peter gripped the wheel of the car in deep thought as they slowed at the large opening gates that led them out of the palace. âSo, where to next?â the man asked them.
Lyla frowned in response but didnât answer him.
Beatrice was the first to speak up.
âDo you know the way to the Great Arena?â she asked him.
The man frowned, âI was afraid you were going to say that⦠but⦠thatâs so many miles away. I donât trust my ability to drive for many hours.â
âOh⦠I hadnât realised,â Beatrice responded before descending into her own thoughts as well, âIs there some sort of public transport we could use then?â
âTwo days ago, that would be a possibility, but nowââ
âPETER, WATCH OUTâ¦â Lyla screamed in tandem with the sound of screeching wheels from a black SUV that came speeding out of nowhere.
Had it not been for Peterâs swift action on the brakes, the two vehicles would have collided. From the sight of the hulking SUV, Peterâs hatchback was bound to receive the lionâs share of damage⦠along with his passengers.
âWhat theâ¦â Peter exclaimed but stopped when he locked eyes with the other driver. The manâs face contorted into one of rage. Peter was livid, âWhat the hell was he thinking?â
âUmm, Peter, thatâs a hunter,â Whitney cried out.
âHunter my foot⦠Thatâs freakinâ Trevor,â the man growled, unbuckling his seatbelt and exiting the car with fury dripping from his pores. Somehow, knowing the hunterâs name didnât comfort the florist one bit.
He-Trevor-, was still a hunter after all.
From the black SUV, a lean man exited dressed fully in black, with a leather jacket on top of his normal clothes and a thick scabbard on his back.
The hilt of a sword peeked over his shoulder. His odd appearance indicated he was on duty. âIs it okay for him to approach a hunter like that?â Beatrice asked tensely.
Outside the car, Peter was stomping his way towards Trevor, looking ready to drive a punch through the manâs gut the moment they collided, âAh! Peter, thereâs the man Iâve been looking for,â Trevor exclaimed when he saw the livid man approaching.
âEXPLAIN YOURSELF, TREVOR,â Peter yelled at him.
âI needed some way to stop you from leaving without me. This went well, wouldnât you say?â the hunter smirked, âWhy so red, man? Arenât you happy you donât get to drive all the way to the Great Arena on your own? Last I checked, you donât do long distances.â
The anger suddenly vanished from his face, âHow didâ¦â
âAlpha Phillip contacted the agency and told us of the situation. Since they didnât have that many hunters to spare, I offered to escort you to the Great Arena. I didnât save you those many years ago just to have you die on me again. No, sir.â
Trevor threw his head back and laughed boisterously.
Lyla had exited the car as well. She rubbed her temples and shook her head as though massaging a forming headache, âYou nearly rammed into us. Whatâs so funny, Trevor?â
âOh, donât be such a stick in the mud. Cheer up! Iâm here to help. I heard you have some urgent message for the king that must absolutely get delivered. Mind getting me in on what this is about? I came as fast as I could, you knowâ¦â
âYeah, I can tellâ¦â Peter started his explanation, speaking to the hunter at length. On the bright side, if Trevor chose to help them, they would get protection and someone more equipped to drive the long journey.
Perhaps nearly getting killed by the manâs recklessness was worth it⦠right?
Beatrice and Whitney watched this exchange from the safety of the backseats, âAre these three friends?â
âI would like to think so, but if that means weâve got a ride to the Great Arena, Iâm not complaining,â Beatrice chuckled.