"Nothing will be jeopardized," Khaos said calmly. He picked a strand of black hair from his shirt and chuckled. Somehow, that woman was everywhere.
"But, Khaos..."
And Khaos had enough. He, Bryden and Caiden grew up together. And even though they were friends in a sense, the two of them were still his subjects.
Sometimes, when you got too close, the lines would be blurred and people would 'accidentally' cross them, just like what Bryden was doing right now.
"If you can plan everything out better than me, you can sit here and take my responsibilities."
Bryden immediately knelt down. Khaos' voice was deep. He was being serious, as he reminded him about their own statuses.
"I am sorry, Alpha, I didn't mean to question you." He wanted to suggest that Khaos refuse the union between him and Zuri, only because it would ruin his image, but then he remembered the alpha had told him that he knew about the consequences.
However, he still didn't do anything about it and just let it happen, it must be because he already had a plan in his mind, but what?
Bryden couldn't follow his line of thought.
Only, he couldn't question him anymore. He shouldn't have questioned him in the first place. It was nothing but crossing a line with the alpha, as he viewed him as a friend, a brother, when he shouldn't have had such thoughts.
"You will assist Zuri with whatever she needs."
The answer was almost immediate, though he disagreed with this decision. "Yes, Alpha." As a beta, he shouldn't be sent to assist Zuri. Khaos could have ordered someone else.
For the alpha to ask the beta to do something, it should be a priority, an important task and Bryden didn't think Zuri was that important. If they couldn't find the stamp for years, what was the possibility of that woman finding it?
The next day, Khaos was summoned to the king's palace, where he met Silas. He looked so much like his father. Alpha Roland's first born was the spitting image of him.
Only, he lacked fierceness and ambition. It was almost shameful to know that the mastermind of the coup had such a cowardly man as his son.
Silas was fidgeting. He had been locked away inside a small room with no one to talk to, the only news that he was allowed to learn was the fact that his father had been executed and was labeled as a traitor along with Prince Xaden.
Of course, he thought he was going to be executed too as his son. A family of traitors could be wiped out, leaving not even a baby behind.
Therefore, he was a little bit confused when he saw the king and Khaos came to visit him.
"I swear! I didn't know anything about it! I didn't even know that my father would plan such a wicked thing! I didn't have any part in that at all!" Silas was trembling, as he kept rambling on about his innocence.
"Do you think we can use him? I think he is too stupid to be useful."
"He is not stupid, he just lacks courage."
Dacre rolled his eyes. "Same thing."
"A coward is easier to be controlled." Khaos glanced at Silas. The information that he got on him was not very interesting. It was the same thing over and over again, as Silas dedicated his life frequenting brothel after brothel, or one gambling spot after the other, drowning in alcohol in between.
Dacre was not happy about this, but he had to admit that Khaos knew what to do with people and how to subdue him.
He admired his half brother, but at the same time, he felt wary of him. He really needed to find someone else, who could match Khaos' wickedness, or else, one day, he would find himself trapped in his schemes. He wouldn't even know about it until it was too late.
"Once the problem with the River Creek pack is dealt with, you will have your union with Zuri." Dacre smirked. "I think your relationship with her is improving. I saw you two on the streets when she had a meltdown after witnessing her family being executed."
Dacre must be talking about what happened a few days ago.
"I hope this time, she can keep the pregnancy." Dacre grinned, but Khaos laughed instead, which made Silas stop with his rambling.
"I wish nothing but the same for you, brother."
If it wasn't already obvious that something had shifted in their relationship, it was certainly apparent now.
However, Dacre didn't show it on his face as he replied lightly. "I have a young, healthy queen right now. She will give me a lot of babies."
"I am sure she will." Khaos didn't look bothered at all, because he knew one thing that Dacre thought he had kept secret. "How is the queen?"
"Still recuperating."
Nycta was still weak after the marking process, but she would get better soon. After this 'light' conversation, they directed their attention to Silas, who was anxiously waiting his fate.
Later that night when Khaos came to Zuri's bedroom, she was still sleeping. He got a report that Zuri had been spending most of her time inside the room, sleeping away her afternoons and evenings, but even when Khaos went to meet her, she was still sleeping peacefully.
Khaos caressed her cheek and suddenly she opened her eyes. She was surprised to see him there, but sleepily snuggled against his chest.
"Come with me tomorrow," Khaos said lightly, as he caressed her back.
"Where?" Zuri made a satisfying noise when Khaos pulled her closer and squeezed her body this time.
"To the River Creek pack. The King will lend him two thousand warriors to march with him."
Hearing that, Zuri opened her eyes, she looked at Khaos with a frown. "What if Rhett doesn't want to give up?" She knew Rhett would be stubborn, especially when he saw it was Silas.