He already knew that they would get into trouble before they arrived back at the palace. With the way they had broken the rules and spent the whole night, and then part of the morning, too, away from their apartments, he had no doubt in his mind that Denver or one of the other stewards would be waiting on the steps to chastise them.
So, when he found Denver standing on the palace steps with his arms crossed over his chest and a rather unpleasant expression on his face, Orion wasnât the least bit surprised.
âDo you think theyâre going to punish us now or later?â Phoenix gulped in question from beside him, her fingers curled around his. The cautious expression on her face told her that she was more nervous than she was hoping to let on.
That didnât settle well with him.
âHopefully we wonât be getting punished at all,â he sent her a reassuring smile as they continued walking toward the palace steps. âIf we tell them the truth, that we fell asleep in the cave, then they might let us off with it.â
âI hope so,â she attempted a smile for him but he wasnât convinced.
And neither was Denver, it appeared.
âAre the both of you in the need of a hearing aid or did you just purposely choose to ignore what I said yesterday?â Denver huffed in frustration as they came to a stop in front of him.
âWe didnât ignore you,â Orion said as he took a step forward, all while refusing to let go of Phoenixâs hand. More so for her sake than his own. âWe just lost track of time.â
âIâm sure you did,â Denver huffed and rolled his eyes, clearly not believing them even though he wasnât speaking anything short of the truth. It didnât help that the story did sound pretty fabricated.
âNo, Iâm not making this up. We really did lose track of time,â he continued to insist, not wanting to get into trouble for something as small as this. Except, it appeared that Denver didnât view this small slip up as small and insignificant as Orion and Phoenix was hoping to pass it off as. âWe were sitting in this cave looking over the ocean. When it got cold yesterday, we moved inside and then fell asleep. When we woke up this morning and realised that we never went back to the apartments last night, we rushed back here,â Orion said, only lying about the last part.
While he was still riding the high of having his mate ride him not even fifteen minutes ago now, Denver didnât need to know that personal little piece of information.
âWe had every intention of heading back to the apartments before it got dark but we really did fall asleep and lose track of time,â Phoenix said as she squeezed Orionâs hand gently. âWeâre sorry for the careless mistake. Weâll make sure it doesnât happen again.â
âI doubt youâll have the chance to do something like this again,â Denver sighed, looking more disappointed in them more than anything else. âI donât think you realise that youâve broken not just my trust, but the trust of the Alpha king. The king had personally ordered that the both of you follow the rules just like everyone else despite the difference in your special circumstances. So, not only have you failed the Alpha kingâs direct word, but youâve also broken one of the rules of the Mating Games. Unfortunately, that isnât something that can be overlooked.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â Orion questioned, holding his breath at the prospect of being punished by the Alpha king. As much as he could insist that they hadnât done anything too out of the wrong, he knew that his argument had no basis to stand in front of the Alpha king.
Especially since they had broken his direct order.
âLuckily for the both of you, we havenât got time for this right now,â Denver told them, his eyes distant as he glanced over their shoulders.
Both Orion and Phoenix glanced over her shoulder to spy an elderly woman taking her leisurely time to reach them.
âWhatâs going on?â Orion questioned as he watched the elderly woman move to stand next to Denver in front of them, the both of them sharing a nod of acknowledgement before turning their attention to them.
âBut unluckily, that also means that the Alpha king will deal with you personally at the end of the Mating Games. You should have justââ
âElder Glenda?â Phoenix called out in question, cutting Denver off in his mini-speech. âWhat are you doing here?â
âDonât worry your pretty little head about that, child,â the woman in question, Glenda, chuckled as she moved to stand directly in front of the both of them. âJust focus on trying your best.â
âTrust my best?â Phoenix asked but her question wasnât met with an answer. At least not a vocal one.
While the witch opted to take Phoenixâs hand in her own, she didnât do the same to Orion. Instead, she raised her other hand higher up in the air, her palm turned up as she aimed for him.
One moment, one of the elder witches gave him a gentle slap on the forehead and the next moment, Orion inhaled deeply as he woke up. Pushing him into a sitting position, he glanced all around him only to be met with nothing but green, green and then even more green.
âPhoenix?â Orion called out for his mate as he rose to his feet, raising a hand to rub his forehead where the witch had slapped him. More so because that was the last thing that he remembered instead of actually hurting.
his wolf huffed at her, not the least bit impressed by the lack of his mate in the near vicinity.
Orion denied but he didnât sound all that sure. How could he when he couldnât see Phoenix anywhere?
his wolf snorted and rolled his eyes.
Orion groaned as he began walking down the corridor that he had just woken up in.
Orion couldnât help but grumble back at his wolf, getting fed up of having all the blame pinned on him.
he continued to grumble as he reached the end of the corridor.
his wolf snorted.
Orion sighed as he decided to head left at the end of the corridor.
his wolf encouraged him.
Orion sighed, running a tired hand down his face.
his wolf confirmed.
Orion hummed in agreeance as he continued down the maze, turning in all sorts of directions to find her. However, very quickly, he felt like he was just going around in circle. Even more so when all of the hedges and bushes started looking the same.
his growled at him in frustration.
Orion denied, growling back at his wolf.
he growled once again, reaching his hand up to tug on his hair in frustration.
his wolf snapped at him, setting Orion off.
However, before he could chastise his wolf for being such a prick when he was already stressed, Orion suddenly found himself on his back as something collided with his chest.
What the actual fuck was happening?
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https://www.patreon.com/LaylaKnight Layla Knight 15.06.2021